RWBY 1. Rude Awakening

**_Wow holy crap everyone I'm finally back, and no before you ask I didn't forget about any of my other fics I am still working on those I'm just having a little bit of trouble at the moment. Mostly because this fucking thing has been on my mind since I thought of it, I don't even know why I thought of it to be honest...Anyway This is just to get it out of my mind for the time being. I won't even try to act like it's decent because its really not in my opinion but anyway try t enjoy it I guess leave comments telling me what you think. _**

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**Rude Awakening**

_The endless void...how many aeons have I spent staring at this dark expanse. It is nothing, yet it is everything. I've sat here for millennium watching the world change, watching empires rise and fall, civilizations grow and crumble. I've stared into the changing world until it all blurred together, after that nothing was easy to tell apart anymore. At this time I reflected back on my past asking myself questions such as; 'How did this happen to me?' 'Why did this happen to me?' 'Did my brothers and sisters share the same fate?' I couldn't sense them once I awoke in the void, though that doesn't say much as I couldn't feel anything after waking. No, all I could do was sit, wait, and watch, being set in a position such as this it is quiet maddening for even without a physical form I still...ached. Ached to move and to live again, to run free and rule the lands as I once did, to wreak havoc and show those pathetic creatures what true power was. Alas, that's all I could manage in the state I am in, merely dreaming of times long past though it caused me to think caused me longing wishing I had done more in the life given to me. _

_ Perhaps when this void ends I can once again set out and rule once again, but would that be all I did with my new life. Would I just set out and crush any opposition, would I just set my authority in stone as I once did. Or, would I be different would I make as little an impact in the world and stay to the shadows, how strange for me to think of that. Where I once ruled hundreds of kingdoms forcing the pitiful humans to tremble and cower in my presence to simply vanishing into legend, what was it that humans would say 'old habits die hard?' Something along those lines I'm sure, but nevertheless disappearing into myth is no way for a ruler to act, though the age of my brothers and sisters has passed I look forward to the day I live again. To the day I set forth to claim my rightful place as ruler of the land. To the day where humans quake at the mere sight of my magnificence. To the day I rain fire down from the heavens of the insolent! I WILL LIVE AGAIN!_

_ ...Yes, I will live once again, to feel the wind and warmth of the sun against my body. My time will come, I must be patient as patience is all I have anymore. Strange, I feel so tired, something I have become accustomed too in this endless expanse though the feeling is stronger than before. I-I think I'll just 'sleep' maybe I'll dream of my future life._

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Dark, he was so tired of the dark, the dark was all he had ever known yet this dark was much different that he was used to. A faint sound reached his ears...a _sound _reached his _ears_! He could hear, he had ears to hear with, did that mean he had regained his body? Did that mean his aeons of waiting were finally over? Did he in fact live again? He decided to test this as he tried to flex...something, he felt muscles contract and pull taut as a limb bent in his direction. From the position of it, it felt like an arm, maybe...he couldn't be sure after going for so long without a physical body suddenly having one confused his senses. As he fumbled around in the darkness he manged to move himself right-side up or maybe it was upside down, with the absence of light it was hard to tell just which was he was facing or...not facing. A moment or two of stumbling about in the darkness he managed to right himself as he stood, barely, on his own two feet. _Two legs what a strange feeling, then again what a strange feeling to have any limbs again. _

Taking a few unsteady steps he manged to make his way to some sort of wall, it was cold and damp, with a few raps on it he was able to determine it was a rock wall therefor leading him to the conclusion of being in a cave. How he got into the cave, however was another mystery entirely, _One thing at a time...one thing at. a. time. _Using the cave wall for leverage he was able to keep himself upright as he paced around the dark cave hoping to find a way out, or at the very least, some sort of light. A chill ran up his spine, a small grin formed on his lips at that thought, despite being surprised though it hinted to him that there was an opening somewhere in this cave. With the constant supply of dripping water, he was damp enough to get a clear directions of where the air was coming from, his slow shuffling began to steadily increase until he was in a full on sprint through the cave. Every twist and turn the cave threw at him he took with hardly any grace as his body slammed into the hard walls, but he pushed on nonetheless after the breeze to what he hoped would be his freedom.

Light, blinding light flooded through the cave and into his eyes, he quickly slid to a halt as he clenched his eyes shut trying to drive away the bright light. Taking tentative steps forward, he kept on his path towards the entrance and towards the light, once he felt the cool breeze on his body he attempted to open his eyes only to grit his teeth and shit them tight once again. Shaking his head slightly he raised his arm to shield his eyes as he tried once again to open them, it was bright very bright though it was painful the change was welcome. His eyes strained against the harsh light as he blinked multiple times before vague shapes began to form, though his vision was blurry he could make out more obvious shapes like trees and rocks. Though there was one thing that escaped his mind, it was in the sky but he couldn't quiet...oh. The shape slowly lowered down to a more reasonable level as he turned the hand...his hand over and observed it, _Is this some kind of cruel joke? _He frowned slightly as he looked down at the rest of his body, while stuck in his dark prison of sorts and desperate for an escape he didn't properly take note of his...er, new body.

Moving over to a small pond by the cave entrance he was able to see that he appeared to be a young man with dark black hair that fell past his shoulders, in his hair he had streaks of a dark almost forest green color running through it. His eyes were a vibrant ice blue color, he watched as his face formed a frown as he continued to look himself over, opening his mouth caused his frown to deepen as he realized he now had human teeth. Pathetic, fragile human teeth, though his canines were still fairly pointed and sharp so there was at least that. Despite the startling realization of what he had now become he found it more strange that he was in clothes, nothing from his time, but modern-day clothes. _This day just gets more and more strange it seems, _he was wearing a black sweatshirt with a dark grey shirt underneath, he wore a dark pair of blue jean pants and a pair of what seemed to be combat boots. A low growl rumbled in his chest as he pulled his sweatshirt off and tore it to shreds, he began to pull of his shirt and pants and only stopped when he remembered that the human society frowned on public nudity.

Turning away from the pond as well as the cave, he turned and looked into the forest of trees before him, he couldn't be sure if they had actually grown large from his time or it was simply because of his new form. _How irritating..._Though he would have rather stayed where he was it dawned on him that his new frail human body probably wouldn't be able to survive in the elements like he was once able to. He begrudgingly picked a direction and began to walk in it wondering just what this new world held for him, at one point he had wished he had awoken in a place closer to civilizations, but then again it probably wouldn't have been a good idea either. Despite that the term struck him as rather odd, _awoken, _if that was what he could actually call it then why or rather how did that happen. How did he manage to end up in a slumber that spanned many centuries, but more importantly why? Why was he singled out from his brothers and sisters to suffer this fate and end up in this strange time, why was he so special that he was chosen to be here? Did he have some higher purpose to fulfill, was there something important he was meant to do? It plagued his mind and honestly upset him to think that he would never see his...family again, but he put his mind at ease knowing that they were at peace and not trapped as he was.

His head snapped up when a loud rustling sound reached his ears, he eyed a bush that was close by that seemed to shake slightly, he moved past it but glanced back on it occasionally though it seemed to have stopped moving when he moved past it. His journey didn't bring him to much just more and more trees, it was strange the forests he walked through in his time were filled with all manner of creature and yet here there was nothing. The only thing that seemed to follow him was that accursed rustling sound that was beginning to grate on his nerves, almost as if he wished it upon himself the rustling started up again right next to him. Gritting his teeth he turned to the bushes near him and on instinct shouted, "I demand that you show yourself this instant!" The sudden noise too him by surprise but much less so than everything else up to this point, he looked like a human it only made sense that he had the voice of a human...how else would he interact with the wretched humans. His voice grated his own ears, being he wasn't used to hearing something so...husky coming from his own body, despite that the rustling brought his attention back to the bush.

The bush began to shake more violently before a black blur shot forth from the bush followed by another and another, soon a group of strange creatures surrounded him on all sides as he turned to gaze at the creatures. They held themselves much like the wolves from his own time but they were large much large, almost akin to the dire wolves he once saw, their fur was black a deep black that reminded him of that terrible abyss he was once trapped in. The beasts snarled and growled at him exposing their jagged fangs as saliva dripped from their gaping maws, over their head seemed to be some kind of bone plating that served as strange makeshift armour covered in small deep red etchings that seemed to vary on each creature. They snarled at him as they began to move closer, at least until a louder much more guttural growl pierced the air causing the others to stop in their tracks, he turned towards the sound as another one of the creatures emerged from the bushes though it was much larger than the others. _The alpha..._He could feel his lips curl into a mocking smirk, _Interesting, _the beast moved closer to him before lifting its forelegs off the ground as it stood on its rear legs towering over the other creatures as well as himself. The alpha was covered in more of the strange bone-like armour, it covered its head more than the others, it ran down its back between the large spikes of bone that protruded from its back. Those same bone spikes were on its forelegs, it made his curious as to just what kind of creature this was, he was brought back to attention when the creature snarled at him as he shot a piercing glare towards it.

"Enough with your petty threats tell me your name beast, I demand it!" The creature looked at him curiously but said nothing, this angered him, how dare this insolent creature ignore his demands back in his time every beast knew their place and knew it was in their best interest not to anger him. "I said speak! Or you shall face the consequences of defying me." The alpha merely huffed at his demand causing a low growl to escape his lips as he sighed heavily, "So be it..." A sudden sound caught his attention as he turned towards it, one of the beasts leapt towards him intending to attack him, a sudden rush of emotions ran threw him as he let out an animalistic growl before throwing his arm and as it connected with the black beast. The beast few back slamming into one of the many trees with such force it shook the large tree down to its roots as small chunks of bark flew from the spot of impact. The beast crumpled to the ground unmoving as he turned back to the alpha who had seemed to move away from him slightly, "I give you one chance, and one chance only. What. Are. You. Called." The beasts twitched eying their fallen comrade but again made no attempt to yield, "Very well, I will show you true pain since you insolent creatures have continued to defy my will. You will know suffering like no other when I-"

"Look out!" He turned quickly to the sudden shout to see a flash of red rushing towards him with a glint of something in their hands, heeding their words he dropped to the ground as he felt a rush of wind over him as the sound of metal cutting through flesh and bone echoed through the once silent forest. He turned over on his back, to see a sight he would never expect to see in his past life or in this life, a young girl clad in black and red carrying a hulking scythe swinging it as she cut through the beasts that merely stood there possibly shocked with the sudden intrusion of the child. She moved with speed that must have been unrivaled as she cut down the creatures without a second though, in the midst of the chaos one of the creatures stalked behind her before leaping out. He opened his mouth to shout his warning when a black ribbon shot out wrapping around the creature's neck jerking it backwards into the foliage as a gunshot rang out through the forest.

The battle was over quickly as the young girl cut down every beast that crossed her path, _What a ruthless child...how interesting. _He pushed himself off the ground as the large scythe seemed to grow smaller before folding into a strange shape to which she hid it under her red cloak, she took a deep breath before turning towards him a large smile on her face her silver eyes shining brightly almost as if nothing had happened. Her eyes fell on him and quickly a look of concern crossed over her face, she opened her mouth to speak when she was cut off by a rather haughty, light but at the same time almost shrill voice, "You dolt, you should know better than to run off like that, you could have gotten hurt if we lost track of you!" _We? _An embarrassed look crossed the young girls face as she gave a nervous chuckle while scratching her head.

"H-Heh sorry Weiss I just got a little carried away..." A girl dressed entirely in white, presumably Weiss, emerged from the thicket as she brushed the leaves and branches from her hair. He sneered at the sight of her, she had a large air of arrogance surrounding her, from the way she talked to the way she walked he knew she was someone who was born of some sort of royalty. That fact disgusted him, royals such as her were one of the reasons he was disgusted with the humans, some were born into families of a large wealth and that made them thing they were better than just about everyone else and it angered him to no end with their attitude. The girl in white's eyes fell on him and those ice blue orbs gazed at him such contempt it made him sick as she looked him over, though when she gazed at him he was able to see a barely visible scar across her eye, _How curious, _but then it was gone when she turned her nose up at him before turning back to the girl in red. "Who is that?" The way she mentioned him in such an off-hand way like he wasn't even there set off a fire in his stomach as he intended to answer her when another voice rang out.

"Ah, you worry too much Weiss Ruby can handle herself just fine, right sis?" Out from the brush came a girl with a large mane of messy golden locks that came down to her waist, she wore...revealing clothes that didn't even seem suitable for situations such as these. Behind her was another girl though she was clad entirely in black, the ribbon he saw snatch the creature out of the air was wrapped around her arm, a large black cleaver like weapon rested on her back. The girl glanced at him with bright amber eyes giving him a curious look before looking away, he swore that bow she wore moved ever so slightly. The two new arrivals moved over to the others and began to speak, rather argue, amongst themselves for a few minuets wherein he was able to learn the names of the new arrivals. The girl with the golden hair was named Yang and the girl in black was named Blake, he liked Black she said few words as was possibly the quietest of the four which he instantly noticed and liked. They occasionally glanced over at him before speaking to each other in hushed whispers, he began to grow frustrated with the secrecy, if they wished to talk about him the least they could do was speak loud enough for him to hear.

Their whispering began to grow louder though he still couldn't make out what they were saying, but suffice to say their exaggerated hand gestures was rather amusing to watch. They suddenly fell hushed as the girl in white looked to each of them before huffing and stepping forward, the younger girl Ruby reached out to try and stop her, "Weiss wait don't!"

"What's your name?" She demanded, she looked towards him with that same look of contempt that sickened him to the very core, she was like every spoiled queen he had the displeasure of running into demanding things from anyone they ran across as they thought their title gave them authority. He didn't speak and she responded just as he knew she would, she huffed turned her nose up and stomped her foot, "I said what is your name, do you know who I am?"

He raised a brow at this outburst as he spoke, "I'm sorry I think you've mistaken me for someone who gives a damn." The look that crossed her face amused him to no end, she was shocked and at a loss for words it was obvious she never had someone speak to her in such a way...of course.

"H-How dare you speak to me like that after we saved you from-"

"Actually _girl_," He sneered the word as he spoke, "_You _did nothing of the sort, the child behind you is the one who _saved _me, and I needed no saving I can take care of a few disrespectful beasts on my own." He ended by turning his nose up in the same manner she previously did to him, she did not seem to appreciate the gesture as she stuttered out half formed responses as he face seemed to flush in anger.

"W-What did...h-how dare...who do you think-"

"A-Alright Weiss that's enough j-just go over there..." The girl in red rushed up behind the one in white and turned her around and gently pushed her towards the other two before turning back towards him sighing softly. She looked at him disapprovingly perhaps she didn't appreciate the way he spoke to her friend but the look disappeared quickly as it was replaced with that same large smile from earlier causing her silver eyes to sparkle. "L-Lets try that again. Hi, I'm Ruby Rose y-you met Weiss already, the other two are my sister Yang and her partner Blake, if you don't mind me asking what were you doing out here?" He looked down towards her extended before glancing up at her again, her hand seemed to falter slightly as he moved towards her.

"Ruby..."

The voice came from her sister and it sounded like a warning, though not intended for her, he glanced up and was met with stunning violet eyes that seemed to glare at him as he frowned. He extended his hand gripping the young girls shaking it, "Pleasure, as for why I could ask you the same thing. What's a child like you doing out here fighting these creatures?" Her smiled seemed to falter ever so slightly at the mention of child, but it was quickly replaced by that same smile as she casually shrugged and released his hand.

"It's kind of what we do." She said it in a way that suggested it was the most obvious answer and that he should have known. Suffice to say it only caused him to frown in irritation as he tried to calm himself, she was a child after all.

"I'm afraid I don't follow..." A look a confusion flashed across the girls face as she looked at him trying to determine if he was in fact serious when he said that. Though it was hard to tell when he kept his face free of any emotion it was utterly blank, Ruby frowned, _Another Blake wonderful, _she thought. She scratched her head as she half turned to look at the rest of her team but saw that they were busy harassing Weiss to be of any help, she crossed her arms as she tried to think of a way to explain what should have been fairly obvious to just about anyone.

"Well...you see," She frowned in contemplation as she made of few noises of frustration, "Y-You have to know what Grimm are though, right?" Again he just stared at her blankly though he turned his head slightly to gaze at the body of the fading Beowolves before turning back to her.

"Those creatures I assume?" Ruby sighed with relief before nodding her head excitedly, she was at least relived that she would have to explain to him what Grimm were, she didn't care much for learning them so she didn't want to end up having to explain them, she could leave that to Blake.

"Great you know what those are at least, well they have to do with us." She motioned to the rest of her team that now consisted of Blake holding Yang back with Weiss smirking from some sort of triumph. "It's our job as hunters to-"

_"Hunters..." _He sneered the word as a look of blind rage came over his face as he took a few steps away from the girl, "You humans are so desperate to have a multitude of _hunters _that they have taken to recruiting children into their ranks! Do they care not about the dangers you will face? Do they not understand they are shorting your life by sending you out into the wilds to face danger for them!" He gave an irritated scoff, "How cowardly have these people become that they send a _child _to do work they can't do themselves?!" The girl had a confused look on her face, clearly she didn't understand the dangers she faced, usually he wouldn't care if a hunter was sent his way he had no qualms with cutting them down but he would never end the life of a child. "And you..." This grabbed her attention as she jumped slightly looking up towards him, "How ignorant are you to blindly join them surely you must understand the dangers of being a-a _hunter!"_

By now the others had noticed what was going on and rushed over to aide their youngest, the girl with the golden hair glared at him her violet eyes flashing a deep crimson for split second, "Hey man what the hell is wrong with you, you can't just talk to my sister like-"

"All of you are no better, acting as slaves to those in higher power doing their deeds where they do not have the courage to do it themselves. Do you not see they care not if you fall in the field, that you are slain, they have many more to replace all of you, I'm giving you a chance to reconsider your choices!"

The girl in black quirked her brow, "A chance? What happens if we don't listen to you?"

He straightened his stance as he looked at the four girls before him as a frown appeared on his lips, "If you don't reconsider..." He looked at them all but he eyes fell on the youngest that stood in front of the other three as a quick flash of sadness washed over him, "I'll be forced to end your lives..."

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Silence reigned over the group that stood facing each other, a look of surprise and fear were evident in the faces of the four girls. On the other hand, an empty looked filled the young man's eyes as he glared at the girls before him, if they refused to relent he would be forced to carry out his threat though he would feel no remorse for it. "What's your name?!" His cold gaze fell on Weiss who tried to return the same look but faltered as she averted her gaze, his eye caught the movement of her hand as it slowly inched towards her weapon.

"What does it matter?" His voice matched his eyes hallow, empty, and cold it was proof enough that he either planned to follow through with his threat or he had done this enough before to sink into that mindset.

"Please...tell us..." His gaze met silver eyes that were filled with a sadness so prominent that he could sense a feeling of despair welling up inside of him, if he did strike this child down he could at least find it in himself to be courteous enough to tell her his name.

"...Rodric, My name is Rodric."

"Did the White Fang send you?" He cast his gaze over to Blake who stared at him with hard amber eyes waiting to judge his answer.

"Who?"

The four shared a look before turning back towards him, "Rodric we're not going to fight you it's not-"

"Then you relent your position as hunters correct?" Again they all shared a look before the young girl look towards him with look of worry clouding her eyes.

"No..."

She opened her mouth again to continue but he merely shook his head, "Then there is no need to speak of this subject anymore, I'm sorry it had to come to this." He watched as they all readied their weapons as he took a deep breath, slowly exhaling, he didn't know how he would fare in this fight but he refused to give up without a fight. He might not have his original body but he refused to give up against a few hunters, they slaughtered many of his brothers, if he fell by their hands then so be it but he refused to simply give up. They all readied themselves as they lowered their bodies or bounced on their feet as his eyes jumped from each one wondering who would make the first move.

His question was answered when Weiss stepped forward raising her weapon, it seemed to be a simple Rapier, she took a few tentative steps forward before dashing forward straight towards him. Her eyes were hard as she drew closer but she noticed he made no move to deflect the attack, no move to use his aura, or ready his weapon, or defend himself in general. The closer she got her resolve faltered as her eyes became soft as she slightly lowered her weapon, it was then she knew that she had made a mistake. As she lowered her weapon ever so slightly Rodric quickly stepped forward the blade barely glancing past him as he took hold of her wrist and snapped her entire arm around holding it at an awkward angle behind her. She cried out as pain shot through her arm causing her to drop Myrtenaster as Rodric stood behind her keeping a strong grip on her arm, "Is this what they taught you? To show mercy on your enemies when they show none to you?"

She struggled against his grip as he pulled her arm back further causing her to lean back slightly as she hissed out in pain, "L-Let me go this instant!" Even with her demand he could hear a tinge of fear lacing her words.

"Don't tell me you honestly fear death, isn't that what you hunters march yourself towards every day?" He reached around her and placed his hand across her neck gripping it tightly as she began to shake under his grip, "I warned you, I don't plan to spare any _hunter_." He tightened his grip on her neck as she gasped out in surprise and fear as he let a low growl escape his lips.

"Now Blake!" He jerked his head and saw Yang and Ruby standing in the same place but the girl in black was gone, he looked over his shoulder to see Blake rushing towards him the cleaver like weapon being dragged across the ground, as she raised the blade to strike at him he quickly turned putting Weiss between the two. Looking over his shoulder he saw Blake frown as she too faltered in her strike, he pushed Weiss forward before kicking her in the small of her back sending her forward crashing into Blake. As they crashed to the ground a series of gunshots rang out causing him to turn his attention to the other two, he was caught by surprise when they were both rushing towards him at an unprecedented speed. Yang reached him first as she threw her fist out towards his head, quickly jerking his head to the side a plume of smoke and fire shot out from her gauntlet along with the deafening sound of the gunshot caused him to stumble back covering his ear, though it seemed to have benefited him, as he stumbled back the blade of the scythe stabbed into the spot he was standing in merely seconds ago.

He shook his head as he swayed on his feet slightly, his sense of balance thrown off as his ear continued to ring, _Curse this fragile human body. _He continued to evade and dance around their attacks as the ringing began to slowly fade allowing him to move a bit easier now that he wasn't stumbling over his own feet. Though they appeared to be mere children it seemed they were as relentless as the hunters of his time, to many times their blades barely missed his flesh or missed piercing into his body though it was dangerous he moved as close as he could. He closed in on Ruby first intending to incapacitate her, as she swung her weapon he reached out and gripped the metal staff stopping it mid swing as he kicked her in the stomach and away from the fight. He lifted the massive scythe only to find his muscles straining under the immense weight of it, _How could a mere child hold something like this. _Gritting his teeth he gripped it as best he could, turning towards the others he was shocked to see Weiss dashing towards him, with great effort he held the scythe out in her path only for her to use her rapier to knock it up and away leaving him open.

Yang appeared in his peripheral as she quickly spun on her heel slamming her foot into his stomach throwing him back as he slid across the ground, flipping over he managed to right himself as Blake closed the distance as she swung the cleaver with ease nicking him here and there thin red lines appearing across his skin. He stumbled back slightly before pushing himself forward throwing his fist out only for it to be blocked by the broad side of the cleaver but it still knocked her enough to give him room to breathe. But then she disappeared, just vanished, he noticed movement in his peripheral causing him to throw his arm out only to be met with nothing. Again he saw something out of the corner of his eyes as he again threw his arm out only to connect with nothing, he growled in frustration until a black ribbon wrapped around his arm before pulling taut jerking his arm out.

Baring his teeth he pulled his trapped arm towards himself as he used his free hand to grab hold of the ribbon and pulled her forward as he turned pulling the ribbon harder yanking her harder forward before completely turning and throwing his foot out to slam into her stomach knocking her away, much in the same manner as Yang did to him. As she slid across the ground the ribbon on his arm fell loose as he stumbled back as they began to close in on him. A series of emotions flooded through him, but the most prominent was a feeling a pure blinding rage and unfathomable fury, he let instinct take over as he inhaled deeply feeling his lungs expand and burn. He threw his head forward opening his mouth as a stream of white flame shot forward burning the ground and surrounding trees to slam into the girls before him.

A moment later the white-hot flames began to flicker as he collapsed to his knees panting and gasping for breath. He did it, like he promised he would he struck them down for refusing to relent from their dangerous path, then why did he feel empty inside perhaps it was the fact that he struck down a group of children. His fingers dug into the earth as he frowned they should have given up, they should have quit while they were ahead, did they not value their own lives? He looked up towards the devastation he had caused watching the flames eat away at the greenery around him, why couldn't they just-

"Whoa what the hell was that?!" His eyes widened at the sound, as the smoke began to clear he noticed a strange shimmering glyph protecting the four of them from his attack, after a moment it faded as Weiss lowered her arm sighing heavily, "Quick thinking Weiss we would have been toast if it wasn't for you." Yang smacked her in the back causing her to stumble forward before turning and glaring at her.

"H-How...how did you survive?" Weiss turned towards him and glared, she made a strange movement with her hands, a bright light appeared underneath him with the same symbol from earlier. In an instant he was launched into the air before he felt a biting cold strike him across his body. As he returned to the ground he noticed he was being held up in the air by smaller glyphs trapping his hands and legs as he struggled against them, "W-What kind of wretched sorcery is this?!"

The group ignored him as they began to talk amongst themselves ignoring his shouts and struggles, "What do we do with him?" Ruby looked at her team before glancing back at Rodric, "We can't really leave him out here he's a danger to others as much as he is to himself..."

"Yeah no kiddin' but did you see that? How did he breathe fire like that? You think its like his semblance or something?" Yang was pretty curious at that, though it surprised her that he was able to do something like that, not to mention it was pretty strong Weiss was barely able to keep her glyph together against that attack.

"Who knows it could be, but during that whole fight did you notice something odd?" The team turned their attention to Blake who had a concerned look on her face, "He wasn't using his aura to fight us, he was just using raw power, honestly I don't think he knows how to use his aura."

"Don't be ridiculous, of course he knows how to use it, how else would he be able to use his semblance then?" They others gave an unsure look to Weiss before turning to look at Rodric who continue to struggle against the glyphs, "Well what do you purpose we do with him?"

"We kick his ass of course!" Yang activated her gauntlets to emphasize her point.

"W-Wait we can't do that Yang!"

"Well what do you suppose we do with him then Ruby?"

Ruby bit her lip as she looked at her team before turning back to Rodric, "Professor Ozpin might like to have a word with him, after all he can obviously use his semblance without using aura I'm sure he would find that interesting...right?" The others mumbled in agreement, and much to Yang's chagrin she deactivated her weapons and agreed with her sister.

Though she pushed past the others and made her way over to Rodric who could only glare at her, "Well it seems like you have my baby sister to thank for sparring you from one hell of a beat down, but let me just tell you I won't hesitate to put you in your place when I get the chance." Rodric bared his teeth at her only for her to throw her fist out and have it connect with his jaw, his vision swam for a moment before he lost consciousness fading back into the black abyss.


	2. Welcome to Beacon

**_It's a little frustrating going back and spell checking my stories on this site, because it usually tells me that all my more...complicated words are wrong and need to be, essentially dumb down. I would hope none of my readers need these 'oh so hard words' to be made simpler. Anyway It's been awhile since I posted something, I'm glad to know some of you are out there waiting patiently, so be glad to know that I've started to write longer and longer chapters so no you know the reason for taking so long ANWAY enjoy and tell me what you think. _**

* * *

**Welcome to Beacon**

_How could his happen to me, I hadn't been 'alive' that long and now I have been sent back to the void by that wretched girl. _"Sure...don't...hurt..." _Maybe I was in the wrong to pick a fight with them...no they were hunters they deserved to die, they killed too many of my brothers to even warrant mercy. What I didn't expect was them to have some kind of sorceress with them, still how did she withstand that last assault so easily? Were they really that strong, or have I simply grown weak in the frail human body? _"Whose...was...all...responsibility." _Perhaps this is for the best being stuck as a pathetic human limited his power to greatly, perhaps in the next hundred or so aeons he would be reborn as the magnificent being he once was. If that was the case then this whole moment was a big disappointment, why bother giving him life if only to take it away again? It didn't make any sense perhaps- _"Rodric..."

As he opened his eyes a bright light invaded them causing him to shut them once again as he groaned softly, "Shh he's awake." Someone was talking, at least that's what he though, everything was muddled and muffled it was hard to tell anything apart. He tried again to open his eyes but fared no better than before, everything swam in front of him, colors and shapes melded together into unrecognizable forms. "Rodric...are you okay? Can you say something?" He opened his mouth to speak but only incoherent mumbling reached his ears before he paused and groaned again, "I-It's alright just try not to move, you got hit pretty hard..."

"I didn't hit him that hard..." Ruby glared at Yang who merely crossed her arms huffing slightly, "I didn't..." Shaking her head Ruby looked back towards Rodric who seemed to be drifting in and out of consciousness, she began to worry that Yang might have caused some irreparable damage to him, she should have realized what Yang was going to do when she walked up to him. She couldn't believe her of all people couldn't see what Yang had been planning, how could she have been so-

"Don't worry yourself over him Ms. Rose, I'm sure our friend here will recover just fine, just give him some time." She glanced up to see Professor Ozpin sitting behind his desk looking over their mission report, she cast a glance back down to Rodric who was restrained to an infirmary bed in the headmaster's office. Ozpin flipped through the papers detailing everything Team RWBY experienced on their mission, though his eyes would stray to the young man resting in the bed from time to time, he had grown more and more curious as to who this man was after RWBY told him everything that happened. He set the papers down as he turned his chair towards the window to reflect on everything that had happened until this point.

* * *

_Sitting in his office Ozpin sipped on his mug of coffee as he went through the daily task of making sure everything was up-to-date in Beacon. He processed school reports, financial reports, detailed progress reports of both student and faculty alike. He even made sure that each class was properly stocked with whatever materials they had needed, suffice to say, whoever said being a headmaster was easy obviously never worked as a headmaster. After scribbling his signature on the last form, he leaned back in his chair giving a weary sigh as he raised his mug to his lips once again, before he could take a drink a low buzzing caught his attention. Hesitating for a second he slowly lowered his mug and reached for his scroll, as he opened it the image of the young leader from RWBY flashed onto the screen. At once he could see that her bright silver eyes were clouded with worry, as much as he wanted to ask what the problem was he remained professional, "Ms. Rose, should I take it that the mission was-"_

_ "There was an incident!" His brow arched at her sudden outburst, though it wasn't a shocking outburst, what was shocking in fact was that there had been some sort of 'incident' as Ruby had said. He had read countless reports of their missions and there were never any incidents aside from the occasional scrapes and bruising Ms. Xiao Long would receive from overexerting herself._

_ "Is everything alright Ms. Rose? Is someone on the team injured?" The girl's head turned as she glanced at someone off-screen, it was faint but he was able to hear Ms. Schnee mutter something along the lines of 'I'm fine.'_

_ "Um...sort of?" Again the headmaster arched his brow at her uncertainty, she called him to inform him of an incident, but now she was answering his question with a question. "It's kinda hard to explain." The screen moved as she turned it to face a young man laying across the seat of the Bullhead seemingly restrained with ropes as well as Ms. Schnee's glyphs. Again the screen turned to show Ruby, "You see this guy just showed up out of nowhere and started to talk all weird telling us what we were doing was dangerous before he started fighting us and then he breathed fire at us and we thought we were goners but Weiss was able to protect us by using-"_

_ "Ms. Rose..." At his voice she quickly stopped her ramblings, "Perhaps you should wait to inform me of what happened, I'll ready a bed for the young man, but I want all of you to report to my office when you return to be debriefed. Is that understood?"_

_ "Of course professor we'll be there as soon as we arrive." The call disconnected, Ozpin stared at his scroll a moment longer before finally setting it down. He reached across his desk and pressed a button on his intercom to inform his assistant, Professor Goodwitch, about what to expect in the next few minuets. She was as taken off guard as he expected her to be, nevertheless she called the infirmary and informed them to bring up a bed for an injured 'student.' She questioned him as to what exactly was going on, but he merely informed her that he had no idea, aside from the mysterious young man and Ms. Roses ramblings it was impossible to tell exactly what had happened. _

_ Not long after the bed was brought to the office did Team RWBY as well as the young man enter through the doorway, he watched as they brought him towards the bed and rather unceremoniously dropped him onto it. He arched his brow at the action as well as when they started to secure him to the bed, he said nothing as he placed a small recording device on his desk before hitting the red record button, "Now, can you please tell me everything, and I mean everything that happened on that mission..."_

* * *

Ozpin glanced down at the recorder in his hands as he had yet reached a decision about everything he had heart until now, "Professor..." Glancing up towards the window he let out a soft sigh before turning his chair back towards the group.

"I apologize, it seems like all of you went through a great ordeal on this mission, but I am glad to see you all returned relatively unharmed. But, for now you are free to return to your dorms, I have much that needs to be done regarding this issue as well as our new...guest. Please take some time to rest, you've all earned it." They group nodded and quickly left the office chattering amongst themselves, once they were gone his attention went right to the young man on the bed before him. Slowly standing he made his way over to him, with his footsteps echoing in the rather quiet room he quickly noticed how the young man's breathing seemed to quick ever so slightly. However, he said nothing about it as he looked over the man's face taking in his features before using his fingers to open his eyes. At the action he could feel that he resisted ever so slightly, it seemed their unconscious guest wasn't quiet so unconscious as he had suspected. "Glynda..." His assistant quickly made his way over to him.

"Yes professor?"

"Please take our guest to the infirmary to have him checked out, I would like to speak with him the moment he...wakes up." She gives a firm nod before waving with her hand causing the bed to begin moving on its own, as it makes its way to the door he speaks up once again, "Also Ms. Goodwitch..." She turns to look at him a bit surprised at the formality, "Keep an eye on him." His voice was firm which would seem strange given the context but nonetheless she nodded before heading out of the office. Now that he found himself alone once again he glanced down at the recorder he held in his hands, even with everything he had heard none of it made any sense to him, giving another weary sigh he pressed play on the recorder.

* * *

_"From the way it sounded...he might have killed other hunters..." _Rewind. _"He might have killed other hunters..." _Rewind. _"Killed other hunters..." _Ozpin stopped the recording as he leaned back in his chair, this greatly disturbed him, if this young man did in fact kill other hunters, which was a rather large possibility given that he blatantly attacked his students. Then having him in a school meant for hunters might be putting others at this same risk, the safest thing he could have done was call the authorities and have them take him to a hospital under their watch, but...this young man intrigued him. To what end, he couldn't say though he knew once the young man decided to talk he would have his answer. The light buzzing from his scroll meant that his young guest might finally be ready to have a little chat with him, he opened his scroll and instantly it showed him the image of his assistant, "Glynda, why I was getting ready to head down to the infirmary in a moment. Has our guest finally-"

_"Ozpin you need to get down here this instant, the young man has-" _There was a loud crash in the background followed by shouting from the staff as well as the young man as he seemed to be resisting them. _"You need to sedate him this instant...just hold him down and do it! Professor, this young man is a danger we need to get the proper-" _A loud crash caused her to drop her scroll but the call continued to play, everything sounded much more distant that it had before, _"Young man stop this instant or I will be forced to use-" _She cried out in surprise as something loud shattered.

_"You have no authority over me woman, now remove yourself from the door before I remove you myself!" _There were sounds of a struggle before a loud crash echoed through the room.

"Ms. Goodwitch?!"

Silence filled the call before he was able to hear heavy breathing, _"Perhaps you'll do better to not underestimate this 'woman' again young-"_

_ "Look out!" _White flames licked across the floor multiple times causing the staff to cry out in fear and shock.

"Glynda!" The flames enveloped the screen before the call was quickly dropped, he stood there in shock for a moment before steeling himself. He grabbed his cane before quickly hurrying down to the infirmary.

* * *

"How many of you accursed sorcerers are there?!" Rodric panted heavily as the flames coating the room instantly vanished with a swipe of the strange catalyst she wielded, he could feel his strength waning, nevertheless he fought on. Reaching to his side he took hold of the strange piece of metal next to him, attached to it were various bags of fluid, gripping it tightly he raised it over his head before hurling it at the older woman. Again she made strange hand gestures, though this time there was no strange glyph, no this time the air grew colder by the second before the metal device frosted over and crashed to the ground. Gritting his teeth his eyes widened when she made another gesture but this time having a row of jagged icicles rushing towards him, he tossed himself aside landing safely behind one of the beds as the ice crashed into the wall.

"Glynda!" Rodric looked up at the shout seeing the door fly open, the older man from earlier had burst into the room, his chest heaving with each breath. _Did he run the entire way here? _"Glynda...are you alright? Are you hurt?"

The older woman, Glynda, brushed some ash from her shoulder before glaring in his direction, "I'm fine Ozpin, nothing I can't handle. It was merely a temper tantrum thrown by a child..."

Rodric grit his teeth as his rage began to rise and boil, _How dare she, how dare that wench call me a child! _He gripped the side of the bed to help him stand, but a different idea came to him as a wicked smirk cross his lips, "How's this for a child!" He gripped the bed with both hands and with all the strength he could muster flipped it towards the two of them, the last thing he saw was the older man, Ozpin pushing Glynda out of the way. A sound of scraping metal filled the room as the bed crashed against the wall, though not as he expected, each half of the bed rested on either side of the two before him, "H-How is that possible what-"

"Glynda..." Ozpin lowered his cane to the ground as he adjusted his glasses, "Please give us a moment alone, there are a few things I wish to discuss with...Rodric." Glynda looked at him as if he spoke a foreign language, was he being serious did he seriously want to be left _alone _with this deranged man.

"Ozpin you can't possible be-"

"Glynda..." He turned his head slightly, she froze up under his gaze, his eyes were cold and hard something she rarely saw from the stoic headmaster she had grown to know. She opened her mouth to respond but found her words failing her as she quickly nodded, she motioned for the staff to do the same as they all quickly filed out of the room. Once the last nurse left Glynda spared a glance back towards Ozpin and Rodric before leaving the room, all that was left was silence as the only two occupants glared at each other.

"For someone much older you aren't very wise old man, what do you think you can possibly do against someone like-"

"Silence." That was the only word that the older man before him spoke, but with that one word he felt a heavy weight connected to it causing him to physically stumble back slightly. He was taken aback by the sheer arrogance this man had for speaking to him in such a way.

"How dare you speak to me like that! What makes you think you hold any power over-"

"I. Said. Be. Quiet." Again the tone that left the man's lips actually caused Rodric to pause, who was this man, why did he hold so much authority over him? More importantly, why was he actually listening to him, Ozpin was a mere human he would never lower himself to actually listening to someone like- "Sit down." Against his own will Rodric found himself sitting on the edge of the remaining bed, he grit his teeth in rage, why did his body betray his will? He glared up at the man before him watching as he took a seat in a chair in front of him, "You attack my students, you attack my staff, and you attack me...why is that?"

_Why? WHY?! _This man run's a school training mere children to be hunters and he has the audactiy to ask him why he attacked them. "Because of what you are..." He growled out, "You humans cause nothing but destruction and pain, and you hunters are the worst of all, blindly following the ones in charge to your deaths, you are all merely sheep being led to the slaughter!" He spit in the man's direction his gaze boring into his eyes, "You hunters can't be trusted, you've killed many of my brothers I feel it is only fair to repay you in kind!"

Ozpin gripped his cane and it only caused Rodric to smirk, "What hunters have you killed and how many?"

Rodric's smirk only grew larger, "Oh I've killed hundred of thousands, whole battalions, militias, armies worth of hunters all fell before me. Every single one of them chose their fate and I simply delivered it to them, and I will continue to do so because-"

Ozpin slammed the tip of his cane onto the tile creating a hollow echo which, surprisingly enough, caused Rodric to flinch, "Enough...why are you doing this?"

The grin instantly vanished from Rodric's face as he bowed his head glaring at the cracked tile, "Why...Because human's are liars and deceivers, once they have no use for you they simply toss you aside. If they feel you've become to much of a threat for their pristine lives they aim to wipe you off the face of the planet...they will pursue you to the ends of the world, destroying everything you hold dear just to get to you." He grit his teeth as his emotions began to flare up, "No matter who it is...they'll destroy it, but they will regret it. I won't stop...not until they all pay, until they all suffer the pain I-" He choked up as he scoffed glaring back up at Ozpin, "Enough with these games what do you want from me?"

"We'll get to that young man, first I want to ask you a few questions..." Rodric scoffed but said nothing more as he awaited the questions, "Firstly, how did you get here?"

Rodric visibly winced at the question as he gripped the firm mattress of the bed, "I...I don't recall..." It wasn't a lie, more of a half truth, while he did recall the events in the forest he couldn't quiet seem to recall anything beyond that. He knew he awakened in the forest, but now he wasn't quiet so sure where or how he awoke, it seemed all memory of his 'awakening' were steadily growing more and more hazy.

"It's quiet alright, you don't need to force the memory. But, secondly my students as well as myself witnessed you ahem 'breathing fire', is this your semblance?"

Rodric frowned slightly, "I know not what this 'semblance' is but my abilities comes to me as easy as breathing does for you humans. But..." He looked down at his body examining his arms and what he could of his back until neck began to ache, "It seems I've lost a number of my abilities when I awoke in the pathetic excuse for a body..." He clenched his fists until they ached before releasing his grip, he couldn't believe he lost his old body just to have it replaced with something as lowly and fragile as a human's body, all his strength and power was gone now. Being stuck in the same room as this human and having this fact thrust upon him began to frustrate him, "Enough questions, now you answer mine. What do you want with me?"

"I want you to stay here." Rodric could only gape at the man before him, was he being serious? Did he not just hear everything he said? He killed hunters what would make him think that he would stay for even a moment longer in a place like- "It seems you've had a troubled past, from what it sounds like you've had run ins with the scum of humanity." This caught Rodric's attention and for once he was actually willing to listen to what the man had to say, "Yes, I am...was a hunter so my promise might not mean a thing to you, but I swear we humans aren't as bad as we seem." Rodric scoffed at that, "We've come a long way from the dark ages, we've made leaps and bounds in technology, we've only survived this long because of the hunters and because of our willingness to work _together._" Rodric frowned, he found that hard to believe, humans were incapable of working together, all they wrought was pain and destruction and so much worse if it meant furthering their own needs.

Still, he could sense that the man's words rang with truth, why was he so inclined to trust this...this _human. _"Why? After everything I've done to you and your kind why are you extending this offer to me of all people?"

Ozpin merely stared at him and stayed silent for a long period, the silence was thick and sitting under his gaze made Rodric squirm on the bed slightly. "I can see it in you, under all the rage and hate, there's a spark of hope. A small spark that wants things to change, you want to believe that we humans are capable of more than just harm, you want us to do good." Rodric looked away frowning, _How could he know something like that? _During his encounter with the four females, he noticed that they didn't have the same cold blooded eyes most hunters would have, he could see the fire of peace and hope burning within them. It made him wonder if humans had truly changed for the better, but the years of violence and torment he went through made their flame seem like an ember in an all encompassing darkness of hate.

He opened his mouth to respond but was swiftly cut of by the man, "There's no need to respond so quickly, I will allow you time to mull it over, in the mean time I must ask you to resist attacking my staff while you stay here. If you can't abide by my one request I am more than willing to move you to a more...secure area, though I have doubts you will enjoy being _caged._" Rodric frowned, not at his words, but at the thought that the man assumed he wasn't already caged. Being stuck in a school for hunters, being confined to this weak human vessel, little did the man know but Rodric already was caged, caged in this new and cursed life. "However..." The mans voice pulled him from his thoughts as he looked up and glared at him, "Seeing as you are in the infirmary I would greatly appreciate it, if you would not further injure those who come here seeking care."

A low rumbling growl resonated through the room as Rodric bared his teeth, "How typical of your kind, to assume that I am no more than a heartless monster, I do not prey on the weak though I cannot say the same for your kind. Those that come here for healing and shelter will not be bothered by me, I can assure you." Rodric slid off the bed and moved to one further in the corner, after righting its position he sat back on it glaring at the older man, "Is that all?" Ozpin nodded and turned to leave as Rodric grumbled under his breath, still confused as to how a frail old man could have so much control over him. But, he knew all human appearances were deceiving, where a jolly king hid a ruthless tyrant, so too could an older man hide someone of great power. Behind the man's calm demeanor and monotone voice, there was something hidden that demanded respect, not willed it _demanded _it, and Rodric could do nothing but obey and submit. "Bah...humans..."

* * *

Ozpin closed the door as he exited only to meet the worried expression of Glynda on the other side, he merely glanced at her for a moment before heading off down the hallway, "Professor are you alright? What happened in there?"

"Nothing, we merely talked." Stated the professor in a rather matter-of-fact sort of tone, "Though I was able to discern why he has such a strong hate towards humans." A curious hum was all he received from the professor that followed in his wake, "It seems our young guest has had a run in with some very despicable groups of humans, possible at some early stage in his life, leading to his extreme hatred for them." They were silent for a long while the only sound that was heard was the muffled footsteps of both professors, in the end it was Glynda who broke the silence.

"How does he perceive the Faunus?"

"I...I don't think he knows what they are..."

"What?!" Glynda stopped for a moment utterly shocked that someone could not know who Faunus were, she understood if they didn't know much about them but to have completely no idea was just...unheard of. "I-I don't...how can someone not know who the Faunus are, after everything they've gone through even the people who hate them still know who they-"

"Before you continue, Glynda, I simply meant that he seemed to focus more on his hatred for humans. He either has never run in to a Faunus who he hated, or simply doesn't care for them...which could in turn pose a problem to what I have decided on doing." He continued on after having paused, normally this would go against the rules he had set for the school but seeing as they would have more...experience dealing with Rodric it would only make sense that he start here. Halting in front of one of the many doors in the hallway, he gently knocked on it, a slightly muffled scuffle and low arguing could be heard.

Glynda looked at Ozpin then towards the door, "Professor, what are we doing at-"

The door flew open revealing the young leader of Team RWBY as she looked up towards the headmaster, "P-Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch-"

_"Oh crap..."_

Ruby chuckled nervously as she looked at the both of them, "W-What can I do for the both of you?"

"Ms. Rose, I would like to discuss something important with you and your team."

Ruby turned and looked towards her team who merely shrugged not really sure what to say about something like this, "Oh um...of course come in..."

* * *

_How frustrating, _Rodric thought to himself, here he was finally alone and yet he still kept his word to that man about staying put, and for what? Some authority he commanded, something about that man frustrated Rodric to no end, he would find out what forced him to obey. Nevertheless, he was still glad, after a few of the other children came and went the staff seemed to leave him be meaning he was alone in silent room. _At least I can enjoy some peace and quiet before-_

"N-Nurse?"

Sigh. _Never mind, _opening one of his eyes Rodric glanced at the door to see who it was that interrupted his peace, only to see that it was again another child though this time it was a girl.

"O-Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

Rodric closed his eyes and turned his back on the girl.

"Wake...you..." Velvet bit her lip as she watched the boy completely ignore her, she began to have second thoughts about being here, seeing as there was no nurse around. But her team wanted her to be checked out after she had been complaining about her wrist hurting for the last few days, Coco said it was most likely a sprain, but then again it could have just been her worrying again. Still, once she 'determined' what the cause was she pestered Velvet until she broke down and decided to go to the nurses office, and what did that get her, "No nurse..." She muttered to herself.

"They stepped out for a moment." Velvet jumped slightly when the boy suddenly spoke up again, "If you wish to stay they should return shortly, they seem to have some sort of schedule set so they should be back...in about twenty or so minuets." The room was silent for a moment, he had considered turning around to see if she was still there but he couldn't be bothered, it wasn't his place to worry about the children here. At least he didn't have to bother explaining the mess to anyone, the doctors had come in not long after that man, Ozpin, left and promptly cleaned everything up in the span of a few minuets. He hadn't bothered looking, but when the first child came in they didn't say anything other than what ailed them, meaning that everything must have been set in it's proper place and tidied up.

A few moments later the sound of the bed squeaking reached his ears, apparently she decided to stay, at least now he would be able to, "So...a-are you doing alright?" He gave an internal sigh as he decided to ignore her, he didn't understand why humans always had to converse with others, especially when it was clear the other did not want to be a part of it. "Um...a-are you one of the n-new transfer students?" He bit his tongue and kept his breathing even to try and look like he was asleep, if he managed to fool her then perhaps she would leave him be. It seemed he had won in the end, she hadn't spoken to him in the last few minuets, but where she was once talking to him was replaced with muttered words and hushed whimpers.

Against his better judgment he slowly looked over his shoulder, as he did he caught as she was wiping tears from her eyes, closing his eyes he grit his eyes in frustration. _Why..._As he opened his eyes again he fully turned around startling her as she jumped slightly at the sudden noise, "What seems to be the-" It was then he finally took notice of the girl, she seemed to be just as average as any other female he had seen, though her long chocolate colored hair caught his attention there was something else that held his attention. Atop her head sat a large pair of brown rabbit ears, he had never seen anything like this before and it made him wonder if they were real..._N-No of course not they couldn't possibly be real..._

Wiping her eyes, Velvet had heard the boy say something but didn't quiet catch it, "I-I'm sorry what did you-" Her voice caught in her throat when she realized that his gaze was transfixed on her, she could feel heat rising to her cheeks as he continued to stare at her. She tried to speak but every time she looked back up and saw him looking she couldn't quiet form the words, _W-Why is he looking at me like that..._A dozen reasons raced through her mind and each one cause her cheeks to grow a deeper shade of red as breathing became somewhat difficult, _S-Stop it brain...th-that's not why he's looking at me. _

Rodric threw his legs over the bed but his gaze never left the ears attached to the girls head, they seemed to twitch and move as she did, meaning that they were in fact real. He stood up and made his way over tot he bed she was sitting on, his eyes never leaving hers, he didn't know why he felt the need to be cautious but something about her seemed to show that she might run off at a moments notice.

_H-He's coming over here...w-what do I do? _Her mind was a mess, part of her told her to just run back to her team and deal with her wrist another day, but another part told her to stand her ground, she needed to stop running when something scared her. If she couldn't deal with this boy's stares how was she ever going to deal with something worse, like Cardin. _Okay...okay what was that thing Coco told me to do. Um...oh right just smile and give him a small wink if he's- _She shook her head furiously as her cheeks began to heat up again, _No no that was the wrong thing she said to um- _she felt the bed squeak slightly as she opened her eyes and saw the boy sitting on the end of the bed, his hard gaze still directed at her. _O-Oh no w-what do I do w-what does he-_

"What...what are you?"

"Eh?"

* * *

Team RWBY looked at one another unsure of what to make of the request that Ozpin had asked of them. Even their young leader seemed stumped, as much as she would have gladly accepted this request was...rather unusual and not to mention possibly dangerous. "Professor..." Weiss started, she had be the most unsure about this request from the very beginning, the moment the headmaster had entered their dorm she had a very strong feeling of what this was concerning...still. "With all due respect, why would you think this is a good idea?" The other three members of RWBY looked at her with varying displays of shock that she of all people would openly question Ozpin, "I-I mean for one aren't there only suppose to be four members to a team? Also, he _attacked us_ we can't overlook that main point sir, what if he tries to attack us again?"

"Then I'm sure you four would be able to detain him once again and bring him to my office if things get out of hand." Ozpin spoke with such confidence as he watched the girls before him look to each other in doubt. He didn't blame them after going up against someone like him he would be surprised if they didn't have any concerns whatsoever.

"Alright, say we do take him in..." Blake threw her legs over the edge of her bed crossing her arms, "what benefit would we get out of having someone like _him _here. What does he get out being here with us, I mean we were the ones who fought and brought him here, I doubt he's going to be thrilled to be with us as well."

"Right you are Ms. Belladonna, as for what benfits you will all receive lessons and understanding. I'm sure none of you are aware but it seems our guest has had terrible run ins with humans, so much so to the point he utterly despises them. I'm hoping that if he stays here, maybe, just maybe we could change his view on them and if we are successful we would have another student fighting along side us in the pursuit of a better world." The girls started to say something but he continued nonetheless, "It must be hard. To live a life so clouded in anger and hate, over what a scarce group of people did to you. Perhaps if he were to see the grey in such a black and white view maybe his ideals would change, perhaps this is the reason the White Fang-"

Blake's ears perked up at the mention of the White Fang, hoping the professor would continue was met with disappointment as he shook his head, "Never mind, so Team RWBY what do you say?"

Once again Team RWBY looked to each other for an answer, but no one seemed to know what to say, still the headmaster was waiting and they had to give him an answer. "U-um well..."

* * *

"E-Excuse me?" Velvet had been taken aback by the boys straight forward question, sure she was used to the occasional question of 'what kind of faunus are you?' from the exchange students but never something like this.

"What are you I've never seen anything like you before?"

Of course something like that might have sounded...sweet had it not been the tone he used. It bothered Velvet that he was honestly so confused and curious about what she was, but she wasn't as outspoken as Coco was who, in this case would have told off this boy. "I-I'm a rabbit faunus, I-I'm sure you much have-"

"A what?"

She flinched slightly at his question, but she did notice something, he didn't ask her in a sarcastic way like others would have. No, his voice sounded sincere which made her curious, _Could he honestly not know what a faunus is..._she looked to the boy and saw him still gazing at her but the curiosity shined behind his eyes..._where did he come from._

* * *

"Ruby you can't be serious! You saw what happened out there, or did you really forget that fast?" Weiss was furious, and that was only putting it midly, she couldn't believe what their young leader had just agreed to.

"Hey lay off Weiss...Look Ruby usually I would be behind you on your decisions but...do you really think this was the right choice?" Yang was worried for Ruby, sure she was made their leader months ago but maybe asking her to make such an important decision was to big a task, "I mean you heard all that stuff he was spouting about humans and hunters right? That should show that there is something seriously messed up in his head, and then semblance of his...what if he decides to use that and torch our room while were out, or worse...asleep."

"You guys didn't you hear what Ozpin said? Clearly this all stems from something a lot worse than what were seeing, I mean what if he's right? What if the reason he's like this is because of...because of a rogue hunter?" The rest of the team suddenly got quiet at the question, it was no secret that some hunters lose their way and fall into a life of crime and murder to fuel their psychotic desires. If they went by how old Rodric looked it could be assumed that maybe his family was attacked by a rogue hunter some 17 odd years ago, it would lead him to have a deep resentment to humans as well as other hunters. "I mean we can at least give it a try right? If we don't see any changes in him then...then we'll just tell Ozpin and he will figure out what to do with him from their, yeah?"

Weiss, Blake, and Yang looked at each other for a moment wondering about the whole situation. None of them were sure what to make of something like this, but if what Ruby suggested actually happened then this could be a chance to repair some damage done to his mind. If they did this then they could save someone's soul and as Ozpin had said they would have a new ally to fight with against the darkness, with various sounds of agreement Ruby couldn't help but cheer, she was at least happy to know she didn't make the wrong decision.

* * *

Rodric sat, enraptured by the girls explanation of what she was, it was easy to say that she was very knowledgeable though it was hard to imagine why she was at a school for training hunters. She didn't seem to be violent at all, no, by the way she acted around him she would be what the humans called...shy. "Interesting...so there are more of you...you faunus correct?"

Velvet nodded, it was strange she never met anyone that had never heard of faunus but she was glad to give someone a decent impression of the population as a whole. Hopefully Rodric would grow to be one of the more decent members of society that treated faunus as his equal rather than something below him. "You know Rodric I-I find it a little strange that you never heard of faunus before..."

"That's because I've never seen one of your kind before, there were always humans where I once lived, perhaps your kind was in a different part of the land than where I roamed."

"O-Oh..." Things only got stranger, where could he have possibly lived that had no faunus anywhere in the area, faunus lived on pretty much every part of Remnant though some areas were harder on them than others. "M-Might I ask w-where are you-"

The door to the infirmary opened and much to Rodric's displeasure Ozpin had returned, though it unnerved him how much...cheerier the man seemed. _What is he planning... _"Forgive my interruption but Rodric I must speak with you on an important matter."

"What is it old man?" Velvet gasped in astonishment at the way he called Ozpin, and it only made Rodric's smirk deepen when he noticed the stoic man's jaw tick slightly.

"You're going to meet your new team."


	3. A Figment of Days Gone By

_**Well I finally posted a new chapter after who knows how long, trust me guys I didn't try to take so long, things have just been getting out of hand here with work and everything, I just needed a break to relax. And that means I was playing Reaper of Souls for the last few days nonstop. Anyway I don't know if any of you have noticed or are aware but I have a Deviant Art page where I will be posting pictures relating to my OC's and scenes from my stories. The link to said page is on my profile but if you don't want to do that just go here: deceiverofthegods. deviantart. com right now I just have a picture of my very first OC from A Beast Am I (which will be updated soon enough relax) but there will be more posted soon enough. And before you ask no I am not the one who draws them, I can't draw hell I can barely write I have commissioned a friend to draw them for me she is mentioned and linked in the pictures. Anyway thank you all for being so patient R&amp;R and see you in the next one.**_

* * *

**A Figment of Days Gone By**

"I don't like this..." The rest of Team RWBY nodded in agreement as they turned their gaze towards Rodric who was busy looking around the dorm room. "He looks a lot calmer I'll give him that, but that doesn't mean he won't snap in an instant..." There was a murmur of agreement amongst themselves as they watched him make his way over tot heir beds, examining them. "Anyway what are we suppose to do now? We can't just neglect our assignments because he's here right?" Blake nodded in agreement but both Yang and Ruby groaned in annoyance, "You two didn't think you were going to get a free pass did you? Just because we have...a guest doesn't mean you two can start slacking off."

"How do you sleep on these infernal contraptions?" He tugged on of the ropes holding the bed afloat as it groaned slightly.

"Classes don't matter at this point, how are we going to deal with him, I mean not only is he a danger but...you know?" The others looked at Ruby not exactly sure what she was trying to say, she stuttered slightly before thrusting her hand out in his direction. "H-He's a guy..." The others looked at him before turning back to their leader still just as confused as before.

"Yeah..."

"What about it?"

"And that means..."

Ruby huffed in frustration stomping her foot, "I mean what if...you know..." She lowered her voice so much that the other three had to lean in closer to hear her properly, "what if he...tries something?" The other three looked a her curiously before realization dawned on each of them, their faces all flushing various shades of red. Yang was the only one of out of them smirking as her face flushed as she turned towards him eying him up and down.

"Well he'd be very brave..."

"You brute! This is a serious problem how could we have not thought of this before, what were we thinking agreeing to have a guy stay with us.."

"You do know that there are co-ed teams all throughout Beacon...right?" They all looked to Blake who looked curiously at them, "You didn't forget did you?" Yang's smirk never left her face, while Weiss smacked her head clearly ashamed for getting worked up over nothing, Ruby rubbed her head chuckling nervously to herself.

"H-Heh...oops."

"Alright...where am I to rest for the night?" He turned towards the group of girls who had been conversing with themselves since he had arrived, he knew not of what they spoke of but it mattered little to him. After he asked they all turned towards him eying him curiously, clearly they must not have heard him, "Where am I to sleep to-"

"Yeah, yeah we heard you."

"On the floor where do you think?"

He raised his brow at this as he glared at the girl in white, "Excuse me?" He could feel his anger rising but his word to that old man kept him from acting on it. He instantly regretted his promise, he wasn't about to let some pompous girl speak to him like that, "Clearly you have forgotten girl, the old man clearly stated that I was now a member of this team so-"

"Are you stupid?" He jaw ticked as he clenched his fists, "There are five of us and four beds, where do you think you're going to sleep genius?" He slowed his breathing as he turned on his heel and walked over to the bed laying beneath the precariously hung bed and slid into the space turning his back towards them, "Just what do you think you're doing?!" He huffed slightly keeping his back towards them, the bed smelled like Weiss, he frowned slightly but ignored it. "I demand that you answer me this-"

"Clearly from your question you were allowing me to choose a bed and I chose this one, thank you for being so considerate _Weiss_." He sneered her name as he pulled the blanket over himself and settled in for the night, he could still hear the girl huffing and fuming behind him but he ignored her as he closed his eyes and waited for sleep to take him.

Weiss was beyond furious as she tried to quell her anger, snippets of curses slipped past her lips as she fumed about the room, "Weiss chill just sleep somewhere else, it's getting late anyway we should-"

"Oh what a brilliant idea Yang and where do you propose I sleep hmm?!" Yang merely rolled her eyes and disappeared into the bathroom to change into her pajamas, Weiss was still fuming as she eyed the boy in her bed, she couldn't believe this. Her eyes began to dart around the room searching for something, "Where's Myrtenaster I'm going to take care of this right-"

"Weiss..." Ruby placed her hand on her shoulder stopping the older girl as she sighed softly, "Just let it go, just for tonight alright? We'll see if we can get an extra bed or something from Ozpin tomorrow okay?" Weiss glared at Ruby but nodded nonetheless, "Now if you're not upset anymore, heh, which you still kind of are...y-you can sleep with me if that makes you feel better?"

"Why would that make me feel better?"

"Cause it's better than the floor?"

"..." Weiss didn't want to admit it, but it was a much better alternative than sleeping on the hard floor, without a blanket. She pinched the bridge of her nose frowning, she tried to make it seem like she was struggling to decided even though she had already decided what she was going to do, "Fine." Her frowned deepened when Ruby threw her arms around her hopping up and down excitedly, "Oh joy."

* * *

His eyes fluttered open roughly an hour or so after everything quieted down, he remained still for a few moments after waking up, just to be sure that everyone else was asleep. He tossed the blanket off of himself and quickly retreated from the bed, it was a bit...uncomfortable to sleep in such a thing, he was used to sleeping on harder surfaces so it was really strange. He looked around the room and without all the noise it seemed a decent environment to stay in, with the floor bathed in moonlight it reminded him of his old home. He made his way over towards the window when a low groan caught his attention, turning towards the bed he noticed the girl in white sleeping on the hanging bed although she pushed herself towards the very edge of it. He frowned slightly intending to ignore her, but he couldn't, he moved over to her and slipped his arms under her legs and back lifting her from her spot and laying her in the bed he had stole from her. Almost instantly she stretched out and seemed more comfortable, he shook his head, surely she would question him in the morning but he didn't care about that.

Slowly pushing the window open he gazed about the darkened landscape, the grounds of the school were covered in strange white stone that was caved in such strange shapes. There were pillars and arches strewn about with stone pathways leading in all different directions, and he could see part of a man made pond from the room he resided in, it must have been massive to be partially seen from here. A soft breeze blew through the room as he closed his eyes feeling the winds caressing his face, _Everything feel's the same yet..._he opened his eyes as they gazed towards the sky as they widened at the sight of the shattered moon, _nothing is. _He climbed up and threw his legs out of the window as he sat there looking about the darkness, it was the first time since awakening that he felt at peace, the darkness and pale light of the moon calmed his nerves and put him at ease. He closed his eyes again as another breeze blew against his face, as it slowly faded his eyes reaming closed for much longer, _This place..._

"Ngh...h-huh Weiss? Oh, Rodric what are you-" He held his hand up silencing her, even after he lowered it she remained silent as she watched him, _What's he doing? _She looked at him before climbing out of bed and making her way to him, "A-Are you alright?" He said nothing as she merely watched him, she looked out the window and didn't see anything worth looking at, sure it was a beautiful sight but nothing she hadn't seen before. "Rodric what are you-"

"There." He quickly stood up as heart heart clenched in her chest, he wasn't planning on jumping was he, nevertheless she grabbed the back of his shirt holding tight to it. He outstretched his arms as a strong gust of wind blew hard around him making a wide smile cross over his face, predicting the wind still came naturally to him, and feeling that cold gust of air rushing over his face felt like heaven.

"Whoa..." Ruby had used her hand to guard it from the strong gust that blew through the dorm room, she had felt strong gusts before but this one felt strange to her it was different than most. The wind felt like it was surrounding her, holding her, protecting her, as she closed her eyes she could feel the air moving along her skin so slowly and tenderly it could be compared to a gentle touch. As the feeling moved along her body and up towards her face she couldn't help but let a large smile spread over her lips, she never experienced the wind like this, something she felt on a daily basis never felt as amazing as this. As the wind rushed through her hair her eyes shot open as she heard something akin to a soft whisper, it was gentle but loud enough to be noticed, and in an instant it was gone as was the gentle breeze as it slowly faded away. She watched as Rodric sat back on the windowsill as she stared out into the night sky, "W-What was that..."

"That child was anáil na gaoithe, the wind's breath." He closed his eyes sighing softly as he listened to the gentle rustling of the leaves from the not so far off forest. Even now in this strange time he finds himself in, the wind's breath was still here and it hadn't seemed to change but it whispered of strange things to him, things he didn't understand.

"But...but what _is _it?"

"Honestly child..." He huffed slightly shaking his head as he looked up towards the shattered moon, "the wind's breath is the very essence that guides us along our paths, it's something I learned long ago to use. It's helped me on numerous occasions, leading me towards things I would have taken to long to find on my own..." He gazed out towards the forest staring into the darkness, "...I shouldn't have left." He blinked when his eyes began to ache a brief imagine of smoke filling his mind before he shook the memory away.

"What did you say?"

He turned slightly seeing the young girl sitting next to him as he frowned slightly, "Shouldn't you be asleep girl?" She huffed puffing out her cheeks as she crossed her arms, before glaring up at him with her bright silver eyes.

"Hmph, what about you? Shouldn't you be doing the same?" He looked at her before smirking as he turned back towards the dark forest, he could help but let out a low chuckle. She was brave he would give her that, where the rest of her team seemed to fear him she was either to naïve to know any better or was just as he saw her, a reckless child.

"I can't sleep, this place is to different than what I'm used to, I don't think I would be able to rest even if I was tired." He huffed and leaned forward slightly, "There's too many things to see and it gives me a feeling of restlessness, perhaps when and if I settle in I'll be able to rest easier." He chuckled softly, "That is a big if though..." He leaned his shoulder against the side of the window as he sighed heavily, he had doubts that he would ever get used to this place, it was too drastically different to even know what to start with.

"Rodric...can I...can I ask you something?" He gave a small hum as he leaned against the window, biting her lip Ruby looked towards her sleeping teammates before glancing back towards Rodric. Considering everything that happened not even a few hours ago she wasn't sure it was wise to bring up the events of the forest, but from the way he had yelled at them she wanted to know why. "Why...w-why can't you just call me by my name..." She wanted to know why but didn't have the courage to ask him so outright, and then what if she angered him and he attacked them, it wouldn't be pretty or very easy to explain.

He turned to look curiously at her, "Your name? I've called you by your name plenty of times."

Ruby huffed giving him a mocking glare, "No you haven't! All you've called me is girl and child, not to mention the only name you seem to remember is Weiss, but then you say it with such an attitude." She puffed her cheeks out, "The least you could do is remember our names since your going to be staying here..." She looked at him as he gave a heavy sigh before shaking his head.

"Fine..."

Her face lit up as a large smile came across it, "Great I'm Ruby!" She threw her legs over the windowsill as she turned around to face the dorm room. She pointed to the bed where he had placed the girl in white, "That's Weiss b-but I'm sure you knew that already h-heh..." She looked at him before clearing her throat and pointing towards the opposite side of the room and the bed that sat atop the pile of books, "That's my sister Yang and that's-guh..."

He followed her gaze towards the bottom bed where a pair of bright amber eyes glared at them from the darkness of the room, "I'm Blake...Ruby do you know what time it is?" He turned towards the younger girl whose face was red with embarrassment as she stuttered out a few words none of which made sense.

"U-um I uh...w-well what are you doing up B-Blake?" Ruby held her head up high a small smirk on her lips feeling that she had gotten the upper hand on Blake.

A frown marred her face as she seemed to glare at Ruby, "I'm up because you two are talking too loud..." Her glare shifted towards Rodric before going back to Ruby, "You should be in bed we have classes tomorrow, you know." Ruby's face fell as she muttered something to herself, "I don't think Yang would appreciate her sister speaking like that, hmm?" Ruby's entire body went stiff as Rodric looked over to Blake who's eyes seemed to be shining with amusement.

"F-Fine I-I was getting tired anyway..." She slid from her spot next to him and quickly climbed up to her precariously placed bed, she stopped for a moment and looked towards him, "Goodnight Rodric..." With that she quickly slid under her blankets but not before tossing one last glare in Blake's direction.

"Goodnight little one."

A scoff from the darkness caught his attention as he turned towards the glowing amber eyes as he frowned slightly, "And what, may I ask, is so funny?" He slid from his spot in the window and moved over towards the bed that Blake lay in as she sat up a glare slowly settling in her eyes.

"Where's all that anger that you held when we first met in the forest hmm?" Now that he was closer he was closer he could see the corner of her mouth twitch upwards into a small smirk as he frowned gripping the bed frame of the one above hers in his hand as he clenched it tightly.

"Oh believe me Blake it is still there..." The wood began to groan under his grip as his eyes stayed locked with Blake's, "It would just so happen I...am restricting myself from causing too much damage to this school, that is all." He pushed away from the bed leaving his mark on the wood as he turned back towards the window.

"Well if that's the case then why did you attack us back in the forest?"

He turned towards her to see her eyes staring right at him as frowned, "If I remember correctly, it was your little friend Weiss who attacked me first..."

"Yeah after you threatened us!"

"That may be but it was your little group who made the first move, was it not? And if I recall I never harmed your friends...to a lethal extent anyway." He smirked slightly seeing the frustration building in Blake's face, as she opened her mouth to retort he turned his head away from her, "Shouldn't you be taking your own advice and heading off to bed, don't you have classes tomorrow?" He watched as she squinted her eyes before huffing and turning away from him and drifted off to sleep. He smirked as he walked back towards the window looking up towards the shattered moon as he sighed softly, it might not have been as pure as it once was but it still had the pristine beauty he was used too.

Looking at the clock on the wall he saw, from what he was able to understand, that not even an hour had passed and he finished looking through all of their belongings. Suffice to say there was nothing that caught his interest, aside from a strange book that was hidden behind the others, Ninja's of Love, or something to that effect. But it was quiet obvious after his little bout of exploring, he was bored, he couldn't sleep because he wasn't tired for one and two he had spent who knew how many centuries asleep so the last thing he wanted was more sleep. Looking towards the door of the dorm he figured if he couldn't sleep, then he might as well explore the school he now found himself in. Moving towards the door, he cast a wary glance at the girls in their beds before slowly pulling the door open, as he slipped into the darkened hallways he softly closed the door behind him.

* * *

The halls had been exactly what he expected them to be, an endless maze of doors that all looked alike, the carpeted halls from the dorms gave way to tile floors of the main hall. It was here that ceiling high windows lined the walls giving him an, honestly, breath taking view of the courtyard of the school, it was bathed in the light of the shattered moon giving it an almost mystical look. The pure white stone structures seemed to glow in the light of the shining moon, even the trees that dotted the courtyard seemed to have an almost unearthly glow. As the large windows gave way to a large double glass door, he took the handle in hand and pulled it open letting the cool breeze rush through the halls as he stepped out into the night. His footsteps echoed off the stone pathway and into the silence of the night, it was eerie yet comforting at the same time, after dealing with so much shouting and loud noises for the entire day it was nice to have a little peace to himself.

He followed the stone pathway taking in as much of his surroundings as he was able to, off in the distance he could see a giant tower raising out of the ground, he didn't know what it was for or what it did but from it's size...it at least seemed important. The sound of flowing water caught his attention, he followed the sound to the source, which turned out to be part of a rather large statue depicting something he could only describe as a heroic victory. It appeared to be a large rock outcrop with two figures standing on it, one was an older looking male and the other a younger female, the male held a sword in his hand pointing it towards the sky in triumph. The female held a strange double side battle-ax looking off into the distance, focusing on something unseen, below the two figures were two creatures of Grimm facing the same direction as the man. While it clearly showed these two humans' victory over such terrible creatures, Rodric couldn't help but feel his anger slowly grow as he gazed at the statue.

He closed his eyes as his head began to throb painfully, as he opened them fire and smoke filled his vision, the statue of glory was replaced with a statue of arrogance. Where once the two figures stood on the outcrop it was but a single human covered in armor that was bloodied and torn, he had his sword raised to the sky with his foot on the neck of a giant beast that laid defeated before him. He forced his eyes close as the pain returned, when his eyes opened once again the two figures were back, and the fire and smoke were nowhere to be found though the smell of burning wood and ash filled his senses.

"Staying out of trouble I would hope." He looked over his shoulder as a deep frown formed across his face, behind him stood Ozpin who merely gazed past him to behold the statue. _How did he sneak up on me... _"It's a bit late to be going for a stroll, but considering all you went through I'm sure it is a nice reprieve." Rodric said nothing as he turned back towards the statue gazing at it, for a moment the form wavered to give way to the statue of human arrogance before fading back into what was before him. _It seems not everything has been forgotten, _he bared his teeth as he moved towards the statue running his hands along the cool chiseled stone. "It's a glorious statue hmm? It tells the tale of when-"

Rodric ran his nails over the stone cutting shallow groves into the once flawless stone, a low snarl rising from his throat, "Enough, what do you want Ozpin, it's clear you did not come here to regale me with tales of past glories."

Ozpin gazed at Rodric noticing that his eyes seemed to change with his outburst, the scarce light from the moon above was enough to give him a proper view of the change. Rodric's pupils went from being the typical round shape to thin slits as he glared at him, _Interesting... _"Quite right, I have come to inform you about your registration."

"My what?" Rodric's eyes narrowed as he watched Ozpin, as much as he was forced to obey him he still didn't like being near him, something about this man made him uneasy and it was only made worse from the fact that he didn't understand why.

"Your enrollment young man, as long as you stay here you will need to attend classes much like everyone else. After all, I can't have any one 'student' given special privileges." He ignored the scoff that Rodric cast his way, "However, seeing as you were a...late transfer it seems your papers have been...misplaced. You will have to remain in RWBY's dorm until all of this has been sorted out."

"And how long do you expect me to sit around while you forge these documents hmm? I don't appreciate being held in captivity like some wild animal."

"It shouldn't take longer than a week, after all if we want these documents to look genuine it will take some time. Also I would appreciate if you didn't give the girls a hard time, while I have asked them to watch over you, they still need to attend classes and do their respected assignments, so please don't make it difficult for them."

Rodric grit his teeth as a low growl rumbled in his chest, "A WEEK?! You can't seriously expect me to sit around and do absolutely nothing for an entire week while you fiddle around with your papers!"

"You could always use the training rooms, you just can't go to any classes until the week is up that's all." Rodric could feel his eye twitching at the calm answer Ozpin gave him, opening his mouth to argue he was cut off when the older man spoke again, "You should probably head off to bed now, it is pretty late now, we wouldn't want you to be exhausted now would we." Rodric couldn't choke out an answer at the condescending way Ozpin spoke to him, as if he were a mere child. Shouting in anger Rodric pushed past the man heading back towards the dorm room he had left not to long ago, Ozpin watching him go before he turned towards the statue once he was out of sight. His eyes easily found the shallow grooves left in the smooth stone, his eyes lingered at the imperfection before falling towards the stone pathway, where Rodric had stood thick vines covered in sharp thorns ripped through the hard stone. "...Hmm."

* * *

Rodric never fell asleep after his encounter with Ozpin, the rage that flooded his veins had seen to that, it just seemed that man knew how to get under his skin with so few words. By the time the sun rose, and the girls had awoke Rodric was in a foul mood, much more so than usual to say the least. It only seemed to grow worse when said girls forced him out of the dorm for a period of time to change or whatever it was they were doing. Not to mention when he was forced to knock on the door over and over until they eventually opened it to allow him entry, but the way Weiss looked at him, like he was interrupting something so important to allow him in frustrated him. Though nothing was done about it, not long after he was allowed back into the dorm the girls left for their classes, not without some parting words between him and Weiss none of which were kind. Without much to do he simply sat with his back against the wall, the light pouring in from the window above him as he watched the clock.

_3,597...3,598...3,599...3,600_, letting out a long sigh Rodric turned his head to the side, it took exactly 3,600 seconds for the large hand on the clock to move to the next number. It also showed that another damned hour had passed since the girls left him to his own devices, "I have to deal with a week of this..." Though he wasn't sure what was worse, being stuck in here for a week or attending the school he found himself trapped in, to him either option seemed like hell still...He turned back towards the clock watching the smaller hand slowly move by each black line, "It would be better than watching the time pass." He pushed himself to his feet as he turned and pulled the window open leaning on the windowsill as he looked down watching the other students meandering around, he shook his head slowly, he still found it hard to believe that all these children willingly volunteered to be hunters.

His eyes strayed from one child to the next never stopping on any one in particular, "Such wasted life..." His mind strayed back to those strange creature in the forest from the previous day, the Grimm as they were called, "You all volunteer to fight such horrendous abominations of nature..." His eyes caught sight of two children walking closely side by side, the female nudging the male with her shoulder as he smirked, "Enjoy it while it lasts, you never know when it'll be torn from your hands." He face fell at his own words as he watched them disappear around the corner and out of his sight, pushing himself away from the window he sighed heavily, glancing at the clock he saw he needed to find something to occupy his time for the next few hours. As he thought about, something Ozpin had mentioned to him last night crossed his mind, and as much as he hated to admit it, it truly was a lot better than watching the clock make its rounds. Scoffing slightly he walked through the door of the dorm and out into the hall looking around hearing a soft mumble of people conversing nearby but otherwise the hall was practically empty.

* * *

He kept his eyes forward, moving with confident strides through the halls passing by others who were dressed in the school uniform, it seemed. They all eyed him curiously as he passed them, perhaps because he wasn't dressed as they were, or perhaps it was because of the way he walked it seemed most other students didn't walk with such an air of confidence as he did so perhaps they were wary of him. Though it could have been because he had walked down the same hallway for the third time though he didn't understand how that was possible with all the turns he had taken. He kept up a calm facade but on the inside he was a raging mess, his apparent poor sense of direction frustrated him, it shouldn't be this hard to be able to find the training room in a school built for hunters.

"Rodric?" He turned at the mention of his name and the first thing he saw was a pair of brown rabbit ears, looking down slightly he saw the girl from the previous day.

"Oh, um...Velvet correct?" She gave a small nod, "Ah, pleasure." He turned back around intending to continue his search for the infamous training room.

"Rodric?" He gave a small hum but did not look towards her, "Um...are-are you looking for something?" He turned towards her before looking away again frowning slightly, she watched as he clenched and unclenched his jaw, it seemed he wanted to say something but couldn't find the words. She had noticed him pass by multiple times with a look of concentration on his face, her face lit up with realization as she tried to fight back a small chuckle, "Rodric...are you lost?"

"What?!" He turned to glare at her but when he noticed the amused look in her eye he frowned and looked away, "I-I don't know where you would come up with such a-a ridiculous claim such as that. Me, lost how preposterous, honestly that's such a ludicrous-"

"I saw you pass by the same window three times, I know you're lost trust me." He opened his mouth for a rebuttal but sadly he couldn't deny that she was right. As much as it pained him to acknowledge his own shortcomings he knew when he was caught and lying to save his own dignity wasn't going to help, she gave a small lighthearted laugh when she saw the look of defeat on his face, "Well, what are you looking for maybe I can help?"

She watched as he grumbled to himself obviously frustrated at having to be helped, she couldn't help but smile he reminded her a little of her own teammate, Fox. Fox was almost the same personality wise, never liking to ask for someone's help or advice always preferring to do things himself until he absolutely needed the help. Despite that he was a good partner, always working hard and always quick to help others despite his aversion to assistance, "Well...I was looking for the damned training room, seeing as I have...plenty of extra time I figured I could occupy myself but..." He sighed heavily as he shrugged slightly looking away from her.

"Oh, well I can show you to it if you want, I was supposed to meet the rest of my team there but I, heh I kind of got distracted." He pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing and giving a firm nod, she flashed him a smile before turning on her heel and walked in the direction of the training room. He followed her saying nothing, as he felt there wasn't much to say after being made to look like a fool because of his poor sense of direction, though she did try to strike up a conversation with him asking him questions about himself. Where are you from, what school did he attend, simple questions trying to get to know him, though seeing as he didn't know how to answer most of these questions he deflected them and asked questions about her. It seemed to distract her for the most part, enough to where she would go on long-winded explanations about certain things, it proved useful as they made it to the training room rather quickly.

Upon entering the large double doors Rodric scrunched his nose as the heavy smell of sweat and a bit of blood reached his nose as he looked around the room. The room was rather large, much larger than deemed necessary in his mind, it was filled with various tools and equipment he figured was used for said training. Scattered around the room were students busy with various activities, off in the corner was a large pile of strangely shaped metal weights that a couple of boys were picking up and lifting, with some difficulty. Beyond that there was a rather large student slamming his fists into a large bag suspended off the ground, he could be heard grunting with each blow he threw, a group of girls and boys rushed past them it seemed that they were running a large track in the center of the room. He didn't exactly expect the training room to look as vast as it did, he didn't really know what to expect honestly but it definitely wasn't this, he shook his head and opened his mouth to ask Velvet about it when a sudden shout cut him off. "Hey Vel, over here!"

He looked in the direction of the shout and saw a dark-skinned boy with deep copper hair waving from across the room, Velvet waved back as she motioned for him to follow. He shrugged and followed behind her as they made their way over. The boy was wearing a tight black shirt that was missing its sleeves, he wore strange white wrappings around his hands that went up to his forearms with baggy shorts with the same white wrappings around his legs and feet. "Hey Fox, sorry for taking so long I was just-"

"Whose this?" He jerked his head motioning to Rodric causing him to frown, it didn't seem he meant it in any ill way he just didn't like being addressed in such a way.

"O-Oh this is Rodric, he's one of the new transfer students I was just helping him out since he got lost on-"

"I didn't get lost I was...merely turned around was all..."

"Of course." She gave him a very amused expression that caused him to roll his eyes, she looked around the room before turning back to Fox, "Say...where's Coco?"

Her jerked his thumb over his shoulder pointing towards the wall, "She's out on the range, she figured if we were all going to train she might as well put some effort in and practice her shooting." Fox shrugged but stopped when something caught his attention, "Hey, what happened to your hand?"

Velvet looked confused for a moment before she realized what he had meant, "Oh, that." She raised her arm up and pulled the sleeve to her uniform up showing a large white bandage wrapped around her hand and wrist, "It's what Coco sent me to the nurses office for yesterday, turns out I really did sprain it h-heh..." Fox continued to stare at Velvet a look of slight anger crossing over his face before looking away.

"Right." He glanced over to his teammate, Yatsuhashi, they shared a look before he went back to working over the punching back. "So...what's your deal?" Rodric looked over to see who he was talking to only to meet his eye causing his own to harden slightly.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, Velvet says she was helping you find your way here, so obviously your were looking to train. Did you have something in mind?" Rodric took a look around the room noticing all the different activities everyone was performing, he didn't even know what he wanted to do he just wanted to get out of the dorm room and felt that this would be the easiest way.

"Not exactly...I merely needed something to occupy my time. I have some free time it seems and I needed to keep myself...entertained." Velvet and Fox looked to each other where the former merely shrugged.

"Well if that's the case then let's go I was looking for a partner." He cast a questioning glance towards him who motioned to a taped off section of the room, "You know sparring, training...what you came here for?" Rodric nodded slightly as he followed Fox towards the box, "Alright so this is what we'll do, first one to pin the other to the ground, get them to tap out, or knock them out wins, whaddya say?" Rodric had no idea what he was talking about but gave a slow nod as Fox cracked a large grin, "Great, Vel you think you can referee for us?"

"U-Um sure."

"Alright, listen up new guy I don't plan on going easy on you just cause you made friends with my teammate okay? So don't expect me to pull any of my punches, if we do this we go all the way." Fox raised his fists and started to bounce on his feet his eyes focused on Rodric, "You ready?"

Rodric's mouth turned into a large grin as he gave a dark chuckle as he pulled his boots off and tossed them off to the side, "You think highly of yourself it seems, but do not underestimate my abilities child, for that will be your most costly mistake." He raised his fists standing opposite of Fox who stared at him with a focused look, his eyes rapidly moving over him, "But to answer your question...I'm more than ready."


	4. Fighting Off Memories

_**Hey guys...sorry about taking so long doing these I just haven't been able to really concentrate on these, and saying that I have to make the sad announcement that I will not be continuing any of my stories anymore. I can't concentrate enough to keep going and I'm sorry everyone, though I want to thank you for reading these and giving me the confidence that I needed, with all of your support I feel I could become a better writer in the future. Anyway, please enjoy my last chapter and tell me what you think. **_

* * *

**Fighting Off Memories**

Velvet's eyes darted between the two 'sparring' before her, though she could hardly call it sparring anymore, after the first few rounds ended in a tie some harsh words were exchanged and...well. She cringed slightly when Fox's fist slammed dead center into Rodric's chest, just from how loud it sounded it made her own chest hurt, but Rodric didn't even seem to feel it as he grabbed hold of Fox's arm and turned so it was across his shoulder and flipped him over and onto his back. The sound of cheering erupted around the makeshift ring as Velvet sighed softly, that was the other thing, the other students had stopped their training to watch 'the new kid go against one of the best hand to hand fighters at Beacon' at least that's what everyone else was saying. When things had started to escalate beyond sparring she didn't have the courage to jump in and stop, mostly because she didn't think they would if she did, so she had hoped that Yatsuhashi would step in and stop them but...

"Hm." She glanced off to her side and saw him sitting next to her arms crossed his eyes focused on the match before them, the only sounds he would make were sounds of agreement when something were to happen, or sounds of pain when a particular blow sounded or looked painful, which just happened to be all the time. Another sigh and she turned her attention back towards the two before her, she was suppose to be the referee but it seemed they had forgotten about that long before and just seemed to be willing to knock the other out. She pinched the bridge of her nose exhaling in exasperation.

"Boys."

* * *

Rodric brought up his arms to guard his face when Fox threw his leg out, feeling it slam into his forearms sending a small burst of numbness shooting through his arm. Though the feeling still lingered he grabbed at Fox's leg and yanked him forward startling and forcing him to stumble forward as he threw his fist out towards his chest, Fox grit his teeth and brought his arms up just as he felt Rodric's fist slam into his forearms, pain lancing through them as he was sent reeling back from the force. Fox took short breaths panting softly, his chest rising and falling as he shook his arms out the throbbing pain fading into a dull numb feeling spreading through his arms, "What's the matter?" He lifted his eyes to meet Rodric's, "Giving up so soon?" A chours of 'oh's' filled his ears as he glared in his direction but said nothing as he took a deep breath slowing his racing heart.

He wouldn't show it, but Fox was growing frustrated with this fight, the cocky way Rodric would act when he was using his semblance the whole time. His jaw ticked as he fought back a scowl, he should have known something was up the moment the fight started, the first time he landed a hit on Rodric he felt pain shoot up his entire arm. He didn't know what his semblance was exactly but hell it felt like he was punching a moving brick wall, he wasn't sure if it was obvious to anyone else seeing as he was looking more damaged than Rodric was nevertheless he refused to concede to the new kid. He brought his fists up again as he began to circle around Rodric his eyes jumping from his hands to his feet trying to get some idea of what he was going to do. He clenched his teeth when Rodric shifted his weight but relaxed slightly when he didn't make a move, _What's he waiting for? _He glanced up towards Rodric's face to see if he could see something in his eyes but what he saw infuriated him, he was smirking he had that same damn smug look on his face from earlier. Clenching his teeth he rushed forward in a blind rage throwing punches wildly trying hoping they would connect, but he simply moved out of their way, Fox knew he was playing right into Rodric's hands by getting angry but he was tired of seeing that stupid smile on his face.

Rodric's smirk only widened more as Fox rushed at him blindly, no tactic no control just pure unbridled rage, he would have laughed if it wasn't such a sad display. His punches were so sloppy and wild he didn't even need to use much caution to move away from them, sighing softly he moved back from a rather close swing before rushing close to him. Fox jerked back in surprise when he suddenly closed the distance, he tried to move back to get away from Rodric but he was already much to close. He gave a toothy smirk as he threw his fist out slamming it as hard as he could into Fox's stomach, Fox gasped in pain as the air rushed from his lungs sending him to his knees. He coughed, gasping for breath as his lungs and stomach throbbed with each painful breath he took, he tried to push himself to his feet only to feel his legs trembling underneath him causing him to collapse once again. "I think this match is over, yes?" He glared up at Rodric who had that damn look on his face, that cocky expression the way he looked down on him pissed him off, he tried to speak but found his voice was lost and his lungs were still raw and on fire. Rodric turned seeing the group that was around them starting to disperse already, "Well that was a good warm-up, but what else is there to do?"

_What..._He looked up at Rodric who was making his way out of the square, he didn't care that he used his semblance the whole match, he didn't care that he was a cocky bastard, hell he didn't care that he got his ass handed to him. But to hear him act like he was nothing but a warm-up to him was what got to him, he didn't let anyone try and look down on him and he wasn't about to sit by and let this new kid do that. He grit his teeth as he pushed himself up on shaking legs as he hissed in pain between his teeth, he took a tentative step forward making sure his legs would hold him. Once he was sure they did would he rushed him, that blind rage took over again but he knew he would have the advantage this time, "You asshole!" This time Fox had a smirk on his face, his shout seemed to catch Rodric off guard and grab his attention, as he turned towards him Fox clenched his fist and threw it out putting all his body weight into it and slammed it right into his jaw. Rodric stumbled back from the sudden assault, the sound of Fox's fist connecting with his jaw sounded much worse than it actually was, his mouth was now slightly numb but nothing damaged except his pride. He grit his teeth as he turned completely towards Fox who was shaking his hand out, before he could say a thing Fox rushed him again slamming his shoulder into his stomach intending to take him down, but Rodric dug his feet into he ground holding himself upright.

"What do you think you're doing this fight is over, I have won now concede and we won't have to drag this out longer than it has too." He ignored the strikes he could feel in his side from Fox, as he wouldn't fight back when he didn't need to.

"Like hell I will, you didn't win a damn thing you cheated the whole damn time..." He tried to push forward to gain some ground on Rodric but when his feet slid along the floor he knew he couldn't move him. "...You used your semblance the whole time, I couldn't do a damn thing to you because of it!"

He felt his anger flare at the baseless claim Fox had throw on him, he leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Fox's waist and lifted him off the ground forcing him to turn before he slammed his back into the ground, "You impudent child, how dare you accuse me of cheating in a match as simple as this!" He was shaking with rage as he glared down at Fox who writhed on the floor pressing his hand into his back, "Apologize."

Fox grit his teeth as he writhed on the ground, the pain flowing through his back was gut wrenching, he felt like he might puke with how bad it actually hurt. Still he refused to show it, he glared up at Rodric returning his gaze that's when he noticed two things, Rodric's eyes had turned to slits and that he actually demanded that he apologize, "Like hell I will, I know you cheated you were using your damn semblance your using it now!"

"Enough, it's clear this is going nowhere." He moved over to Fox and grabbed the scruff on his shirt lifting him slightly off the ground as he pulled his arm back, "Goodnight Fox." He threw his fist out as Fox clenched his eyes shut.

"Rodric stop!" He froze mid swing as he growled ever so slightly and turned to see who had yelled, his eyes fell on the girl standing in front of a bench who was shaking ever so slightly. "Just...stop." She pleaded with him as her brown eyes looked between him and Fox, he sighed and reluctantly released Fox, only to feel a heavy weight on his clothes as he turned he saw Fox pull himself up using his shirt and slammed his fist right into his nose. Stumbling back he gripped his nose as it hurt more than anything else had, he cursed under his breath as he glared at Fox who was now on his feet.

"And here I thought I was going to..." He noticed Fox had a large smirk on his face, he frowned growing angrier, "What are you smiling at?" Fox merely jerked his head in Rodric's direction, he frowned until he felt something warm running over his mouth. He ran his hand over his mouth before bringing it up, his eyes widened in rage, his hands were covered in blood _his _blood. He clenched his fist as he glared at Fox, "I. Will. DESTROY YOU!" Fox visibly flinched at the sudden shift in tone he had taken, Rodric's voice was deeper, darker and seethed with unbridled fury that sent chills over Fox's body. _Shit, _was all Fox could think as he was sent on the defense ducking and dodging Rodric's fists.

Velvet watched on horror as Rodric and Fox went at it, though it seemed this time neither one was holding back, Rodric seemed to be fighting with the intensity and fury of a wild animal, or dare she say...one of the Grimm. Fox was forced to go all out as well just to defend himself though it seemed all he could really do was stay on the defensive ducking and dodging when Rodric would throw his fist out, each swing seemingly getting closer to Fox as his movement's became more sluggish as time drew on. Fox jumped back his breathing ragged as he panted heavily, jerking his head back as it bumped against the wall of the building, his eyes widened slightly as Rodric closed in on him. He swallowed hard as his heart raced, he waited until Rodric was upon him and the moment he threw his fist out he threw himself down and too the side away from the oncoming fist, his throat tightened as he heard the tale-tell sounds of a shattered (or at least broken) wall.

Fox turned panting heavily as he watched Rodric turn towards him the wall behind him indented where his fist collided with it, and large cracks spreading out from the point of impact. He took a step back as he swallowed hard his eye dropping down to his hand and again he felt his throat tighten, there was blood flowing from the wounds he received from punching the wall with the force of a truck, but what really rattled Fox's nerves was the small amount of smoke? Steam? Something that was flowing from Rodric's wounds, either his adrenaline was keeping him from feeling it or he truly didn't notice his injuries, either way the fact that he was still heading towards him sent fear crawling through his body. Despite that he still tried to find some way to incapacitate Rodric without harming him to much, though with the remnants of the wall behind him he was starting to think that it wasn't going to easy...or possible at this point. Rodric took notice at the way Fox seemed to hold his ground even going so far as to return to a fighting stance, "Hm? So, you still have some fight in you it seems, wonderful this just makes it much more fun!"

Fox flinched slightly at the wide sadistic grin Rodric cast his way, he let out a sharp breath as he braced himself for Rodric, and just as he anticipated the raging student rushed towards him throwing out another wide punch. Fox took a half step to the side dodging the blow by a hair's breadth, as the punch flew past him he took a daring step forward putting himself inches from Rodric. Using all his body weight he threw his hands out his right hand flying straight up slamming open palm into Rodric's jaw, the loud sound of his teeth snapping together caused Fox to cringe slightly as he continued, he threw his left hand out slamming his palm into Rodric's stomach his fingers digging into the flesh. Everything was still for a moment, Fox let out a relieved sigh as he looked up towards Rodric only to feel the icy tendrils of fear crawling through his veins once again. "You...you think something like this will stop me!"

He felt Rodric's hand grasp his shoulder and squeezed, to say the pain that radiated through his shoulder was excruciating would have been an understatement. His entire arm felt like it was on fire, it felt like burning knifes were digging into his flesh and muscle all the while his bones were slowly being crushed by some type of vice, "You pathetic child...you can't stop someone like-" Gritting his teeth Fox twisted his hand that was on Rodric's stomach digging his fingers deeper into the flesh as he let loose a large burst of aura, Rodric felt fire, cold fire pierce his body tearing through flesh muscle and bone, before he could cry out in pain he felt his back slam against the hard surface of the wall. Fox panted heavily as he watched Rodric slide to the ground as he himself dropped to a knee, unleashing a large enough burst of aura to throw someone like Rodric took a lot out of him, not to mention it felt like he was resisting his aura which forced him to use even more to the point of expelling every bit he had in him.

But from the way it seemed that was the end of it, he fell forward onto his hands panting heavily, Fox couldn't believe that there was someone like this going to Beacon. Even though he went up against the likes of Yang before this was on a whole other level, he had began to wonder what it would look like if Rodric and Yang went against each other when a low sound caught his attention and sent a chill through his body. A low chuckle reached his ears as he slowly looked up to see Rodric staring right at him, his body twitching slightly with laughter that same demented smile on his face as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, "Well..." Small bits of dust and pieces of wall falling from his body added to the intimidation factor, "It seems you were holding back. If you fight like this from now on, you might actually prove to be a challenge." Rodric popped his neck and shoulders relieving the slight bit of pressure he felt with almost sickening cracks, "Let's continue."

Fox panted heavily as he forced himself to his feet, swaying slightly at the sudden movement, he didn't know what was keeping him up all his energy felt like it was gone with that blast of aura he had used earlier. Maybe it was pure adrenaline or the raging fear creeping through his body that kept him standing, but standing and fighting were now two vastly different actions. He was able to keep himself up with minimal effort but putting his body in action to defend himself was going to prove to be a hassle, he hardly had any aura left after his last attack, seeing as it was sort of his final gambit when things started to turn ugly. Usually his opponent wouldn't get back up with a smile after that, but then again his opponents were usually Grimm, the last time he had to use his aura as a weapon like that was almost to long ago to remember. It had to do with a couple of huge Ursa Majors and Velvet, he shook his head as he took a deep breath before letting it out slowly to keep his racing heart slow and even, now wasn't the time to get wrapped up in the past when he was facing a monster once again.

Whatever Rodric's semblance was Fox still couldn't be sure about, aside from his incredible strength, resilience, fast as hell healing and almost inhuman about of stamina he was at a loss as to what it was. Rather than be taken by surprise again he figured he would use the last dregs of his aura to finish this fight before it could go on any longer, taking a few breaths to slow his heart he focused on what he had to do, soon enough he felt that familiar tinge of power rushing across his body. He kept his eyes focused on Rodric as he clenched his fists feeling the aura wash over his body and condensed into his arms sending electricity through his muscles, revitalizing and repairing the sore and damaged muscles. Fox knew he wasn't going to be able to keep going for another ten rounds as they had been previously, so he was hoping that with this one well placed aura infused punch he would be able to knock Rodric out once and for all, that or at least injure him to an extent where he couldn't go on anymore.

* * *

They stared each other down circling like some sort of predatory animal waiting for their chance to strike and take the other down, just the stare down alone was intense but to her she knew something bad was going to happen if she didn't stop them soon. She was speechless when Fox had burst his aura against Rodric, she feared for the both of them mostly the strain it put on Fox and the damage that could have been done to Rodric, but when she saw him get up again after that she...she didn't even know what to think about it. She saw the stance that Fox took, it was usually left when he went up against a particular difficult sparring partner, but it was different this time, she caught the glimmer of his aura surrounding his arms and knew someone was going to get hurt. Either Fox, Rodric or the both of them but she knew someone was going to end up in really bad shape, she couldn't take this standing around anymore of not being able to do a thing while she watched the two of them beat the crap out of each other. She clenched her fists and the moment the two made a move towards each other she sprinted towards them, mostly on instinct she didn't realize what she was doing until she halfway towards them, "Stop it!"

* * *

Rodric vision seemed to hone in on the person before him, Fox had started rushing towards him and he intended to meet him head on. For the few moments he had known Fox he had determined that despite his brash attitude and short temper he made a very worth adversary though it seemed this competition was about to come to a- "Stop!" Velvet appeared in front of him almost as if she had materialized from thin air itself, she held her hands outward in both directions, what was she thinking! With the way he and Fox were going there was no way for them to stop and it seemed she wasn't going to move unless they stopped, which seemed like a costly mistake, and from what it seemed Fox didn't seem to notice Velvet at all. Gritting his teeth Rodric knew how this would end, a unpleasant image flashed through his mind as he pushed himself more intending to reach Velvet first, Fox took this as a challenge and followed suit each one quickly approaching the girl. Rodric threw his arm out causing Velvet to flinch as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards him as he stepped forward and turned so his body would take the brunt of the force, Velvet's eyes widened slightly at the gesture but more so at the loud sickening crack when Fox's fist met Rodric's jaw.

* * *

Rodric felt his legs tremble as his vision swam from the force of the blow, a strange throbbing ache filled his head, it was strange it was painful yet he didn't exactly feel any pain it was hard to explain but not that hard to feel. A dull ringing filled his ears as he tried to shake the feeling away though the movement only seemed to agitate his mouth even more, Velvet quickly let go of his arm and moved around him only to quickly cover her mouth with her hands as a look of horror spread over her face. He didn't know why he felt perfectly fine if not a little woozy, it seemed after she calmed down she tried speaking to him though for some odd reason he couldn't really hear anything. He must have had a strange look on his face as she because nervous again as she pointed to her face, or to be more accurate her jaw, he didn't really understand what she was doing until she started to point to her jaw then to him repeatedly.

He nodded slowly and placed his hand on his jaw though he wasn't understanding what she was trying to show him by doing this, when she frantically pointed to one side he sighed and nodded. Running his hand across his jaw he didn't feel anything to warrant any amount of fear from her, until his hand reached the left side where a sharp jolt of electricity shot through his body, "Dammit." He cringed again as he spoke as another sharp jolt shot through his head, when he looked up she was handing him a small mirror which he quickly took. His eyes widened slightly as he stared at himself in the small mirror, his jaw was set at an odd angle tilting slightly to the right with a large bulge in his cheek, under the skin from the bone being out of place no doubt. Without a word he handed Velvet back the mirror before placing a hand on the back of his head and the other on his broken jaw, he braced his body as he jerked his hand in a single swift motion the bone grinding and snapping back in place as a Velvet cringed before him. He moved and flexed his jaw slowly feeling it crack and pop until the dull pain subsided, as he did that a loud ringing filled his ears before slowly fading away until the sounds returned back to him.

"Rodric are you-"

"Are you okay?"

"W-What?" Velvet was taken aback by his question, she didn't understand how he could be asking something like that when not even a moment ago his jaw had been dislocated so severely. Not to mention the way he and Fox had been fighting why was he worried about her, "I-I don't...I mean yes I'm fine but-"

"Good good." He turned to Fox who seemed to flinch slightly, he didn't like the way Rodric was staring at him those cold hard eyes boring holes into his, he couldn't fight anymore if he decided to keep going he was done for. He jumped when he heard it, it was so sudden and so out of place that he didn't really know what to think at first, but when he saw Rodric's shoulders shaking as he laughed he was thoroughly confused. He didn't get a chance to move before Rodric was upon him in an instant causing fear to swell inside of him, even more so when Rodric placed his hands on either side of his head holding it in his grasp. But, once again Rodric only served to confuse him further when he brought him close and pressed his forhead against his own, his eyes looking into his, "You are an excellent fighter Fox..."

"U-um t-thanks...so are you..."

Rodric moved back smacking Fox in the chest causing the other to cough and groan in pain, "Don't let it go to your head child, you still have a lot to learn, for one never hold back because you can be certain your opponent will not." Fox nodded slowly as he turned back to Velvet who seemed to be a bit dazed, "And you..." She flinched slightly when his tone lowered as he addressed her, he wanted to be angry he wanted to yell at her, yet he found himself unable to as he huffed loudly, "What were you thinking? Honestly running out here like that when the two of us are fighting, you could have gotten hurt, or worse."

"W-Well same to you!" She quickly covered her mouth with her hands as he face flushed, letting out a shaky breath she slowly moved her hands from her mouth, "I-I mean you and Fox could have gotten hurt the way you two were fighting I...I didn't want that so...I tried to stop it." Her ears wilted slightly as she looked down at the ground, "I don't know what I was thinking, I know it was dangerous the way you two looked...but I wanted to stop you anyway I didn't want to see any of you hurt, so I acted without thinking and-"

"Stop." She quickly did so biting her lip as she stared at the ground, at least until she felt a hand on her shoulder which caused her to look up at Rodric his face still hard but his eyes soft and caring. "Your heart was in the right place Velvet, but your mind was not, if you are determined to be a hunter your heart and mind must be as one. One can not precede over the other otherwise it will lead you down a very dangerous path, choosing your mind will make you seem cold and uncaring while choosing your heart will make you seem rash and foolish." He stopped for a moment sighing softly as he squeezed her shoulder, "Just remember that, it takes both heart and mind to over come any challenge, it will be hard and arduous but if you can manage to do this, you will be an excellent hunter."

She was stunned, absolutely speechless, the way he spoke it was unlike anything she had heard before, but she was able to notice something underneath his words. It was subtle yet it was there, it almost sounded...pained like the words he spoke come from some sort of personal experience, it was that feeling that kept her from saying anything instead she merely nodded. He nodded and moved over to where he had left his shoes and slipped them on, "Well I believe I must be going now, thank you for having me." He nodded in their direction before walking out of the gym doors rather quickly, he kept his eyes forward not paying attention to much of anything, though once he was sure there was no others around he leaned against the wall covering his eyes with his hands. He grit his teeth as a dull ache filled his chest causing him to grip his shirt tightly, he could feel his eyes beginning to burn as he softly cursed to himself, "Dammit."

* * *

Velvet and Fox stared at the door before turning to each other, "Well...he's weird." Velvet gave a slow nod as she turned to look at Fox seeing him breathing heavily, she sighed softly and moved over to help him towards the bench that was now free, Yatsuhashi having left after things had calmed down though she was curious as to where he went, "I'm sorry..." That caught her off guard she looked at Fox only to notice his gaze was fixed on the floor and he seemed to be trembling slightly, either from exhaustion or...

"What do you-"

"For almost hurting you...I'm sorry." Fox swallowed the lump in throat that had formed ever since Rodric had left, after he had came too he saw the way Velvet looked at Rodric with such concern and worry that it didn't feel right to him it made him hurt worse than anything Rodric did. But, what hurt the most was that he almost attacked Velvet, the bad thing about that moment was that he could see everything happening but his body wouldn't listen to him when he tried to stop, that sick fear that plagued him when he thought he would hurt Velvet...coupled with the feeling of his fist slamming into Rodric's jaw and dislocating it. He felt terrible, this wasn't the first time his anger almost cost him his life...or a teammates life, he clenched his fists on the bench sighing softly, "I'm so so-"

"It's okay."

"W-What?"

When Fox looked up at her Velvet couldn't help but smile, "It's okay Fox you didn't do anything wrong, it's like Rodric said I should have thought about what I was doing, if I would have gotten hurt I wouldn't have blamed you."

"B-But-"

"No, no buts I already admitted to being at fault and nothing you say will change that." She smiled at him all the while he looked at her in disbelief, eventually he gave in and huffed in false annoyance as he looked towards her.

"You know Velvet you can be such a-"

"Hey you guys whats-WHOA...what the hell happened in here?" They both looked towards the door to see Coco standing there her sunglasses hanging on the edge of her nose as she looked around the gym seeing the partially destroyed wall. "Seriously...what the hell."

Velvet and Fox shared a look before Fox sighed softly, "Its...kind of a long story..."

Velvet sat next to Fox as she tried to help explain what had happened in the events that led up to this moment. As they told the story it was revealed to them that this is where Yatsuhashi had gone in the first place, turns out he had went to find Coco and told her everything, well almost everything that had happened and Coco had rushed over the moment she heard about it. "So his name was Rodric, let me guess long black hair, cold blue eyes and angry looking scowl?" They both nodded as Coco frowned, "Tch, I passed by him on the way here, if I had known I would have-"

"Coco it's alright, really. Neither of us is hurt...that badly anyway but were fine there's no need to do anything drastic." Coco looked down at Velvet before huffing slightly, she nodded her head, she didn't understand how Velvet could be the way she was. She was so caring and timid at least most of the times she was timid, still even if someone wronged her she never really said much of it, which explained why she never took her up on the offer to 'take care' of Cardin for her.

"Well anyway I got a message a little while ago from Ozpin, he said he wanted to see us whenever we were available, I think it might be about that mission he mentioned before." When they both looked up she couldn't help but smile, ever since Ozpin mentioned that the second year students would be eligible to take on missions team CFVY had been the most excited, though they were constantly disappointed every time another team was chosen over them. Now though it seemed they were finally chosen and none of them wanted to miss the chance to go on a real mission. "Well don't just sit there come on!"

They both jumped up from the bench Fox was the first one to take off, all that energy he had expended seemed to suddenly come back to him as he took off into the changing rooms to grab his bag. As much as she wanted to see Rodric once more to thank him for his words and for looking out for her, she had to settle on hopefully catching Blake or someone from team RWBY and getting them to pass the message on, though she couldn't hide how excited she was to possible be going on a mission. Ever since Ozpin had mentioned it she had been excited at every moment there was a mention of a mission and now she and her team were finally-she yelped softly as she stumbled forward her foot catching on something. After regaining her balance she sighed softly feeling her heart racing at that scare as she turned and scanned the floor to find what had caused to her to- "...What the..." Vines, thorn covered vines were tearing straight through the floor, cracking and splintering the floorboards, "How did these get here?" Cautiously she nudged one of them with her foot and squealed softly in surprise when it seemed to twitch at her touch causing her to back peddle away from it, "Whoa, what is that?"

"Come one Velvet what's the hold up?" She turned to see Coco waving her over as she turned once more to look at the strange vines tearing through the floor. The strange vines that seemed to react to her touch, she shook her head and slowly turned towards her team before hurrying after them, whatever those vines were they were going to have to wait until after their meeting with Ozpin.

* * *

Rodric frowned as he stared at the carpeted floor of the hallway, it seemed he didn't take into consideration the fact that these doors actually locked when not in use. He had no way to get back into the dorm room as he didn't have the key, a fact that was 'surprisingly' glossed over when the girls had went to their classes. He huffed again as he pressed his back against the wall raising his head to stare at the ceiling, the only thing he could do now was either explore the school more or simply wait until they came back, and seeing as he had only barely managed to retrace his steps to the dorms he didn't want to take any chances. He closed his eyes as a frown settled on his face, "Why did I say that..." Slowly opening his eyes again he felt that same dull ache filling his chest as he tried to ignore though it seemed harder as the feeling began to grow in intensity. "Why of all things did I have to say that..." He could feel his eyes beginning to burn again as the feeling began to overwhelm him causing him to clench his chest again as he grit his teeth, why did he have to feel this still, why did he still think of that, why couldn't he just-

"Rodric?"

He opened his eyes to see the youngest of the girls standing before him looking at him rather curiously with her bright silver eyes, he quickly lowered his hand as he looked towards her, "Ah, little one you're back."

"Yeah...um, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh...well it seems someone forgot to tell me that the doors don't open from this side, so I've been out here waiting for someone to come back. Do you think I could trouble you to let me in?"

She giggled softly as she nodded pulling her scroll from her pocket as she waved it in front of the the small panel by the door handle as it gave off a small beep and a sharp click. She pushed the door open and stepped inside tossing her class work up onto her bead, "Say what were you doing outside anyway?"

He walked in right after her taking his place below the window as he rested his back against the wall, "Well I couldn't exactly spend my time locked in this room like some sort of animal, I decided to explore this school and find a way to pass the time."

"Did you?"

He tilted his head slightly at the question, while fighting Fox was indeed entertaining he felt that it probably wasn't the best to tell her of his previously broken jaw, "Um...sort of." He looked off to the side sighing softly, while he did enjoy his time away from the room he was no once again bored, now that he was back he realized just how long a week was going to be before he was free to roam wherever he would like. He still did have some conflicting feelings about being in this place, some one like him subjecting themselves to staying in a place full of hunters, others would have run or fought their way out but...for him the only feeling he could describe when he sat and thought about it was almost a detached feeling. For what more could these hunters take from him, they had already taken everything that was most important to him, it made him question why he even fought them in the end it didn't matter. All they saw him as was merely a challenge, another trophy to claim and no matter how many he struck down hundreds more would rise to take his challenge, perhaps the coldness he felt towards them was what actually caused him to stay. There was nothing they could really do that would make him feel like he had once did, this is why he hated to stay in the room these thoughts and feelings plagued his mind making him question his own worth, if he didn't find a suitable distraction soon enough he would start to-

"Whoa, what happened to your face?!"

He was startled by the sudden shout, when he turned to look towards Ruby he felt instead he head being forced to the side, he could only glance at her from the corner of his vision. Though he could feel as she ran her fingers over his jaw gently prodding at the sore spot on his face, he winced slightly when she pressed on it as she softly apologized, "Oh that...nothing of importance really." It was then she forced him to look at her, her silver eyes trying their hardest to glare at him before she gave up and entered the bathroom, after hearing her shuffling around for a moment she returned with a small blue pouch filled with some type of liquid.

"Here this will help."

Curiously he reached out and took the pouch only to feel that it was cold to the touch, he had a faint idea of what to do with it, cautiously he placed the cold pouch to his cheek and winced again at the contact but soon relaxed when the cold numbed his sore cheek, he sighed softly content with the feeling, "Thank you little one, this feels better."

She only smiled and waved her hand at the gratitude as she climbed up onto her bed and proceeded to pull out some papers from the sound of it, he leaned his head against the wall sighing softly letting the cold feeling spread across his aching face. It did make him curious as to why she would help him with anything when the rest of her friends seemed to instantly hate him, not that he honestly cared it just make him curious, he looked up towards her bed and opened his mouth to ask. But, when the soft groan of frustration reached his ears he only smirked and decided to wait to ask her that, there would be plenty of time for that later.

* * *

Grumbling softly to himself, he pushed branched away from his face as he crouched under a fallen tree. _Why did I agree to this..._He found that he was asking himself that question a lot the last few days, following this girl to all these random locations looking for...whatever it was she was looking for. He clenched his teeth when he remembered she never did give him an exact answer, swatting the branches away in frustration he pushed himself forward intending to get to the bottom of this right now. He was tired of following her around like some sort of dog, the soft buzzing reached his ears as he gripped his cane and swatted at one of the Rapier Wasps that flew to close either knocking it away or scaring it off. He heard movement ahead of him as he huffed and hurried forward stumbling slightly over a raised root as he stumbled forward into a clearing.

And speak of the devil there she was, her back of turned to him giving him a view of nothing but her long silver hair with the undertone of light blue streaks. Her arms were held at her side showing her alabaster skin, she wore a simple t-shirt with a pair of black jeans, the only strange thing about her getup was that she refused to wear shoes. She never said why and he could have cared less about it, "Glad you could finally join me." He flinched slightly when she suddenly spoke, as he looked up towards her she was glaring at him with deep forest green eyes, though she quickly turned away staring ahead into the forest again.

"Well I could have caught up faster if someone hadn't rushed off ahead..."

"...That's not my problem." He gripped his cane tightly as he huffed in annoyance, he knew better than to let this girl get to him it wouldn't make any progress in whatever is was they were doing, and he'd rather not take any longer than necessary out here. This forest was filled with Grimm and they hadn't brought any backup because as she said 'it would garner far to much attention' though she was right he wasn't going to admit it.

"So...you still haven't told me what were looking for."

"And I won't for it is none of your concern, all you need to do is follow the orders I give you human." He flinched slightly at the coarse way she spoke to him, and the way she used human as an insult when she was pretty human herself. She didn't have any features that showed she was a faunus unless of course they were in other places, still it was so strange to hear human used as an insult.

"If you don't plan on telling me I don't even see the point of bringing me out here."

"Well it could be because I plan to kill you..." He froze his heart raced at the words she spoke and at the way she turned to look at him, her eyes peircing through him before she turned around again, "Or it could be because only you know the area so well, feel free to guess which one it is Roman..." He sighed heavily mostly in relief and mostly in annoyance with her, she always did that threatening to kill him and she always sounded so serious about it that it always put him on edge.

"Tch...kids."

She ignored him as she closed her eyes and felt the breeze blowing against her, it had to be here somewhere, she had dreamt of this exact spot the night before. Her dreams were always more than that and she knew it, she had leaned to trust her dreams and they would lead her to exactly what she was looking for, though she wasn't exactly sure what it was she was looking for, she only knew that she absolutely had to be here. The breeze began to pick up and grow stronger, she braced herself for it as it began to swirl around her caressing her body and flowing through her hair, it gently whispered in her ear as her eyes flew open. _It...It can't be. _The wind changed directions and began to blow deeper into the forest, she didn't hesitate, she ran after it following the breeze as it led her deeper and deeper into the forest. Jumping over fallen logs and broken trees she soon forgot about the world around her and focused on where the breeze was leading her.

As it died she slid to a halt, it didn't look much different there from where she was earlier, but the wind had led her here so there had to be something of importance here. She slowly walked between the tall trees taking deep breaths all the while she scanned the area, as she breathed in she began to cough as the smell of smoke and ash filled her nose and collected at the back of her throat. Despite that she continued to sniff the air letting the smell lead her to where it was coming from, and she soon found it, a small clearing not much bigger than where she was before though this one was crowded with trees. As she moved about the area that's when she noticed it, a large black scorch mark marring the grass for a long distance before ending suddenly, though it seemed it split off in two different directions, almost as if it had been stopped by something. Her eyes darted to the trees, the scorch marks were there as well leaving black marks on the large trees, as she continued to look around it was then she noticed other signs. Bullet holes, slashes in the ground, trees, and even in the stone around them, "What happened here..." It was clear from the burn marks everywhere that it was one of her people but that didn't explain everything else.

"Oh boy looks like some of those hunters had a rough time here." She turned towards Roman as he ran his fingers along one of the grooves cut into the rocks. When he said that she closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she tried to distinguish the smells, aside from the burning wood and ash there were hints of other smells, roses and nightshade were prominent but that wasn't the only thing. There was a very feminine scent lingering in the area followed by a very faint masculine one, though it was only faint because it was covered up strongly by the ash and smoke, meaning that was the one who had caused most of the destruction. As she followed the smells she noticed they all moved in a single direction, she opened her eyes and looked towards the north.

"Roman...what's north of here?"

He looked at her curiously before taking out his scroll and pulling up the map of the area, "Well...it looks like Beacon is north of here, why?"

"And, what is Beacon exactly?"

"It's a school for hunters in training, why are you asking about this?"

She turned towards him her eyes practically shining a large grin plastered on her face, "I think I found what I was looking for."

* * *

_**HAHAHA, if you read the beginning and actually believed I would stop writing then wow you all don't know me that well. But to quell any suspicions I will continue writing but you have to forgive me for taking so long. I've been getting way too distracted as of late to write, not to mention my sleep schedule has been thrown off so badly that I can't even work at night anymore. Anyway like I said I've only been getting distracted, First it was Dark Souls II now it's Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, speaking of which if anyone plays monster hunter you should add me so we can play together, I can't tell you how hard it is to find decent players to play with. I've started over many times and I'm only at a HR 4 right now so when I get online I either get HR 2 or HR 178 so yeah... Anyway now that I properly scared the hell out of most of you, please R&amp;R and don't worry I'm not going anywhere.**_


	5. My Home

**_Well um...let's see um...huh well after posting wake up call I got a message stating that I should warn people for trigger warnings, and this is probably the best time to do that. Uhm TRIGGER WARNING; there is a brief mention of...of rape in this chapter if your not comfortable reading that then I would suggest not reading. _**

* * *

**My Home...**

The next few days past without incident, at least for the most part, though it wasn't his fault. It seemed Yang had gotten detention for starting a fight over her hair or something to that affect he wasn't exactly sure, though he hadn't seen the blonde as much. Despite that he still found himself alone for the last few days, the classes taking up the girls time with whatever it was they did, he managed to meet with Velvet and her friends again. Fox seemed eager to go against him again when he showed up to the gym, though aside from the three he met the other day there was a new member among them. Velvet introduced her as Coco, strange name, and while he took the change to extend his hand in greeting she merely huffed and walked off, and though it angered him he remained calm and questioned Velvet to her actions. Nervously she revealed to him that Coco might have found out about his and Fox's match and she didn't seem to pleased about how it went, considering she gave him the proverbial cold shoulder he doubted she was going to enjoy his presence anytime soon.

Fox on the other hand was like an unstable being made purely out of hyperactivity, the moment Fox saw him he wouldn't hold still, and he wouldn't stop hounding him for another rematch. When he finally managed to get a moment away from Fox he again questioned her about her friends strange change in personality, she informed him that after he left the day they met they all went to meet with Ozpin, it was then they were informed they were going to be going on their first mission. He grimaced slightly when she mentioned the mission however he tried not to show it seeing as she seemed so excited for it, he however wasn't as thrilled as her, he didn't understand how someone as timid as Velvet could be excited for such a dangerous thing. Though he kept such thoughts to himself and faked a smile congratulating them and wishing them luck, however he felt that maybe it wasn't fake enough when Velvet gave him a concerned look, somewhat luckily Fox came and dragged him away to start their match.

The match was a lot more restrictive for the both of them, mostly because Velvet would chide the both of them whenever they started to lose control of themselves. He couldn't help but compare Velvet to a scolding mother, Fox found it hilarious Velvet on the other hand grew red and nervous as she began to stutter, he smiled at that and found it rather cute. However her friend Coco didn't find it to be as cute, the moment those words had left his mouth he could feel her eyes boring into his back, if she wasn't wearing those sunglasses he could probably make out that scowl she no doubt had on her face. He merely shrugged it off and ignored her, although when it came to sparring with Fox and feeling the girls eyes tearing through his very existence, it was enough t make his skin crawl with unease. Though she seemed to have left before anyone else, and when it came time for them to go their separate ways he told them all goodbye and another round of good luck to them all, however it was Velvet who was full of surprises that day. Before they left she threw her arms around his waist and pulled him into a rather tight embrace, he was stunned by the action but when she thanked him for those words that day he didn't know what to do. He settled for rubbing her head, he had seen other human perform this action although it was for children, it seemed to still have the desired effect as she smiled up at him before pulling away.

That was three days ago, today was Friday if that jumbled mess on the wall that tried to pass for a calender held any truth in it. He had managed to occupy himself in their absence with an extreme amount of patience, he continued to visit the gym to at least keep himself busy though it seemed a lot more empty with those people gone. When he came back to the dorm sometime later he found it open, when he entered he saw the youngest of the girls laying on her bed, her legs hanging off the edge as she grumbled to herself over something or other. Though when the door clicked shut she instantly shot up tossing the book in her hands onto her bed to be forgotten about, as always she quickly went to work pestering him about what he had been up to that day. At first he was frustrated with how eagerly she wanted to hear about the things he had been up to even though it wasn't much, nevertheless she continued to show interest even when he spoke so little, when he would finish with his explanation she would then start up her own telling him everything. From what classes she had that day, to how much work they gave them, to whatever idiotic thing her friend Nora had done in class to get them both in trouble.

At first he cared little for what she had to say and found her to be more of an annoyance, but she never seemed to notice the way he would glare at her when she would not stop talking. However her constant stream of ramblings did grow on him quickly, mostly when he would find himself alone in the mornings, the silence was much to oppressing for him and was silently thankful when she would begin rambling. He was so tired of the silence...

Still, that didn't explain how he found himself in this situation. He had come back from the gym as he normally did, the moment Ruby heard him enter the room she began to talk, and talk, and talk about her day though it seemed to be mostly complaints. Though that was somewhat normal for her to complain about things that happened, he noticed a running theme in her complains, that being, "I'm _so _bored."

"Then do something little one..."

"There's nothing to do though..." From his spot on the windowsill he looked over his shoulder when he heard a loud thump, it seemed she had flopped back onto the floor staring up towards the ceiling. He shook his head before turning back towards the forest in the distance, he could see the tall trees swaying slightly with the strong breeze that had been around recently. It was nice to say the least even in the thick silence he could hear the chatter of other students from somewhere in the distance though the heavy oppression of the silence in the room was starting to grow. He couldn't believe he was already so used to hearing her talk that the silence actually began to grate on his nerves when it persisted much longer than it should have.

He shuddered slightly before finally ending the silence, "Then...play a game or something, entertain yourself child." He felt a rush of wind from behind and in an instant the young girl was upon him, he could feel her bright eyes looking up at him as he tried to ignore them, it was then she uttered the four words he would learn to fear.

"Oh, play with me!"

* * *

His brow creased in frustration as he stared at the paper before him, he should have never agreed to this he knew something was off when she had suggested playing such a...ridiculous sounding game. Nevertheless he had agreed not seeing any harm in playing this childish game with her, and yet here he sat stumped as to how someone as young as her could have bested him several times in a row at such a simple game. Of course, it was obvious to him, there was something more to this game than was being let on, how else would she be able to beat him so many times. He raised his pencil hesitating slightly as his eyes moved over the paper between them, this time he was sure he had it, lowering his pencil he drew a small x in the lower left box. Sitting back up he smirked as he watched Ruby almost instantly lean forward and draw a small circle in the box above his and then draw a line straight through the center of the grid connecting all her circles, "Looks like I win again...you're not very good at this."

His eye twitched slightly as he looked at the grid before him, "Curses..." there was something he was obviously missing but he couldn't quiet figure it out, the game was so simple yet victory eluded him. "This is impossible, you must tell me how you continue to pull victory from my grasp."

Ruby's lip twitched slightly, "Pull victory from your grasp? Who talks like that anymore?" She chuckled softly but quickly silenced herself when she saw the hard look Rodric was giving her, "Um...a-anyway I um...well I mean-"

"You just suck simple as that."

He turned to glare at the blonde who was laying on the bottom bunk watching as they had played the game, the girl in black had pushed herself into the corner a book in hand. "I beg your pardon?" The blonde had been giving him all kinds of problem ever since she had come into the room, when she noticed the game they were playing she who one and he begrudgingly answered that Ruby had. The teasing and heckling did not cease for a single moment, every time he lost she always had some sort of...insightful comment to make at his expense, and he was very tired of it.

"I'm just saying you're not very got at this game is all, no need to get so uptight about it."

"Oh please, I doubt some one of your mental abilities would be able to win at a game of wits such as this, I at least have an excuse." Yang raised her brow at that a smirk on her face as she gazed incredulously at him, "Obviously this childish game is more than I had expected, I have never seen a game such as this so of course I would not win easily."

"..."

"..."

"Really? That's the excuse you're going to use, please just admit that you suck and deal with it."

"Oh if you could do better Yang I would love to see it."

"Sure but only if we make a bet." There was a glimmer in her eye as she said those words, once again he felt a strange sense of dread and unease settle over him, but having his intellect and pride mocked by one such as her he was not going to back down from her challenge.

"Fine, when I win I want you to cut off a lock of your oh so precious hair."

"Fair enough, when I win hm..." She placed a finger on her chin as her brow furrowed in concentration no doubt trying to think of a punishment for him, again that sense of unease returned when a large smirk came across her face, "When I win you will have to do one thing I say it's as simple as that, if you have the nads you won't be scared, heh so what do you say?"

Ruby looked between her sister and Rodric, this was bad, the last time Yang made a bet like that was back in Signal and that poor kid was humiliated for the rest of his time there. She was honestly worried, Rodric didn't seem like the person to back down from a challenge like this, if his multiple defeats at tic-tac-toe weren't evidence enough at that. But, he didn't know what he was getting into, Yang always twisted her words around to give her a bigger advantage but Rodric didn't know that, "U-Um Rodric I don't think you should-"

"Deal." Ruby's mouth fell open in pure shock, without even a second though Rodric had seemed to accept his fate, leaving it in the hands of Yang to do whatever she pleased with it, _Oh no..._Ruby bit her lip, she loved Yang very dearly, but she knew just how cruel she could be when it came to something like this. Which meant she was going to have to try harder than she ever has to beat her sister. Crumbling up the paper her and Rodric had used she pulled out a fresh sheet and quickly drew out the nine square grid and waited for her sister.

Rodric stood and smirked at Yang as she took her time getting out of bed, there was no way he was losing this bet, he might have lost to Ruby but it was clear underneath her child like exterior she had the mind of a masterful tactician to be able to defeat him so soundly. He watched as Yang stood and stretched twisting this way and that, she was obviously delaying her inevitable defeat, he smirked as he moved and motioned for her to take his place. She smirked at him and nodded moving towards the center of the room as he made his way towards the window, at least he would take joy in seeing someone else fail, not to mention the absolute pain she would be in having to cut the hair she held so dear. A cold smile came over his face at the thought of the tears she would shed for the single lock, to think she was foolish enough to- "I win."

He froze mid-step, _D-Did she just...say that. _He quickly turned around and saw Yang holding the piece of paper between her fingers waving it at him, a large smile on her face, "T-That's...not possible." He stalked back over towards them noticing the look on the young girls face as she looked up at him, it was a mix of shame and failure, it was merely a game why would she take it so hard at a mere loss? Though that wasn't his main concern as he snatched the paper from Yang's grasp and looked it over, it was hard to differentiate between both of their messy marks but...as much as he hated to admit it she had in fact won. He couldn't hide the look of displeasure that came over his face or the fact that his eye twitched ever so slightly at the annoyance, "Huh...well..."

"S-Sorry Rodric I tried b-but you don't have to-"

"Oh yes he does, a deal is a deal."

He gave a heavy sigh, as much as he started to regret the deal he had made he would honor it, after all he did give his word and he would not back down from something as simple as a little bet. Looking between Ruby with sorrow and regret in her eyes and Yang who had nothing but pure joy in her eyes, he frowned as he shook his head, "Fine...fine what is my punishment?" Once again Yang's grin only grew wider as she slowly stood and placed a hand on his shoulder shaking her head from side to side slowly.

"Oh, that's not how this works..." Rodric quirked his brow as those lavender eyes bored into his own, that ever present grin slowly beginning to anger him, "You see, I said you had to do one thing and one thing only right?" Rodric gave a slow nod not exactly sure where she was going with this, "I never said I would make you do it now." Those few words sent a chill over his body as his eyes widened in surprise, his eyes hardening as anger slowly took over.

"No, you can't do that I never agreed-"

"But you did, Kitty cat what did I say my terms were?"

Blake huffed from the corner she resided in and answered without even having to look up from her book, "That when you win he would have to do one thing you said..."

Rodric frowned at the flat way she answered but she was right, "But-"

"And did I ever say I would make him do it now?"

"...Huh, no."

"Exactly." Yang removed her arm from his shoulder and instead crossed them across her chest as she stared at him with that ever present grin, he grit his teeth but he knew there was no room for argument. This was his fate for agreeing to something in a fit of anger, the terms were open ended and had he been in the right state of mind he might have caught the small detail. His fists clenched and unclenched as anger coursed through him yet there was no release for it as he had no one but himself to be angry with for the position he was now in. He ran his hands through his hair gripping it tightly as he tugged at it, reprimanding himself for being so foolish before giving a heavy sigh.

"Fine...fine I relent, you win and I...agree to the stakes."

"Yeah you will."

Once again he frowned at that, she seemed so happy and eager to be the one to deal out his suffering at an undetermined time and place, she was a cruel person, he saw that now. Though perhaps he noticed it to late when the signs were always in front of him, after all she spent days at a time in detention for getting into fights over the smallest thing. Once again his jaw ticked at his stupidity for overlooking such a major detail, he started to wonder if this was divine punishment for being an absolute moron. "Well all this winning has made me hungry, I think they should be serving dinner by now, come on." Rodric frowned as Yang left the dorm with a skip in her step, Ruby followed right behind her casting an apologetic look his way, Weiss merely moved past him without a word and Blake silently left her eyes still looked onto the words of her book. He huffed slightly and followed them as his stomach began to growl slightly, it seemed once again that his time here was going to be a difficult one.

* * *

Sitting down at one of the many tables that littered the dining hall he lifted the turkey leg to his lips ripping off a large piece as he slowly chewed it, the flavor rivaled that of the chefs from his home. The first time he had come to the dining hall he was surprised at how large it was but he was more so surprised at the amount of food they had, though most of it was very unfamiliar to him. He had chosen things that he could recognize at a glance, legs of turkey and lamb as well as large slices of cooked steaks, the others had looked at his decision with curious eyes though didn't say much about it. They were all delicious he wouldn't deny that, it was then he had decided he would stay merely for the food...and not the fact that it was either this or a prison of some sort. Swallowing the food in his mouth he gave a great sigh, the troubles still lingering in his mind though they weren't as troubling now that he was being sated with food. "Hey Rodric, how are you!" He licked his lips as he cut his steak apart because it seemed tearing at it with his teeth was frowned upon, as he took a piece in his mouth he looked up when he heard the sound of a plate being settled on the table. Sitting across from him was a girl with short orange hair and bright turquoise eyes and a large smile on her face, she wore a mix of pink and white clothing.

He swallowed the piece in his mouth before sighing softly, "Suffering a fate worse than death it seems..." He took another piece into his mouth as the girl gave a curious hum. Nora Valkyrie, the unholy child of energy and madness, at least that's what she described herself as though he wasn't exactly going to deny that claim. She was an unstable ball of chaos and limitless energy wrapped up in a nice package that was Nora, she was mad, simple as that really. Though she was a curious girl, always energetic and always smiling no matter what, maybe curious wasn't the best word strange seems to fit her better. She reminded him of the child that resided in their shared dorm, though he seemed thankful she wasn't...nearly as mad as the girl before him. He didn't know if he could stand an overly excited Ruby, even though she seemed to get to that point most times she never really reached that level of...Nora, which was just as well because if she could he would probably be in that prison by now for throttling her.

Another series of plates settled around him as the...ever smiling blonde sat next to him giggling to herself, "What's he complaining about?"

"Mm, hmm, something about suffering worse than death." Nora managed to speak those words in between stuffing food into her mouth at a rather fast pace, how did this girl not choke he wondered.

"Well...he kinda is he did make a bet with Yang after all..." He saw Ruby sit on his other side nervously fiddling with her fingers, she had a bowl of strawberries on the side of her plate...plates, one was filled with actual food while the other two consisted of nothing but sweets, he didn't understand her obsession with those sweets it was almost as unnatural as it was unhealthy. He turned towards the choking sound in front of him as Nora pounded on her chest before taking large gulps from the glass by her plate, she took a few gasping breaths before looking up at him.

"Dude! You made a bet with Yang? You should know better than that!" Rodric sighed heavily as he shook his head and went back to his food, if she had known Yang could be as evil as she was earlier maybe that would have been something useful to divulge on their first encounter. Then again when he first met Nora he was wary of her, the way she would rapidly ask him questions without even pausing to let him answer, it took a lot of strength and will power to not yell at her to shut up. It was strange to say the least, then again maybe she did tell him that bit of information and he ignored her because she wouldn't cease her blathering. Which would again make it his fault...his eye twitched slightly at that revelation as he continued to eat his food.

"Eh, who should have known better about what?" The boy with the blonde hair sat down next to Nora, Rodric had to restrain himself from glaring at the boy. It was mostly his attire that brought out his anger, not his hoodie or jeans, no none of that, but the way his armor fit him it was very reminiscent of the armor that those humans wore. The very first time he met Jaune he almost attacked him on the spot most from being blinded by pure rage at the way the young knight dressed, he only barely managed to control himself when he saw Ruby speaking with him, not to mention the way Nora had glared at him. It was the one time he managed to see an emotion other than happiness cross her face, and instantly he knew it was a bad thing, still he was wary around the boy his eyes following his every movement, his body going rigid when his hands dropped to the sword at his side. Even when he spoke to the boy it was only in as few words as possible, he wasn't eager to divulge any information to the knight, he didn't need to know anything about him. Though he wasn't sure what caused him to grow so angry aside from the way he dressed, the boy was, in all honesty a bumbling fool.

"Just Rodric, he lost a bet to Yang."

"Dude! You should have-"

"Yes, yes I heard already, I should have known better. Well I didn't and it's too late to do anything about it so I would rather move past this subject than dwell on it any longer, please." He could hear Yang chuckling softly to herself, it was obvious that her main goal with this bet was to annoy him as much as possible with it and for the most part she was succeeding in that aspect. Ruby as well was giggling to herself, though it was for a completely different reason, it was after another bout of arguing with the girl in white did Ruby confess that she liked the way he talked. Something about that it was strange, and compared it to that of an old man, he wasn't quite sure what to make or say about that so he didn't. It only seemed to be on rare occasions when the way he spoke would draw giggles from her and it only seemed to happen when his emotions ran high, such as when he argued with Weiss or now when he was still seething with rage at having fallen for Yang's trap.

"Hello everyone." He glanced up to see the red head of the trio, Pyrrha, who was accompanied by the ever silent Ren. They took seats on the sides of their respected partners; Ren with Nora and Pyrrha with Jaune, once everyone was seated the table seemed to become more animated with conversation. Though Blake and Ren said nothing for the most part, that seemed to be their usual attitude though, Ren merely listening and Blake with her nose buried in a book as per usual. Rodric said nothing much either only continued to eat his food but kept his ears open listening to their conversations, his eyes out of habit straying towards Jaune still cautious of his movements. It was here where he had first met the friends of his...wardens as it were, Team JNPR, consisting of a bumbling knight, an unstable mass of energy, a prim and proper warrior much different that Weiss and a quiet and reserved boy. It was also here that he began to learn just a bit more about Beacon, apparently they as well as everyone else at that school were set up in teams of four to work together for four years as they trained to fight off the ever present darkness of the world known as Grimm. Team RWBY, the ones tasked with watching over him, seemed to enjoy the company of the others so while he didn't say much he tried to enjoy the chatter amongst them.

He would be a liar if he said that eating and listening to the conversations between them did remind him of home, just the thought alone brought a small smile to his face. It was the same ghost of a smile he would on occasion see cross Blake's face when Yang would make a joke so horrendously stupid that it was a bit funny, though it seemed this smile didn't go unnoticed, "Rodric?" He turned his head slightly and quickly hid his smile when he saw Ruby staring up at him, "What is it? What were you smiling at?"

He frowned to hide any smile that might still be residing on his face, "Nothing of importance..." Once again despite him lying she giggled at him, he sighed and rolled his eyes as he returned to his food, at least she had quickly dropped the subject.

* * *

"Please, please, please, please, please!"

"...No." Ruby whined in annoyance and disappointment as she threw herself back into the chair almost toppling it over with the action, he should have known she dropped the subject much to fast during dinner. The moment they returned to the dorm she practically pounced on him, actually she kind of did she had leaped at him and grabbed a hold of his arm and practically ripped it from his body as she shook it furiously begging for him to tell her what he had been smiling about. He sat in his normal spot beneath the window his back pressed against the cool wall as a small chilling breeze swept through the room, he had opened the window before sitting below it, though he couldn't quiet relax with Ruby perpetually whining. Yang was once again in Blake's bed smirking at him, possible at the frustration etched on his face she would occasionally she would chime in and nag at him as well. Weiss was sitting at a desk at the end of her bed working on something for school no doubt, every time Ruby would start up he would notice her pencil abruptly stop, seems it was frustrating the girl more than him he would have kept it up if it had annoyed him at all. Blake as any other time had her nose buried in a book, either oblivious to what was going on around her or simply uncaring...he wasn't sure but he sure wish he could block out noise as she did.

"Please I just want to know, I saw you smiling at dinner and I was curious. C'mon please, please please please please pl-"

"If I tell you will you cease you incessant nagging!" Once again she giggled as his eye twitched with frustration, _This girl..._despite that she nodded enthusiastically. He gave a heavy sigh as he leaned back against the wall a quiet finally settling over the room, it wasn't oppressing as it usually was but it was welcome after Ruby's non-stop nagging. "I...I was just...thinking about home that's all." Despite it being the truth he couldn't stop the heat he felt rinsing up to his face, for some reason saying it like that felt embarrassing and he was sure that it was evident on his face.

Ruby's eye's had lit up with pure excitement as he frowned slightly at that, once again she was bouncing in the chair directly across from him, "Ooooh, what was your home like I want to know."

Once again he frowned as he crossed his arms across his chest taking an adamant stand now, "No, I told you why I was smiling but I never agreed to tell you that."

"Aw what!" Ruby huffed as she leaned back in the chair her arms across her chest and her cheeks puffed up in frustration, he would have found it cute if she hadn't been an annoying little brat for the better part of an hour.

"Dude just tell her." His frowned deepened as he glared in Yang's direction who was still smiling, did this girl ever stop smiling, though a faint smile crossed his own face.

"Is that your one demand?"

She smirked as she looked at him, "Nice try..." The smile quickly vanished from his face as she chuckled softly, "You should just tell her though cause she is not going to stop, and for everyone's sanity including your own, it would be better if you just tell her. Though I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious too."

Rodric rolled his eyes as he leaned back against the wall closing his eyes as he sighed heavily, he wasn't exactly sure what to tell them there were a lot of things he rather not reveal to them, not to mention he wasn't sure why it mattered so much. "Yang's right Rodric." He opened his eyes at the sudden voice as he turned in it's direction, only to see the amber eyes of Blake looking towards him, "None of us know anything about you aside from your name, I mean we've been in the same room for about a week and no one knows a thing about you. I think it's only fair if you tell us about your home if nothing else." Rodric glared slightly at her but turned away just as fast, it was true after all he had been here nearly a week since he was...found. While they weren't on the best of terms he had learned to tolerate them all to a certain extent, he wouldn't call it friendship but there was something akin to an understanding between them all. Well aside from Weiss that was, but that didn't matter he knew plenty about them all from the way they acted, spoke and the like, but he always kept himself locked away from them, perhaps it was only fair...

Scratching his head he huffed in annoyance, "Fine..." He heard the bouncing from the chair across from him as he shot a glare at her to which she quickly ceased her bouncing. He took a deep breath before slowly letting it out as he leaned his head against the wall closing his eyes, "My home was not from this area, it was full of flat rolling green hills and large mountains that dotted the horizon. My home was at the base of one of these mountains, it had a fairly large village, mostly filled with homes though there were some general shops here and there. Mostly a trading village if I recall, travelers would come and stop by on occasion either to rest or to trade their pelts for gold or perhaps a good meal and a bed for the night. It wasn't anything special honestly just a good home for...for good people." The girls all shared a look as they remembered what Ozpin had said about the possibility of losing his family to rogue hunters, they all swallowed a lump in their throats as he continued. "The village also traded livestock as well as crops I believe, the cows and pigs they had seemed to be the main source of any income for them. If I remember correctly there was also a large castle of stone in the area, no where near the village mind you but it was there looming in the distance, it still ruled over them."

"Despite that the people of the village always seemed...cheerful, I could never understand what made them so happy. But most days I could wake up to smell of freshly baked bread being prepared in either the bakery or in some of the homes. Hm, if I was lucky I would be able to wake up on a day when the air was simply filled with the smell of baking bread, all the different herbs mixed in wafting in the air and filling it with such a delicious aroma. Those were days when everyone in the village made bread at the same time, oh it was such a heavenly scent..." Despite the girls having just left dinner they way he would describe the aroma of fresh handmade bread, made their mouths water and more than one stomach rumbled. It might have just been their imagination but they could have swore they had started to smell the bread that Rodric described the multitude of herbs being mixed and blended together perfectly and baked to perfection. "If that wasn't what I would awaken to then it would be the smell of fresh rain settling over the land, something as simple as rain water smelled so wonderful when it was mixed with the scent of freshly tilled earth." He smiled to himself as he took a deep breath somewhat smelling the newly fallen rain from memories past, though the smile quickly faded when it was replaced with the strong sickly smell of smoke and ash.

"I-I think that's enough of that..."

"What why I want to know more your home."

"No I've told you enough to satisfy your curiosity."

"But there's still so much I want to know, like about that castle, did you ever set foot in it, what was it like-"

"Ruby...please stop-"

"-and your village what was it called? Did you ever have any sort of festivals I know most places do-"

"-Ruby...I'm begging you-"

"Sis maybe you should-"

"-oh oh do you think you could find it if we gave you a map? I mean I would love to see it it sounds amazing-"

"Ruby-"

"and did you ever...you know have a crush on someone or did you leave a broken-"

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" Everyone jumped at the sudden exclamation, Rodric was breathing heavily his teeth clenched tightly as he lowed his head, shaking it back and forth slowly, "You...and your incessant nagging you just don't know when to stop-"

"R-Rodric I-I'm sorry I-"

"-you just keep pushing and pushing even when I BEGGED you to stop! You don't know when to stop, you just don't..."

"R-Rodric..." Ruby sat trembling in her seat fear and regret running through her body as tears burned at her eyes. She should have listened why did she have to be so stupid, he asked her to stop and yet she kept pushing and pushing until he got angry. It was all her fault and she knew it.

"You want to know so badly why I asked you to stop then I will. Maybe then your damned curiosity will be sated and you can leave me be." He glared up at Ruby causing her to jump, his eyes were filled with so much pain merely looking into them almost brought Ruby to tears, "Yes child we had a festival, it was their harvest festival, and it was the night I watched my home burn to the ground. The hunters came from the castle but they were not the hunters that you know of now, no they carried the shameful title of Knights." He sneered the words as Ruby's eyes widened in shock, Knights...the knights she grew up hearing stories about, they...they did that..._N-No i-it can't be._ "These knights marched forth from the castle under orders of the king to capture and bring me to him. But, did they simply do that, did they simply come and take me to their king...of course not." Ruby covered her mouth as she watched the tears flowing down his face, but that look of anger never left his face, she wasn't even sure if he knew he was crying.

"They found me first, they found me and cornered me keeping their weapons trained on me, I was already weak from a previous battle and could not retaliate against them. So I stood by helpless, me...helpless, while I watched them destroy my home, kill my friends and loved ones. All the while they laughed, oh how they laughed and jeered as I cried out in agony as I watched them spill the blood of countless innocents before me, all because they despised me. They killed hundreds of men women and children because of their hatred for me, how cowardly for humans bearing the name of Knights to act in such a way. And to answer your other question, yes Ruby, yes I had someone I cared deeply about, but she suffered a fate far worse than any of the others." He clenched his chest as pain radiated through his body, his breathing was ragged and he could feel a dampness on his face yet he did not care, if she truly wanted to know then she will know.

He stood and slowly made his way over towards Ruby, "They saw the way I yelled and cried out when they captured her, perhaps it was those actions that were her undoing. I blame myself of course for not being able to do anything, I also blame myself for getting attached to her, maybe if I had kept my distance she would have had a quick death like all the others."

"Rodric that's enough."

"No Yang if she wants to know so damned badly then she will hear what I have to say. You see child, once I made the folly of showing just how much she meant to me, they made her suffer...they made me suffer. I was forced to watch as they forced themselves on her one by one all while she begged for them to simply kill her. Do you know what that's like little one? To hear the person you love crying out in pain begging for her life to be ended, do you?"

"Rodric!"

"DO YOU?!"

"NO!" Ruby buried her her face in her hands as she cried out in anguish her entire body shuddering as she cried, Rodric felt no pity the only thing he felt now was a cold emptiness in his chest. He leaned forward speaking to her in a low voice that no longer held any semblance of emotion.

"I do, most nights I don't sleep because I still see her reaching out for me, begging for me to help. If not that then I hear her screaming for death, does it hurt little one? Does it hurt hearing the suffering I face..." She gave a silent nod her face still buried in her hands as she shuddered, "...maybe then you will learn to listen when someone begs you to stop, yes?" He opened his mouth to continue when he felt himself pulled back and slammed into the now closed window cracks spidering out along the surface of the glass.

"What the hell is your problem Rodric, she's just a kid!"

"It matters not that she is a mere child she wishes to know what my home was like even when I begged of her to stop. Clearly she is grown up to press forward in an issue I would rather not talk about, she wanted to know so I simply told her..." He pushed Yang's hand off of him and moved forward only for her to shove him back against the glass her arm across his chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"With me?! Why don't you ask yourself what's wrong with your disgusting race of humans, clearly you see nothing wrong with taking the lives of hundreds of innocents for the life of one. Now unhand me human before you suffer the same fate as those knights did..." He tried to push her off only for her to press her arm harder into his chest, a feral growl ripped through his throat as he glared at her, his eyes turning to slits as a faint trail of smoke left his mouth, "I said unhand me, because I will not hesitate to kill you!" She pulled back her fist ready to attack him, to which he merely smiled revealing a row of sharp teeth, "So be it then!" She brought her first down as heat began to emanate from the back of his throat, at this distance no amount of magic would be able to save her.

"Yang stop!" Yang's fist halted in it's movement as she glared at Rodric a wicked smirk on his lips as looked down at her, "J-Just stop...please." Yang frowned as she looked over her shoulder.

"But...Ruby he-" Rodric grinned as she let her guard down, when she turned to look at her sister he raised his legs off the ground and quickly kicked them forward, they connected with Yang's stomach tossing her across the room and into her sister as they both crashed into the chair. He picked himself up as he stalked towards them, the other two members of the team were ready with weapons drawn as he stood over the two of them.

"Next time it would be best of you simply listen to me." He walked past them as he pulled the door open and stepped out only to be stopped by a voice.

"W-Where the hell do you think you're going..." He turned to see Yang slowly standing up an arm draped across her stomach as she stood on shaking legs.

"Out. It would be in your best interest if you stayed put." He slammed the door shut hard enough for cracks to form around the door handle. With that the room was left in silence as Ruby slowly picked herself up brushing the splinters of the chair off her back.

"What the hell I'm going to kill that little-"

"Yang just stop please." They all turned towards Ruby who was already getting ready for bed, it was strange to see her like this, she was so quiet and her voice was low. She didn't want to hear anymore yelling, what Rodric had told her was still playing out in her mind, and the only thing she felt was ashamed and sick. She should have just stopped, why was she so stupid...

"But...Rubes he-"

"Just go to bed...all of you we'll...we'll deal with it tomorrow." She said nothing more as she climbed into bed covering her head with her blankets, she listened as her team grumbled about and cleaned up the remains of the chair before getting dressed. Team JNPR had came over to see what had happened but Yang simply told them to not worry about it, it was almost an hour later when everyone was finally asleep. Ruby how ever couldn't sleep, mostly from the thoughts that were plaguing her mind, and because of the large bruise that was covering most of her back that refused to let her get comfortable. Silently she got out of bed, wincing when she twisted the wrong way, she made her way towards the window and felt sadness wash over her when she saw the cracked glass. Slowly she opened the window letting the breeze flow through the room as she climbed up and sat on the windowsill, she wanted to apologize to Rodric, and beg him to forgive her. He was right, she had pushed him to far, she was so stupid for forgetting what Ozpin had told her, what kind of leader was she to be so insensitive like that. She clenched her fists as she looked up towards the shattered moon above her, she vowed she wouldn't sleep that night until Rodric came back and she had apologized to the best of her abilities to him.

Rodric never returned to the dorm that night...


	6. The Legend Revealed

_**With the conclusion of this chapter, I'm actually curious if anyone saw this coming...eh if you did tell me so, if you didn't well tell me anyway. **_

* * *

**The Legend Revealed**

Ruby was exhausted, she had stayed up all night on Friday waiting for Rodric to return only to realize that with the rising sun, he wasn't going to come back. She frowned at the thought and slowly climbed down from the windowsill, she took a shower and quickly got dressed leaving the dorm before the rest of her team could wake up. She didn't want them to know she had stayed up all night waiting for him, knowing Yang she would only get more upset that she was now losing sleep over him, though if she found out about the bruise on her back there wasn't going to be anything she could do to stop Yang from going on a school wide rampage. She yawned loudly as she made her way down to the dinning room, maybe if she ate something she would be able to wake herself up. Thankfully the dinning room was still empty only barely filled with students who either had extra work that needed doing on the weekend, or for those who were up early to head out into Vale.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she grumbled softly as she made her way over to where the kitchen staff would set up the food for the students to help themselves to. Grabbing a plate Ruby stumbled her way over to the food looking over it, she didn't know what to get, she wasn't feeling hungry at all really but she knew if she wanted to stay up for the day she had to actually eat something. It sucked when food smelled this good and you didn't have an appetite, Ruby closed her eyes as she inhaled deeply hoping the smell would stir whatever hunger rested inside her, though it had the opposite affect as everything seemed to slowly fade away.

* * *

Rubbing his stomach Jaune walked into the dinning room, hoping some of the ham was still left, whatever those cooks were doing to it made him extremely addicted to it. It was pretty much one of the other reasons that actually made him wake up early, the other being, if he didn't then Pyrrha would set off the 'Nora alarm clock' as she called it. After the first time, that was more than enough motivation for him to wake up the first time, shuddering slightly he turned towards the table of food and noticed a familiar red cloak. "Oh hey Ruby!" _Huh...that's strange, _usually Ruby would at least wave back if she heard him, yet she didn't and it looked like she wasn't actually doing anything. Confused he wandered over to her after grabbing his own plate and tried again, "Hey Rubes, your up pretty early." He gave the standard ten seconds for the statement to sink in as she was usually lost in thought and it would take a moment for her to react, though when those ten seconds were up she still didn't say anything. Now he was getting worried, was she upset with him, and if she was then what did he do? He wasn't one to make people upset with him, then again if that was the problem and he didn't know what he did, it was a big possibility that he did something.

He leaned forward closer to her hoping to get her to look at him at least, but as he got closer he could hear a faint sound coming from her, it sounded like...like she was snoring. Surprised by this he stepped around and stood in front of her only to find that she was, in fact, snoring or more accurately asleep on her feet. Jaune would have found this amazing if he wasn't completely caught off guard by the fact that, **she was asleep standing up**, he grasped her shoulders and gently shook her as to not completely scare the crap out of her. "H-Hey Ruby you might want to wake up...like now." When she didn't wake he shook her a bit harder, increasing every so often until he was furiously shaking her, earning a few strange looks from the other students that were in the room. "Come on Ruby, this is just getting weird, come on wake up!" She flinched at the sudden loud noise, that was good, he had at least gotten some reaction from her.

Grumbling softly Ruby opened her eyes slowly, having to quickly shut them as the light shone brightly in her eyes, after a moment she tried again. The evil brightness had faded away significantly as she blinked a few times to focus her eyes, when everything began to clear up the first thing she noticed was blue eyes and short blonde hair. Her eyes shot up when she realized that this person was much to close to her, "Jaune!" She tried to take a step back onto to find that someone had replaced her legs with wet noodles, that single step sent her to the ground landing roughly on her backside. She groaned in pain as she looked up at Jaune who was now looking down at her with a concerned expression, "What happened?" She rubbed her head as a small throbbing pain began to set in from her rather rude awakening, "Ugh, where am I?"

"You're in the dinning room, as for what happened, well you were asleep...on your feet." Ruby looked up at him like he was crazy, that was impossible...no one could fall asleep standing up, she wasn't a horse.

"What? No I wasn't." She pushed herself to her feet hissing softly as her numb legs sent painful shocks through her body, maybe she did fall asleep after all that would explain why her legs were numb. People don't usually get numb legs from just standing around...maybe. She tried to take another step only to stumble and be saved from another fall by Jaune who held her by the shoulders.

"Actually you were, I spent the better part of five minuets trying to wake you up, for what it's worth the school could have been crumbling down and you would have still slept through it...though that's not a good thing." He shook his head as he helped her make, uneasy steps, towards one of the large tables. As she took her seat he went back to the food and grabbed them both a plate of common breakfast foods; toast, eggs, bacon and plenty of ham for him, he also grabbed a cup of coffee for Ruby seeing as she was in dire need of it. When he returned he saw her resting her head on her hand, though her eyes were closed showing that she was either already asleep again, or she was slowly fading into that point. He set the plates down as noisily as he could without actually breaking the dishes, it did what he hoped and had Ruby jumping at the noise as she sat up, before looking down at the good. She muttered a low 'thanks' before nibbling on a piece of bacon, "So...how are you?"

Ruby looked towards Jaune frowning with a piece of bacon in her mouth, "Really Jaune? Really? I'm exhausted for one, I feel sick to my stomach for two, and my back is killing me for three. That's how I'm feeling..." Ruby looked down to her plate of food and sighed before pushing it away, she was in no way a morning person, sure she could get up early but that didn't mean she liked it. She was what her sister called 'a cranky ass' and it seemed much more so since she didn't get a wink of sleep whatsoever, "Look...I'm sorry Jaune I just didn't get any sleep last night because I was waiting for Rodric to- say you haven't seen him have you?" Jaune shook his head causing Ruby to deflate as she crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down on it, she yawned loudly as she closed her eyes feeling sleep ready to claim her again.

"Speaking of Rodric um...well I'll just be blunt. What the heck happened last night?" Ruby looked towards him, hurt hidden behind her silver eyes as she quickly averted her gaze looking off into a corner of the room, "I mean we all heard shouting from your dorm, Pyrrha wanted to go and find out what was going on, but Ren said that we shouldn't get involved with someone else's affairs. But...but then we heard that crash and we figured we should at least see if you guys were alright, then Yang said not to worry about it, but I mean we kind of are."

Ruby frowned and buried her face in her arms, she didn't really want to think about what must have been going through their heads hearing all that shouting an then hearing the crash that was her and her sister breaking a chair with their bodies. It didn't help that her mind was still wracked with guilt for having pushed Rodric to that point all she wanted to do was just apologize and put the whole thing behind them, though she was sure that's what Rodric _had_ wanted to do when she pushed him to the breaking point. Giving a heavy sigh she slowly looked up to Jaune who was slowly eating his breakfast his eyes still on her, she turned her head and laid them on her arms, "It's a long story..."

Ruby explained everything that happened after they had all left dinner last night, everything from how she had forced Rodric to tell them about his home, all the way up till he snapped. Ruby surprised herself, she only had to stop four times to calm herself down, and to keep the tears from spilling over. As she retold the events it became painfully clear just how hurtful she must have sounded to ignore his pleas to stop, "I was so stupid Jaune...I mean I heard him clear as day beg me to stop, and I didn't...for whatever stupid reason I chose to ignore him and now look, I have no idea where he is or if he's coming back." She buried her face in her arms once again giving off a heavy sigh, she knew very well that he wouldn't have left Beacon as Professor Ozpin would have likely messaged them via scroll to retrieve the little runaway, though even if he was still here that didn't mean he was obligated to be around them. She frowned slightly, having the idea that she single handedly ran off a potential friend all because she couldn't take a hint unsurprisingly, didn't sit well with her. Looking up slightly she noticed Jaune had stopped eating and was merely staring at the plate of food before him, a strange look on his face, "What are you thinking about Jaune?"

He gave a soft hum, "I'm thinking I'm probably not the best person to come to for advice..."

"Jaune..."

"Honestly Ruby, I-I got nothing, aside from finding the guy and apologizing to him I don't really know what else to do. I mean from the sound of it, he...went through some pretty gruesome things, not a lot of people want to remember something like that and you kind of forced him too."

"Not helping..." She whined before burying her face back into her arms, to hide the fact that tears were threatening to spill over.

"I know I just...I don't know what to say Ruby, you guys told me Professor Ozpin asked you all to watch over him, if that was the case he wouldn't have gotten far otherwise he would have told you so. You'll find him if you look I'm sure, he's probably around somewhere trying to keep off your radar. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help."

She shook her head slightly refusing to look up, "It's alright Jaune...I'll figure something out."

* * *

He shook his head as he rubbed his eyes slightly, trying to keep himself awake had proven difficult, even when he stole away a cup of coffee as the cooks were setting up breakfast didn't seem to be helping him that much. It had been several hours since the incident in the dorm room, though it didn't take that long to realize he had made a terrible mistake. Saying all those things to a young girl was not something he should have done, though he found he at least had the self control to leave out the horrific details. Sadly he was barely keeping himself from going into the details, running his hands through his hair he sighed heavily as his neck began to tighten up from sitting up all night. After having left the dorm he didn't know where to go, and seeing as he couldn't simply return to the dorm after that he had went to the gym to work off some steam as they would say. However not even an hour after he arrived the lights turned off, on a timer he had assumed and sadly left to find a new spot to waste his night away.

Luckily it seemed the library remained open for the night, though the main lights were shut off and the terminals seemed to be in the same position as well. Candles littered the large room sitting on each table and hanging from the sconces on the wall, despite it being a more...primitive way to light a room it seemed to keep it fairly lit. Setting himself up at a table he began to read the books that the students hadn't bothered to put back up, though as time went on he found himself growing more and more weary, he wanted to sleep truly he did but there was no way he was going to sleep well in a chair. That's where the coffee came in, he pinched the bridge of his nose groaning in exhaustion before sighing heavily once again. "Wow that was quiet a sigh."

Lowering his hand he looked up to see a girl standing on the opposite side of the table looking curiously at him with deep emerald green eyes, they seemed even brighter against her tanned skin. His mind wasn't functioning properly with the lack of sleep as he groggily replies, "Excuse me?" Despite that she seemed to giggle at his response, why, he had no idea as it was a simple response nothing funny about it. Without asking the girl pulled up a chair and sat down propping her head up on her arms as she looked at him curiously, she didn't say anything merely stared at him, he frowned at this, "Is...there something I could help you with?" She merely shook her head, her sandy blonde hair swaying with the movement, again this only caused his frown to deepen.

"Seems like your the one who needs help, with you sighing like that and all." She gave him a wide smile before lowering her arms and leaning forward on the table slightly, "So...what's up?" He sighed heavily again rubbing his eyes as he fought back a snarky remark, he was not a morning person, especially to be pestered this early in the morning by some girl who felt she could just fix everything. As he opened his eyes he noticed she was stroking a large fuzzy looking object, it was when it twitched and slid from the table to raise up behind her did he realize what it was.

"You're a faunus aren't you?" She tilted her head curiously at him, and it was then that he noticed that, blended against her blonde hair, was a pair of short rounded ears colored the same sandy blonde. That was strange, from what Velvet had told him most faunus were either born with a tail or ears or some other trait but never more than one. Was she a special case?

She reached behind her and brought her tail back into her lap as she leaned back against the chair gently stroking her tail as she sighed softly, "Yes I am...does it bother you?" It wouldn't be the first time someone refused to speak to her merely because she was a faunus or for that _other _reason, though he wouldn't know about it so it had to be about her being a faunus. "You should just say so now because I would rather not hear any of the hurtful stuff you-"

"No, no I don't have a problem with it I was merely asking. You'll have to forgive me, I'm still not used to seeing faunus, the only one I grew accustomed to was Velvet. Though it would only make sense that there is more than one..." He trailed off as he looked down towards the table, at least if he ceased his ramblings now he wouldn't accidentally say something hurtful to someone who doesn't deserve it. He looked back up towards her, seeing she was busy fussing with her tail he cleared his throat before starting up again, "If I may...I am curious as to why...um a-as to why you have both ears and a tail." He frowned slightly before instantly adding, "I-If you don't wish to speak about it you are in no way obligated to answer me."

She giggled softly before shaking her head, "No I don't have a problem with it, why would I?" She could see he was struggling to answer her clearly rhetorical question as she giggled again, "You're weird. Anyway, it's a rare genetic mutation, at least that's what my doctor said when I was taken to see about it. From what he says on very rare occasions a faunus can be born with more than one trait from the parents, though I don't think it's true."

Rodric leaned forward, a little curious, "Why do you say that?"

She leaned forward giggling once again, "Well there's another faunus here at Beacon who's just like me, well...not just like me but you know what I mean. His name is...Michael? At least that's what it sounded like, he's part of Team Malevolent." Rodric nodded slightly, as he noticed the girl seemed to stare off into space before remembering where she was, "Oh speaking of his name, my name is Nyx, Nyx Rothschild part of Team Raven." She held out her hand to which he smirked and took in his giving her a gentle handshake.

"Well met Nyx, I'm Rodric."

She looked at him expectantly, "Rodric..." She made a motion with her free hand urging him to continue.

He gave a short laugh as he released her hand and returned to his position, "No, it's just Rodric."

Giving a curious hum, to which she nodded slowly, "Yup, I was right, you're pretty weird." She laughed softly when she noticed him frowning, "In a good way though I promise you...so feel like talking now?" He gave a heavy sigh leaning his head back as he stared at the high ceiling of the library, before finally replying.

"I suppose I should, I assume you won't drop it until you find out what's wrong, hm?"

"You would assume right sir." She laughed softly as she ran her fingers through the soft fur of her tail getting comfy for what would most likely be a long winded story.

"Well I suppose I'll start from the beginning, like all good stories supposedly..."

Nyx had assumed right, it was a long winded story, though not in a good sense. More in the most terrible of ways, she was angry deep down but tried not to show it, when he explained what had happened to Ruby she had stopped stroking her tail and clenched her fists under the table. Ruby was one of the first first friends she made outside of her own team, so she cared about her deeply, and to hear that she was hurt because of the man in front of her didn't sit well with her. Though she couldn't do anything because she had offered to listen to his story, hearing that he was very tore up about hurting her at least eased the anger she felt towards him at least a little, though as he went on about how terrible he felt about saying all those terrible things and then hurting her she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. When he had finished she merely sat there and scratched her head, she was at a lose of words, her at a loss for words. Had Ravyn been there with them she would have been in awe at how this man actually left her speechless, still she frowned slightly before looking up at him, "So...what are you going to do?"

"I don't know...I mean I want to apologize I just don't know how to go about doing it." That was his honest answer, being away from the source of his anger for an extended period of time gave him time to reflect on just how much of a...a monster he acted like last night. Sure he had to revisit, possibly, the worst moment in his existence but that didn't give him nearly enough right to simply lash out at a young girls curiosity...nothing would ever give him that right.

"Well, why don't you start with just saying you're sorry?"

"Nyx...I didn't mean I couldn't find the words, I know what I want to say, it's just getting the opportunity to say them. More than likely she's with her team, and I honestly don't want to see them right now, more so because I know they wouldn't even give me a chance to apologize. I'd rather apologize to her first before trying to do the same for her team."

"Hm, yeah I can see how that would be best, Yang isn't the most...understanding of people after you've made her mad. So how are you going to get Ruby by herself then?"

He shrugged slightly before bringing his forward looking towards Nyx, "I have no idea, I'm sure she's not that eager to be anywhere near me after last night, especially by herself. No doubt she's going to be stuck with her team until they all come looking for me, or Ozpin sends them after me personally." He pinched the bridge of his nose giving a heavy sigh, "You wouldn't happen to know of a really quiet place I can go and think, I rather not stay here any longer than I already have, don't want to risk having one of her friends run into me."

She tapped her chin thinking of a place he could hang out and be all gloomy to himself, she barely stifled a laugh when she though of it like that, he no doubt heard that and was frowning at her. To keep herself from laughing she didn't look at him, "Well you could always hang out on the roof, not a lot of people go up there, so you should be safe for a while at least." He nodded slightly before standing and stretching out his sore muscles.

"Well this has been a wonderful conversation Nyx, but I believe me and a rooftop need to become more acquainted." He turned and started for the door, ready to feel the fresh air and bask in the silence.

"Heh, enjoy yourself just not to much." She burst into a fit of laughter as she struggled to quiet herself. Rodric shook his head but didn't stop as he smirked.

"What a strange creature."

"Ferret, actually."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look back at Nyx who merely smiled and pointed to her ears, which twitched slightly, "I'm a ferret faunus, just so you know." Rodric looked at her before smirking once again and turning towards the door, Nyx smiled as she leaned back in the chair stretching her arms up over her head with a soft groan, the front legs of the chair lifted off the ground before falling forward again. She couldn't help but smile to herself, she was happy at least somewhat, despite knowing that this guy had hurt her friend he honestly didn't seem like the type of person who did it intentionally. He would be a good friend, if and when he apologized to Ruby for hurting her, she turned and looked out of the library as a large smile came over her face, _Speaking of Ruby. _She quickly stood and threw the window open leaning out of it practically falling out of it as she shouted to her, "Hey Ruby I got to tell you about something!"

* * *

She fidgeted slightly as she stared at the door in front of her, Nyx had told her where to find Rodric, though she was a little curious as to why she would tell her after she had said that Rodric had went to find peace and quiet away from everyone. Maybe it was simply that, that was making her nervous, he wanted to be alone and here she was about to intrude on that. She thought about simply turning around and leaving, after all she knew where he was now, so she didn't exactly have to bother with looking for him anymore. But, this would also be a good chance for her to apologize and at least talk to him a bit, if she waited until he same back there was no way she was going to get a moment to apologize because no doubt Yang would be hovering around at all times to make sure he didn't 'hurt' her again. After mentally arguing with herself she found that she had already grabbed the door handle and was pushing it open before she could stop herself, the roof was a spacious place as any roof would usually be. She had never really been up here before but it seemed like a fairly nice place to just sit and relax, it was very empty as it was large, meaning that a few people could be up here and they wouldn't have to even bother each other.

She gently closed the door behind her and pressed herself against the wall next to the door as her eyes traveled to the figure sitting along the edge of the roof. _Why does he always sit in dangerous places, _if not in the windowsill of their dorm on the _second _floor then sitting on the edge of the roof on the third floor. She shook her head as she said nothing but merely looked at him as he looked out towards the forest again, he was always looking out there, she always wondered what he found so interesting about a forest filled with all kinds of Grimm. She scooted along the wall trying to move enough to get a look at his face to gauge whether or not it was a good idea to bring up what happened, though by the time she was practically standing at the edge she still couldn't get a good look at his face. She gave a soft sigh as she moved away from the edge and bit her lip, fiddling with her cloak she clenched her hands before shakily starting, "R-Rodric I just want to say I-" She stopped when he raised his hand signaling her to stop, she bit her lip afraid he was going to yell at her, but then was surprised when he simply pointed at the floor before lowering his hand. She slowly slid against the wall until she was sitting with her knees pressed to her chest as she pulled her cloak around her to keep the cold breeze away, and with that they sat in a silence, Rodric staring out into the forest as per usual and Ruby looking towards him, nervous and hesitant about what to say to him.

They both sat like this for a long while, every time Ruby opened her mouth to say something Rodric would simply glance at her from the corner of his eye and she would instantly close her mouth. It put her on edge, she didn't know whether he was angry, upset, happy, or sad, he simply had this stoic look on his face that could rival that of Blake's or Ren's. She had given up on trying to say anything to him after the tenth time, from the looks of it he wasn't going to give her the chance to say what was on his mind, though it didn't seem like he was angry at her seeing as he was at least tolerating her being there. Those brief moments he would cast his eyes towards her she was able to at least see something in them, not the hate she had expected but...strangely pain. She shifted slightly and hissed when her back pressed hard against the wall, _there it is again...wait, _was that it? Was he looking at her like that because he felt bad for what happened, she shook her head a small smirk on her face, she couldn't believe that's what he kept looking at her for. She leaned back against the wall, slower this time, as she closed her eyes before sighing, it was only then did she realize what a mistake that was. As she fought to keep her eyes open after mistakenly closing them she found that with each blink it was getting more and more difficult to keep her eyes open. She was still so tired, she didn't want to give in for fear that if she woke up, he would have left again, despite her best attempts she slowly gave into sleep and the last thing she saw before her eyes closed was Rodric looking at her again.

He returned his gaze towards the forest, when Ruby had finally succumb to sleep, he had a feeling deep down after he left the previous night that she wouldn't have slept. She's a sweet girl, although a bit naïve when it came to speaking with people, she didn't mean anything by what she asked last night and he knew that. That's why he also knew she would have wanted to apologize for speaking the way she did, though he knew there was no need for it, those memories that pained him greatly were in the past, a past he should have long distanced himself from. It seemed though that when he awoke in this time, in this world, that they were as fresh in his mind almost as if they had happened the previous day. Villages burning, people dying, his love screaming for him, all of it seemed to have happened so recently. It only made sense as to why he reacted the way he did, though he knew he shouldn't have done so, it was only after it was all said and done did he realize what a folly he had made. It was then he also realized that, there was no way they were going to listen to a single thing he said after what he had done, he thought giving them both of them some space would have helped but it seemed it didn't. He rubbed his temples before slowly lowering himself back onto the cold floor of the roof, he stared up at the sky watching as the clouds lazily moved with the breeze, he couldn't help but smile as a familiar ache filled his chest as he looked up towards the infinite blue sky. _If only I could be there once again..._

* * *

_Falling, slowly but falling nonetheless, you always get the strangest feelings as you fall. For a moment you feel weightless, light, and strangely enough...free. Free from all the problems that you face, the only thing that really matters in that moment is that wonderful sense of vertigo as your entire body is filled with a tingling sensation that numbs all your limbs. Painful, but in a strange wonderful sense, it makes you feel alive; your mind races and your heart pumps rapidly. Despite knowing what comes after falling for so long, you still feel so carefree in the moments before, it feels like forever as you plummet down back to the cold reality that you must face. Pain._

Ruby's eyes shot open, her heart racing almost painfully so in her chest as she found herself in a new position, she must have fell over when she had fallen asleep. She slowly pushed herself back into her previous position hissing softly at the pain that radiated through her body, funnily enough it wasn't from her back but from her head when it came in contact with the floor. Her chest as well, her heart was racing painfully face, though that is what happens when you are startled away, she knew that all to well growing up with Yang. She was more surprised she hadn't died of a heart attack from Yang scaring her out of a peaceful sleep, she learned to start locking her door after that one time, though it never really seemed to deter her sister. She leaned forward as she stretched her entire body out groaning softly, despite the uncomfortable place she found herself, she strangely felt more rested, but then again simply sleeping when your body demanded would make any sleep feel amazing. As she rubbed her eyes, she looked towards the spot Rodric had been earlier, only to find him gone, sighing softly she had figured that was what was going to happen, well at least that was until she looked down.

He was still there, laying on his back facing the sky, from where she was she could tell him was asleep, she couldn't blame him really it was strangely comfortable up here despite being a little chilly. She couldn't help but smile as she looked at him, he seemed so much different than when he was awake, that scowl he would usually have wasn't present, he actually seemed calm and relaxed for at least the moment. She wondered if he was dreaming, about the things he had told her about, he said that he usually dreamt about...all those things. Though from his even breaths he seemed to at least be sleeping peacefully at least for the moment, she looked up towards the sky resting her head against the wall as she sighed. A shrill ringing tore through the, admittedly, peaceful silence, Ruby jumped a few inches from her spot on the ground. She pulled out her scroll and fumbled around with it nearly dropping it as she quickly tried to answer the call, as she did a picture of her sister appeared on the screen, she had a worried look in her eyes, _"Geeze there you are, where have you been? You've been gone for hours and none of us could find you, you had me worried sick!" _

Ruby gave a nervous chuckle, apparently telling her team that she was going to look for Rodric has slipped her mind, "S-Sorry," she said in a hushed tone trying to keep from talking so loudly, "I kind of fell asleep when I went to go look for Rodric...I guess I forgot to tell you guys, sorry."

Yang frowned slightly when she found out that her sister went missing for the better part of close to three and a half hours, simply looking for that guy, _"Seriously Rubes, after what he did last night I don't even know why you're trying, he could hurt you if you find him and if he does I'm going to-"_

"Yang that wasn't his fault yesterday, and I realize that, I shouldn't have pushed him that far. Granted he didn't have to go that far either telling me some of those things, but I did kind of ask for it really, I was just hoping I could find him and see if I could apolo-"

_"OH HELL NO! My baby sister is not going to apologize to some ass, who sent her crashing into a chair, that punk better come crawling back on his hands and knees and beg you for forgivness. You get your butt back here Rubes, your search is done I'm not going to let you say a damn thing to-"_

"Yang, that's enough I'm going to apologize to him whether you want me to, I have to because it was my fault that happened, I heard you ask me to stop to last night but I still didn't listen to you. So it is my fault that it happened end of story."

_"...Whatever, you seem to have you mind set on this and I guess I can't stop you. But, if I find out that he laid his hands on you then I'm going to find him and rip his arms and shove them so far up his-"_

"U-Uh I-I gotta go Yang I'll see you tonight alright bye!" She quickly closed the scroll as she slowly looked up to see Rodric looking at her a small smirk on his face, her face began to bloom a deep crimson shade as she quickly looked away from him. Curse her bad luck, the moment Yang started to bad mouth him, he had to wake up.

"She has quite the mouth on her doesn't she?"

"Y-Yeah..." She didn't dare look at him, more so out of fear of what he would say or do because of what he heard Yang say. Though she was more surprised when she heard him start to laugh, it was such a strange sound to hear come from him considering it was the first time she even heard him do it. She hesitantly looked up at him only to see him looking back out towards the forest, and before she could stop herself she found herself asking, "Why are you always looking out there?" She quickly covered her mouth despite the words having already left them.

She flinched slightly when his laughing ceased, though he didn't say anything, he merely leaned back on his hands a small smile on his face. "It feels like home." That's all he said, but it didn't really answer her question, from what it had said last night she thought he lived in a village.

"But...I thought you lived in a village?"

Again she flinched, cursing herself for forgetting what had caused that fight last night, though this time he didn't say anything for a long while, he merely kept quiet before sighing softly. "I never said I lived in a village, but I did live near the village, I spent most of my time in the forest I was more in my element there. The villagers had gotten used to my presence there but I could tell it made them nervous to see me wandering around the forest so close by, as much as they revered me they still feared me, it was humorous to me at least. I decided to at least lessen their worries about me and took residence up in a cave just above their village, they at least seemed a little more comfortable about that arrangement, though I found it extremely uncomfortable." He shrugged his shoulders slightly as he turned towards her and smirked slightly, "I'm surprised your not asking me questions, little one."

She wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her head on them before hesitantly stating, "I-I thought you were mad with me after-"

He sighed heavily as he looked away from her and into the forest, she whimpered softly fearing she might have angered him again, "Child, I'm not angry at you for having a curiosity of my past, I'm more angry with myself for how I reacted." He sat up and crossed his legs as he let out a slow breath, "Its been years since that happened, and yet when you all found me, the memories were fresh in my mind as if they had only happened yesterday. I don't know what caused it...I haven't thought about her in so long, so long in fact that I almost forgot about it all, yet..." He gave another sigh as he ran his hand over his hand trying to calm himself.

"W-What was her name..."

He looked towards Ruby before looking back towards the forest, he didn't answer right away, he was unsure about talking about his past and all the hurt that came with it. She was such an innocent child, perhaps it would be easier to tell her...everything really. "Serana...that was her name, she was a beautiful girl, eyes like the freshly fallen leaves of autumn. Hair as black as raven feathers, and skin as pale as the freshly fallen snow, she was as lovely as could be. How she ever fell for something like me I'll never understand..." Ruby's ears perked slightly from what he had said, _Something like him...what does he mean? _Even though she had heard that, she couldn't deny the fact that the girl, Serana, she did sound really beautiful. "She was something your kind would call a 'shrine maiden' she took care of me, waited on me, and prayed to me. Such a silly things those humans did praying to me like I was some sort of god...most times I found it annoying and was tempted to scare the humans off, but when she would pray to me...gods her voice was so beautiful. I could compare it to a chorus of sirens singing to me, but even that wouldn't do it justice really." Ruby blushed slightly as she listened to the way Rodric described his lost love, it sounded like something she shouldn't be listening to, almost like one of those intimate things she's read about and yet he didn't seem the least bit hesitant in speaking of her in such a way. Though some of the words stuck in her mind and made her even more curious, _Shrine maiden? Prayed to him? Where is Rodric from anyway?_

"Rodric...what do you mean, I-I don't mean to interrupt by the way, but shrine maidens? Praying to you, you even called yourself a something, what do you mean by all that?" He looked back over to her and smirked slightly before turning completely in her direction.

"Tell me Ruby, you know of the...knights, correct?" She nodded furiously at that, a strange sparkle in her eyes at the mention of knights, seemed she had a strange fascination for those humans. Shaking his head, he ignored the rising anger and continued, "Tell me what exactly do you know about Knights."

"Knights are heroes!" Ruby excitedly shouted, she calmed herself down as she felt her cheeks heating up, this was probably one of her most favorite things to talk about aside from weapons. All those stories Yang would read to her at night about the brave knights saving the beautiful princess had been the main reason she wanted to be a huntress. Not that she would be saving any princesses, but because she wanted to help people so that others might have their own fairytale ending. "Knights always help people no matter what, they always put others before them even if it means losing their lives. They would always fight monsters and save the princess to live happily ever after." Rodric couldn't help but smile at childlike happiness that came over her when she spoke so highly of the knights, it must have hurt her to hear what those knights had done to him.

"What kind of monsters would they fight off child?"

Ruby grew curious as to why this went from talking about his lost love to being a pop quiz about knights and monsters, "Well" she began, "They would fight off demons, magic animals, witches, bandits, evil rulers, evil knights, dragons-"

"Tell me, what do you know of dragons little one?"

She looked up from her fingers where she had been listing off the things knights would fight as she stared at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

"I'm simply curious as to what you know about these...dragons."

She was even more confused when she saw a smirk come over his face, she lowered her hands as she tried to remember the stories from her childhood, "Well um...they were big scary monsters something like giant lizards with wings that could breathe fire." He scoffed at that, "They were always guarding a princess that they had kidnapped and-" another scoff, "...and they always stole treasure from villages that-" again. "Why do you keep doing that?" Ruby frowned slightly, what was so funny that he kept interrupting her even after he was the one who asked her to tell him about dragons.

"Because child I'm assuming you 'learned' all that from your book of fairytales correct? Well I hate to inform you they are all wrong.."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it Ruby, a dragon guarding a princess for what reason? To simply wait for some brave and dashing knight with a roguish smile to slay them and save her? You'd have to be foolish to think a dragon would simply waste their times doing something so...so stupid."

Ruby frowned slightly puffing her cheeks out, "They would if they were ordered too..."

"No, they wouldn't. Dragons are powerful creatures, nothing controls a dragon except more powerful and older dragons such as elder dragons. Also dragons don't care about gold, that is a human concept, to show that dragons are evil and greedy creatures, it is one of the reasons they have turned into the symbol of the sin Greed, because all humans need a face for their own poor upbringing."

"Still evil though..."

"Actually, again, no they weren't. Dragons keep to themselves, but of course humans would think of them as evil because if you poke a bear and it attacks it was simply because the bear was evil. Dragons expect peace just as much as everyone else, they only did what they did because their hands were forced by the humans. Think about it, what creature of that magnitude would settled for simply terrorizing a village when, in all of its immense power, could simply leave it as nothing more than a scorch mark on a map?"

Ruby rolled her eyes as she huffed in annoyance, "Yeah, because you know what a dragon is like right?"

"Do you?"

She quickly stood and frowned at him, "No I don't, you know why? Because dragons don't exist, they've never existed, all they are is made up creatures to put in story books."

"Again you're wrong little one."

Again she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "Hah, really? So you're telling me that dragons exist and you know this personally?" He simply nodded to which she shook her head, "Yeah, and I'm secretly a Beowolf who happens to enjoy dressing like a little girl." He chuckled softly as he grinned at her.

"What should I call this Beowolf then, do you still go by Ruby?"

"Har har, very funny, if your being for real then prove it. Show me this supposedly real dragon."

"Well I can't do that-"

"Ha!"

"-as it wouldn't be right for me to undress in front of such a young girl."

"What are you-" She looked at him curiously, what did he mean by that? What did he mean by any of this? She had come up here with mind to apologize to him and here he was being all weird and talking about dragons for some reason. Going so far as to say that dragons actually existed and then acting like he knew about them, dragons are made up...right? She didn't show it on her face, but her mind slowly started to wonder if they did exist or at least used to exist, the way he talked made it sound like he knew about them. The things he said actually made sense, _Actually yeah a dragon wouldn't spend its time guarding a castle...and they wouldn't care about gold because it served no purpose. _She brought her hand to her lips and bit on her nail as she thought, still that didn't explain much of what he said earlier, about shrine maidens and being prayed to, he was just a guy why would they... "No..."

"Seems you finally got it."

"But there's no way..."

He merely smirked as he watched her face contort in confusion, as she tried to fight away the conclusion that was right in front of her. Many times she shook her head trying and trying to deny it, but there was no two ways about it. He couldn't help but smirk as he slowly stood as the look of confusion slowly faded from her face and was replaced by one of shock and surprise, "Are you really a-"

"In the flesh."


	7. A Dragon's Tale

**_AH SHIT...anyway *GASP* a second chapter to the same story uploaded before others, what sorcery is this?!1 After the big reveal to Rodric's character I just felt like writing another chapter. Seeing as I can properly move the story forward now I just wanted to get this out so the story could get a move on. There is still plenty of stuff to come, and as I've been talking with an associate of mine Cyruss Singe, I plan on this story to go on to three 'books' so to speak. So I'm pretty excited to get a move on with this. Anyway RxR, tell me what you think. _**

* * *

**A Dragon's Tale**

Her eye twitched slightly as she tried to focus on the words in front of her, she had checked this book out from the library just after lunch had ended, it had been on her mind for the last few days and she really wanted to read it. Now that it was in her possession she couldn't even enjoy it because of her partner, another heavy sigh caused her eye to twitch again as she glared up at her from over the edge of the book. She had been pacing back and forth for a little over an hour now, ever since Ruby hung up on her she had been pacing back and forth nonstop, "You're going to wear a hole in the floor Yang...just relax I'm sure Ruby's fine."

"How can you know for sure though? She said she was looking for Rodric, what if he got his hands on her and hurt her, I shouldn't have let her go. I should have kept her here, I should have been went to look for her, I should have-"

"Yang." That at least stopped her for a moment, her lialic eyes bore into hers as she sighed softly, "Ruby's a big girl, she can handle herself against someone like Rodric, plus she has Crescent Rose with her. So, if something does happen, not that it will Yang, but if something does she can protect herself." She went back to her book as Yang gave another huff before continuing in her pacing, with Yang freaking out and Weiss being her usual self she had to at least be the calm one during this time. She wouldn't admit it, fearing it would only worry her partner more, but she was worried about Ruby, she wished she had said something about her plans. Then one of them could have went with her, she wasn't worried that Rodric would do something to her, she could feel that's not the type of person he was, but he did seem easily angered. Sadly, Ruby wasn't the type of person to really watch what she would say, and really that's what worried her the most.

"Where could she be..." Yang pressed her forehead against the cold glass of the window looking out into the courtyard as the sun slowly set over the Emerald Forest, painting the sky an assortment of oranges and purples. Her eyes glanced towards the side seeing the cracked glass from last night, a frown came over her face, "He better watch himself..."

* * *

"For the last time child, no I can't fly if you've yet to notice I have no wings." He sighed heavily as he rolled his eyes, ever since he revealed himself to her, she had yet to stop pestering him. He supposed it wasn't all bad, that starry eyed look did suit her, still her mouth continued to run rattling off whatever questions decided to pop into her mind. Most of them seemed to be related to his kind, again he supposed that wasn't entirely bad, it always did his kind good to put to rest the lies the humans would make of them. He pinched the bride of his nose as he continued down the hallway with the excitable bundle of Ruby on his heels, he suddenly stopped, stumbling forward a bit as she ran into him. "Okay, enough...what exactly do you wish to know, that doesn't concern my lack of wings or a tail?"

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck chuckling nervously to herself, "Sorry," she had a feeling she was bugging him but she could hardly contain her excitement, _A dragon...a real dragon. _Though there was a small part of her mind that tried to deny his outrageous claim, the more child like part of her mind completely shut it out and was completely stuck on the idea that she was talking to a real dragon. "C-Can you just tell me everything you can about them? I mean you pretty much told me that dragons don't really guard princesses so...what else did they get wrong?"

He sighed heavily as he rubbed the back of his neck, looking over his shoulder he could see the excited look in her eyes as she eagerly waited for whatever it was he had to say. "What did they get wrong? Everything simple as that." He faced forward again, a small smile on his face as she huffed in annoyance at his simply answer, though he wasn't lying everything that was ever written, spoken, or shown about them is completely untrue. "Where to begin really...I suppose the beginning is the best place, yes? Well as I said everything human's have ever said about us is false, we are not evil, we are not beings of evil, we are not born from evil, and we are not incarnations of evil. Me and the rest of my kind are born from the very world around us, we are incarnations of nature's fury. When the humans started to encroach on our territory on our homes, we did what most humans and animals would do...we became territorial."

"I personally never saw the humans as a threat, I merely saw them as a curious creature, always interested yet fearful of the unknown, when they found us well..." He frowned slightly as he remembered one of the few times he almost killed a human, a young child had followed him through the forest back to his home, when he finally caught wind of the child he almost killed them, thankfully he realized that's all they were. "They can be really foolish sometimes, foolish yet versatile, never have I witnessed such a frail species as them survive trail after trail that has been thrown their way. Even some of my kind are incapable to adapting as they do, perhaps that's why we took such an interest in them..."

Ruby tilted her her sightly as she increased her pace to walk beside him and looked up at him curiously, "What do you mean took an interest?"

He looked at her for a moment before shrugging, "My kind were not known to freely adapt to the changing world, I mean we're huge hulking beasts that breathe fire and fly, it's kind of hard to change let alone hide that." She giggled to which he shook his head smirking, "Back to what I was saying, we took an interest in your kind, you humans, just to see where you would go. You all seemed to adapt so easily; it grew cold, you built fires, you grew hungry, you hunted, you feared, you protected yourselves. It was in that time that you all slowly started to lose interest in us, after all we were just another facet of life, we left you alone and you left us alone, simple as that. It was a wonderful coexistence to say the least, we kept away from each other and never really had a problem with each other."

His eyes began to grow distant as memories began to surface once again, "Yet it didn't seem to last long, it was several centuries later, something happened in that time. Where we once lived in relative harmony, my kind was being sought out, hunted, and killed, and for what...none of us were sure. And just like any creature pushed into a corner...we fought back, my kind united and went to war with the humans. This frail race proved a formidable adversary, they could certainly hold their own against us, it wasn't until a century or so after our war began did we come to a truce. It was a unstable truce to say the least, we wouldn't harm a human or hunt in the area of any town, and the humans wouldn't seek us out anymore." He crossed his arms as he kept his eyes on the ground, watching each step he took, "Truth be told I was not one for this truce, but the elder dragon, an ancient and powerful storm dragon, felt that it was better this way rather than watching our kind die out to these humans. It was not my place to question his choice, once the agreement was made we all went our separate ways, I chose to live as far from others as I possibly could. As, an earth dragon I chose to live-"

"Wait, wait, wait a minuet...an earth dragon?" She tilted her head curiously as he mentioned that and then the other a storm dragon, as far as she knew there was only one type of dragon, what was he talking about?

He sighed softly as he shook his head, "Yes child an earth dragon, as in a dragon who draws his power from nature itself." He looked down at her and he could still see she was very confused as he gave another heavy sigh, "As I said, we are the very forces of nature, fire, water, earth, and air. We are born from these core elements, and when one mates with another they are capable of bearing dragons that have the force of the parents; storm, lava, ice, and in rare cases crystal dragons...though those are more formed from polygamy and our kind looks down on that." He shook his head and waved his hands to get back to the main point, "Back to what I was saying, me being an earth dragon I chose to live in the thick forests away from prying eyes. I slept, for a long time I can only assume, when I awoke most of my home was gone and there was a rather large village that seemingly sprung up over night."

"I-is this where she was..." She bit her lip as she looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, she didn't like to keep bringing this subject up but he seemed to be much more talkative than before.

"...No, not yet at least, it would be a few more years before she was even born. But, I did stay with the village, my kind had seemingly become mere myths yet this village revered my kind as some kind of godly being. They were fearful of me at first, as I was of them, yet we some how came to a strange understanding. I would stay in the cave, rather their shrine and they would pray to me, granted I was unsure of what to think at first, but...but had I denied them I would have never met her." He ran his hand over his face giving a shaky sigh, "I-I think that's enough...for now at least."

Ruby nodded silently, she had learned plenty from their small talk, probably more than she really expected to, "O-Ok w-well I guess that's good, cause I'm starting to wonder where were going..."

Rodric looked around seeing that they had stopped at an intersection, and each path led down hallways that all looked the same, "Um...I do not have a clue..." Ruby laughed at that as she wiped her eyes shaking her head.

"Great...well I guess since we're here lets head down to the forge, I have some maintenance I want to perform on Crescent Rose." Rodric merely nodded as he followed behind the young girl, he couldn't help but find it so strange that he opened up to perhaps the strangest person he could have possibly opened up to. But, as he thought about it, perhaps it was simply because he saw a bit of Serana in her, she was sweet and caring much like she once was. Maybe it was because she simply seemed to be the pure embodiment of innocence, it was strange to see anyone with the amount of innocence she possessed. He shook his head trying to dislodge the thought, it was only in doing so did he finally take notice of the heat that he began to feel, as he looked around the hallway had become increasingly barren from what he had saw earlier. The multitude of doors were gone and replaced with a simple, long white hallways, that ended with a set of double metal doors, "Ah, geeze..." He looked down to see Ruby shaking her hand as she bit her lip, "Keep telling them to leave the door open, the handles get too hot..."

Without giving it a second thought he reached for the metal handles and gripped them tightly pulling the heavy doors open, he could feel the heat against his hand but he didn't mind it. She looked up at him, before smirking, "Such a gentleman..." He rolled his eyes as he walked into the large room with her, in the center was the main piece of equipment, on almost ancient looking iron forge. Complete with burning red coals, and large bellows to keep the forge hot, it was strange a school this advanced kept something so...so primitive, _perhaps they enjoy the classics. _He watched as she removed her weapon from the compartment on her back and unfolded it to it's full size, she laid it down on a wooden table before stopping, "Rodric...all you've told me so far has been, honestly, nothing but good...has there been any, well you know...bad dragons?"

He propped himself up against the wall on the far side of where she was set up as he looked off to the side staring into the burning coals, "Just one...the Empress of the Frozen Peaks, an elder ice dragon." He clenched his fists as he popped his neck, trying to work out the mounting frustration, "She...she despised humans, from the very beginning she hated their very existence, if it hadn't been for the Storm Bringer, the war between the dragons and the humans might have never truly ended."

"But why?" He looked up to see Ruby looking towards him with concern in her eyes, though she quickly turned and took hold of various tools to begin whatever maintenance her weapon required, "You had said the other dragons completely ignored us for the most part, why was she so against us?"

He gave a heavy sigh, "Simple, superiority." He pressed his fingers into his temple to ease away the throbbing pain that had set in at the mere mention of the ice dragon, "She saw humans as nothing more than insects, nothing more than vermin soiling our homes and our lands, taking our food and soiling our very way of life. They were nothing more than pests that needed to be wiped out...some of us had suspicious that she was the one who started the war with your kind, but none were brave enough to speak out. After all no one was willing to face the wrath of an elder dragon..."

"Why?" His head shot up at the ridiculous question, "You make the dragons sound so powerful, why would they be afraid of one of their own?" His mouth hung slack, he had to remind himself that she didn't know anything about dragons, that was why they were having this very talk. He slowly closed his mouth before clearing his throat.

"Allow me to explain then, we dragons are not immortal as one would be led to believe, we can die and we have, many in fact during the war. The only thing different between you and I is my longevity, for a human year roughly 500 years would pass for us. It is only in that sense do we seem immortal when it is not the case, we simply outlive you." He pushed off the wall and made his way towards the large forge in the center of the room, the heat growing strong as he moved closer to it, "Though we eventually succumb to age, there are other things that can prematurely end our lives..." He looked down into the red hot coals as he winced slightly at the strong heat emanating from it, "Just like all creatures we can succumb to injuries, though they would have to be many many injuries, for simply ones we can easily heal from. The very blood that flows through our veins is what heals us, unlike you humans, our blood has a property that speeds up healing almost one hundred times than it would normally take. Perhaps that is one reason my kind was hunted, sadly most humans are unable to use our blood..."

"Why?"

"It's deadly." He smirked slightly when she gasped at that knowledge, "Yes, but not in the sense that its poisonous, more so in the sense that it would be like trying to use magma to cauterize a paper cut. Our blood is boiling hot, much hotter than these coals, and once it is applied, there is no stopping it." Ruby covered her mouth as the imagine of boiling blood burning through someone's flesh causing them to scream out in agony as they tried to undo the foolish mistake they had made. She quickly shook her head to dislodge the thought from her mind, as she looked back over to Rodric her eyes widened in shock as she watched him reach into the forge and grab one of the hot coals. Her skin crawled as she listened to his skin his and sizzle under the extreme heat, once the lead in her stomach faded she rushed over to him and grabbed his arm causing him to drop the coal back into the forge.

"What's the matter with you why would you do that?!" She quickly dragged him over to the sink in the far corner of the room, hoping that she would at least be able to keep the skin from being damaged any further, "Wait...dammit I can't use water, what was that thing Weiss told me about burns...um...um..." She smacked her hand against her head urging herself to remember, _Of all the times for me to draw a blank. _

He chuckled softly, "What are you doing little one?" She glared at him and shoving his hand in his face.

"I'm trying to save your hand after you went and grabbed those coals like an idiot!"

He merely smirked and sighed, "Save my hand from what?" He turned his hand to show her that it was completely unharmed, her eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the undamaged skin. She had expected to see charred, black, and burning skin but when he showed her, all she saw was...nothing. His hand was perfectly fine albeit a bit red, she looked up at him confused as he gently pried his hand from her grasp and moved over to her weapon. "As I said, it takes much more than simple wounds to do us in, much less from the very elements we are born from..." He turned her weapon so the blade was curved upwards, slowly he ran the palm of his hand over the blade wincing slightly as he felt the steel cut into the flesh, again she ran over and grabbed his hand allowing the weapon to clatter back into place. He could feel her shaking, though she was much calmer than before, he looked down at his hand and saw the blood rushing forth from the wound. As he said, his blood seemed to bubble slightly as it met the air, almost instantly the sizzling sound began again though this time it was accompanied by a small line of smoke. He looked to her eyes as she simply stared down at his hand, watching the blood heal the wound, despite frightening her he could see wonder in her eyes. In her bright silver eyes, he found himself smiling slightly before slowly moving away and removing his hand from hers.

"Wow..." That was all she could manage to say, it was...crazy to see something like that, even their aura took hours to heal even the most minor of injuries, let alone something like that. Yet, within seconds of slicing his hand open, it was already healed and it didn't even leave a mark, had it been healed with aura it would have at least left a small scar. "That's...that's just...wow."

He nodded slowly with a smirk on his face, "It certainly is..." He looked down to see the blood was now gone as he looked up at her, "So what was this maintenance you needed to do anyway?"

She waved her hand and smirked slightly, "Oh nothing major, I just need to replace the blade...but I have been thinking about doing something with the ammunition I have...I haven't ever tried it before so I'm a little excited to see how it turns out." As she turned and bounced back to her weapon he couldn't help but feel a heavy bout of unease come over him as he watched her begin to take her weapon apart, _She knows what she's doing...right?_

* * *

Yang had taken to pacing once again, the low hanging sun was now gone behind the tall trees of the Emerald Forest, the sky was a deep purple-ish black. Both Weiss and Blake had already gotten dressed for the night and were ready for sleep, the only thing keeping them both up was Yang. "You guys, I cannot be the only one freaking out right now, Ruby has been gone for too long. Something happened, dammit I don't even know where to start looking, she won't answer her scroll, god I can't believe I was stupid enough to-"

"If she won't answer her scroll, then there is only once place she can be Yang." Blake rubbed her tired eyes as she glared at Yang, as much as she cared for her partner and her partner's sister, she cared a lot for her sleep as well. A cranky Blake was not a nice Blake, she looked up to see Yang looking down confused at her causing her to groan in exasperation, "Where was she the last hundred times she didn't answer her scroll, Yang."

Yang pondered this for a moment, the last time Ruby was gone for so long and refused to answer her scroll was when- she snapped her fingers in remembrance, "The forge!" She practically jumped on Blake wrapping her in one of her death hugs before gently patting her head, "Thanks kitty cat." With that she practically bolted out the door slamming it behind her, Blake's face was a deep red as she glared at the door.

"Ugh, is it bad that I'm glad she's finally gone?" There was no response, "Weiss?" She looked over and saw her white haired teammate was out cold, Blake merely shrugged before turning over in her bed yawning before closing her eyes.

* * *

Rodric found it fascinating how hard the young girl before him worked to maintain her weapon, he also found it fascinating how complex and intricate her weapon truly was. All the bits and ends that came from the weapon as she slowly and ever so gently pulled it apart, making sure no bolt or screw got lost in the mess that was the work bench. He kept his distance from her allowing her to work in comfort, though he couldn't help but feel compelled to be closer to her, he didn't want to hover though. Occasionally she would hiss or mutter a curse under her breath a she would quickly jerk her hand away from whatever hurt her, he couldn't explain the strange feeling he got when he witnessed this, but he didn't like it. Despite the injuries she continued to work diligently, not saying much as her entire focus was on her weapon, it was so odd to see this normally energetic girl quelled by simply working on something she enjoyed.

His heart clenched up slightly as he watched her pulled the massive blade of her scythe and set it off to the side, he wanted to tell her to be careful and not cut herself, but seeing as she already had he felt his expression would have been dismissed. Even with several injuries she continued to work, considering the way she moved so fluidly reaching for tools and other items without even looking up simply from memory, he knew she was used to sustaining those injuries. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her toil away, his mind began to drift back to the days of old, the rare times he would wander around the village, much to the villagers shock and awe. He would usually find himself sitting outside of the smith shop looking in from the tiny windows watching as the smith would toil away making whatever it was the villagers had requested. He always found it so fascinating, the humans ability to make things from the very earth itself, they never ceased to amaze him. He was brought back from his memories at the joyful shout of, "Done," she scratched her head slightly, "Well kinda..."

"Is something the matter?"

She looked over her shoulder as she shook her head slightly as she set her weapon down and moved over to a different bench, "Not exactly..." She pulled out a large red box from under her cloak and set it on the table as she began to pull out small grey colored objects from the box. Each one she gently set it down on the flat end, leaving them standing, "Thing is...I never actually done this before, well I was never allowed to do this before..." His heart clenched again, more so out of fear than concern this time, he moved over to her out of pure instinct as he stood next to her at the table looking down at all the objects left standing.

"What exactly are you going to do child?"

She gave a sheepish laugh as she took one of the bullets in hand and set it down on the machine in front of her known as the puller, once she fixed the round in place she carefully eased the bullet apart. Taking the casing she poured the powder and primer into a small container off to the side. "Well I want to try and replace the gunpowder in these with some Burn Dust...h-heh Weiss never let me try, said it was 'too dangerous' but i-it should be fine..." _I hope. _She kept her eyes focused as she slowly took apart every round dumping the powder and primer out, soon she was left with a mess of rounds and casings, she swallowed the lump in her throat as she moved over to a case on the far wall. The case was lined with various types of dust, hesitantly she reached for the small vial of Burn Dust and returned to her spot. Completely ignoring the scale, she began to slowly pour some of the dust into the casing, at this point she was completely eying it. Once it seemed like enough she set it down in the presser along with the round, gripping the lever she pulled down on it forcing the two separate pieces to become one again, she waited for a moment before sighing when nothing seemed to happen. "Well...there, nothing to worry about."

Rodric quirked his brow as he watched the young girl work, watched as she pulled apart the grey objects only to replace the silver powder with a bright red powder. That alone made him uneasy, yet as she worked his fears slowly ebbed away, once again he marveled at how diligently she worked despite this apparently being her first time doing this. He didn't quiet understand why, it seemed so simple, replace the silver powder with the red powder and then put it back together. He shook her head smirking slightly, how could he have been worried about something so simple, he looked down to see Ruby setting up the last object as she turned to him hands on her hips, "Well I'd say that's a job well done, though...can you not tell Weiss? She made me promise not to do something like this but, I was so tempted to so...please?"

He sighed heavily as he eventually shrugged, "Fine, fine I won't tell..." His words trailed off as he noticed something odd about the objects, they were slowly fading from grey and beginning to glow a bright red. "Um...should they be doing that?" Confused Ruby quickly turned around and yelped in surprise, she took a cautious step back as the rounds grew brighter and redder by the second.

"No..."

"No?" They both jumped at the shot that rang through the room, and then a second, whatever she had done was setting off the rounds before them, without thinking he grabbed Ruby and turned his back towards the glowing rounds. He pulled her close against him just as they all went off at once in a condensed explosion filled with metal and fire, he held his ground as the force of the blast pressed firmly against his back. The fire raged around him, he could feel it licking at his back and arms, it caused him to tighten his hold on the girl as he tried to protect her as much as he possible could.

* * *

Yang grumbled as she wandered the now dark halls of Beacon, usually Ruby would be back by now, usually they would both be in bed asleep, usually she wouldn't be angry enough to beat her baby sister to a pulp. But, this wasn't usually, she had gone to find Rodric and hadn't returned. Being the big sister she felt so stupid for letting Ruby go on her own, along with that deep-seated regret, all kinds of terrible things ran through her mind. Every bad thing that could happen played out in her mind and it made her sick, her pace sped up every time an image of her Ruby popped into her head of being hurt or worse, she was practically running through the halls looking for the forge. Her heart was pounding as she tore around corners almost slamming into the opposite wall, _Dammit where is this place..._She hated this, she had only been down to the forge a couple of times, she found it to hot so stayed clear of the place but, now that she needed to find it she couldn't remember the way.

As she took another corner she spied a pair of metal doors down a long hallway, she rested against the wall taking deep breaths, she remembered the metal doors of the forge. A smirk played on her lips as she took breaths to slow her heart down, giving a light cough she stood and quickly made her way towards the doors, "When I get my hands on her I swear I'm gonna-" The metal doors flew open slamming into the walls leaving deep cracks in them as black smoke billowed out from the forge. Her heart clenched tightly in her chest, from the blanket of darkness she could see a faint flickering light of fire, it was only when she stumbled did she realize she was running. Fear fueled her as she tore down the hall towards the smoke filled forge, "Ruby!"

Holding her breath as the hallway began to fill with the thick smoke made running difficult, with each step her legs and muscles burned from lack of oxygen. Her chest began to burn from lack of air, she ended up gasping out for breath as she sucked in a mouthful of smoke causing her to cough roughly, pulling her scarf up to cover her mouth and nose filtered the air at least somewhat. Though it didn't do anything to protect her eyes that began to water as the smoke stung them, rubbing them clear she made her way through the smoke, her only guide was coughing coming from further down the hallway. She grit her teeth as she stumbled her way through the blanket of thick smoke, she knew it had to be Ruby's fault seeing as no one else was ever foolish enough to cause an explosion like this. It relieved her to know that her sister was alright and causing mayhem, but at the same time it worried her, mostly because of the amount of smoke coming from the forge and the force of the explosion. It was enough to throw the heavy iron doors open and crack the walls from the force, the thought made her heart clench again as she began to quick her pace, "Ru-"

"Are you alright?" Yang stopped, she couldn't seem much from the thick smoke, but she recognized that voice, she clenched her fist as pure rage began to build in her chest. Each step she took was one step closer to punching his face in, she was about to call out to him when she heard another voice speak up.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, what about you?" She stopped and let out a long sigh of relief, it was Ruby, and for the most part she sounded fine aside from the occasional cough. The rapid beating of her heart slowly faded after finding that her sister was alright, despite her being in the same room with Rodric she was relieved to see that all her worries were misplaced. Wading through the smoke she waved her hand occasionally hoping to disperce the smoke, though it seemed to be clearing up as she moved closer to the door.

"Geeze Ruby I'm glad I finally found..." Her words died mid sentence as she looked at the scene before her, most of the wooden benches were either blow apart or smoldering in piles. The forge was a complete mess, with piles of metal scrap and other materials scattered around the room, it looked like a bomb had went off in the room, everything was either thrown around, burned, or completely destroyed. Though that wasn't what left her speechless, it was the position she found the two people in front of her in, and once again again she felt unbridled rage bubbling up from her very core. There on the ground was Ruby and on top of her was Rodric, she didn't trust him after last night but she didn't expect him to be some who would take advantage of a young girl, "What the hell is going on here!"

* * *

Both of their heads shot up as Ruby tilted her head back she saw her sister standing in the doorway fuming, "Yang!" She quickly looked down and saw the position she had been caught in, yelping softly, she could feel her face burning up as she quickly scooted from under Rodric. She stood and dusted herself off as she turned to Yang trying to defuse the situation, "Y-Yang I-I can explain alright just-"

"Oh you can explain, I can't wait to hear this..." She crossed her arms as she made her way over to them, her eyes darting down to Rodric as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, it was then that she noticed that his shirt was barely clinging to his body, held together by a few scraps.

"I don't understand what the problem seems to be..." Rodric dusted his pants off as he strained to look at the damage to his back, he couldn't see much but he could feel his blood flowing down his back slightly, he cursed softly as he rolled his shoulders feeling the pinch in his muscle.

"The problem is that you're trying to put the moves on my sister!" The room was silent from her outburst, aside from the crackling of the burning wood around them. Ruby's face was a deep red as she stared wide eyed at Yang, Rodric merely tilted his head in confusion.

"I...beg your pardon?"

"You think I'm blind or som-"

"Yang!" Ruby's face had yet to cease it's furious blushing as she glared at Yang, she looked at Rodric out of the corner of her eye and saw that he looked truly confused, "I-It's not like that Yang, he was just...protecting me." She wrung her hands as she looked down at the ground, while it was true what she had said she still couldn't get the thought out of her mind about how Yang had found them, it made her heart race but it was mostly from embarrassment.

"Oh? Protecting you huh? Protecting you from wh-" She stopped as she remembered the state of the room she was standing in, "O-Oh..." Her face flushed slightly before she cleared her throat, "W-Well thanks then for protecting my sister...still that's not enough to make up for what you did last night!"

Rodric frowned as he arched his brow, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, don't think I'm going to forgive you for what you did last-"

"I'm just going to stop you right there Yang. I don't need your forgiveness, I know what I did was wrong, but don't think for one second that it means I'm going to come back crawling on my hands and knees to beg you for forgiveness." He crossed his arms as Yang began to glare at him, "I've come to terms on how I've acted, hence why I haven't come back to the dorm since that night. Aside from that, I don't need anyone's forgiveness except for one persons." He jerked his head in Ruby's direction, "Hers."

Yang was stunned, she didn't except him to speak to her in a way like he did, she opened her mouth to reply but was cut off once again when he spoke, "I seem to recall it was only her that I said all those awful things to, the only one I think I need to make amends with, is Ruby. As for you, I apologize if I might have hurt you physically, but I think the one I should be redeeming myself to is your sister, since you humans seem to suffer more on the...'emotional level.'"

She was speechless, she never saw anyone stand there ground against Yang, especially when she would give them 'the look.' Though what he had said to her is what made her freeze up, he was trying to make up for his actions...to her, not to Yang or anyone else on the team just her. It caused the blush to return on her face as she quickly looked away and stared at the floor, she bit her lip thinking about it, she didn't hold any grudge against him for everything he had said. She had knew that was all her fault, yet he seemed to be willing to do anything to make up for it, it was...sweet in a way. "It's fine..." She mumbled out, her voice seeming to have vanished, though when she looked up she could see the both of them looking at her. She cleared her throat and spoke up louder this time, "I-It's fine Rodric I-I forgive you, but I should be the one saying-"

"Thank you Ruby." She froze, her throat tightened up, and her heart raced at the way he looked at her. He had a smile on his face, though it was so faint it was hardly there, she was still able to notice it as it seemed to go with the strange content look on his face. _Was it really eating him this badly? _She couldn't help but return the smile, though it was quickly wiped from her face when she heard her sister making gagging sounds.

"Sick, you two lovebirds are gonna make me hurl." Rodric merely frowned at that, Ruby's face was practically glowing with the bright blush she had on her cheeks. "Anyway, you should come on back Ruby it's late." She turned her gaze to Rodric as she looked at him warily, "I guess...I guess since Ruby gave the okay, your welcome back to the dorm..." Rodric merely shrugged his shoulders, Yang frowned but said nothing as she glanced at Ruby and jerked her head as she turned and walked back out into the hallway.

Giving a heavy sigh Ruby started to follow, only to stop short and turn to see Rodric still standing in place, she was going to ask what was wrong when a heavy 'plink' echoed through the quiet of the forge. She looked down at the ground only to see the culprit, a metal fragment, again she went to speak only for another 'plink' to cut her off which was followed by another and then another. She looked up to see Rodric wince slightly, "Are you alright?"

He gave a slow nod as he frowned as another metal shard fell to the ground, "Merely uncomfortable, it should take a moment for all the shard to be pushed from my body, still it does not mean it will not hurt." He shifted again as another metal shard fell to the ground.

Ruby flinched slightly as the metal continued to fall to the ground, "A-Are you going to come back to the dorm tonight?"

He shrugged before wincing again, "Possibly, it is fairly late. I might star gaze for a bit, before returning to the dorm to sleep, though I expect to see you fast asleep this time when I return, yes?" A small smirk played on his lips as he looked at her.

Her blush bloomed on her face once again as she looked away puffing up her cheeks and crossing her arms, "Yeah, yeah, whatever I'll be asleep, okay?" She sighed before lowering her arms, "Say Rodric..." He gave a curious hum in response, she bit her lip before continuing, "I've noticed that you're always looking at the sky if not at the forest...why is that?"

He gave a small chuckle, "I thought you would have figured that out by now, child." She gave an irritated huff as she cast a mock glare at him, though it only caused him to chuckle again, "I miss it, nothing more than that. I guess you can say before I came to be in this form I took my ability to fly...for granted. Seeing as I can't very well fly now, I simply miss it."

She felt bad for him, if she was to believe he was a dragon, though after seeing everything he could do she couldn't doubt it any more. Though seeing as he was a dragon, losing the ability to fly might have been really hard on him, "I'm sorry..." She looked up at him to see him merely shrug, "Say, you never did say how you ended up the way you are..."

He sighed heavily shaking his head, "Perhaps another day child, it is fairly late, and you should be heading off to bed now, correct?" He gave another chuckle when she merely rolled her eyes.

"Whatever." She turned and began to walk out of the forge as she sighed, he taught her a lot about dragons today, she only wished there was some way she could- her head snapped up as the idea came to her. She turned and shouted down the hall, "Hey Rodric, how would you like to come with me to Vale tomorrow?"

He walked towards the doorway as he looked at her standing there, he didn't know what this 'Vale' was, perhaps it was the town the school was located in. In which case it would be good for him to venture out and see what the world has turned into, perhaps get another set of clothes seeing as the ones on his back were torn and burned. He simply smiled and nodded, "I'd very much enjoy that little one."

"Then you'd better get your star gazing in because were going to go bright and early so we can spend the whole day there." He laughed softly and nodded as she gave a bright smile, "Well goodnight then Rodric."

He waved as she turned and walked down the hallway, a content smile coming over his face, "Goodnight Ruby."

* * *

**_UUUUGH I don't know how to describe this chapter, filler? No, not really, I mean I pretty much go into a detailed history of Dragons and shit, um I don't know I guess it's something like a History Chanel special or something. I mean it makes sense, Ruby only knew things about Dragons from story books. Rodric is merely filling her in on...everything that she got wrong, and I think the next chapter will be pretty much the same thing, but with Ruby teaching him about stuff particularly dust and other stuff if I can think of it. I believe one of the worst things I've read are characters that are kinda like this, where they are dropped in from other worlds with no idea of what's going on, yet they know everything about the world...some how. I guess it's just a bit more believable this way, ya' know?_**


	8. Taking in the Sights

_**First off let me say, WARNING this chapter is hella long. Okay anyway sorry about being away for so long everyone I kinda fell out of writing and got distracted with other things, and then I got a new computer was busy messing with that for awhile, but hopefully this chapter can be an apology granted I feel it wasn't very good, I feel I rushed the end really badly. Anyway tell me what you thing as this is probably my longest chapter ever.**_

* * *

**Taking in the Sights**

After that rather...awkward situation they had found themselves in, Rodric had followed Ruby silently back to her dorm, nothing was said between them on the way back which, in itself, was rather strange. Ruby was never quiet, from the time he spent with the girls, despite it being no more than a week, he learned that this girl was never quiet. When she stumbled forward slightly he realized what it must have been, _seems sleep has finally caught up to her. _He shook his head and closed the distance slightly to make sure she didn't collapse and injure herself, how ironic it would be to injure herself in such away, after she came out unscathed from the explosion in the forge. Glancing over his shoulder, he wondered what would become of the forge considering it was left in a rather abysmal state, though considering how loud it was, it would probably be fixed by the time she visited it again.

As they reached the dorm she clumsily unlocked the door and strode in, he however, remained on the outside of the threshold. He could feel the angry look coming from Yang at her spot on the bed, the others how ever seemed to already be asleep, otherwise he would probably be receiving the same treatment from them. Ruby turned to him, half-lidded, and barely conscious as she instructed him to not be so long as they were going to get up bright and early to travel down to Vale. She also informed him that she was going to leave the door open slightly seeing as he didn't have a 'scroll' as she called it, he simply nodded and bid her goodnight, she merely nodded and yawned before closing the door slightly. He stood for a moment and listened until he heard the creak of the bed signaling her climbing up into it, a moment later the shuffling stopped and was replaced with light snoring. He smirked as he turned away and headed back towards the stairs that would lead him towards the roof.

As he closed the door behind him he sighed softly, he strode over to the railing that allowed him to look over the edge and leaned against it, the cool breeze blew over the roof as he raised his eyes to the sky. The blanket of darkness was dotted with bright stars, slowly he lowered himself down to the ground before leaning back, he flinched slightly when his bare back met the cold rooftop. As his back became accustomed to the cold he rested again as he looked up at the stars, he couldn't believe they seemed much farther than he was used too, not to mention they didn't look all that different that he remembered them. Running his hand through his hair he chuckled softly, _Has it really be that long? _As he slowly lowered his hand to look back up to the stars above, he slowly nodded to himself answering his own question, clenching his fist he frowned. It wasn't fair, he wished to be up there again, to touch the sky and feel the wind against him, to look down and see the ground rushing by, to return home and see-

He shot up as he shook his head, trying to remove the thought from his mind, he had been dwelling to much on his past, it only made sense for those memories and feelings to surface again. He slowly shook his head, _that's right...it only makes sense, _he gave a heavy sigh as he tilted his head back and looked up once again. He was thinking about things he couldn't control, he had to focus on the fact that he was going to be heading into this 'Vale', and if he was being honest with himself he was mildly excited. He had been here for a better part of a week and all he had managed to see was, a forest off in the distance, the dorm, a library, a gym, and the dinning hall. It seemed it was finally a chance to experience something new, a small smirk played on his lips, he wondered just what this Vale would have in store for him, though with how excited Ruby seemed it must be something very interesting. He gave a low chuckle as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, it seemed he would have to turn in for the night, if she was serious about getting up bright and early.

As he walked back down the hallway towards the dorm a soft click reached his ears, he turned and was met with the emerald eyes of none other than, "Nyx?" The girl stiffened slightly as she looked over her shoulder then back at her as she gave a nervous wave, "What are you doing up so late?" She fidgeted slightly as she took a nervous step towards him.

"J-Just, you know, thought I would take a little stroll to help me sleep..." He looked down at her to see still in her sleepwear, complete with slippers as he looked back up at her.

"Like this?" She looked down at herself and crossed her arms, something was wrong, she refused to look at him anymore, even when he moved to stand in front of her she averted her gaze. "Nyx...what is it?" She merely shook her head.

"I-Its nothing, I just needed some fresh air, believe it or not, it does get stuff in those dorms sometimes..." She gave an empty chuckle, he wasn't buying it. Frowning he took hold of her shoulders to keep her in place as he leaned down to look directly into her eyes.

"Nyx, I don't appreciate being lied to, especially by someone who made it there duty to try and fix my problem..." She flushed slightly at that and turned her head away to look out the window, "Now, what is the matter?"

She bit her lip as she stared out into the moonlit courtyard of Beacon, everything was cloaked in an almost ethereal glow, it didn't look real yet it was still beautiful nonetheless. She mentally sighed, no matter how much gazing she did, that wasn't going to stop Rodric from questioning her, and he did have a point. She made it her job to poke and prod until he told her what was wrong, it only made sense that it would come back to bite her in the ass. She sucked in a breath and slowly let it out as she shrugged out of his grip, surprisingly he didn't resist, she took a step back as she clutched her sides, her gaze never leaving the window. "I-It's just," Her voice wavered, she scoffed slightly, she hadn't even began and she was already losing her nerve. She took a moment to calm herself before continuing, "not everyone is like you Rodric. Not everyone is so...understanding, and willing to look past appearances, its been hard ever since I came to Beacon. While there are people who are like you that don't care what I look like, others...others aren't so kind."

She ran her fingers through her hair and over her ears, her other hand found her tail waiting at her side, she pulled it close against her as she began to slowly stroke it. Glancing over towards Rodric she noticed that he too was now looking out the window, he hadn't urged her to continue or give typical advice such as 'just ignore them.' While she wouldn't hold it against her team for giving that type of advice, sometimes she wished they would simply, listen that's all she really wanted from them was just to listen to her. Taking another breath she continued, "I never really cared about it, ya' know? People say what they will and life goes on, why let someone get to you, when they'll eventually fade into nothing but a memory. It's just..." She frowned as she tried to find the words, "It's just I've never had someone so...relentless in harassing other faunus, let alone me. He just...it's like he makes it his mission to make sure he ruins my day, to make me feel like dirt, to make me feel less than what I am, to make me feel like shit!" She was shaking, she didn't realize it until she felt the calm hand of Rodric being placed on her shoulder, she looked up at him before looking back outside as she let out a shaky breath, "Sorry..."

She couldn't help but smile slightly when he said nothing, most people would hate that the person they confide in remain silent, but she was glad it allowed her to just get everything off her chest. "I just don't know what I'm suppose to do, I can't go to any of the teachers because what would that honestly do, ya' know? My team, I love them, but they have other things to worry about than a bully...my mom always told me to keep smiling, to keep smiling because the moment I don't then they win. I do, I still smile regardless of how much I hurt inside...it's just getting so hard to fake it any longer I don't-" She was cut off when her face pressed against Rodric's chest, a deep blush covered her face as she felt his arms tightly embrace her. She swallowed the lump in her throat as she heard his heart beating loudly in her ear, she tilted her head up slightly and fought back another blush when she saw an almost animal like ferocity in his eyes.

"Nyx," She jumped slightly when he spoke, thankfully he released her as she stumbled back slightly to look at him, that same ferocity remained in his eyes and made her tremble slightly. "There are times when one must ignore the violence they see, because it will simple breed more hate and more fear, correct?" She nodded slowly after a moment, that look in his eyes was strong, it filled her with a sense of bravery yet at the same time fear. "But, there are times when people must be made an example of, to show that fear will not reign over you. To show that we will not stand for this treatment any longer, to show that we are no longer afraid." She looked at him curiously, as she was about to speak he continued, "Things will change, I can guarantee that." A strange warmth filled her chest as she repeated those words in her head, while they sounded much like the hopeful words of her friends and family, the way he spoke held such a sincerity to it she couldn't help but smile. "Give it time, and justice will come, and it will strike hard on the deserving, for now ease your mind and return to bed, let not these trouble waste you away Nyx."

She bit her lip as she smiled trying to fight back the laugh she felt brewing in her throat, he spoke so strangely almost like an old-timey gentleman. She bit down on her tongue to keep the laugh from slipping out as she slowly nodded and turned to go back to her dorm, as she touched the handle she turned to Rodric and smile, "Thank you Rodric, I know it sounds strange, but...I believe you. People usually say that to make me feel better, but for some reason, I believe it when you say it." She shook her head, "Goodnight Rodric."

"Goodnight Nyx, and remember what I said 'Things will change...'" She nodded as she slipped back into her room and closed the door, as it clicked close a low rumbling growl could be heard echoing through the now empty halls. He turned back towards his destination, with a scowl set on his face, "Things will change...I can promise that."

* * *

Groaning softly he slowly opened his eyes to find that the room was still fairly dark, he tried to close his eyes when felt someone shaking him, frowning he turned to see Ruby kneeling next to him an obviously excited look plastered on her face. It only caused him to groan again as he covered his face rubbing his eyes, "Gods...what time is it child?"

She bit her lip as shook slightly trying to contain her laughter, she didn't want to wake anyone else up, instead she slowly pulled out her scroll to check the time, "It's just past seven." She couldn't stop it, she giggled softly when he groaned in annoyance before looking up at her again.

"Why on earth would you wake up at such an ungodly hour?" He restrained himself from unleashing a string of curses as he tilted his head back to see that the sky was barely turning colors as the sun was still rising.

"Well I said we would be heading out to Vale really early remember?" She smiled as he groaned again, having apparently forgotten that she had indeed said that, though as excited she was her face fell, "Well...I-I mean we can always go later if you're still-"

"N-No, no it's fine I just didn't expect you to actually wake me up so...so early." He frowned slightly as he rubbed his eyes, _why did I do that_, he wondered. Though his thoughts were stopped when Ruby clapped her hands together.

"Great, well first you need to take a shower, after what happened last night in the forge I'm sure you itching to clean up a little...I know I was." Even though she was mostly protected from everything that happened, she was still sweating and covered in ash and dust, seeing as he suffered a little more she expected him to be eager to bathe. Though as he continued to sit there looking at the ground she tilted her head slightly, "Whats wrong? You do know how to use a shower right?" She smiled slightly when he glared up at her.

"Of course I know how to use a shower, I just don't have a change of clothes, the only shirt I did have was ripped to shreds in that explosion." He moved back slightly so that his back was firmly against the wall as he rubbed his eyes once again when he found them stinging, Ruby sat next to him tapping a finger to her chin her face twisted in concentration. _Only the gods know what she could be thinking of, _he smirked slightly as he yawned loudly.

"Oh! I could go across the hall and see if Jaune or Ren have an extra shirt that you can borrow, I mean you can't very well go wandering out in torn clothes." Rodric hummed slightly, while the two boys shirts might fit a little tight on him it seemed like a better alternative than missing out on this little excursion. Shrugging slightly he nodded, as she clapped her hands together, "Right, well while I do that you go ahead and take your shower, and I'll be back before you know it." Quickly getting up she made her way out of the dorm and across the hall, she knocked on the door and waited, when she heard nothing she knocked again. It was the fifth time that she knocked did she hear something from the other side, although it sounded like someone falling out of bed, it was a sound nonetheless. A moment or so later the door opened to reveal a very disheveled and very tired Jaune wearing a bright blue onsie, she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing as he rubbed his eyes.

"H-huh, oh...what's up Ruby...wait," He rubbed his eyes again and shook his head to wake himself up just a bit more, "Ruby? You're up this- wait what time is it? Did I oversleep again?!" Ruby frowned at that, as she shook her head sighing heavily, she could get up early, she just chose not too...why was it so hard to believe that?

"No Jaune you didn't oversleep, I, believe it or not, woke up early. I just came over to ask if you perhaps had an extra shirt that you weren't using?"

"Uh...for you?"

She sighed softly as she faced palmed, "Yes Jaune, for me, since as you can see I clearly don't have a shirt." She looked at him to see a confused look on his face, or a face still clouded with sleep, she honestly couldn't tell, "It's for Rodric we had a little...incident in the forge, and he doesn't have a spare one, and we had planned to head out to Vale."

"Oh...I knew that." He moved away from the door and walked over to his dressed pulling out one of the undershirts he used for his uniform and handed it to her, "Was that it?" She nodded happily, "Well in that case I think I'm going to get back to bed then, goodnight Ruby...or good morning, ah you know what I mean."

Ruby walked back into the dorm with one shirt in hand, now all she had to do was- it seemed she didn't think this through in it's entirety. She gulped softly as she stood outside of the bathroom door, she couldn't very well go in there and leave it for him, what if he was out of the shower and she walked in and saw...everything. She shook her head as she felt a small blush crawling up her neck, though she couldn't just hold onto it, cause he would come out and look for it and then it wouldn't be much different. She bit her lip and decided on what to do, she knew the bathroom like the back of her hand, gripping the door handle she slowly opened it as she shut her eyes. As quickly as she could she ran into the bathroom and left the shirt on the sink before running back out, though not before she slammed right into the wall next to the door.

Hearing a thud Rodric turned slightly, though through the bit of fog from the hot water he couldn't see much, shrugging slightly he went back to bathing himself.

* * *

Ruby sat at the table they had rubbing her forehead, probably not a good idea to go running through the bathroom with her eyes closed, gently prodding her forehead she winced slightly. Thankfully that loud smack of her head colliding with the wall hadn't woken up anyone else, aside from Blake and Weiss probably being angry with Rodric, she knew for sure that if Yang found out where they were going she would tease her mercilessly. Even though she knew it was a harmless trek through Vale, she just knew that Yang would make something out of nothing, and she didn't really want to listen to that for the coming days. A soft click caused her to drop her hand and jerk her head up, Rodric came out of the bathroom wearing the same pants from the night before much to her dismay, but with the white shirt thrown on. Suffice to say Jaune wore a much smaller size than Rodric seemed to, as the white shirt was practically a second skin to him, the thing that got her though was his long hair which was normally tied back hung loose on him. While most of it fell over his back some of it fell forward over his shoulders, "Wow..."

"Hm, what is it?"

She felt the heat creeping up her face as she quickly tried to find something to say, "I-I uh...w-well i-its just your hair. I've never seen it down on you, you've always had it up, so it was just...surprising I guess." He hummed slightly as he tucked the loose hair behind his ear pulling it over his shoulder and down his back, she had to turn away to keep the blush on her face hidden.

"Hm, I suppose I have, well besides that I suppose I am ready to go." He looked towards the beds as he tilted his head slightly, "Will the others be joining us?"

She shook her head, "No, knowing them they wouldn't want to wake up this early, especially Yang. I had planned to stay in Vale as long as I could, I doubt they would have wanted to...what about you, how long do you want to say in Vale?"

He gave another soft hum as he slowly shrugged, "As long as we can, I would like to see what this town looks like, it has been much to long since I have seen a civilized town, I'm sure it looks much different that I am expecting." He made his way over to the door and pulled it open as he looked over to Ruby, "Shall we be having breakfast, or will we eat in Vale?"

"I know a good place or two in Vale." She smiled as she got up from the chair and ducked under Rodric's arm as she walked into the hallway wither her hands behind her back. She didn't turn when she heard the door click behind her, she began to walk down the hall listening to the heavy steps of the one behind her. "So...you're a dragon huh?" She smiled when he sighed heavily behind her.

"Yes child, must I go over this again?"

"Just on some stuff that we didn't get to cover is all, such as how you got to be the way you are now." Another heavy sigh was another smile across her face.

"Yes, I suppose that deserves some explanation hm?" He shook his head smiling slightly when he saw her nodding furiously, "Well," He rubbed the back of his head not exactly sure on how to explain his situation, "I suppose it might have been because I had died but-"

"What?!" She had stopped so suddenly that she was almost thrown forward when he ran right into her, she quickly turned around a look of shock clear on her face, "Y-You died!, B-But you said...you said dragons were immortal, h-how could you-"

"Hang on child I never said we were immortal, I merely said that we have long lives, we can still pass from old age...or from other means..." He rubbed the back of his head as he shook his head, "However, because we simply die doesn't mean that is the end for us, we are made from the very essence that makes up the world, when we pass we simply return from where we came from."

"So...you go basically return to dust?"

"That is how the old adage goes doesn't it? I suppose it's true in a sense, when a dragon dies all their essence returns to nature, but that doesn't mean that we are simply gone forever. We simply vanish for a time I suppose, we enter a sort of hibernation, our bodies fade back to nature while our souls linger...I can't honestly explain how I came to be, I can't seem to remember much about my own passing. I am certain that it wasn't because of my age, that I know for sure."

Ruby didn't miss the anger lacing his tone, she let the subject drop when he had stopped speaking, though she would lie if she said she wasn't curious. She wondered what he meant that their bodies vanished, shaking her head she tried to put it out of her mind, if she thought about it to much she would end up bugging him about it. To take her mind off of it she smiled and turned around as she began to walk backwards facing him, "You know since the tables are turned I'm surprised that you aren't asking me questions, about Vale you know?"

"I suppose it's because I can contain my excitement unlike a certain girl I know." He chuckled softly when huffed in mock anger, "I suppose it's because I don't know what to ask, or where to begin for that matter, for the week that I've been here I've seen so much, yet almost nothing at the same time. It's confusing honestly, everything is so drastically different...the things I saw and heard from the void did nothing to prepare me for any of this, it makes me wonder just how much time has passed since I met my end." He trailed off as his eyes returned to the now stone pathway as a breeze blew across his face, everything was different yet strangely all the same, there were so many things he wanted to know yet he didn't know where to start.

Looking up he saw that Ruby had turned back around, possibly to make sure she didn't run into anything, he smirked slightly as he wondered where to begin. As the stone of the school slowly vanished giving way to a long empty runway he shook his head, the answer was right there and he took this long to notice. "You hunters...you're not like the hunters from my time, tell me about them."

Ruby looked over her shoulder nodding before turning back around, he wanted to know everything about hunters, she wasn't exactly sure if she could deliver on that type of information. Sure she always dreamed about being one, and she practically followed everything they did religiously...who was she kidding she knew she would be able to tell him everything. "Well," She wrung her hands as she began, "you're right hunters aren't like those from your time. Mainly because we don't listen to a king, for now we listen to our headmaster, Ozpin, he's the one who tells us the things we need to do and what missions were allowed to take. After we graduate we apply for hunting licenses in whatever Kingdom we live in, that gives us access to jobs coming in and out of the Kingdom, I guess it's sort of like contracts? All the hunters have access to any job through a website that hunters can go to, there they can pick any job and just like that they have it." She took a breath before continuing, excitement slowly building through her body as she spoke, "The missions come in many types; either extermination jobs where people need Grimm cleared out of an area, escort jobs where hunters are needed in assisting local military in transporting high value prisoners, even down to simple delivery missions but that's mainly because they go through high Grimm infested areas."

"How do you know so much about these missions Ruby?" She gave a loud nervous chuckle as she rubbed the back of her head, yet she didn't say anything, "Ruby?"

"W-well I might have peeked at the website, I-It's not illegal to look, but that's all I can do. Seems there's a password that's needed that's only issued by the Kingdom after a hunter applies for a license."

"Tell me are you forced to stay as hunters once you graduate?"

"No...we are free to choose other careers if we want, but most people stay as hunters because it's...it's amazing. Sure most people do it for the fame or the glory, heck some people do it mainly for the money, but there are a large group of people that do it, to make a difference. Some people want to simply help others in a way that police officers and lawyers couldn't, we are the ones who make a physical change in the world." Though he couldn't see it, she had a large smile on her face as they grew closer to the airship in the distance, "I'm sure you've seen or at least heard that the Faunus aren't exactly the most respected race, but they're here so that they can change that, to show that there are those who want to help and make a different. To show that they aren't at all like the Faunus in the White Fang."

Rodric was silent as he listened to her, these hunters seemed so vastly different than the ones he lived alongside, they were much more honorable that was for certain. It also seemed they carried everyone's hopes on their shoulders, hopes for a better world, and better lives, though it seemed like Ruby was perfectly content with bearing that burden. _Already it seems better than my time._

"Well here we are." Rodric looked up to see a large metal contraption sitting at the end of the runway, it was completely black though there seemed some windows in the bottom portion that sat along the ground. There seemed to be a few people entering it from where they were, _and just like that it's terrible._

"We're getting on that thing? Really?" Rodric had his doubts about this strange machine, though from the way the others were acting, laughing and smiling, and holding hands with one another it seemed that they had more trust in this machine than he did. He frowned when he heard the soft laughter coming from Ruby.

"What's the matter afraid of heights?"

He scoffed, "Don't be ridiculous, of course I'm not afraid of heights, what I am afraid of is some strange metal contraption being used to take us to Vale. I would much rather it be me who could fly than to trust someone else with that duty, but it seems I have no choice in the matter now do I?" He gave weary sigh when Ruby simply shook her head, "Let us be off then I suppose..."

* * *

Ruby had to keep her gaze outside of the window to keep from cracking up, the moment the airship began to move Rodric dug his fingers into the seats and practically went rigid. With every bump from the turbulence he seemed to get more and more anxious, as funny as it was she couldn't help but feel bad for him, she had hoped that flying would have helped him relax more seeing as it was something he said he longed to do, yet... "Rodric, are you alright?"

"P-Perfectly fine, child." He frowned when his own voice betrayed him, he couldn't believe the position he was in, here he was finally amongst the clouds and yet he was scared stiff of being in this metal contraption. "H-How long did you say this flight was?"

"...an hour?"

"Lovely."

Ruby frowned slightly at that, she wanted him to enjoy his time in Vale and if he was like this now she could only imagine that it would sour his experience there as well. She turned to look at the clouds passing by as she sighed, she didn't understand, he had said he wanted to fly again but why was he acting so...scared. She hummed softly as she tried to figure him out, this was flying technically but- her head snapped up as she realized something, while this was technically flying it wasn't flying for him. He was a dragon, he was used to feeling the wind on his face so this was very unnatural for him, quickly standing she grabbed his arm only to feel his arm twitch as his grip tightened. "It's alright I think I know how to help you relax, come on."

Rodric looked up towards Ruby before slowly letting go of the seat and stood letting her guide him, she took him towards the back of the cabin leading him to a single door, he was about to ask about it until she threw it open. His heart clenched but slowly relaxed when it opened to a metal walkway connected to the cabin, they slowly made their way along the outside, strangely enough he found it quiet. Looking over the metal railing he could see the ground rushing by as a familiar sense of vertigo brewed in his chest, "Ruby...this is wonderful but it's it a little too quiet and too calm to be outside of this machine?"

"Well that's cause there's a aura generated field around this part of the airship, it allows the passengers to stand on the outside without the wind pressing against them and the loud noise, but..." She fidgeted slightly, "There is a way to turn it off, I just don't know if you would-"

"Please! Would you be so kind as to turn it off." Ruby simply nodded as she moved over to a dial worked into the metal of the ship, she placed her hands on it and looked over to Rodric.

"It's going to get pretty loud so...brace yourself." She slowly turned the dial down lowering the aura barrier the dust crystals generated, slowly she began to feel the air rushing past them until the barriers were completely gone leaving them to the full force of the wind as it blew against them. She had to brace herself to the metal bar running along the wall, she turned to see Rodric looking in the direction of the rushing wind, the look on his face could only be described as true joy. She couldn't help but give a wide smile as she saw it, he was no longer shaking or looking nervous, he stood tall as he walked towards the very front of the ship. Doing the best she could she followed him, she wanted to call out to him, but when she did the roaring wind cut her voice off.

It was hard, moving against the wind, but he forced himself forward determined to reach the front to feel the full force of the wind against him. That familiar feeling, and the sense of vertigo returned full force as it made his chest swell with pure joy, his body seemed to tingle all over as the wind roared in his ears. As he gripped the metal bars that kept him from going over the edge he leaned forward and closed his eyes as all the memories came flooding back to him. The wind rushing over his body and beneath his wings as he flew through the skies, the vast emptiness ahead of him, to go wherever he pleased whenever he please. He felt a pressure in his chest slowly growing, being back in the skies ad brought him a great pleasure he thought he had lost, slowly he tilted his head back and took a deep breath. As he opened his mouth he gripped the metal bar tighter, as he let forth a loud bellowing roar that seemed to make the very air quiver with it's might. The roar lasted for a mere moment before slowly fading away, letting the silence return.

"W-Whoa..." With great difficulty she crossed the metal walkway to stand next to Rodric her hands holding the metal bar in a death grip as the wind rushed around them "That was crazy..." She had heard Grimm roar before and she had seen lions roar from when she went to the zoo, but never something like this. It was so deep, and loud, and help such a fierce presence behind it, she couldn't doubt anymore that what he claimed to be was true. He really was a dragon.

"I...I apologize, i-it's just been a long time since I last felt the wind in my face like this, it brought back such wonderful memories that I couldn't contain myself." Rodric had to shout over the air to speak to her, he had worried that he might have frightened her with his display of pure excitement, he looked down towards her only to see that she had a look of pure wonder in her eyes.

"N-No that's perfectly fine I'm glad you're feeling better..." She bit her lip as she looked out towards the clouds before looking back up at him, "D-Do you think you can do it again?"

He merely chuckled as he looked out towards the clouds rushing by as he felt the pressure building in his chest one again, he took a deep breath and tilted his head back as he released another bellowing roar into the sky, perhaps even louder than the first time.

* * *

Lifting the cup to her lips, she slowly sipped at the liquid inside grimacing at the bitter taste, _How can these humans drink this swill. _She set down the cup as she leaned back in her chair tilting her head back as she looked up at the sky. Her associates had told her to return to the base within the hour, that meant she had at least a bit of free time to waste until she returned. Sadly all she had to do was stay in this town filled with these wretched humans, twice she had to scare off some man who had the audacity to come up and try to, as they say, hit on her. She ran her fingers through her silver tresses as she closed her eyes, maybe she would return sooner, she couldn't stand to be around these humans and animals for much longer.

The ground suddenly began to shake slightly as she opened her eyes to see the cup before her swaying, it seemed others could feel it as well as they all began to mutter among themselves as to what it could be. A moment later a loud bellowing roar rushed through the area shaking the windows and echoing through the now dead silent street, a small smirk played on her face as she quickly stood and began to walk from her table, "Well...seems someone is enjoying themselves."

* * *

They both received strange looks as they stepped off the airship, though she couldn't help but expect that since Rodric roared like that, she could hear some of the people muttering around them. She ignored them and quickly pulled Rodric away from the air dock and further into Vale, she stopped when they walked onto the main street that was lined with all sorts of shops, ranging from simple clothing stores, to weapon repair shops. Rodric looked around at all the tall buildings, in awe at such simple yet grand structures as he chuckled slightly shaking his head, "So this is what you humans have been up to over the years, well I must say it is an amazing sight."

Ruby eagerly nodded her head when she saw that Rodric at least seemed interested, "Yeah it has so much more stuff than what you can see right now, come on let's go I want to show you my favorite place." She quickly rushed off leaving Rodric shaking his head as he followed as quickly as he could behind her. As he followed he took notice of all the large buildings that were around them, all the metal vehicles that drove up and down the road, but he seemed to take more notice of just all the people that were around. In the small village he had lived by there couldn't have been more than a hundred people, but here, he easily passed by that many as he followed Ruby. He had to admit watching the people milling around and going about their daily tasks did remind him of the village, he was pulled from his thoughts when he once again almost ran into the girl before him, she had to at least say something when she intended to do that. He shook his head as she happily declared, "Here we are."

Looking up at the large white building he read the name _From Dust Till Dawn_, with a large white banner underneath it stating in big red letters, 'Grand Reopening.' He tilted his head slightly, _Grand Reopening for what?, _while he would have pondered it for a moment the ringing of a bell pulled his attention forward as he watched Ruby enter the shop. Sighing heavily he quickly followed her into it, it wasn't a fairly large shop but with the way everything was organized it certainly seemed huge. In front of him behind a large glass counter stood an old man who gave him a smile as he nodded towards him, looking off to the side he saw strange tubes descending from the ceiling, each one filled with some strange powder all in different colors. Ruby was at the other end of the glass counter looking at whatever lied inside of it, he looked around the rest of the shop as he made his way over to her, there were rows of brown wooden shelves all filled with different types of snacks from what it seemed like. In the back he could see glass doors with many beverages behind them, and next to them he could see rows of magazines, it seemed this shop had a little bit of everything in it. Moving over to the case that Ruby was currently...uh drooling over he looked into it and couldn't help but laugh slightly at the sight.

"What's so funny?" Ruby wiped her mouth and looked up at Rodric curiously.

"Oh, nothing I just didn't think you were the the type to obsess over jewelry."

She quickly shook her head, "No, no this isn't jewelry this is-wait what's that suppose to mean?!" She glared up at him, yet it didn't seem to do much as he just smirked at her, she huffed as she looked back down at the crystals in the case. "Anyway, no this isn't jewelry, you remember that stuff I put in my bullets last night before they uh...you know. Um, anyway, that stuff was Dust and this is their refined form." She motioned for the older man to come over to which she pointed to one of the burn crystals in the case, he simply nodded and fished it out of the case before handing it to her, "I'm not an expert when it comes to Dust, that would be Weiss, but I do know that we pretty much use Dust for just about everything. From souping up our weapons, to powering the airship we came in on, I hear some people weave this stuff into their clothes to enhance their aura and stuff. It's uh pretty versatile, here." She handed him the crystal, to which he turned over in his hand looking at it, he couldn't believe such a simple thing was so powerful and yet she claimed it was.

He brought it towards his face looking at it, as he slowly turned it over he noticed a slightly glimmer in it, there seemed to be something swirling around inside of the crystal. He wasn't sure if there was actually something there or if it was merely his eyes, but there was no denying the power he felt rolling off of it. He could feel a massive energy flowing through his hands and arms, and at the center of it was the crystal, he brought it closer to his face and sniffed at it trying to get some sort of idea of what it actually was. Though the only thing he could smell was a tinge of smoke, with an undertone of...roses? He shook his head as he brought it close to his face again and this time he ran his tongue over it, only to hear Ruby cry out in surprise. "W-What are you doing?!"

"Hm, is something the matter?"

"Yes! I mean...no...maybe? I don't know really, I mean people have tried to fuse dust with their bodies before I just never seem someone...lick a dust crystal like that, are you alright?"

He shrugged slightly as he set the crystal on the glass, "I suppose, my tongue tingles a bit, other than that I believe I'm fine." He crossed his arms as he looked down at all the crystals in the case before sighing, "Why do they come in so many colors, aren't they all the same thing?"

"No, see this one?" She held up the crystal that he had licked, "This one is a Burn crystal, when someone uses it, it generates fire. That one there is a Frost crystal, it generates ice, and that one is a Shock crystal...I'm pretty sure you can figure out what that one does. Those are pretty much the basic ones, but the Schnee Dust Company -they're the one's who mine and sell all the dust- they have people that, I don't know, combine them to create other types of dust. They've made Dust that heals wounds, restricts movement, and I think one that makes people always tell the truth...right?" She turned to the older man who nodded making her smile as she turned back towards Rodric, "Pretty much we have all types of Dust that can be used to do all kinds of things."

"Interesting..." He trailed off as Ruby went to look around the rest of the shop, his gaze drifted back down towards the crystals that lay in the case, it was still so strange to think that those fragile rocks were so powerful. Then again, considering all the other strange things he's seen in the last week, it made sense to say the least. He shook his head as he looked below the crystals and noticed a price for them, unsurprisingly he didn't know what it was, it didn't seem to be any currency he had ever seen, even though he had only see one type. Though before he could say anything about it, he felt Ruby tugging on his arm urging him to follow her. Sighing softly he relented and followed the girl back out into the city, the sun seemed to have risen higher in the short time they were in the shop, and it seemed like a few more shops had opened in that time. Though he couldn't exactly stop to look at any of them as he was pretty much being dragged along by the young girl in front of him, it was just as well though, he didn't know what these shops were and he felt if he were to stray off on his own he would no doubt end up lost.

They passed by many buildings, some with interesting looking trinkets hanging in the window, and sadly they passed buy a building that was releasing the most heavenly aroma he had ever smelled. But, despite his watering mouth and growling stomach they pressed on, he had no idea where she was dragging him to but much to his surprise, just after that thought they in fact stopped in front of a large store. There weren't any windows displaying their wares but from the name he was able to gather that it was a simple clothing shop, Ruby didn't say anything as she walked through the open doors, he had no other choice but to follow her. As he crossed through the doors he was slightly taken aback with how large the store actually was on the inside, from front to back it was lined with rows upon rows of clothing racks all holding different styles of pants, shirts, and other types of clothing. "Ugh..."

He arched his brow in confusion as he moved over to her, "Something the matter?"

"I hate clothes shopping..."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that, "I don't understand, if you hate shopping for clothes, why did we stop here?"

She shrugged slightly, "Well you did say that you didn't have many clothes aside from that shirt that was ruined right?" He merely nodded, "Well I figured, since we're out it would be a good idea for you to pick something up..." He turned to look at the hundreds of clothing racks sitting before him as he felt himself groan in annoyance, "So...anything strike your fancy?"

* * *

They began to wander around the large clothing store looking at different styles of clothing, he began to understand why Ruby disliked shopping for clothes now. Though when he would turn to her she would always be smiling, or laughing as she looked at the shirts, sometimes she would pull one off the rack and hold it up to him, saying that he would look good in it. Most of the time it would be a joke of a obnoxious drawing or some words that she said 'fit him' but other times she would find something he honestly liked. He in turn tried to do the same, finding shirts that he thought she would like, strangely he began to enjoy himself as well, he would find himself smiling each time he handed her a shirt that she would like. One of the times he turned to her, he saw that she had a handful of shirts in her arms, some of them ones he had found for her and others she no doubt found on her own, "Are you really going to get all of those?"

She looked down at the ever growing pile in her hands as she chuckled nervously and took three from the bottom of the pile and laid them across the racks, "Well now I am, I don't need that many shirts after all, but this one I'm definitely getting I mean look at it!" She tossed the pile onto her shoulders as she held up a black shirt with a picture of three Beowolves howling up at the shatter moon, "You can't tell me that isn't cool!"

He only chuckled as he looked at the shirt, "Isn't it...a little big for you?" She instantly pulled it against her chest looking up at him with puffed up cheeks.

"So, I can grow into it...in the mean time I can wear it to bed." She quickly folded the shirt up and buried it underneath the pile she had accumulated, "A-Anyway why haven't you picked anything yet we've already been walking around for awhile, and I'm the only one who got anything." He said nothing as he turned around and went back to looking at the clothes on the racks, Ruby knew right away something was wrong, Rodric was a strange, thickheaded and obnoxious person, but he was also pretty transparent. She said nothing as she walked over to him to look at the shirt he had pulled from the rack, "So...is something wrong?"

"No."

She sighed as she rolled her eyes, she should have known it wouldn't have been that easy to get him to answer, she took a step back and scratched her head. This wasn't her place, she didn't really know how to talk to people that were upset, that was mostly Yang's place, she always found a way to get people to open up. She shook her head and was about to drop the subject when she notice Rodric look at the price on the shirt he had been looking at, "Wait is that what the problem is?"

He quickly dropped his hand and turned around looking at her, "What I-I don't know what you're talking about."

She scoffed and shook her head, "Rodric if that was the problem you should have just-"

"There's nothing wrong!"

"...should have just said something, I'd be more than happy to lend you some money so you can get something."

"No, that won't be necessary, you should be using your money for something important."

"Well...isn't this important? I mean if you don't get something now you won't really have much to wear once we get back to Beacon." Rodric frowned, though he couldn't deny that she was actually right, if they left now without him getting anything he would be stuck wearing Jaune's clothes. Even so he would gladly put up with it if it meant that she would keep her money, though when he looked down at her he could tell that she was willing to put up a fight over this. He shook his head anyway and went to argue his case only to have her continue, "Besides it isn't that much to begin with, I've been saving money since I was in Signal I have plenty, not to mention my dad gave Yang and I some extra money in case we need it, so plenty...see?"

He crossed his arms as he looked at her, "I have a feeling I'm not going to have much say in this am I?"

"Nope."

"You know this is really-"

"Nope."

"You shouldn't be doing this in-"

"Nope."

"Ruby really don't-"

"Nope."

"Ruby I-"

"Nope."

"Ruby-"

"Nope.

"..."

"..."

"R-"

"Nope."

* * *

After much grumbling on his part they exited the store with bags filled with clothes for the both of them, despite his protesting ans arguing she had paid for his clothes herself. He had at least offered to carry the bags as some sort of 'favor for a favor' but she even declined that offer, he didn't know why she was being so difficult over this. He shook his head and put it out of his mind for now as he followed the red clad girl as she strolled down the street with a hop in her step, he could only guess why. The city had gotten a lot more lively since they entered the clothing store, now he could see just the sheer number of people that populated the city, both human and faunus alike. At first one would assume that they were living together almost harmoniously, but for someone like him who grew up around truly honest and kind humans he could see small gestures that were displayed towards the faunus. It was something as simply as one of the humans giving the faunus a wide berth, or simply refusing to hold the doors open for them under the guise of forgetfulness or being distracted by some trinket or item that the store held. He wasn't blind and he new that no one else was, and that sickened him, that they simply allowed this all to happen and went about their lives as if nothing was wrong. He didn't understand how humans in this time could be so cruel to people they shared a city with, he felt a low rumbling growl growing in his chest, though it was quickly silenced when he bumped into something.

Looking down he saw that Ruby had, once again, stopped walking with no warning whatsoever. He was beginning to wonder if it would be a reasonable request to ask if she would purchase a bell, that way he would at least know that when the ringing stopped he wouldn't run into her anymore. Though as he looked towards her, he noticed she had stopped but was looking at one of the shops across the road, more importantly the one aptly named _The Baker's Dozen, _there wasn't much of a mystery as to what they carried. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at how childish she was at times, "Ruby..." Saying her name seemed to pull her from her daze as she looked up at him, only to flush slightly and quickly look away, "We've been at this for a few hours already what do you say we take a break?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Sure."

"Hm, how about at that place right there, _The Baker's-"_

"Yes!" She dashed across the road and into the shop before he could even finish his sentence, he merely stood there for a moment looking at the trail of red petals she left behind. He shook his head and hurried across the road, thankful that it hadn't been busy.

Rodric sat at one of the small tables the bakery had, surprisingly enough it also turned out that the shop was also a small diner. According to the menu they had hanging on the wall, while they didn't have much in the way of food, aside from a few sandwiches, they had lists of different cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, and just about anything else sugary sweet that Ruby had instantly gushed over. He didn't understand how she could possibly enjoy sweets this much, they weren't healthy for one and they definitely weren't healthy in the amounts that she was eating them in, and now she was sitting in front of him shoveling some sort of cold confection into her mouth. He shook his head sighing softly, "So what did you call this...treat again?"

"Mhp, ish ice cweam." She swallowed the mouthful of ice cream she had and quickly wiped her mouth as she chuckled slightly, "Sorry, I was saying that this is ice cream and it's soooo good, you have to try some."

"I...I'm fine really I rather not...fill myself on such a..delicious looking treat when there is dinner to be had back at Beacon." In truth the confection that she was gorging herself on didn't look appetizing in the least, she at least seemed to enjoy it, which was good enough since he had suggesting coming here in the first place.

"What? No, come on you have to try this, at least a tiny bite, its not going to kill you."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that..."

"Oh come on don't be a baby, here just a bite." She scooped up a big spoonful of her favorite strawberry ice cream and held it out for him, she couldn't help but smile at the uneasy way he looked at it. She motioned for him to hurry as she laughed slightly, "Come on its melting."

Frowning Rodric leaned forward and took the spoon into his mouth as he ate the ice cream she held for him, the first thing he noticed was that it was cold, very cold. It made his jaw hurt with how cold it was, he frowned and groaned slightly, but once it passed he noticed the second thing; the sweetness. It was really sweet, and creamy, and honestly much more flavorful than he had though, "This...isn't as bad as I thought it was."

"What that's it? Come on you know it's so much more than 'not bad', what do you really think?"

"If your expecting me to gush over how 'amazing this is', much like you do might I add, I wouldn't hold my breath, I acknowledged that it is in fact delectable, but that is all you're going to get from me."

She frowned as she went back to scooping spoonfuls into her mouth as she huffed, "You're no fun, you know that?"

"I am quiet aware."

She smirked and shook her head as she helped herself to the rest of the ice cream, she was just about finished when she felt her pocket buzz slightly. Holding the spoon in her mouth she pulled her scroll out and opened it up to see she had a message, a message from Professor Ozpin no less, the spoon fell from her mouth as she read the message. She had to stop and re read it over again as she gave a soft sigh and looked up at Rodric, "Well I guess our day out is over..."

"Hm, why is that?"

"Ozpin wants us back at Beacon...he wants to talk with you."

* * *

After following a rather upset Ruby they both found themselves on another airship, much to his displeasure, though he was a lot better about it now. They sat further to the back with the bags sitting at their feet, he looked over to Ruby to see her slouched in her seat, she seemed to be taking it a lot harder than he was, but he understood he actually did enjoy their little outing. Despite that there was a pressing question he wanted answered, "So, what did Ozpin want?"

She sighed softly and shrugged, "He didn't say the only thing that the message said was..." She pulled out her scroll to read what the message actually said, " ahem, 'Ms. Rose at your earliest convenience I would like for you to bring Rodric to my office, I have a matter I wish to discuss with him, thank you' that's it." She set her scroll on her lap and huffed in annoyance, just when she was starting to have fun to, it wasn't even one o'clock yet and they were already having to call it a day.

"Strange what could he want with me I wonder..."

"Who knows with him, probably just pulling you away to tell you something you already knew, he does that a lot sometimes."

"Well, hopefully he has a good explanation for this, I was actually enjoying taking in the sights and the strange foods you forced upon me."

"Forced? Please I saw the way you were eyeing my food, I _had _to share otherwise I risked it going missing when I turned my back."

"I would never steal food from a child, they need the sustenance to grow, and in your case you need plenty of it hm?"

"Wha- I'm growing at a perfectly normal pace thank you very much!" She crossed her arms and huffed heavily, she wasn't angry at him she was mostly surprised that he was actually joking around with her, at least she thought he was...that's what it had sounded like to her anyway. She glanced over at him and saw him staring out the window with a faint smirk on his lips, she couldn't help but smile knowing that he was finally starting to relax around them, or rather around her for now. She knew that he would soon warm up to the others, though Weiss was going to be slow progress she felt that they would eventually get along much like the two of them did. Then a thought struck her, "Say Rodric..." He gave a small hum to signal that he was paying attention, "you know, you never did tell me how you got be...you know like this."

"I suppose I haven't." He looked towards her before sighing, "The truth is, I don't actually know." She stared at him wide eyed and gaping mouth as she struggled to form words, in her shocked state he continued, "That is the truth believe it or not, when I was...dead." He frowned at his choice of words before crossing his arms, "Well I suppose there is no better way to explain that than to be blunt, so yes while I was dead I lacked a physical body all I was, was merely a consciousness. I could still sense and perceive things around me, such as how I described being able to still sense the world and all it's changes...I was there and yet I wasn't." He sighed heavily, "Do you remember how I said when a dragon dies we merely release our essence back into the world?" She nodded slowly as he chuckled softly, "Well I suppose that had something to do with being able to sense the world around me."

"What do you mean?"

He tilted his head back leaning it against the rumbling window of the airship, "Well it's not a definite answer but, I mean it's something, what I mean is that since I am an earth dragon when I died I returned to nature. Every tree was me I can only assume, I was able to feel and 'see' and sense things through that. That is how I am able to know simple things, everything else is a mystery to me, since you humans have pushed nature far away from your personal lives it is hard to learn about something you cannot see."

"We only did that because of the Grimm though...wait were you able to see them while you were...you know?"

"Strangely enough...no, I could sense just about every other creature that wandered through the forests but these creatures I've never noticed...why is that?"

"Because they lack a soul I guess."

"...What?"

"Yeah, the creature's of Grimm don't have souls that's why they can't generate an aura like the human and faunus can...though that doesn't exactly explain why they attack us." This time it was Ruby who sighed heavily, she leaned her head back against the cushioned seat, "Supposedly that's why the Grimm attack us, because we have something that they don't and they are merely trying to take it by force. But, I read that researches said that they are attracted to negativity, like hate and war and stuff like that...with the way people still treat faunus and each other its no wonder they are still so close to the kingdoms." She gave an almost weary sigh that Rodric picked up on, he recognized the way it sounded as he had sounded the same way only yesterday, "All they do is take and kill, ruining peoples lives and family, they don't care what they destroy to feed their need for destruction..." Ruby kept her eyes closed as Rodric merely looked at her, something told him that Ruby was hiding a deep scar in her heart, something she had yet to come to terms with. Nothing more was said as they returned to Beacon in silence.

* * *

As the airship docked they picked up their belongings and headed towards the school, after Ruby informed him of the nature of the Grimm they both remained silent as they walked on. The air was heavy with silence and Rodric didn't know how to break it, something was ailing the young girl before him and he didn't know what to do to comfort her. He wasn't even sure if it was his place to comfort her, what if it was merely some resentment for the Grimm, what if he brought up bad memories by trying to talk to her about it, what if he merely angered her when she wished to not speak of it. _Gah, why must humans be so difficult! _"Rodric?"

His head shot up at her voice, "Yes?" She was merely looking at him curiously before jerking her head further up their path, his eyes followed hers and fell upon the woman standing there waiting for them. Her arms were crossed and she had a deep scowl on her face as she tapped her foot impatiently, "I guess she means to lead me to Ozpin."

"Yeah I guess so..." He looked towards her and noticed the dejected look on her face, he sighed softly.

"I...actually enjoyed today Ruby, perhaps we can continue again tomorrow?"

"I can't classes start up again tomorrow..."

_Damn. _"Well perhaps next weekend then?"

She gave a faint smile, "Sure that sounds like fun."

"Well-"

"Today Rodric." He turned and glared at the woman who simply returned the searing glare with an equally frigid glare, huffing indignantly he returned to the task at hand.

"Well we shall continue our little expedition next weekend, for now could I trouble you to take these bags back to the dorm, I'll be meet you there soon." She nodded as she took the few bags he had and watched him walk away following Professor Goodwitch who seemed to be in a hurry as Rodric had to jog to keep up with her.

Sighing softly she turned and headed back into the school carrying their bags, she grumbled to herself about the whole situation; having to end her trip early, having to carry all the bags back to the dorm, having to be away from Rodric...she really liked being around him, despite him seeming scary he was pretty fun to be around. With plenty of trouble she managed to make it back to her dorm room with only few stumbles, though as she stood outside the dorm she found herself with one final challenge...how was she going to open the door? She couldn't reach her scroll, huffing she kicked at the door hoping someone was in, thankfully it seemed like there was...sadly it was-

"Well back from your date I see, how did it go?"

"Ugh Yang it wasn't a date, we were just hanging out."

"Uh-huh did he buy you all those?"

"Ugh..." She shuffled into the room instantly cursing her luck that it was Yang who had been the one to meet her, she had wished that it was Blake or Weiss but no it had Yang. Sighing heavily she wondered if Rodric was having any better luck with his situation.

* * *

The cramped space did little to alleviate the tension between the two people stuck in the elevator together, Rodric glared at Goodwitch out of the corner of his eye as she had huffed again for the fifth time in the last ten minuets. He knew she wasn't exactly thrilled to be stuck in here with him, but she could at least go about it a little more quietly, shaking his head he returned his gaze to the red number above the door watching as it slowly grew. She hadn't spoken a word to him since they were outside, she wouldn't tell him what Ozpin had wanted or what it was all about, and frankly...he was annoyed beyond belief.

Thankfully the metal doors eventually opened revealing a long white hallway lined with windows that let the afternoon sun pour into the hallway, "Go on he's waiting for you. He rolled his eyes and stepped out of the elevator and made his way down the hall, surprisingly he didn't here the sound of her heels on the floor meaning she wasn't following him, casting a glance over his shoulder he saw that the elevator doors had closed once again. He gave a weary sigh as he proceeded down the long hallway towards the large set of doors.

Pushing them open revealed a large room that was equally empty a single desk sat in the center and sitting behind the desk, "Ozpin..."

"Rodric, I'm glad you could make it, please take a seat."

"What's this about Ozpin, and no games just tell me."

"Why it's about your enrollment of course."


	9. The Test

_**Hey you guy's I know it's been a long time since I last posted anything and I want to apologize. With the holiday's gone and done I am hoping I can get back into my groove seeing as all the drama around the holiday's pretty much took me out of the writing mood. Not to mention I had a terrible case of writers block. But I hope this is a suitable apology, RxR**_

* * *

**The Test**

Grumbling softly Ruby turned over and stretched out her sore limbs, giving a softly groan she slowly sat up and rubbed her eyes. She had woken up before the rest of her team, at least that was what it sounded like as the dorm room was quiet, pulling the curtain hanging around her bed she saw that both Yang and Blake were still asleep in their respective beds. Gripping the edge of her bed she leaned over the edge slightly to see Weiss still asleep in her own bed, she gave a soft sigh, in leaning over she had also noticed that one particular person was not in the dorm. She glanced over towards the window and saw that the spot beneath it was void of Rodric, she couldn't help but frown at that, ever since he came back to the dorm last night things seemed different. Aside from the fact that everyone pretty much had their eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything, Rodric himself was acting differently since he had came back from talking with Ozpin.

* * *

_While everyone had been busying themselves with bugging her about what she had been doing all day and making different comments about spending time with, in Weiss's words, a deviant such as Rodric. She told them the truth, that they had hung out together so she could show him around Vale, that she felt he would have been bored to death of seeing the inside of their dorm and Beacon for the past week. They seemed to accept that as a viable answer, but then they moved on to why she had bought so many clothes, this time she might have told a small lie that Rodric bought her some of the things she had been looking at, as a thank you for taking him into Vale. The others all nodded, well except for Yang who quickly turned it into something it wasn't, saying he was trying to woo her and steal her young heart and how much of a deviant he was to chase after someone so young. This of course set her cheeks ablaze with a bright blush as she quickly denied any and every comment she made about it, much to the amusement of Yang and the others._

_Their teasing of the young leader was brought to a halt when the doorknob to the dorm jiggled around roughly before a loud huff and a low but still audible string of curses, at least that's what it had sounded like as it was in a language none of them understood, were heard. The curses slowly trailed off before he knocked on the door, no one made a move to open it for him, except for Ruby who quickly jumped up and made her way over to the door all the while Yang snickered behind her back. Casting an ineffective glare over her shoulder, she turned back and opened the door with a large smile on her face, although it wavered slightly when she saw the scowl he had on his face. "I guess it didn't go well huh?"_

_"What could have ever given you that idea." He roughly answered, his patience was nonexistent after his brief meeting with Ozpin. Though upon seeing Ruby's face fall he gave a long sigh and rubbed his forehead as he tried to gather his thoughts, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you, it's just that Ozpin seems keen on getting under my skin whenever we cross paths."_

_Ruby shook her head, understanding slightly where he was coming from, there would be times when some of the teachers got on her nerves for doing something she felt was unfair, like coordinating several large tests back to back. She would lose her cool sometimes, so she didn't hold it against him, "It's alright, so what happened anyway?" She moved out of the way allowing him to walk in as he took a seat in the chair that they replaced after his outburst not but a few nights ago._

_"Well," He began running his hand through his hair as he leaned back huffing loudly again. "About a week ago around the first night I was here, I was approached by Ozpin, he informed me that he would be making some arrangements to allow me to attend the school. For the time being, that being the long week I was in here, I would have to wait until the paperwork was complete...well that was what his little meeting was about."_

_Ruby looked at him curiously, she was able to figure that meant that he was officially a student here at Beacon yet he didn't seem so thrilled about it. Maybe it was because he still held resentment for them as hunters or maybe it was something else entirely. Her thoughts were interrupted when Yang spoke up, "So you're getting to attend Beacon then? So that means we're going to have to deal with you more than ever then?" Ruby looked at her sister and glared at her before turning back to Rodric hoping to divert his attention away from Yang._

_"Well, that's good then right? You don't have to be stuck in our dorm all the time, I don't see anything to be upset about."_

_"What I'm upset about child is that Ozpin has left out a small bit of this whole thing that he just informed me about today. Apparently me attending this school isn't as simple as moving some papers around, apparently there is also a test I am suppose to take to see if I am...able enough to attend." He crossed his arms his face settling back into a deep frown as he huffed in annoyance, "That damned old man truly knows how to anger me..."_

_Ruby chuckled nervously as she wrung her hands, she didn't exactly enjoy hearing the way he spoke about Ozpin, considering if it hadn't been for him she wouldn't have been able to attend Beacon for another two years. She decided not to make a mention of that since it seemed he was already in a bad mood with Professor Ozpin, shaking her head slightly she cleared her throat bringing his attention back to her, "W-Well what's this thing he sprung on you?"_

_"Apparently I must take some sort of test to see if I am worthy enough to be in this school, either that or it is simply a formality still I do not like details being left out."_

_"Wait a test? That's what your complaining about?" He looked up glaring at Yang as she sat up on her bed looking down at him, "And here we thought it was actually something to complain about."_

_"Perhaps I was unclear and failed to mention I do not know what kind of test I will be taking, because Ozpin refused to tell me the details, all he said was for me to return at my earliest convenience to take said test."_

_"Wow who would have pegged you for a whiner."_

_"Do not test me Xiao Long I am in no mood to be trifled with!"_

* * *

Ruby sighed as she flopped back down on the bed staring at the ceiling, there was at least a half hour until the alarm clock would go off, most days she would be the first one up and ready, but she didn't exactly feel it today. She closed her eyes as she let out a slow breath, she didn't want to go to class today, she didn't want to do much of anything today except lie in bed and watch the day go by. She crossed her arms as her brow furrowed slightly, she didn't exactly understand why she was upset, though she felt it had something to do with yesterday. Either from having to deal with Rodric and Yang yelling at each other until they all went to sleep, or the fact that her and Rodric had to cut their day out short because of Ozpin, she huffed softly in annoyance. As much as she owed Ozpin for allowing her into Beacon, she couldn't help but share Rodric's displeasure with their headmaster after yesterday, she was actually having fun especially with the back and forths they would share. "I wonder if he's doing alright?"

* * *

Rodric had his arms crossed and stood with his back against the elevators wall as he tried to keep himself as far away from the other two occupants. Both Ozpin and Goodwitch stood with their backs to him speaking of things having to relate to the students as well as the school, he gave an annoyed huff as the elevator continued it's slow descent. Even though he arrived early it seemed they were both somehow still expecting him, and they had yet to inform him as to what this test was going to be about. He had little choice but to follow them as they led him back into the elevator he rode up, only to take him back down, suffice to say he was not pleased. Yet they acted as if nothing was wrong calmly chatting about whatever it is that was going on about the school that day, rolling his eyes he focused back on the number above the door as it slowly dwindled down.

Much to his surprise the trip didn't last much longer as the number stopped at a flashing 54, giving a curious hum he followed the two as they entered a large white room. At first glance the room was empty as it was colored white from the floor to the ceiling and all along the walls, there was no windows, the room was illuminated merely with ceiling lights. Upon a second look over he noticed that the room was actually not as big as he though it was, cutting the room in half was a large wall with a single door in the exact center of the wall, it had blended in with the rest of the room as the wall was colored white like everything else. "What is this place?"

"This is Beacons very own VR Room."

"The what?"

"That's Virtual Reality Room, Rodric." He looked over his shoulder glaring at Goodwitch as she walked over and past him, "This room is where we bring students to test them in the material they have learned, and to see where they need the extra help. But, seeing as you are our newest student, there is no time for you to go through your own initiation, so this is where we will test you." She pressed her foot down on one of the tiles as a small section of floor opened up and a large panel filled with different switches and monitors rose from the ground stopping at her waist. "We will see just how you excel at fighting Grimm and in what areas you struggle in, that way we can judge you accordingly."

"I'm afraid I don't follow..."

"It's quiet simple Rodric, after a set amount of time has passed for each student we either bring them alone or with their team and set up a test for them to take. This test will show us where they are strong and where they are weak, once the test is over we will tell them what to work on, and once a few weeks have passed we will bring them back for a follow up test."

"No, I understood the point of the test, I don't understand what this has to do with me." His attention was pulled back to Goodwitch who had started to move over to him with a strange device in her hand, from what he could see it looked like...a collar. It was round and looked as thin as a metal collar, it was a bright white with the inside being a deep black, the outside had thin blue lines running across it. It looked fragile enough that he would be able to snap it in his hands, but seeing as this was a school for hunters, he knew looks could be deceiving. He frowned and took a step back away from her, "What is that?"

She huffed before holding up the device in her hand, "Relax Rodric this device is essential for the test, we have screens to watch you perform but this helps us keep track of your vitals to make sure you aren't overexerting yourself." Gently tugging on the collar it snapped open as she moved over to him, not missing the way he stiffed at her approach, "There are sensors on the inner part that tracks your heart rate..." She placed it against his neck before snapping it into place, "as well as your aura levels, it allows us to lower the difficulty of the test if we notice you struggling." She turned around and moved back over to the control panel and pressed one of the buttons as two screens flashed on, one with a heart monitor that showed his heart was beating at a rather increased rate, though she chalked that up to nerves. The other screen that turned on displayed his aura levels, she looked at it curiously raising a brow in confusion, "Interesting..."

Rodric frowned as he tried to adjust the collar on his neck as he mumbled in frustration, he didn't like that he had to wear something like this, it felt degrading and gave rise to less than pleasant memories. He winced slightly when he felt a small pinch on the back of his neck, grumbling he pulled on the collar to ease the discomfort, to no avail sadly. "How long will this test be, if you don't mind me asking."

"Not too long, it should take no longer than an hour to see where you stand." Ozpin turned to his assistant, watching as she worked on the panel before her, her fingers flying expertly over all the dials and switches and buttons, "Is everything ready?"

She looked over her shoulder before returning her gaze to the panel before her, she was trying to decide just where to send this boy, there was something about him that she just couldn't put her finger on. He was hiding something from them, and she didn't appreciate students keeping secrets that could affect their time here, huffing slightly she turned one of the dials setting the location for the Emerald Forest. She could have sent him anywhere on Remnant to fight just about any of the variety of Grimm there were, sadly she didn't need unknown variables interfering with her results. Flipping one of the switches the door in the wall slid open revealing a dark room on the other side, although there was a faint green glow emanating from the room. "I believe I have everything set properly."

Ozpin nodded before turning to Rodric who was staring at the room beyond the door, "Well your test has officially begun, good luck."

He scoffed as he walked towards the door, as he drew closer he was able to see that the glow was coming from some type of grid running along the floors and walls of the room. Steeling himself he crossed the threshold and stepped into the room, right away the door closed behind him and seemed to disappear in the dark room. "Wonderful." He walked further into the room and looked around, he wasn't sure if something was suppose to happen, but he was beginning to feel foolish standing in this room. "Is something suppose to-" He was cut off as the room was illuminated in a bright flash forcing him to cover his eyes.

* * *

"Ozpin." The man hummed softly as he moved over to the panel where she stood, "Am I reading this right, or did I calibrate the collar incorrectly?" She looked down at the screen that held Rodric's aura level, ever since she turned the device on she couldn't take her eyes off this screen. She knew that some students had larger aura reserves than most and she had this machine specifically made to accommodate every reserve type and yet...

"Hm, everything seems to be in order, why did you ask?"

"Sir, this can't be right I mean look at it." She motioned to his aura and showed that it was, looping, it would reach the top of the screen displaying maximum aura before depleting entirely only to be refilled once again. "Something has to be wrong with this machine Ozpin, his aura is all over the place." There was no explanation for this, it had to be some sort of glitch in the system, it had been some time since the last time she performed any maintenance on it, but it shouldn't have been this bad. "Sir?" She turned towards Ozpin who was looking at one of the screens on the panel showing Rodric walking through the generated version of the Emerald Forest.

* * *

Rodric took note of his surroundings and was at a loss for words, the empty room he was just in vanished in the blink of an eye and was replaced with this vast forest. It was strangely calming and soothing to be in the forest despite it not being real, though the smell of the grass and the wind against his face certainly felt real, it was certainly difficult to call it fake. Though as he walked around he began to wonder just what this test consisted of, they had still refused to give him the details, and it was a little late to ask. Though he had a faint idea, seeing as this was a school to train the young hunters that could only mean the test consisted of-

A low growl pulled him from his thoughts, glancing up he spied one of the cursed creatures moving through the brush, "Oh, it's you foul beasts again is it?" The Beowolf growled and snarled at him, stalking towards him, each step he could see a mass of muscle pulling taught beneath the skin, "I still have yet to deal out punishment to you and your kind, I believe this will be wonderful practice for the real ones." They both seemed to crouch down together before the Beowolf charged forward, Rodric braced himself as the beast slammed into him throwing him into the ground, he used the momentum to lift the beast up and kick him off and behind him. Once he heard the heavy thud of the Grimm hitting the ground he quickly got to his feet turning to see the beast doing the same as a large grin crossed his face, "If this is what the test consists of, it's much easier than I imagined." The Grimm snarled and rushed towards him, though instead of waiting he closed the distance and wrapped his hands around its throat. Though its neck was thick from all the muscle he gripped it tightly squeezing it as the Grimm flailed in his grip, he felt the throat contracting as it let out one last howl before he crushed the neck with an audible snap.

He dropped the lifeless body of the Grim on the ground just as a resonating howl echoed through the forest, he smirked as he turned to face the forest as the howls began to fade away, "Come then, and meet your end!" His chest rumbled as he tilted his head upward and let loose a bellowing roar challenging the Grimm, as his roar faded he could hear them running towards him, a low growl slipped from his lips as he ran towards the sounds intent on meeting them head on.

* * *

"Hm." Goodwitch looked down at his heart rate and found it strange that it was...normal despite everything he was doing, her eyes drifted over to the small screen as she watched him tackle and slam a Beowolf into one of the trees sending splinters though the air. "I don't understand, sir..." She turned towards Ozpin who had his eyes locked on the screen, "How could he still have a fairly normal heart rate when he's doing things...like that." She motioned to the screen just as he pulled a Beowolf from his back and threw it into one that was charging him.

"Glynda we have more than one student at this school who is able to control their breathing and heart rate in order to remain calm in extreme situation." He hummed slightly as Rodric began to tear through the forces of Beowolves that continued to rush towards him, he was surprised to say the least, to see him lasting so long and doing so well. "I'm sure you remember Lie Ren, you had thought that device was malfunctioning when it refused to climb over 105. Even when he exited the room he was drenched in sweat, yet he still seemed calm, though I probably have Miss Valkyrie to thank for that." He watched as Rodric finished off with another few Beowolves before turning to Glynda, "Perhaps this is a bit to easy for him, let's...dial things down, I want to see what his limits are."

She gave a firm nod as she turned back towards the panel and took hold on of the dials and began to lower the number from one hundred percent to eighty percent, as she finished that she flipped a switch before turning towards the screen to see how it took effect.

* * *

Rodric grit his teeth as he forced the Beowolf's head back, it had taken him by surprise while he had been busy with another, after fending off it's attacks it had backed him against a large rock face. There it had tried to end him by going for his throat, he just managed to stop it by wedging both his hands in its mouth and forcing it open. His fingers were sore and bleeding from being cut on the Grimm's fangs, growling slightly he gripped the lower half of its jaw tightly as he began to push the head back. In one swift moment he forced the mouth open breaking the jaw, as the Grimm stumbled back with its lower jaw hanging uselessly on it, he grabbed the Grimm and slammed its head into the stone behind him with a sickening crunch. As he watched the Grimm slide to the ground he realized how strange it looked, here he was killing these beasts and yet there wasn't a single drop of blood, aside from his own. Huffing slightly, he winced when the collar pinched his neck once again, "Curse this infernal device, I'll see to it that I destroy it myself when I'm done."

A loud squeal cause him to turn just as a black blur rushed towards him, quickly jumping out of the way he watched as it flew further into the forest. He didn't have time to contemplate what it was as another loud squeal drew his attention, turning he saw another one of the Grimm though he hadn't ever seen one like this before. It looked like the boars from his time but its fur was completely black, it had the same bone plate armor covering its face as the Beowolves did, though it had large curved tusks covered in small but jagged barbs. He gave a small nod of recognition, the girls were talking about the different types of Grimm in the area, apparently they were having a test about it or something like that, when he questioned what they were talking about Ruby had been the one to inform him. If he went by her description then these foul creatures had to be the, "Boarbatusks...interesting." Before he could move he heard a loud crash come from behind him followed by a loud roar, turning he was face to face with another one of the beasts, though it was much larger than the others. It stood on two legs towering above him, though it still hand the same bone plate armor covering its face, it dropped down onto all fours giving him a clear view of the spikes covering its back. "And an Ursa Major...aren't I ever so lucky."

The large Grimm raised its front paw and swung at him, though he was able to step back out of the way because of how slow moving it was. He had a feeling he wasn't going to have to worry about the Ursa too much, especially if it was this slow, the Boarbatusks on the other hand were going to be a problem. After putting some distance between himself and the Ursa he faced the herd of Grimm, they all seemed to be slowly advancing on him taking slow measured steps. With each step they took he took on in the opposite direction, not that he was afraid of their numbers, but more so of them getting to close for him to react accordingly. Though as he took another step back he heard a small crack of a branch snapping underfoot, this seemed to startle the Grimm as one of the larger ones closest to him squealed loudly before charging towards him. For a hefty looking Grimm it was surprisingly fast, he sidestepped the charging beast only to turn and jump out of the way as another rushed towards him. He would have kept up his dance of dodging the charging Grimm if he felt like it would have done him any good, though seeing as this was a test to see how he could handle himself...

He jumped to the side as another Boarbatusk charged towards him, he held his ground as it grew closer to him, just as the large tusks would have dug into his flesh he stepped to the side and threw out his fist. He grit his teeth as his fist struck the solid bone plated mask of the Grimm's head, while it left his hand throbbing he felt that the Grimm was worse off as it slid across the ground on its side. He flexed his fingers as he moved over to it intending to finish it off, he watched as it kicked its legs uselessly as he smirked watching it in its pathetic state. He laughed out as he watched it curl into a ball, perhaps it thought it would be able to protect itself if it did so, though he couldn't hide the surprise that crossed his face as he watched the Grimm rise from the ground still curled in a ball. "Hm, what's this all-" He was cut off when the black ball before him let out a loud squeal before rushing towards him, out of surprise he threw his fist out just as it was about to collide with him. There was a loud crunch as his fist connected with the ball, the Grimm flew back once again sprawling out on the ground unmoving as he cradled his arm hissing in pain.

He flexed his hand, moving his fingers around wincing as pain shot through his hand, "Dammit all..." A loud squeal brought his attention back to the current situation he had found himself in, as he turned towards the sound he saw the large herd of Boarbatusks had seemingly grown larger in the span of a few minuets. They all stared him down, hundreds of glowing red eyes looking towards him as they began to stomp their hooves into the ground, "Let me-" Again he was cut off when several of the Grimm curled into balls as they began to spin in place, "Lovely..."

With his left hand aching still from the first Grimm he had killed he was at a small disadvantage, while he could still easily incinerate the lot of them, he felt fatigue slowly setting in. He wasn't sure how long he had been at this test but he could feel his strength slowly waning, for someone like him, it wasn't a good feeling. He quickly turned and pressed his back firmly against the trunk of the large tree panting heavily as he breathed in as much air as his lungs could allow. He didn't understand how something like this was happening to him, even when he fought the girls back during their first encounter he didn't even get winded and now... He fought back a cough as he allowed himself this small reprieve to calm his beating heart and to rest his aching lungs, though it was short lived as he heard the all to familiar squeals coming from much to close by. Sighing heavily he pushed himself away from the tree and began to move again, only to be thrown forward as an explosion sounded behind him, he grunted as he collided with the ground feeling fragments of whatever remains raining down on him.

He quickly pushed himself to his feet sparing a glance behind him and could only widen his eyes in surprise at what he saw. A large snake, larger than even he used to be staring down at him, it was completely white though it didn't have a mask like the other Grimm it still had a grey plated crested on its head. The explosion that sent him towards the ground had been it completely destroying the tree he had been resting against, he grit his teeth as the snake's tongue flickered out, slowly it began to move but it didn't seem to be getting any closer than it already was. Quick as lightening it lunged towards him, he only managed to turn slightly as it slammed straight into his already injured arm sending a wave of pain through his limb, the next thing he knew was that he was staring up at the sky and in the next moment pain racked his body as every bone and muscle inside of him ached immensely. He grit his teeth as he struggled to get to his feet, the deep resonating hiss encouraged him to move faster, as he stood he turned and looked towards the large snake Grimm slithering between the large trees. He felt a growl rumbling in his chest as he felt the fire crawling up his throat, but as the beast reared back once again towering over him, he knew this wasn't something he fight so easily. Cursing to himself he turned and ran into the forest the sound of scales slithering after him only served to push him harder.

* * *

Staring down at the monitor Ozpin and Glynda both watched as Rodric ran through the forest trying to dodge the Grimm that were coming from all sides. A tree he ran by exploded into splinters are the Taijitu crashed through it in its effort to catch Rodric, "Professor," Glynda started, "Don't you think this is perhaps a little much for a test?" Her eyes moved over to the dial that controlled how much of his aura level they would suppress and it was now down to fifty percent, most of the switches had been flipped allowing almost every Grimm in the Emerald Forest loose. Not to mention they were pushing the max limit of each Grimm, thankfully Ozpin had decided not to send the Death Stalker towards their new student. Her eyes drifted towards the heart monitor and it worried her to see that his heart rate was pushing almost two hundred beats per minuet, though with the threat of looming death it at least eased her mind slightly to know that it wasn't due to any life threatening injury. Saying that she did notice that during his confrontation with the Boarbatusk his heart rate did in fact spike slightly, so there might very well be an injury of some sort that he's suffering from.

"He seems to be holding his own against the vast assortment of Grimm, Glynda you've seen me pit some of my strongest students against near impossible odds, do you know what I do when I fear they are in danger?"

"You stop the test of course."

"Precisely, if I felt that Rodric was in any real danger I would have ended the test long ago, however he might be a bit bruised but I feel he can continue with the test. That being said, would you please lower the aura dampener to its second lowest setting."

"But Professor that's-"

"I am very aware of just how dangerous it is, but we must observe his very limits, if I feel that he is any life threatening danger I will shut down the VR Chamber, now Glynda if you please."

She hesitated as she looked down at the monitor showing Rodric fighting off the Grimm despite his weakened and injured state, through the camera she was able to see the fiery determination set in his eyes. From what though, she wondered, was he simply determined to complete the test or was he trying to prove himself, what exactly was he fighting so hard for? Hesitantly she reached out towards the dial and slowly turned it down from fifty percent down to thirty percent, perhaps the most they ever blocked someone's aura, while she was eager to see what the results would be she couldn't help but feel like she was doing something very wrong. Looking back towards the monitor she let out a slow breath as she waited for the collar to adjust.

* * *

Jumping back he felt the sharp claws of the Beowolf slice through the shirt he wore, thin red lines marring his skin as tiny red droplets slid down his chest. Gritting his teeth he rushed forward and wrapped his arm around the thick neck of the Grimm before kicking its leg out from beneath it causing it to fall forward. Giving a quick upward jerk he heard the sound of its neck breaking before dropping the body of the Grimm to the ground, panting heavily he turned towards the rest only to see a large army of Grimm waiting to bring him to his knees. He took a step back, each breath he took coming in short ragged gasps, "C-Come on then w-whose ne-" His words were cut short as a black blur barreled into him sending him tumbling across the forest floor, when he finally stopped he sucked in a sharp breath only to begin coughing painfully. Hearing a low growl extremely close to him he forced himself to his feet even as his body screamed in protest, before him were a Beowolf and a Boarbatusk, both of them slowly inching closer to him. Gritting his teeth he slowly moved back, keeping the distance even between the three of them, it was working well until the Boarbatusk let out a loud squeal and charged right towards him.

Reacting on instinct he threw his hands out and grabbed the Grimm by its barbed tusks hissing in pain as the barbs tore into his hands, using the beasts momentum against it he gripped the tusks tightly as he spun in a complete circle even as pain burned through his body before releasing the Grimm. The loud squeal was accompanied by a yelp of pain as the Boarbatusk collided with the Beowolf knocking them both to the ground, his moment of triumph was short lived as pain exploded from his side forcing him to double over as he sucked in air between clenched teeth. He wrapped his arms around himself clenching his sides hoping to ease the pain, though he didn't have time to try as a loud roar grabbed his attention, tilting his head up slightly he saw the Ursa Major from before standing taller than all the other Grimm around him, the only thing larger than the Ursa was the large white snake behind the army of Grimm. He watched as the Ursa dropped down to all fours and began making its way through the Grimm, he let out a low growl as he stood up straight despite the pain that washed over him, he took a single breath before he took off in a sprint towards the large Grimm. The other Grimm didn't make it easy as they all swiped and lunged at him cutting into his flesh as he tore past them, but that didn't matter he had his eyes set on one Grimm and one alone, the Ursa Major.

As he drew closer the large Grimm began to rush towards him as well growling all the while, as he drew near he pulled his arm back preparing to strike out only to be forced to jump back as its large claws swiped at him. He stumbled back at the sudden halt in his running, and that seemed to give the Grimm the edge it needed as it rushed towards him swinging its claws out in a much faster manner than he had expected. Where he was pressing his slight advantage he was now being pushed back by the large Ursa as it charged towards him all the while swinging its claws at him, each time coming closer to his body as fatigue began to weigh his body down. As he took a step away from the enraged Grimm he stumbled on his feet falling back onto the ground, the Ursa took the advantage and rushed towards him intent on barreling right over him, he dug his fingers into the dirt and waited until the Ursa was practically on top of him. When it rose up on its hind legs he threw himself forward despite his throbbing side and landed behind the Grimm, quickly standing he smirked turning back towards the Ursa, "Now I have-" He was silenced as a large black limb slammed into his chest sending him flying back into a tree, as his back slammed into the trunk he gasped out as a sharp pain lanced his side and chest, he knew he definitely broke something this time around.

He slid into a sitting position as his chest throbbed painfully, he didn't understand how he came to be like this, one day he's fighting off four girls who trained to get where they are and the next he's sitting here bruised and beaten by a pack of mindless animals. He panted heavily as he wrapped his arms around himself hissing in pain as he touched a tender spot on his chest, he couldn't believe he was bested by these...these soulless creatures. With how weak his body had become the small pinch on the back of his neck felt like a dagger being shoved into his flesh, causing him try cry out in pain, "Curse this damned machine, I grow tired of it!" Tilting his head up he glared at the hoard of Grimm as they slowly approached him, he hooked his fingers beneath the collar he wore and began to pull at it, _To hell with this device I don't care if it's important I won't have it annoying me any further! _He grit his teeth as he forced his aching muscles to pull against the device, as the Grimm drew closer he forced his muscles to pull with every ounce of remaining strength he had left, as he did so he could hear the metal clasps squeaking as they slowly pried apart. As he looked towards the army of Grimm a lone Beowolf broke away from the others and ran towards him, growling in exertion he put all his strength into breaking the collar, he was rewarded with the metal collar snapping off into two pieces. Almost instantly he felt strength flow back into his body flooding through his muscles and coursing through his veins, he pushed himself to his feet and charged the Grimm as he drove the jagged metal scrap through the Grimm's neck, as it began to cry out he drove the second piece through its head silencing it.

The result of doing so wasn't what he expected, where he expected the body to collapse to the ground much like the others had the Grimm merely stood there still in its throes of death. His vision wavered slightly, as a shower of sparks caused him to jump back in surprise, coming from the wounds he inflicted on the Beowolf, sparks flew from the points of impact landing upon the forest floor. Once again his vision wavered, but it was only then did he realize that it wasn't his vision, it was the forest itself, everything in it began to flicker and fade before he was plunged into darkness. Not a moment later did the faint green light from before light up the room, as he looked around the Grimm were no where to be seen instead strange metal skeletons remained. It seemed these were what he was fighting all along, they all resembled the Grimm in their own way, and it seemed the room was projecting the appearance onto their metal frames. It was strange to see the vast number of metal skeletons around him, though the one looming in the back unnerved him seeing as it was the large snake that had chased him through the forest. But, with the forest gone it seemed like the test was over and yet he was still in here, "Hello?"

* * *

"Glynda what happened?"

"I...I don't know he somehow overloaded the system, nothing is responding to me." Her fingers flew over the console before her as she tried to get some kind of response to the machine, she was worried and had ever right to be worried not even a minuet after his vitals flat lined she lost visual on him as the monitor blacked out. Everything on the console turned off, though they all turned on almost immediately nothing was working and every command she input refused to work.

_"E-E-Emergency s-s-s-shutdown...malfunction." _Her brow furrowed as she quickly input the next order, if she couldn't shut down the system manually she would at least try to get the door open, _"E-E-E-Emergency door lock r-r-r-release...malfunction." _Her frowned deepened as her fingers flew across the keys typing in every action and order she could think of to get some kind of response from the system. _"W-W-W-Warning r-r-r-remote a-a-a-access disabled. W-W-W-Warning A.I. shackles released. W-W-W-W-Warning safety measures d-d-d-disabled. P-P-P-Power surge detected s-s-s-s-switching to remote back up generators. T-T-T-Training regiment set to l-l-l-level nine, eight, t-t-ten, five, seven, two, four, f-f-f-fifteen, three, eleven, t-t-t-twenty. R-R-Resuming t-t-t-training." _The screen on the console flashed on revealing Rodric standing in the middle of the VR room surrounded by the metal skeletons of the Grimm as her eyes widened in fear.

"Ozpin!"

"I know!" He drew the sword sheathed in his cane and drove it between the two sections of the door as he began to push on his sword hoping to some how pry the doors apart before the back up generators could reanimate the training machines. Even as he exerted all his strength onto the sword the doors refused to budge.

"Professor we have to get him out of there! Even our best teams can't handle a level twenty training exercise, and he's by himself!"

"I know Glynda I'm working on it!"

"With the unshackled A.I who knows what could happen in there, he could..." Her voice faded as she watched the screen, as Rodric looked around the room, possibly for some way to get out of there she noticed movement out of the edge of the screen, and it didn't appear to be any of the other machines that caused it. "...oh no."

* * *

He ran his hands over the walls of the room looking for some sort means of leaving, he was forced to grit his teeth with each step, despite the fact that all his strength had returned to him one he removed the collar the damage was already done. Huffing in annoyance he slammed his hand against the wall, "Dammit." Running his hand through his hair he sighed heavily, it seemed he was still going to be stuck in a barely lit room for some time, at least until Ozpin decided to let him out. For all he knew word of what happened in the dorm could have reached the headmaster and this was his punishment for it, not that he blamed them he deserved it after acting like that. He turned back to the skeletons and noticed something out of place, he looked over all of them trying to remember how many there were previously , it looked like they were all in place and yet... "Wait...where's the..."

A loud hiss, something akin to steam being released sounded from behind him, he quickly turned and the large snake loomed over him looking down on him as if he were its next meal. He stumbled back as it opened its mouth revealing spear like fangs and flicking its metallic tongue towards him, he began to walk backwards, back towards the metal skeletons behind him as the large metallic snake began to curl up pulling its head closer to the rest of its body. He was already on the receiving end of it once before, so he was ready when it shot out towards him, jumping to the side he smirked as it flew past him and into the rest of the skeletons behind him. He turned towards the snake the smirk fading from his face as its large tail slammed into his chest sending him across the floor, once he slid to a stop he slowly got to his feet his chest aching from the force. He clenched his fist as he watched the snake curl up again letting out a loud his before charging towards him, its metal belly screeching across the floor as it drew closer, he held his ground as it grew closer. Its head shot forward towards him as he threw his fist out putting as much force behind it as it slammed into its metal head, the force was enough to throw it off balance as it went careening away from him, just like before he saw the large tail coming right for him. He turned slightly allowing it to slam into him causing him to grit his teeth, though this time he managed to grab onto it causing him to slid across the floor before finally stopping as he kept a tight grip on its tail.

The snake turned to look at him hissing loudly as it bared its fangs, he smirked as he gripped the tail tightly, "No so dangerous now when-" His words were cut short when he felt himself being lifted into the air, his stomach tightened up at the sudden movement but quickly faded when he was quickly brought back down full force into the ground. Aside from the sound of his body colliding with the hard ground, he heard a distinctive cracking sound coming from somewhere in his body, he tried to turn over but was overcome with an extreme amount of pain causing him to cry out. He coughed as his breath came in short ragged gasps, yet it only served to shoot pain through his chest and sides, the only thing that kept him from staying on the ground any longer was the sound of scrapping metal quickly approaching. Quickly stumbling to his feet he turned towards the snake as it rushed towards him, he stumbled back and took a deep breath despite his aching lungs, as he began to throw his head forward the large head of the snake collided with him throwing him across the floor once again. The flames arched upwards hitting the roof high above them before flickering away as he gasped out for breath only to have pain grip his chest constricting his lungs, the feeling only caused him to gasp out as he quickly turned over ignoring the pain and coughing up specks of blood onto the floor. Once his mouth was clear he sucked in breath panting heavily, he looked down to see the blood dripping from his lips as he gripped his sides, his strength hadn't waned at all since he began battling the metallic snake and yet, he was back into the same position as earlier.

He once again slowly pushed himself to his feet although it was a larger struggle than it had previously been, he spit the remainder of the blood onto the ground as he looked towards the machine. It was already curling up on itself again ready to strike out at him, he grit his teeth before quickly turning and running across the room, _Sometimes a strategic retreat is in order, although..._he looked around the room as he ran and didn't see how running was going to be beneficial to him when there was nowhere to run to. Hearing the screeching metal behind him failed to discourage him as he continued to run, he figured that if he couldn't use his flames while standing still then maybe...he cut to the left as he ran towards the wall the loud crash brought a smirk to his face as he continued to run. He continued this pattern two more times, getting closer to the wall each time just in case the snake would see through his pattern, though the second time he pressed his back against the wall to face the snake as it rushed towards him. In the last seconds he stepped around the snake and ran along side it as its head crashed into the wall, he kept close to its body watching for any sudden movements as he sprinted across the room right for the opposite wall, as he ran he could hear the screech of metal behind him as the snake struggled to right itself and follow him. He pushed himself harder even as he felt pain begin to shoot up his leg, when he made it to the wall he took a deep breath before quickly turning and breathing flames on the charging snake. His eyes widened as it didn't affect it the way he thought it would.

The metal snake barreled through his flames completely unfazed and unharmed before its large head collided with his chest quickly snuffing the flames out as he cried out in pain. He doubled over in pain wrapping his arms around his chest as pain flooded through his body, he struggled to breath as the air was knocked from his lungs, he coughed roughly as he struggled to suck in air. He cried out again as the metal head of the snake collided with him again pinning him against the wall behind him before moving away from him, he needed to move to get away from this position but his legs refused to move, feeling heavy as they trembled beneath him. Again the weighty metal collided with his chest ripping another cry of pain from his throat as he wheezed struggling to breath, the taste of iron began to fill his mouth as he struggled to move his legs keeping him standing but refused to do much of anything else. He looked up as the giant snake rushed towards him again, he grit his teeth as he waited for the pain to engulf him again.

* * *

The sounds that came from inside the VR Chamber disturbed Glynda more than she thought anything could, she had gone against hordes of monstrous Grimm in her youth, she had heard the cries of friends and foe alike and yet...Another deep resonating crash echoed from the sealed room, it caused chills to crawl over his skin as she swallowed the lump in her throat, after watching the metal Taijitu slam Rodric into the ground using only its tail she stopped watching the monitor and instead began working on forcing the door open. She tried to use her dust to force the doors apart but it seemed there was some sort of mechanism holding it in place, and with the emergency systems offline or indisposed there was no way to force them open when the locks were still in place. She had even went as far as attacking the door using her dust in an attempt to blow it down and yet nothing seemed to work, Ozpin was at a loss as to what to do in this situation, they had begun to assume there was nothing they could do. She opened her mouth to say something but was silenced when the door shook slightly as another loud crash echoed through the room.

Again the door shook as another crash echoed, she noticed how it seemed to bulge out slightly with each crash and decided that's how she was going to get it open. With a wave of her hand a black glyph appeared before her as a light purple glow encased the doors once again, she took a deep breath and began to focus on the glyph before her, she slowly drew her hand closer to her. She struggled with the gesture as she tried to ignore the sound of the metal beast slamming against the door, she knew what it was doing earlier and didn't want to think about Rodric in that position. Shaking her head she pulled harder on the door each crash pushing the door forward and with her glyph she had began to deform the door pulling it forward bit by bit, "Glynda be careful."

She looked back towards Ozpin who still had his weapon drawn, she wasn't really sure why he was telling her to be careful but she nonetheless nodded and continued working on the door. The crashing had gotten less frequent but much louder, each time she heard the crash chills crawled up her spine, but she pushed the thoughts from her mind as he struggled to pull the door apart. She shook her head trying her hardest to ignore the crashing and instead focused on the door watching as it was slowly being pulled forward, the progress was slow but it was progress nonetheless.

Ozpin looked down at his weapon a single edged sword treated with dust, capable of slicing through Grimm with ease and yet he wasn't able to cut down a simple door. Of course forgetting that the room was lined to withstand assault from everything related to dust it only made sense after all, if it wasn't it would be destroyed each time one of the students would use their weapons or abilities. Thankfully it seemed Glynda had found a way to actually open the door, using her glyphs to literally rip the door from its hinges, yet it seemed she was struggling to focus. The room shook slightly when another crash sounded from inside the room, that had been going on for quite some time now, and from the look on her face when she stepped away from the console he knew it was better not to ask. Sighing softly he kept himself calm and his face stoic, everything would be fine, he knew that for certain Rodric was a strange person but he felt he was capable enough to handle himself in a situation like this. His eye wandered to the door watching as it slowly came apart the loud crashing seeming to help Glynda, even though it seemed to be working his nerves had begun to act up, it seemed too easy to pull this door open, the way the crashing seemed to be helping it should have meant that... "Glynda stop!" The moment the words left his lips the door burst open, forcing him to tackle her to the ground as the metal door flew over their heads and crashed into the other end of the room.

"Are you alright?" She looked up at him and slowly nodded as she pushed herself up, how foolish of her, she should have realized that something like this would have happened. But, what were the chances of that crashing being on the other side of the door, nevertheless they had other problems on their hand at this point. From the spot she was at she could see Rodric laying on the ground, his clothing was torn to shreds and from it she could see his chest was bruised and beaten, there were spots where blood had began to pool underneath his skin. He was in need of immediate medical attention, yet there was an obstacle blocking their path, she took a step back as the large snake slithered from the chamber. It had to keep its body low as the roof to the room they were in was lower than the chambers, the scrapping of metal against tile caused her to shiver, but she readied her weapon nonetheless. Ozpin had stood beside her brandishing his sword, but it seemed the snake was ignoring them and merely focused on Rodric who had yet to stand, fear flowed through her at that but she could see he was still breathing at least.

With a wave of her hand the air began to grow colder much like before, she thrust her hand forward as a row jagged ice sprang from the floor, it rushed forward before piercing through its metallic hide earning an ear splitting screech from the Grimm. It turned towards them, even though it was made of metal it still resembled the Grimm that they had fought during their youth. It shot down towards them forcing them both to jump to the side, Ozpin took the chance to rush back towards it and struck out with his weapon, the blade easily slicing through the thick metal. It didn't seem to do anything significant other than make it even more angry, if that was even possible, he jumped back as Glynda launched large shards of ice at the metal Grimm. None of the shards seemed to even affect it despite more than a few of them managing to lodge itself into the metal, Ozpin rushed towards the Grimm once again intent on doing something significant to it. Instead he could only look on in surprise as it quickly turned towards him and slammed its head into his chest tossing him to the ground. "Ozpin!" Before she could move from her spot the beast turned back towards her, rearing back as far as it was able to before rushing towards her, she threw her hands up just as it crashed into the shield she put up to defend herself.

It seemed her doing so had only managed to annoy the snake as it hissed menacingly at her, before striking at her shield again and again, each strike feeling like a truck colliding with her body. While there was no physical pain she could still feel the strikes taking a toll on her body, she looked towards Ozpin to see as he struggled to his feet, she distracted herself by mistake the next strike she took shattered her shield and threw her against the wall. She groaned in pain before looking up at the Grimm it hissed at her and went to attack her, "Hey!" It stopped and turned towards the shout as did she only to see Rodric standing back in front of the door to the chamber, _When did he get back up? _From the look of it he seemed to be struggling just to keep himself on his feet at the moment, nevertheless the Grimm's attention seemed to be focused solely on him. "What's the matter beast! Afraid to fight me?" It hissed at him before lunging at him, he dived out of the way as it flew past him and back into the chamber.

Quickly standing she rushed over to Rodric as he struggled to push himself to his feet, "Rodric are you okay?" She shook her head, she knew very well that he wasn't okay, she witnessed everything he had gone through in that room and alright wasn't something he was at the moment.

"Oh, just peachy really." He held onto his side breathing heavily as he moved towards the door and stumbled slightly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Glynda looking down at him with a worried expression. It was strange to see her look at him any other way, he shrugged her hand off and continued on, "I'm fine, but this beast will not yield until it had fallen, this test is mine and I will-"

"Don't be ridiculous!" He looked up at her confused as to why she was suddenly so worried for him, "You're in no shape to continue this test, you need medical attention. Listen to me Rodric, I don't know why you're pushing yourself but you cannot fight this, not even our best teams can fight something like this off. You won't be able to-"

"I do this for myself, and no one else! This monster has made a mockery of me and will suffer for it." Before she could continue he stalked away from her and back into chamber, she was at a loss for words she didn't understand what he meant, she didn't accuse him of pushing himself for someone else and yet he said he wasn't. Something was going through his mind and she had no idea what it was, but she couldn't allow him to do this by himself if he planned on going through with it.

"Very well, if you wish to continue then I'll-"

"No." She was cut off when she looked up to see Rodric glaring at her, his ice blue eyes seemed colder than they usually were, his pupils had turned to slits as he stared her down. "This fight is mine and mine alone, if you truly wish to help then use your...dust and keep this beast from escaping." He turned back towards the mechanical monster as it hissed loudly at him, "I will not have this creature fleeing before I can destroy it."

"Wait." He ignored her and continued to walk towards the machine leaving her baffled at his sheer recklessness, giving a heavy sigh she shook her head, if he really wished to fight on his own then she would oblige him. Lifting her hand she generated a large glyph to block the doorway he entered, this way the Taijitu would have no where to run too. She gave a shaky sigh as the snake lunged towards him, turning away she looked towards Ozpin who was moving over towards him, "Was that the right decision professor?"

He sheathed his weapon before adjusting his glasses, "That depends do you trust him to do what he says?"

"He's far too injured to be able to do anything to that machine Ozpin, the training regement is set to its maximum difficulty there's no way he can-"

"Do you trust him to do what he says?"

"Professor I don't-"

"Do you trust him?"

"I-I..." She turned back towards the scene in front of her, she watched as flames were spewed across the ground, none of it seemed to be doing much of anything to the metal behemoth. Even so, as she looked on in worry she felt that if he was so confident in what he would be able to do, then she should at least believe in him to do this. She was scared that she was going to witness one of her students fall, but that look in his eyes...he had to have something up his sleeve that he had yet to use.

"Do you trust him Glynda?"

"...Yes."

* * *

He jumped out of the way as the large tail slammed down next to him, he breathed flames over the metal beast causing it to screech out in pain as it reeled back away from him, only to rush towards him forcing him to jump out of the way. He didn't know what he expected to do against something as massive and as strong as this creature, he had no weapons and his flames didn't seem to be doing a thing to it. If he had his original form he would have ripped this beast to shreds long ago, sadly wishful thinking wasn't going to be rid of this beast, his head shot up just as the tail swung down towards him. He managed to move out of the way but not before it clipped his arm, as he stumbled away from the point of impact he was caught off guard as the snake slammed its head into him, though he didn't go flying as he did previous times he could feel he was being brought somewhere. Gritting his teeth he held onto the head of the beast before he felt his back collide with a solid object which ripped the air from his lungs forcing a cry from his throat that was mixed with a strangled gasp for air. "Rodric!" He sucked in as much air as he was able to before turning his head, a few inches away from him was Glynda, the only thing separating the two of them was her glyph, gritting his teeth he turned back towards the snake and began to slam his fist into its head.

"I-I'm perfectly, ngh, I'm perfectly fine." Glynda struggled to keep the glyph together as the Taijitu because to slam against it using Rodric's body as a battering ram in the process. She winced every time his body collided with her glyph, not to mention it was beginning to put a strain on her body, with each strike she was pushed back slightly and her body began to weaken more and more. Even so she continued to keep her composure even as she weakened, she didn't know who she was doing it for, if not for herself then it had to be for Rodric. Even as his body was repeatedly crushed against the glyph and the metallic head of the Grimm he refused to cry out any more after the first time, he was forcing himself to be strong at this point that much was clear to her. If he was doing that for her sake, she wasn't exactly sure but she was remaining strong for his sake. "I-Is that all you have you...piece of junk!" The snake hissed loudly and slammed him into her glyph much harder than before forcing her to stumble back slightly, as she righted herself she looked up and her eyes widened in horror. There was a small puddle of blood growing at his feet, all that stress on his body must have finally taken its toll and ripped him open, but the horror didn't seem to end there, her eyes widened further as she watched him being lifted off the ground.

Rodric coughed up blood, he knew now there was nothing he could do to stop this creature, and it seemed it was going to be his downfall for even thinking he could take on something this strong in his present state. He coughed again blood dribbling from his lips, he could feel himself moving but he wasn't sure where he was being taken now, all he could feel was the cool wall sliding against his back as he was moved. He managed to lift his head up and see that the roof had become a lot closer that it had previously been, it was in that realization did the lightheaded feeling leave him as he realized the situation he was in. He refused to die at the hands at this monster, he gripped its head as the beast leaned back pulling him away from the wall and then he was falling. He had lost so much strength that he couldn't even cry out as his body collided with the hard ground, he looked up and glared at the beast as it came crashing down into him. He could feel several things in his body finally give out under the immense pressure and beating he had taken, he tried to move and found that his body was far to gone to even more. He could only glare up at the monster as it leered down at him hissing in glee to have finally broken it's prey, it opened it's mouth and prepared to lunge at him when a large shard of ice struck it's body.

He turned his head to see Glynda with her weapon pointed towards the Grimm, "W-What are you doing?!"

"Saving you!" She thrust her hand out sending another wave of ice towards the Taijitu, it tried to protect itself before hissing angrily and rushing towards her. She gasped in surprise at the speed it possessed, she quickly exited the chamber and threw her glyph back up, only to cry out in surprise when it slammed into it with tremendous force that nearly knocked her off her feet. _Why, why did I trust that boy? _She stumbled back as it crashed into her glyph, though she pushed back as well shoving it back a good few feet, though it didn't stop it before it came crashing back into her again. Ozpin couldn't help, he had no way to attack it from a distance or to use dust himself, the only thing she could do was keep it distracted long enough for them to figure out some sort of plan. She stumbled back once again, a plan that they would need to come up with soon as she wasn't going to be able to hold this glyph much longer, even now it was beginning to falter on her.

When the attacks halted she looked up and gasped in fear, the Grimm was moving away from her and heading back towards Rodric, she feared it had grown tired of her and intended to finish him off. She quickly dropped the glyph and readied her assault, only to be taken by surprise it the large beast came charging towards her again, as quick as she was able to she brought the glyph back up just as it slammed into it. The force the attack delivered finally broke through the glyph and tossed her to the ground, she looked up and saw the large Grimm beginning to read back for it's assault. She had nothing left in her, all her strength was gone she had no aura left to produce a shield or to use her dust, as it charged towards her she shut her eyes not wishing to see her demise. She could hear the gnashing of metal yet she did not feel any pain, slowly she opened her eyes and gasped when the jaws of the Grimm snapped at her mere inches from her body. She didn't understand what happened, there wasn't any possible way that it was simply caught on something that didn't seem- "I'm not through with you yet!" Her eyes widened as the Grimm was jerked back, _T-That's not possible..._

* * *

Rodric grit his teeth as he pulled the monster back towards him, he growled out as he sank his fingers back into the metal, he winced as his flesh was torn apart from the sharp edges. While it was painful it was useful, his blood ate through the metal allowing him to get a better grip and pull it back towards him. Once the head had come back into the chamber it turned towards him hissing angrily as he dropped it's tail, "Come on then!" It gave another hiss before charging towards him, he wasn't going to allow some one else to perish for him, and as much as he disliked that woman she didn't deserve a fate like that. Shaking his head he focused on the task at him, as the snake grew close it widened it's mouth intent on consuming him whole, he readied himself and threw his hands out and took a hold of the large fangs. He was forced back along the ground until his back came into contact with the opposite wall, he winced in pain as the sharp fangs began to cut into his hand, despite the pain he felt he couldn't help but smirk as he listened to the monster struggle as it tried to consume him. Soon the smirk faded from his face as a feral growl ripped through his throat, "I grow weary of your presence..." He could feel the heat crawling up his neck, the flames licking at his throat, he opened his mouth as flames began to bite at his lips. "Begone!" He threw his head forward, flames flying down the beasts throat as it began to squeal and thrash in pain, he kept his grip tight on the fangs refusing to let it go as he continued his assault.

His entire body began to tremble as the flames continued to rush forth from his mouth, the smell of burning flesh had reached his nose but faded almost immediately. After almost a full three minuets of continuous flames, the beasts movement's finally ceased, he closed his mouth before coughing and sucking in much needed air. With a grunt of effort he tossed the body aside and moved around it and saw the damage he had caused. It's throat and most of it's underbelly had melted away leaving a pool of bright orange liquefied metal, he let out a raspy chuckle as he slowly began to make his way back towards the door.

* * *

"I-I...i-it's not possible." Glynda had watched everything with her own eyes and yet in the end she couldn't believe what she saw. He went against all odds, impossible odds and yet he came out on top, despite all his injuries he more than likely had he still managed to defeat something far stronger than himself. "I just...I can't believe it."

"Yes well..." Ozpin looked around at the destroyed room and cleared his throat, "You must always put your trust in your students, even when the odds seem impossible, because they just may surprise you." He walked over towards the door to greet Rodric when he came out, and he was surprised at the state he was in, there was a large gash across his stomach that was bleeding profusely and his lips and most of his mouth had been charred black. He opened his mouth to question if he was alright when he was cut off with Glynda voicing her concerns.

"Oh my goodness! Rodric are you alright?" She looked him over and saw that he was bleeding from his stomach, yet when she tried to assist him he shoved her hand away with his other. His face was burned badly yet he didn't seem to be in pain, if anything he seemed more exhausted than anything else, "Rodric h-how are you-"

"D-Did I pass?"

* * *

**_Humanity, people, humanity is what character's like these need. I've seen many stories where characters much like this simply mow down hundreds of Grimm with ease. If they look like a human, if they bleed like a human, is they speak like a human then they are a human. Sure your character might be some amazing creature or have some super abilities but if they are in a human body then make them human. Rodric is a dragon, yes but he's in a human body, meaning he's just as human as the rest of the cast. He can still tire, he can still get hurt, he can bleed, and he can die. Just because he happens to be a dragon doesn't mean I'm going to make him super human, he needs to realize that he has mortality now, and I wish other people would remember to do this for their...'extraordinary' characters. _**


	10. Bedside Companions

_**Hey everyone sorry for not updating in a long time, I want to apologize ahead of time for this chapter, is my opinion its bad, I feel like I rushed it and I feel like I wasn't in the best mindset for it. Not that anyone really cares I'm sure, I just broke up with my girlfriend of almost five years...so that happened. Anyway aside from that sad fact another announcment, for all of you that know I have a Deviant Art please go and check it out (the link is in my profile) because my artist friend finished my commission of Rodric, so for those that were curious as to what he looks like...well be curious no more. Anyway thank you all for being patient RxR**_

* * *

**Bedside Companions**

Letting out a heavy sigh he turned his head slightly only to see the blank white wall of the infirmary staring back at him, after what had happened in the VR Room, both Ozpin and Glynda had brought him here against his will. He told them over and over again that he was perfectly fine, but it seemed his appearance told a different story and that gave them enough excuse to ignore him and bring him here. Another sigh left his lips before he turned his head back to stare at the ceiling as he closed his eyes, while he wouldn't admit it to them or the nurse that was hovering around him, he was actually glad they brought him here. He was exhausted after that extensive beating he took, lying down in bed was heavenly at this point, all his muscles and aching joints felt loose and his body felt relaxed, lifting his hand he looked at the small plastic tube that was fed into his skin. Though all those feelings could be thanks to whatever medication they were currently pumping into his body, it took a lot of control to keep himself from smiling like a fool, the nurse had explained they were pumping some sort of painkiller into him so that he wouldn't be in so much pain. _Thank you nurse..._

The sound of the door slamming into the wall grabbed his attention as he turned to the sound and saw Ruby standing in the doorway looking around the room before her eyes feel on him. She gave a sigh a relief before running towards him, and that look of relief slowly faded into a look of horror as her eyes traveled across his body. He probably looked a right mess at this point, the gown they had made him wear was open revealing his chest that was covered in bruises some of them still a bright purple others were turning a sickly yellow color. Then there were the stitches he now possessed, also against his will the nurse urged him to let her operate on him, seeing as he wasn't in an position to argue with her, he relented. Though the most curious thing occurred during the procedure, his blood did not harm her, he wanted to question why she had remained unharmed but decided against it seeing as it would raise more questions than he couldn't be bothered to answer right now. "Oh my...are you alright?"

He looked down at himself and then back at her as she gave a sheepish grin her cheeks flushing from the foolish question, "I am quiet alright little one it was just-"

"Pfft."

Both their heads turned towards the nurse who was busy scribbling away something on her clipboard as she ignored their stares, huffing heavily he returned his attention to Ruby. "I'm perfectly fine-" He cast a glace at the nurse who still busied herself with whatever it was she was writing, "it was merely a training accident."

"Liar." He frowned as he looked up at her, but it seemed her frown rivaled his own. Her eyes traveled across his body looking at all the damage that was caused to it before sighing heavily, "A bruise and a couple of cuts are an accident, a pulled muscle is an accident, even sometimes a broken bone is an accident, but this..." She waved her hand over his body before looking back up at him, "...was no accident."

"...the circumstances were an accident."

"What happened?"

As he opened his mouth to answer the door one again flew open revealing the rest of Team RWBY standing on the other side of the door, Yang however was hunched over, hands on her knees as she struggled to breathe. Each breath was ragged, it made him wonder if they- he cast a glace over to Ruby who was strangely avoid his gaze. _Of course she did, _he rolled his eyes as Yang stumbled forward into the room followed by Blake and Weiss, neither of whom seemed concerned as to why he was here. Yang on the other hand seemed to be smiling wider and wider as she drew closer to his bed, she let out a low whistle as her eyes traveled up his body, "Wow...and to think the four of us couldn't even leave a scratch, now look at you."

He frowned, "Yes well, it's to be expected when a machine goes out of control and attempts to end your life." Ruby stared at him wide-eyed and shocked, the other two merely raised their brows curiously at him, while Yang continued to grin at him. He huffed indignantly as the nurse passed between them to check on the medication he was currently attached too, he felt a small chill begin to spread through his hand before his muscles slowly relaxed more than they had already seemed to be, and once again he found himself fighting to keep that stupid smirk off his face.

"So what's the damage nurse?" Slowly he tilted his head up to see Yang staring at the nurse, she wore standard scrubs and from what it seemed a different top, the one from earlier had been covered in blood after she had operated on him. Her copper colored hair was tied into a ponytail, and it's red tint matched that of her long fox tail that trailed behind her, the white tip just keeping from dragging across the floor. Her dark brown eyes turned to Yang before turning towards him and glaring at him.

"The damage?" Her voice was strained, showing that she was exhausted and wasn't in the best of mood for silly questions, whatever patience she had was wasted on him after the last few hours having to tend to him. "Ha, where to start?" She moved between them to reach the end of his bed where the clipboard was hanging from before returning to the opposite side of the bed, away from the others. "Well, how about we start with his _least_ serious injury, which would be..." She flipped a few pages muttering to herself as he rolled his eyes huffing at how much of a show she was putting on, "Oh yes, he has a small hairline fracture in his skull."

"T-That's his least serious injury? W-Well how much worse does it get?" Ruby looked towards the nurse who eyes her curiously almost as if she were mentally asking her, _are you sure you want to know?_ She looked back at the rest of her team, Yang merely shrugged and urged for the nurse to continue, Blake and Weiss had yet to say a thing since they entered the infirmary. She knew that they didn't really want to be here but only followed because she had been the first to run off when Ozpin delivered the news, of course Yang followed right behind her and that meant that the others were quick to follow, she just wished they could show a little concern for him.

"Let's see what else...ah yes, he also received another hairline fracture to his collar bone, both his ulna and radius in his left arm are broken, and his wrist is completely shattered I fear he may not be able to use his hand anymore." She flipped a few paged before sighing heavily and slowly shook her head before continuing, "He also some how managed to dislocate _both _his arms, several of his fingers are broken, as are several of his ribs, his sternum is bruised, which is very painful though I'm sure I don't have to tell you that Miss Xiao Long..."

Yang chuckled nervously as she scratched her head, "Come on, everyone is going to get a little roughed up around here, it's a combat school, still I can say for certain that this is probably the worst someone has ever ended up and-"

"Oh I'm not done yet Yang..." She flipped a few more pages huffing slightly in annoyance as Yang and Ruby shared a glance before looking down to Rodric who seemed just as annoyed as the nurse was. "Lets see; fractured femur, dislocated knee, _broken _tibia and fibula, several instances of internal bleeding that had to be fixed with surgery, and...oh yes how could I have forgotten, _A ruptured appendix!_" She slammed the clipboard onto the nearby table causing everyone in the room to jump in surprise as she huffed loudly as she ran her fingers through her hair, "Honestly I don't know how you managed to walk here, let alone still be breathing, I suppose your lucky enough that your lungs didn't rupture at this point." She smoothed her hair out and turned towards the door, "I'll return in a few moments please try not to hurt yourself further while I'm away..." She turned quickly and walked out of the room her tail flicking towards them as the door swung shut.

"...And here I thought nurses were suppose to have good bedside manner..."

The doors flew open once again with said nurse glaring at Yang who had made the comment, "I have excellent bedside manner! That boy is just..." She huffed and quickly turned stalking down the hallway, leaving the group stunned at her reaction. Soon they all turned to Rodric with Yang chuckling slightly.

"Geeze what did you do to her?"

Rodric groaned in annoyance as he laid his head back onto his pillow and closed his eyes, he wished she would have given him a bit more medication to at least knock him out before she left. He knew what was going to end up happening in a moment and all he could really do was steel his resolve, he went through hell during that test, answering a few questions wouldn't kill him.

* * *

For the next few hours the girls kept him company...if he could call a never ending bombardment of questions decent company. It had been Ruby who had been the most curious, though that was no surprise, she had wanted to know what exactly happened during the test, he felt there was no reason to lie to her and simply told her the truth. She listened on with childlike wonder and horror as his simple test quickly devolved into a fight for survival, Yang was surprisingly quiet during his retelling, if anyone would have interrupted he would have though it would be her. Instead she sat quietly on one of the empty beds listening only adding a few 'oohs' and 'wows' here and there as he spoke, Weiss and Blake both stayed quiet and even as they tried to keep from being interested he could tell they were. Even though they didn't look at him he could see Weiss leaning her head slightly in his direction and Blake kept glancing him way from the corner of her eye, though there was also the slightest twitch in their faces when he would start to describe the beating he received.

The nurse returned some time later walk around monitoring him and continuing to administer doses of his medication at set intervals, as more of the painkiller began to course through his body he forced himself to sit up to keep from falling asleep. The nurse grumbled about it though it didn't stop him, he was sick of staring at the ceiling while the others talked to him, it felt to much like they were talking to a dead body in his opinion. The nurse huffed in annoyance before leaving them all to their own devices once again, thankfully she didn't administer any more medication before leaving, as the girls talked around him he began to see just how much of his body had yet to heal. He started with his hand slowly clenching and relaxing his hand, there was no pain though his fingers felt stiff, he was still able to make a complete fist meaning his fingers were no longer broken. He slowly rolled his wrist wincing slightly when a sharp pain shot through his arm, it seemed that still needed to heal, after all the nurse did mention many bones in his arm being broken and his wrist being completely shattered. He didn't bother trying to move his arm if it was still painful to move he doubted it had healed yet, he twisted his body slightly feeling a dull pain throbbing through his chest, no doubt his ribs objecting to his movements. Even so, there was hardly any pain, he hoped that meant they were healed but without getting out of bed and moving properly it was hard to tell.

"You know despite how tough you act sometimes it's probably not a good idea to be moving around so much." He stopped in his movements and looked towards Yang who was laying down on the bed next to him.

"Oh? What's this, concerned about me Yang?"

"Eh, about as concerned as I would be for anyone else that got thrashed by an out of control robot."

"You know," Ruby began hoping to end the fight before it started, the look on Rodric's face showed that it was possibly best to step in, even though he was hurt she doubted that it was going to stop him from trying to get up to get his hands on her sister. "I'm actually surprised that you are this injured, despite the fact that you were going against probably a two ton death machine that went out of control with nothing to shut it down in the situation," She took a breath as her stream of words finally managed to die off long enough for her to make a coherent thought as well as being able to make her point. "I mean I'm just saying it's a surprise seeing as your a-" She stopped, the words dying in her mouth as she looked at Rodric who was staring at her with a quizzical look, his brow arched though it was hard to know whether or not he was angry.

She had forgotten that he had only told her about his...secret, then again she didn't know if it was a secret he was trying to keep or if he didn't care if the others knew. Though there had to have been a reason as to why he had only told her that she was a dragon and not the others, what if he wasn't ready to tell them, or what if he didn't plan on telling them any time soon, or what if- "A...what?" She jerked her head over to Yang who was looking curiously back at her, stopping in midsentence probably wasn't the best, but she had completely forgotten that none of the others knew, she had gotten so used to the idea she just figured that it was common knowledge. Still she had to think of something otherwise she risked outing him right now.

"A-A...a good fighter? Y-Yeah I heard that you went against Fox before and were able to, you know hold your own against him. So I was just...you know." Ruby slowly trailed off as she stared down at the white tiles, feeling everyone's gaze on her.

"Pfft, that's nothing."

"And just what is that suppose to mean Yang?" Rodric frowned, he didn't like that she apparently thought his accomplishments were laughable. If he recalled the fight escalated after everyone else had left and that it had gotten much more interesting in his opinion.

"Nothin' I'm just saying he's good and all but-"

"Yang stop..." Ruby sighed heavily in defeat, as much as she tried to keep them from fighting it seemed like Yang was just determined to get under Rodric's skin. "Why can't you just-"

"No let her speak, I'm ever so interested to hear what she has to say."

Yang merely smirked at him as she sat up from her place on the bed, "I'm just saying, while taking on Fox might have been...impressive it wasn't all that. I mean everyone knows that if you want to be the best you have to take on the best, and the best is me." She thrust a thumb at herself with a large grin across her face, she took pride in her combat prowess, while it might not have been as fast as Blake's or as refined as the princesses, she could still pack a mean punch and everyone knew that. If they didn't they all eventually learned to not mess with her, it even went as far as no one wanting to go against her in sparring matches, Professor Goodwitch usually had to make someone face her, but she couldn't blame them for being frightened.

"You?" Rodric asked incredulously, her grin only got wider as she heard the surprise in his voice, "Huh...they must have low standards on what good is then I suppose." There was a loud gasp of shock from the group that surrounded him though he had no idea as to why, perhaps it was because he was the only one to question Yang's self proclaimed title of 'best', perhaps it was because he was simply questioning her combat abilities. Though from the look of surprise mixed with rage that was on Yang's face he felt that it had to do with either or.

"W-What did you say?"

"I mean that the title of 'the best' hardly seems fitting for you, from what I've seen you are hardly what I would qualify as the best, Fox on the other hand was an opponent who actually gave me trouble. Suffice to say that he does indeed earn the title of best, while you on the other hand best fit the title of...mediocre at best."

He looked up into the shocked face of Yang who seemed to be struck speechless at his words, he noticed that in her violet eyes a deep red had slowly began to bleed into her irises, but when she blinked they were solid violet once again. The shocked expression as well seemed to vanish in an instant as she crossed her arms and looked back to him, "Those are some bold words, especially coming from someone who got their butt kicked by us, I'm pretty sure even now you wouldn't be able to-"

"Us. That's the keyword in your little rant isn't it? It was four on one yes? I seemed to recall even with my disadvantage I was still able to hold my own against all four of you, my memory might be spotty at times but I do remember you all seemed to be having trouble against me." He noticed the glare Yang was tossing his way and he couldn't help but grin at the fact he was able to get under her skin, the laid back member of the team was getting frustrated and he couldn't help but enjoy every moment of it. "While I admit I was over taken in the end from being exhausted and from the numbers not being in my favor, I'm sure I could hold my own against any one on your team, even you."

She shot off the bed and was at his in a matter of seconds her fists holding tightly onto his hospital gown, her face inches from his with her once violet colored irises being a deep crimson color now. "Oh you think your so tough but look at you, your in the infirmary, you couldn't even handle a simple test, what makes you think you could take any one of us on."

He was surprised at her reaction, but it made him grin even wider when he saw that he had succeeded in making her angry, "Because Yang going against an 'out of control two ton death machine' as Ruby so eloquently put it is much different than going against a human. Why, even in this state I'm in I'm pretty sure I can still hold my own against anyone, especially if they were as sloppy as you are Yang."

"Is that a challenge?!"

His grin grew larger as he looked directly into her eyes, "Take it as you will Yang, what I'm telling you now is that you are in fact not the best that you claim to be, and that given the chance I could personally...wipe the floor with you as they say." Yang seemed to be shaking with rage at his words and he couldn't be more pleased with himself, he could feel his heart racing with excitement at the thought of going against her in combat. While he wouldn't admit it to her, she was indeed a good fighter but putting her in this state of seemingly uncontrollable anger pleased him greatly, he wanted to fight her now, right now that she was in this state. When she pulled her arm back ready to strike him his grin turned into a wide smile as he waited for her to strike him.

"What is going on in here?!" They all stopped and turned towards the nurse who had returned and was standing in the door way glaring at all of them. Rather it seemed she was glaring mostly at Yang seeing as she was the one in the incriminating position of being in mid punch holding onto his infirmary gown. It was then that a sound had caught his attention, a loud rapid beeping, turning his head towards the sound he noticed a small green screen with a line bouncing rapidly up and down. "What do you think you're doing?!" He felt the grip on his attire loosen as Yang quickly stumbled away from him trying desperately to find some sort of excuse for the position she was caught in. The nurse ignored her mumbling and quickly went over to him and began to look him over to make sure he wasn't harmed any further, but aside from what he had arrived with he hadn't obtained any new injuries. Nevertheless she turned towards the girls with her arms crossed over her chest and firmly stated, "Visiting hours are over, I suggest you all return to your dorm. Now."

Yang was the first to leave the room, at a quick pace suffice to say, after what she was caught doing she had no doubt in her mind she would end up getting a visit from Ozpin. Blake and Weiss followed even going so far as to say goodnight to him, which surprised him seeing as they said next to nothing the whole time they were there. Ruby was the last to leave, she looked at him and sighed heavily shaking her head before making her way to the door, however before she left she turned and waved to him before exiting the room. Once they were all gone the nurse turned to him and glared down at him, "Why do I have the feeling that what I walked in on wasn't exactly you being the victim." He simply shrugged and returned to his lying down position, she gave a heavy sigh not bothering to say anything else to him, she walked around and did a quick check of his vitals and a quick look at all the machines around him. Once everything was in order she released another dose of painkillers for him before leaving the room.

Rodric rubbed his eyes as he felt the cold medication spreading through his arm, since no one else was with him he felt that it would be alright to get some rest at this point. With a loud yawn he closed his eyes and sleep took him over in an instant.

* * *

Groaning softly he forced his eyes open and took in his surroundings, he was still in the white room of the infirmary, though he wasn't sure why he thought it would have been different. He blinked a few times as he heard a beeping noise from next to him, it was different than the beeping of the monitor that the nurse would check, it was varying in speed going from an almost high pitched whine at the speed to a beep every few seconds. Turning his head he saw someone was sitting on the bed opposite of him, his eyes were still blurry from sleep so it was hard to make out who it was, but from what he could see they were wearing the uniform for the school. He rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times before his vision finally cleared up, it was then he realized that it was Nyx, she had taken up residence in the bed next to his and had her back pressed against the frame. With no hesitation he allowed his eyes to travel down her body, while he would normally restrain himself he strangely didn't feel any shame in doing so, there was also the fact that he was having medication pumped into his body in which case all shame was figuratively tossed out the window. He could at least admit to himself that Nyx was indeed beautiful, her tanned skin was a wonderful color, her brightly colored hair and fur were a stunning color as well.

Her long legs were bent at the knee allowing him to view her partially exposed legs that weren't covered in the stockings the uniform entailed, her tail laid extended across the bed twitching every so often. He would have wondered why he was acting like this, if it wasn't for the tube being inserted into his skin. He looked back up to her face to see her emerald colored eyes fixated on the small screen in front of her, jumping here and there following whatever she was looking at. Her brow was furrowed in concentration, it was then he noticed that she was sticking her tongue out as she looked at the screen, he scoffed slightly at the sight before him. It seemed him doing so was loud enough for her to notice as she quickly hid her tongue before turning to him, "Oh you're awake, I hope I wasn't bothering you with my game." She quickly shut it off before sitting up and tossing her legs over the side of the bed. She raised her arms and groaned softly as she stretched out her body, no doubt stiff from sitting for so long, which begged the question, how long had she been there? He watched as she hopped off the bed his eyes following her tail as it lazily swung behind her, she leaned forward so suddenly it slightly startled him when they were suddenly face to face, "You alright? You look kind of...off?"

He averted his gaze back towards the ceiling as he shrugged slightly, "I can only imagine that's because of what put me in here, either that or the medication I'm on right now."

"Ooh that's right, they got you hooked up to the good stuff, hah that mean's your high as a kite then huh?" She stood up and chuckled softly before taking a seat at the end of his bed, "Yeah I heard from Ruby about what happened, that's some pretty hardcore stuff, wish I could have seen it really but...oh well." Silence slowly filled the room as he felt the bed moving slightly from her swinging her legs, the movement was slow and oddly relaxing, he could feel his eye lids slowly drifting close from the subtle movement, "You know..." His eyes shot open when she began to speak as he rubbed his eyes and forced himself to sit up so he wouldn't even up drifting off. "I'm having a little trouble buying the story that she told me."

He looked at her curiously before speaking, "What do you mean exactly?"

"Just that it sounds a little...eh, far fetched. I mean some of the things she told me sounded...made up."

"What did she tell you exactly?" He listened as Nyx retold his story, if he could call it that, everything he had told Ruby was either forgotten or replaced with completely embellished lies. As she went on the truth in his story slowly began to fade into a completely made up tale that she no doubt had spun in the time they had been apart. The one machine had some how multiplied into several hundred, all of which he single handedly taken apart with little to no regard of his own personal well being. Some how the part of his story where he saved Goodwitch turned from a simple deed to a heroic charge to defend her from being hurt, by the end of the story he had buried his face into his hand slowly shaking his head back and forth, unsure of what to say. "So, taking down an army of out of control robots and rescuing Professor Goodwitch, I'm surprised they haven't made you a full fledged Hunter based off of that alone." He groaned softly and looked up towards her to see a large smile on her face that showed she meant no word of it.

"You...you don't actually believe the story do you?"

"Of course not, Ruby is kind of like Nora, the truth kind of gets lost on the way from her brain to her mouth. I wouldn't worry about it to much, I doubt anyone other than Nora would actually believe a story like this, but...if Professor Goodwitch caught wind of this well...she might not feel very grateful for her savior." She choked back laughter as Rodric groaned loudly again, she couldn't help but tease him, he seemed to easy to upset that she couldn't help but poke at him a little just to see what would happen. "Who knows though, I hear girls like guys that play the hero, you might catch a little attention if the story spreads." She giggled softly as he huffed in annoyance.

"I'm not interested in any girls vying for my attention, especially if all they believe is fabrications made by a girl with an over active imagination." Nyx gave a low hum as her tail swayed behind her as she looked at him curiously, "What?"

"You're not interested in any girls attention huh? Does that mean that maybe...you play for the other team?" The look of confusion that crossed his face caused her to burst into a fit of laughter, but now that she brought up the question she was actually curious about the team he played for. Though before she could ask and before he could say anything a loud buzzing sound rang out, she looked towards the metal table at his bedside and saw his scroll slowly moving across the table with each buzz. "Oh, speak of the devil, this could be your secret lover right now."

Rodric didn't know what to say about her strange line of questioning, before he could say anything she quickly reached for the device on the table, her sudden movement threw her tail forward and into his face. Before he could do anything she quickly moved back device in hand as she giggled out an apology, he shook his head not even bothering to say anything, he watched as she opened the device still going on about some sort of secret lover. "Oh well lookie here, it's from Professor Ozpin, ahem-" She cleared her throat before looking back down at the device in her hand, "Mr. O'Connell..." She turned and looked at him frowning slightly, "You said you didn't have a last name." He opened his mouth to try to give some sort of explanation for that, but once again that frown turned to a sly smile as she turned away from him and continued reading his message. "Mr. O'Connell in light of you completing your test, both Professor Goodwitch and I have determined that you more than qualify to attend Beacon. Congratulations, however since you have arrived later than we had expected and the transfer details of students coming to Beacon the following semester having already been filed we regret to inform you that there is no team we can place you in. In light of this we ask that you remain with Team RWBY for the time being, as for your living condition we have a room being prepared for you. However, due to...damage to the room it will take roughly one to two months for the repairs to be complete, in that time we ask that you be patient and remain with Team RWBY. Congratulations and make a quick recovery – Ozpin."

Shutting his scroll Nyx turned to him with a large grin on her face, she handed him back the scroll which he took and placed back on the table, "So..." She started her tail swaying happily behind her, even as she tried to keep the smile from her face she was unable to, "...tell me..."

"Tell you what?"

She gave a light giggle as she leaned forward slightly, "How does it feel staying in the same room as a bunch of lovely ladies?" She couldn't help but laugh softly as he groaned loudly.

Rodric shook his head in annoyance at Nyx who continued to pester him for the next few minuets about him "being sweet" on someone. He had a rough idea of what that meant, and could only deny every name she attempted to guess. Just when he was ready to throttle her a sudden thought came to him, "Nyx...how are you here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just a few hours ago before you showed up the nurse kicked out Ruby and the others by saying that visiting hours were over. That being said, how are you here if that were true?"

She looked at him with a confused expression before turning towards the clock, he did the same and saw that it was just barely nine in the evening, "What are you talking about? Visiting hours for the infirmary don't end for another two hours, are you sure that's what she said, or did you just end up falling asleep and they left?"

He attempted to correct her, but he remembered exactly what happened to cause the nurse to kick them, while Nyx might find his action funny he thought it was best to keep what happened to himself, "Erm...possibly..."

* * *

By the next morning Rodric felt better than he had in the last few days, more rested and much more...lively, he supposed it was because of the rush of combat he had the previous day. It was also during the morning did he find that he was now completely healed, even the shattered wrist he suffered from seemed to have healed completely and didn't even leave it aching. As he applied pressure to various places on his body that had been severely injured, he found that none of them ached anymore, there was no pain and he could move around freely. He was pleased with this discovery, he feared that because of the body he was in it would take much longer to heal, he was glad to see that the body didn't affect him that much. It pleased him greatly to find that he was finally able to leave, after being stuck here for the night, he didn't know if he would have been able to stay here any longer.

However it seemed the nurse had different plans for him, while she was amazed at his remarkable recovery she still refused him to leave, much to his displeasure she informed him that despite his recovery she felt it was best to keep him until she "was sure" that he was fine. Without much of a choice he returned to his bed, and was forced to watch as the days slowly passed, with the nurse constantly coming back in to do "tests" on him. It wasn't all bad it seemed, as the days passed he did have plenty of visitors to keep him company, the main ones being Ruby, Nyx and sometimes Nora. Although Nora was usually accompanied with either Ruby or Nyx she would end up keeping herself busy by messing with the medical equipment, playing with some of the tools that no doubt had been used on him. Apparently this was normal behavior for her as neither Ruby or Nyx seemed to stop her, they merely let her wander around as the two of them spoke with him. Ruby usually came to ask if he was going to be let out any time soon because she was becoming bored at the dorm with no one to talk to, he had questioned why she didn't talk to her team, to which she would usually tell him she does but that she liked talking to him too. No doubt that meant that she was curious again about him and his origins, he didn't understand how she could still be so curious about him when he told her almost everything about him.

Nevertheless she would usually see him during lunch when she would bring him something to eat seeing as he, as she put it, would have gotten sick of the food here by now. Which, truth be told, he was. While they sat and ate he would answer any questions she had for him, again most of them being about him and his origins and about his kind, most of the things she asked just seemed to be the same question but worded differently. He noticed this when she asked him just how hard it was for a human to kill a dragon, while he was initially disturbed at this question he noticed that she asked with the most child-like curiosity he had seen, and couldn't imagine she had any ill intentions. It was during one of these conversations did Nyx walk in, Ruby in her excitement blurted out what they had been talking about, he merely sighed as Ruby quickly began to apologize to him. Frankly he didn't care who knew, him being a dragon wasn't something he was ashamed of, and honestly he didn't care if anyone believed him or not, he knew what he was and that was all that mattered. Ruby however, begged and pleaded for Nyx not to tell anyone about his "secret", Ruby must have been giving Nyx some sort of look because by the end she was hugging Ruby tightly giving her word to not tell a soul.

What happened after that pretty much boiled down him explaining everything again, but to Nyx for the next few days, as he did he had a strange sense of déjà vu. It was then he realized that he was talking to Ruby, at least a little more mature version of Ruby, Nyx displayed the same child-like awe as he told her about what he was and about his kind. Though strangely she didn't seem to question it as much as Ruby had done, in fact she seemed to accept just about everything he said without hesitation. It at least made explaining things easier for him.

* * *

Four days into his confinement he was surprised by yet another visitor, though they came later at night, it was a surprise nonetheless. While he was staring up at the ceiling for the hundredth time he heard the door open, he didn't bother with looking as it was probably the nurse to check on him...again, though he noticed that the footsteps were softer and slower not in a hurry like the nurse usually was. After a moment he would hear the bed across from him squeak softly meaning someone had claimed it for themselves, meaning it was possibly Ruby or Nyx yet they said nothing. Minuets creeped by with silence filling the room, and it began to frustrate him, if it was someone who came to see them they should at least say something. Though if it was someone else he didn't need to disturb them, sadly his curiosity began to get the better of him, as to who this mystery guest was. After a few more agonizing minuets he finally shot up in bed earning a soft cry of surprise from the guest, his eyes locked with deep amber as he looked at them curiously, "Blake?"

"You scared me, you looked like you were asleep." She slowly lowered the book she had pressed against her chest when he shot up so suddenly, she tried to keep her face blank of any emotion, but she had already cried out there was no denying that. She could feel her cheeks beginning to warm up as she buried her face in her book, "Don't tell Yang I did that."

"What are you doing here?"

She looked over the top of her book towards him, "Why am I disturbing you?"

"No...I just find it odd that you're here, from what it seemed like you don't care much for me so I-"

"I don't care for you, Rodric." He frowned at the offhand way she said it, almost as if it wasn't that big of a deal, "But that doesn't mean I'm cold hearted, I don't care for your attitude, but your well being is another matter."

"My attitude, what does that-"

"Your cocky, and not in the good way." She looked up from her book to see that he had a confused look on his face, sighing softly she closed her book and set it aside before sitting up properly. "What I mean is that...take Yang. She's cocky just like you, but she can realize when she's in over her head, she knows when she needs to rely on the team and not just herself. You on the other hand fought all four of us without any hesitation, even going so far as threating to kill us, you act like nothing can hurt you like your invincible. But you're not, one of these days your going to get hurt a lot worse than you did during that test because of that attitude." She sighed softly and turned her head away from him, "I don't know what happened to make you hate hunters so much, but we're not all like that, what we're trying to do is make the world just a little bit better...for everyone. You...you need to accept that just because of a few terrible people, damning an entire group is...isn't fair."

He glanced down and noticed her hand clenching the sheets as he sighed softly, it was fairly obvious that more than one person on this team of his was dealing with some personal issues. With the way Ruby sounded on their trip back from Vale to the way Blake was talking right now, with a heavy sigh he gave a slow nod, "In most cases Blake it would be easy to forgive and forget, sometimes it's healthier that way...but, what I've been through cannot be forgiven. To forgive humans for what they have done to me would forgive their crimes against the innocent, and I cannot allow that, believe me Blake if you had gone through what I have...you wouldn't forgive them either."

"Sometimes I don't." He looked up and was prepared to question what she meant but she already had her book open and was focusing on it, he still could have questioned her but once again found himself out of his element. The words she spoke were filled with pain, much like Ruby's case he didn't know if it was his place to even speak about something that pained them. _Humans and their emotions..._He decided to let it go and laid back on the bed, it occurred to him that maybe to gain their trust he would have to tell them the truth...the whole truth this time, though he wasn't sure how to go about it, he could always let Ruby tell them...no, that wouldn't be a good idea as she would probably blow it way out of proportion. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, he'd have enough time to figure it out, seeing as he was still stuck in this room until the nurse decided to let him go.

As he tried to sleep a small sound caught his attention, it was quiet at first and he wasn't exactly sure if it was what he thought it was. Though a moment later he heard it again and it caused him to smirk, for looking so stoic all the time he feared she had no ability to laugh. Although it was a light chuckle it was still a laugh, whatever Blake was reading must have cheered her up after their somewhat somber conversation, he let a slow breath out as he began to drift off with Blake's light laughter the only noise in the otherwise silent room.

* * *

_**So in case no one saw it in the beginning I do have a Deviant Art account where I will be posting pictures that I have commissioned for various characters (such as OC's and scenes from the stories and so on and so forth) so always be sure to check it out, plus its another way to get in touch with me if you have any kind of questions. I also have a question for all of you, for those of you who write your own stories and have OC's answer me this, I get that a lot of people pair their OC's with cannon characters but is it weird if I were to pair one OC with another. Just curious, in another news I am going to be one busy person since I have a lot of free time now (sad laugh) I'll be able to write more frequently...if I'm not getting distracted by the new Monster Hunter 4 ultimate coming out and with SSBB on the Wii U. I just bought it cause it looks so cool, and its honestly the first SSB that I've ever owned, not to toot my own horn, but I'm pretty good with Zero Suit Samus and Lucario, so...yeah.**_


	11. The Less You Know The Better

_**First off, I want to say thank you, to everyone that's read/favorited/followed this story. You guys don't understand how much that means to me, I mean I have the worst confidence in everything I do, all of the stories I've written I feel like they aren't worth your guys time. Yet, you all tell me that they are good, you continue to show support and continued to encourage me to write, I mean it's going to be awhile before I feel like they are actually good but to see you guys reading and favoriting this does help. I guess what I am trying to say is thank you, all of you for just...being here, thank you for supporting me and hopefully I can continue to make content that you all enjoy. But, without further adieu here is the next chapter, and I will say it again, I don't think its that good. If it feels rushed please tell me, I'm so excited to get to further in the story that i feel I might be rushing these chapters, so if they seem that way please tell me. Anyway RxR.**_

* * *

**The Less You Know The Better**

When he awoke the next morning he found that he was alone in the room, not that he had expected much difference, but after falling asleep to the faint laughter of Blake it was an oppressing silence. Letting out a loud yawn he tossed his legs over the edge of the bed and sighed heavily, he saw now point in even leaving the bed since the nurse was refusing to let him leave as she wanted to "observe him more." He didn't understand what that had to do with him being fully healed, but as he thought about it that could have been the main reason, in less than a day he had completely healed from his serious wounds, she would have been a failure in her profession if she didn't "observe" him because of it. Still there was not much he could do aside from pacing back and forth in the, admittedly spacious room, what he would rather do surprised even himself. With the message that Ozpin had sent him a few days past, stating that he was no a full fledged student of Beacon, he wished to do whatever it was the students here did. It would at least break the monotony of waking up day after day to be trapped in the pristine white room, his only reprieve would be when they allowed him to bathe, while it didn't allow him to leave for very long it was at least something different.

Giving a light huff he started to get out of bed but stopped when something caught his eye, there on the metal table next to his bed was a somewhat thick leather bound book. It appeared almost the exact same as the one Blake had been reading the night before yet, it wasn't that he was certain of, picking it up he quickly flipped through its many pages. As he did so the small amount of air it created brought a familiar scent to his nose, _Hm...nightshade_, no doubt it was Blake who brought the book but he had no idea as to why. Perhaps she understood just how painfully bored he was here and brought him something to at least pass the time with, flipping back towards the beginning of the book he sighed softly, it was at least something. Settling back into the bed with his back against the metal frame he flipped through the book once more and took in just how much there was to read, each page was filled with text so much so that the words were small but thankfully not small enough to read. Flipping back to the front he sighed softly and began to read the book.

* * *

Snapping the book shut he sighed heavily, while it might not have been the most exciting book he ever read it was at least...informative, he set it back down on the table and rubbed his eyes. The book had detailed many thing he didn't know, things about Dust, the different kingdoms, and the Grimm, he was curious as to why she had brought this book to him. It made him wonder if Ruby had in fact told the others of what he was, not that he honestly cared if they knew it made no difference to him but it seemed a likely possibility. Glancing back towards the book he couldn't help but admit that he at least found himself somewhat more knowledgeable to the workings of the world now, though there was one thing that had caught his attention. Aura, that chapter was titled so, and it had been about the only chapter to really capture his attention out of the entire book. It described that this aura was a manifestation of one's soul, he wasn't exactly sure what it had meant but as he began to read more he began to understand it bit by bit. It did mention that aura was directly connected to something called a semblance, which was described further in the following chapter, but more so it caught his attention because that was the word used by both Ozpin and Fox. Before he wasn't sure what it was or what it even meant but now he did and he was fairly certain he didn't have a semblance to speak of.

It stated that a semblance was more of a physical manifestation of aura, yet aura in itself was a manifestation of one's soul, he was fairly certain he had a soul all things possessed a soul his kind included...yet, _How does one sense an aura? _The book didn't reveal this to him it simply stated that every creature outside of the Grimm possessed an aura as they all possessed souls, it however didn't state how one went about figuring it out. It frustrated him, he wasn't sure if he had an aura yet he was sure he had a soul, he growled slightly, at this rate he was going to start doubt that he had a soul which was like doubting his existence. He lived and breathed just as every other human and faunus his he possessed a soul, a powerful one at that, yet he did not possess an aura. It did also state that it took sometimes years of training to for hunters to be able to generate an aura, something he didn't feel he needed to waste his time with, as long as his injuries didn't kill him he would heal just fine. Though the extra protection an aura provide him did interest him, but it required much too much time, perhaps he could find someone to unlock his aura. Though the book once again didn't state how he would go about finding said person, he sighed in frustration before laying back across the bed.

He tilted his head back and noticed several hours had gone by as he read his book, though that was simply because he read it in its entirety twice just to be sure he hadn't missed anything. He had honestly surprised himself with how quickly he managed to finish the book, then again there wasn't much else to distract him aside from the occasional bathroom break, he sat in bed and focused on it and managed to finish it rather quickly. A small smirk crossed his face as he heard the door to the room open, _Speaking of distractions..., _"Hello Ruby."

"Wha-how did you know it was me?"

He sat up and looked at her questioningly, "Ruby you've shown up every day for the past two weeks at the exact same time down to the very minuet. Hmm, if I didn't know any better I'd say you had...other reasons to come see me."

Her cheeks flushed red as she quickly looked away from him, her attention now looking out the window and out into the forest, "I-I wha-I don't know what your talking about I just like...talking to you that's all...really."

"Relax child I merely jest, but I must thank you for continuing to visit me, without you or Nyx I would have gone mad by now."

"No problem..." Was all she managed to mumble as she took a seat on the bed across from him, she watched as he stood and moved over to the window flipping the lock and pushing it open. In an instant air rushed into the room swirling around the both of them, ever since that day a few weeks back when he told her about the...wind's breath, she had been a lot more aware of the wind. It was still a strange sensation to feel it envelop her and hear the almost silent whispers from the wind itself, shaking her head she looked back towards Rodric as he leaned against the windowsill. She could feel her heart racing as she looked at him, her fingers tightening around the book she was keeping hidden beneath her cloak, she had wanted to ask him something but now she was beginning to have second thoughts.

"S-Say Rodric..." The responding hum sealed her fate, she had let the words slip out and there was no backing out now, she knew for a fact that he wouldn't let her try to worm out of this. "I-I was j-just wondering about something..." Another hum made her throat tighten up as she gripped the book even tighter than before, _this is so stupid I shouldn't have said anything. _She had come across this book in the library a few days ago, and after reading through it she had wanted to ask him something that had come to her mind, she wasn't sure how to explain it so she brought it with her, but now that she was here with said book in her hand she didn't want to ask it anymore. She tried to think of it from his perspective and it came off as really dumb and childish and she felt that he would think less of her for asking something so stupid, then again that had been a few times where she had done something dumb in front of him and he hadn't said anything to her, but she felt he was only being nice to her.

"Well?" She yelped softly startled when he spoke up, she looked up to see him looking at her waiting for her question, her mouth felt dry, instead of trying to force any words forward she opted to pulling the book from beneath her cloak and opening it up to the page she had marked. Once she found it she quickly turned it around and held it out for him, she glanced up at him and saw him looking down at her curiously before moving away from the window and taking the book from her hands. She gave a soft sigh relaxing slightly only to stiffen up when the bed shifted, she turned her head slightly to see that he had sat down next to her, she was thankful that he was starting to read the page she showed him otherwise he would wonder why she was freaking out.

She had wanted him to read something from this book, from this page in particular but he wasn't exactly sure what it was, he had read both pages several times and nothing really stood out to him. Giving a soft sigh he tried again going much slower this time in case something stood out, _"Cackling evilly, the cloaked man raised his hand to the sky releasing his magic as it lashed at the sky and earth. The tremendous power he released tore through the dirt and reaching deep down to the stone below..." _He looked over to Ruby who had be quiet the whole time he was reading, which as strange she was usually so talkative, "Okay, I give up what exactly am I suppose to be reading here?"

She bit her lip, she knew he wasn't going to understand the point of the book because she hadn't asked anything, she just gave it to him with no explanation. She opened her mouth only to close it once again as nervousness kept her from speaking the few words that would clear it up, the nervousness stemmed from what she though he would think of her for asking such a dumb question...at least that's what part of it had stemmed from. Swallowing the lump in her throat she let out a slow breath before starting again, "I-Is it real?"

He arched his brow at her question, "I...don't understand, is what real?" He looked down at the book in his hands and wondered if that's what she was referring to, holding it up slightly he looked towards Ruby again, "The book? I can safely sat that no it is not-"

"N-Not that..."

"Okay...then what?" Once again she lowered her head and said nothing, he could see her lips moving but it seemed she was more so mumbling to herself for some reason. As much as he enjoyed her presence he was beginning to get fed up with this game, she wished to ask him something but instead of doing so simply handed him a book. She asks if "it" is real but then makes no move to clarify just what exactly "it" is, and now she was fiddling with her fingers mumbling to herself. He huffed in annoyance before shutting the book with a loud snap, "Out with it child!" he snapped.

"The magic!" She shouted in response as she clenched the sheets tightly in her hand, she could feel her face burning up, it was such a stupid question she wished she never brought it up. She didn't even want to look up at him, he was probably looking down on her in disgust for being so stupid, and childish, and-

"Yes."

Ruby's head shot up as she looked up at Rodric in confusion, more so from the fact that he hadn't started berating her over asking him something so childish. Though what he said slowly clicked in her mind as she tried to form words, but she couldn't think of what to say and think of what he had just told her. "W-What?" Was all she had managed to utter as he looked back down at the book.

"I can only assume you're asking me if magic is real and exists correct?" He looked towards her as she gave a very slow nod, chuckling softly he nodded in return. "It does..." He held up the book waving it in front of her before placing it on her lap, "But nothing this fanciful I can assure you."

She was at a loss for words, this always seemed to happen when the two of them spoke, because it seemed every time they talked he either confirmed or denied things she could only dream about when she was younger. The existence of dragons, and now the existence of...magic, "Wait...are you just messing with me?"

He shook his head, "Trust me as a dragon I would never lie to you about the existence of magic."

She frowned as she looked at him, he said it so sincerely but she couldn't help but think that he really was messing with her, which would have been a first since he never really cracked a joke before. It was both upsetting and uplifting which made her feel weird, "Okay, you are messing with me."

He sighed heavily, "I can assure you that I am not "messing with you", magic does exist or at least it did...does...did. I apologize the book Blake lent me explained away most of the things I assumed were magic like both Weiss and Goodwitch's glyphs, but nevertheless magic did exist."

"But...that's impossible right? People can't just ya' know forget how to use magic right?" That was a weird thing to say, if people could do magic they would still be able to, it wasn't something you could forget, it was like riding a bike...or something. She looked up to him but his face never really showed what he was thinking but she was beginning to get used to it, "Right?"

"Well...people tend to forget many things as time moves on, there were people who claimed they could perform magic, but time always proved them to be nothing but charlatans." He glanced down at Ruby who seemed to have a confused look on her face, he smirked slightly before shaking his head, "Fakes Ruby."

"I-I knew what it meant!"

"In the end it seems only my kind are the ones able to perform any kind of magic, though I myself wouldn't necessarily call it magic but to others that's what it might have seemed to be."

"What would you call it then?"

He was silent for a moment as he turned and stared out the window, he wasn't sure what to tell her, he had already told her many things about dragons but this was one of the things he was unsure of. What would she think of him and his kind of he told her about their magic, frowning softly he sighed before turning back towards her, "What they are really called...rituals."

"Whats the difference?" She looked up towards him before looking back down at the book in her lap, she opened it back up to the page she had marked and read it over, "I mean what's the difference between magic and rituals?"

"Well...the amount of people needed, for one. With magic any single person with the aptitude for the arts would be able to perform them given enough practice. With a ritual it's...a little more complicated than that." He rubbed the back of his neck, for the first time he was unsure of just what to tell her, "Um, for most rituals it takes time, a lot of time actually to prepare and ready oneself, most times rituals take a toll on the body and without careful preparation can lead to many complications. My kind have been the only ones able to perform such rituals because our bodies and minds are stronger than a humans and, depending on the circumstances, can perform these rituals on short notice."

"What kind of rituals did you do?" His body went rigid at her question, he knew she was likely going to ask that question but it still did not prepare him for it. His kind were known for performing all manner of rituals on themselves and on humans, even going as far as to deny the natural order of the world. Though those types of rituals were done in secret it still didn't paint them in the most appealing light if people were to find out, Ruby had already been so kind to him she's done more for him than anyone, he didn't know what she would think of him if he told her. "Rodric?" He looked down at her, her silver eyes looking up at him curiously though he could tell that worry was beginning to seep into them, "You know you don't have to tell me if-"

"N-No i-its not that I was just...trying to find a way to describe them." He bit down on his tongue cursing himself, letting out a slow breath he decided to tell her, there wasn't anyway he could say no now. "Most of my kind who...tolerated the humans would often choose a human who they believed to be...special in some way. Scholars, blacksmiths, farmers, kings but not the one from my time. The humans we chose provided the humans with something, whether it was knowledge, protection, or leadership, whatever it was we felt that they proved themselves to be above most humans and therefor we would come to them and offer them either our knowledge or our strength. I've seen several rituals and performed in one the experience is always...there is no word to describe what it is like. You can feel power thrumming through the air, it enters your body and leaves you almost breathless, for you humans it would feel like a constant adrenaline rush that never fades."

He could feel chills crawling across his skin as he recalled the feeling of the pure power that flowed through the air as he watched the elders performing the rituals on the humans. "Before the king of my time, there was another, a more benevolent king that lead his knights into battle to protect his kingdom. I was much younger than what I am now, I would watch the battle from on high, I watched his knights fall giving their all until the very end. He would come back victorious but with heavy losses, the elder dragon then, a very old and powerful fire dragon chose him and his army." He gave a small chuckle as he recalled that day, the king had arrived to a large field surrounded on all sides by mountains with his army, only for them to see hundreds of dragons looking down on them. "The humans looked so fearful when they arrived, seeing dragons of all sizes simply watching as they marched forward, but the king...he showed no fear, he kept his eyes locked on our elder and led his men forward. I can't begin to describe the ritual it was something there is no words for, you simply had to see it for yourself and once you did you would never forget it. The elder and several of the older ones gifted the king and his men with the knowledge and strength of dragons, so that he would be able to defend his kingdom without so much loss." He remembered when he and the elder flew above their battles, he watched as the knights and king fought with such ferocity that it scared the opposing army, having them call the king's men monsters, another knight never fell until age finally took them.

"Whoa..." That was the only thing Ruby could really think of to say, just the fact that dragons like Rodric got to choose humans who they saw as "worthy" and gift them with knowledge and power was...to much to comprehend. "T-That's just...wow." She thought back to what Rodric had told her before that people would pray to him, now she knew why, with creatures able to bestow vast amounts of knowledge and power onto humans it made sense that they would try to get on their good sides through prayer and whatever else it was that they did for him. Though from the look on his face it seemed like he wasn't done, "What other rituals did you do? You said that you saw several and even did one, what were they like?"

Rodric looked down into her eyes that were filled with awe and wonder, he wasn't sure what to tell her, the ritual that he told her about was one of the few that actually benefited the humans, the others...not so much. It was one of the reasons after all that his kind had earned such a terrible reputation, most humans would consider what they gave them, and the risk they placed on themselves to give it to them a gift. Others merely saw them as monsters ruining the natural balance of the world by denying nature to work it's course, "W-Well...um...w-we uh..."

"Rodric what's the-ah!" Ruby cried out as she was suddenly lifted off the bed, he quickly turned to see Yang hefting the younger girl over her shoulder as Ruby kicked and flailed in embarrassment.

"Sorry to break you two love birds up but I'm here to take Ruby down to Vale, she's the one who was all excited to go and ended up forgetting."

"Oh that's right! Say Rodric..." Ruby, who had now calmed down addressed him as Yang turned around with Ruby still on her shoulder to allow her to speak with him, "Do you want to come down to Vale with us, I know you said you wanted to go again a-and well..."

Rodric smirked slightly, "Well I would love to Ruby, but apparently I am not well enough to venture anywhere on my own, whatever the nurses problem is with me I doubt she will allow me to leave."

"Oh..." Ruby was crestfallen, she had been hoping that Rodric would be able to go with them, she knew he had been stuck in the infirmary for weeks already and had nothing to do. Plus she had made a promise to him that the two of them would hang out again that following weekend, but he ended up here and now...

"There's always next time child, you enjoy yourself, okay?" Ruby looked up towards him before giving him a small nod, he gave her a small smile as Yang carried her out of the room, Ruby continued to flail in her arms demanding that she be put down.

"Oh yeah, I'll bring you something back!"

With that final word they were gone, Rodric sighed heavily as he laid back across the bed, leaving the room wasn't on his mind at the moment there were other things of greater importance. One of which was why he felt so bad about lying to her, he knew he shouldn't, she didn't _need_ to know about his past yet when he thought it over he felt this strange sensation brewing in his chest. Perhaps he felt bad about lying to a child when all she had shown him was nothing but kindness and curiosity about his kind, frowning he sat up grumbling to himself, as he did so he felt leather. Looking down he saw that the book Ruby had handed him earlier was left behind, as he ran his hand over it he felt that same strange sensation clawing at his chest, "Dammit..."

* * *

A loud crash stopped him in his tracks, his hand was gripping the handle to the metal door but everything in his body told him to just turn around and leave, that nothing was as important as his life was. He argued with himself and scolded himself for acting like such a coward, but the feral snarls and growls from the other side of the door made him rethink his words, and made him wonder if he would be able to get far enough away before she came after him as well. He went as far as removing his hand from the door and turning away, but as he heard one of his men begging for their lives he growled in annoyance and tossed his cigar to the floor before quickly turning and throwing the metal door open, "Just what is going on here!"

Everyone in the room stopped and turned to him as he surveyed the damage done, several crates of dust had large dents in them and one of them was torn open the contents spilling to the ground. He gripped his cane tightly as he saw several tables were overturned, some thrown against the wall, and one of them torn in two. He knew exactly who the culprit was there was no need for any detective skills for this as she was in the middle of the room lifting one of the White Fang members by the throat and holding him in the air. "Narissa!" She quickly turned to look at him, surprise shown over her face before it was quickly replaced by a look of anger as her deep green eyes glared daggers at him.

"You!" She dropped the man as he coughed loudly and quickly crawled away from her, she turned her attention to the man who just entered the room, a loud growl ripped through her throat as she stalked towards him. "I demand that you tell these..._animals _to listen to me and do as I say this instant!" She grabbed his suit as she glared at him, though rather than agreeing as he normally would he knocked her hands away earning another feral growl from her.

"Sorry sweetheart I can't do that, you see I have my orders, and I'm more afraid of her than of you."

"She's not here...and I can rip your throat out before you even had a change to scream."

"Then you might want to, because that's not going to change a thing."

She growled again and began to reach out for his neck when she felt a sharp point at her throat, slowly she lowered her hand as she glared at Roman who seemed to be smirking in satisfaction. Slowly the blade withdrew from her neck as she turned her head and saw the man clad in black walking away before turning back to Roman, "One of these days your _dog_ isn't going to be here, and I'm going to make you wish your death was swift."

"Been there, heard that, might want to think of some new material if you want to come off as threatening sweetheart." He moved past her and towards the destroyed dust crate, she growled behind him but he ignored her, he dealt with enough growling animals for it to not affect him anymore. Speaking of animals, the White Fang were crowded around the destroyed container, "How about you all make yourselves useful and get some boxes for this dust, come on use your brains people." Several of the members quickly broke apart from the crowd to grab several smaller crates as the others began to pick of the vials and boxes of dust rounds, he shook his head, if he was lucky this wouldn't put him behind schedule. Cinder had given him strict orders to pack up and move to their new base, he was almost done and then she had to go and throw some soft of tantrum over...who knows what. Gritting his teeth he turned around and watched as Narissa paced back and forth, from the movement of her lips she was clearly debating with herself over something, possibly how to go about killing him no doubt. "Whats the meaning of this anyway, any other time you are perfectly fine...what happened!"

She stopped in her pacing and looked towards him baring her teeth as she answered him, "Why don't you ask the animals you love so much." She then returned to her pacing as Roman huffed in annoyance.

"Perry!" One of the members walked over to him, he was easier to distinguish from the others as he was the only one who wore his glasses on the outside of his mask, he wasn't sure how that made sense but he never seemed to have trouble with it. "Would you mind telling me what exactly happened in here."

Perry opened his mouth to speak but slowly turned towards the woman that was pacing and slowly closed his mouth, after seeing what she could do he really didn't want to be on the receiving end of that. He moved closer to Roman and leaned forward to whisper to him, "W-Well she started talking to some of the other members, she was really nice about it at first, she was asking them if they would be willing to go to Beacon to find someone." He looked up to see that Roman was beginning to get angry, he knew why to, the both of them would argue constantly about her wanting to send members to Beacon to find someone. "W-Well when they refused she got angry, started yelling and demanding that the listened to her, well Daniel said that they don't have to take orders from her. I-I mean you see how well she took it, if you hadn't shown up when you did I think she might have killed him..."

"Yeah, she's a little crazy like that, thank you Perry help the rest of them clean up will you." Perry nodded and quickly walked over to help the others clean up, sighing heavily Roman pinched the bridge of his nose as he turned to look back towards Narissa. Ever since she showed up he's had nothing but problems with her, she wouldn't listen to a single thing he told her, always arguing always challenging. The only person she listened to was Cinder but even that seemed like it was against her will, he still couldn't believe that she just showed up one day out of nowhere, when they tried to capture her she beat down every single member of the White Fang he had at his disposal, she probably would have done the same thing to him if Cinder hadn't stepped in. The fight the two of them had was something he was going to remember for years to come, but in the end Cinder had defeated her and asked her to join in their cause, there was a bit of arguing but she did join them if not at all begrudgingly. Ever since Cinder and those kids left however he's had nonstop problems with Narissa, most of the time he simply agreed to whatever it is she wanted to do to keep anything from getting destroyed, he even went as far as to take her out to some forest and risk them all being caught. She was at least easier to manage for the few days after that, but then the demands to go to Beacon had started.

He didn't know what to even think about demands, every time he tried to figure out what she wanted to go to Beacon for she always told him it was "none of his concern". Even if she did tell him her plans it didn't matter, there was no way he was going to send an army to Beacon for whatever it was that she wanted. He walked over to her, his cane catching her attention as it hit the stone floor, she turned towards him arms crossed and a scowl set on her face, "Walk with me..." He walked past her without even giving her a chance to respond, and much to his surprise she actually followed him, "Listen princess I don't know how they do it where you come from, but you can't go killing _my _men to get them to do something for you. I don't know what you want to storm Beacon for and frankly I don't really care because it is not going to happen, you and I were both given orders by Cinder to pack up and move house to the new base, and that's what were going to do. End of story."

"I don't have to listen to a thing you say human."

He quickly turned the base of his cane propped under her chin causing her to growl as she looked at him out of the corner of her eye, "Yeah about that, when Cinder isn't around you _do _have to listen to me because she puts me in charge of all these mutts. You're strong I'll give you that, and I have no doubt in my mind that you could kill me in an instant, but that's what Adam is here for, right Adam!" He turned to Adam who was leaning against one of the tables that hadn't been ruined, Adam looked at the two of them before looking away, "Good guy Adam...Anyway even if you did do something to me, you'd still have to answer to Cinder, and neither you or I enjoy doing that so why don't we put that off for as long as we can and at least act like we like each other for the time being, huh?" She huffed before knocking his cane away from her and stalked away from him, sighing heavily Roman shook his head, "Good talk..."

Narissa slammed the door as she exited the building, her blood was boiling, how dare that human talk to her like that. Granted he didn't exactly say anything worth her wrath it was simply being in his presence that she despised, every word he spoke was filled with bile and poison, he was the very type of human she so despised. He was a deceiver, his words were meant to ensnare his prey before he toyed with them and got his fill from them, his was a despicable person, the only reason she stayed anywhere near him was because of what Cinder had promised her. _If, and only if you follow my every word down to the letter, I will help you find what you are after. Can you do that for me?_ Narissa grit her teeth, she should have known better that to trust that vile woman, here she was at her beck and call and what does she do? She takes those damned children and run off to heaven knows where, she let out a slow breath a faint mist rising up from her lips as she tried to calm herself, she hated being stuck here. Being around the humans was bad enough, but now she found herself in the presence of animals, she would have thought that a city like Vale would have kept the animal population down, but it seems she was mistaken.

Another series of slow breaths and she was able to calm the rage in her heart, she pressed her back against the metal building, closing her eyes she could hear the water crashing against the docks not far from where they were. The smell of the sea put her mind at ease, she had no choice for not but to follow these people this...White Fang, even if they didn't give her what she wanted in the end, she would get it one way or the other. Opening her eyes she watched as the sun began to set off in the horizon, the time was drawing closer, she could feel it in her chest, their meeting would be soon.

* * *

Letting out a low whistle Yang watched as they made their way back to Beacon, their little outing had been just the thing she had needed, after all those tests that they had she just needed a little break. Even though the others didn't say anything she knew they were glad for it too, even now Weiss didn't look as grumpy as she had this morning and even Blake, their residential sometimes emotionless faunus friend, had admitted to her that she enjoyed today. Then she wondered why she still felt upset as they made their way back to the school, she figured it was because their day was coming to an end, had it been up to her they would have stayed out much longer, but they had to get back. Though when she heard the squeaking of the seat next to her she finally realized why she was still feeling upset, as she looked over to her sister and leader Ruby she couldn't help but frown. She was bouncing in her seat, eager to return to Beacon, in her lap she carried a small bag from a cake shop they had passed on the way back to the airship, _The Baker's Dozen. _

"You know I'm surprised Ruby, surprised that you haven't actually eaten any of those cookies and cakes yet." Though she said it jokingly she was upset, upset that Ruby was doing this for Rodric, upset that she had taken some strange fascination in him. She didn't know what she saw in him but she didn't like it, he was much older than her for one, and even though Ruby forgave him for what happened that night she still didn't. She just couldn't understand why she liked hanging out with him so much, to make matters worse, when she would ask her friend Nyx she said nothing but good things about the guy.

"T-That's because they're for Rodric...I-I mean I promised I would bring him something back, I couldn't just eat them...even if they do smell good..." Ruby inhaled the aroma coming from the bag in her lap, she could feel her mouth watering. _He wouldn't miss just one I doubt he would even-no! These are for Rodric I...must...resist._ She slowly leaned back in her chair her face falling slightly, it was such a strong temptation but she had to resist, no matter how much she wanted to eat those cream filled chocolate cakes covered in sprinkles and- she shook her head and focused on looking out the window instead of what was on her lap.

Yang's frown deepened, she hated Rodric, simply because he had some sort of hold over her sister, she wouldn't hesitate in beating the crap out of him if she found out he had tried something. Thankfully nothing had yet to happen, she would known if something did, and if it did nothing on Remnant would be able to stop her and nothing would be able to protect Rodric from her fury. She was nearly tossed from her seat when the airship docked at Beacon, she had to grip tightly to her seat as the airship settled, a few minuets later the doors finally opened and in an instant Ruby was gone. A trail of rose petals were left in her wake as Yang slowly stood clenching her fists tightly, she really hated Rodric at this point.

* * *

Dashing through the halls Ruby quickly made her way through Beacon, thankfully it was mostly empty seeing as it was much later in the day, the few students that she did see she was able to easily move around them. She kept a tight hold to the bag in her hand as she raced towards the infirmary, she really hoped that Rodric liked these, a smile spread over her face as she dashed into the infirmary and towards his room. Throwing the door open she called out for him, "Rodric I'm back and I..." but as she looked around she found that his room was now empty save for the nurse that was fixing one of the beds. "U-Um where's Rodric?" The nurse looked up at her before huffing either in annoyance or in reminder of her patient for the last few weeks.

"Mr. O'Connell has finally been discharged, thank goodness, he's return to his dorm." The nurse watched as a confused look crossed Ruby's face, she didn't understand why she didn't speak in tongues, "Mr. O'Connell...Rodric...the guy your looking for is back in his dorm."

"Oh..." Was all she said before she dashed out of the room and the infirmary, now she was even happier than she had been earlier, Rodric was finally free of the infirmary. That meant he could finally attend class with them, and better yet, they could hang out more now. She slid to a stop as she approached her dorm, she was surprised when she found that he wasn't sitting out in the hall waiting for them to come back, _Does that mean... _Quickly she pulled her scroll out and pressed it against the panel at the side of the door, slower than she would have wanted it to it acknowledged her and allowed her to enter the dorm, she threw the door open and couldn't help but smile when she saw Rodric standing out the window. She entered the dorm and the first thing that caught her attention was the faint growl coming from Rodric, she wondered what had caused that reaction, she had started to ask him but the door closing caught his attention.

Quickly turning Rodric set his gaze on Ruby, and instantly all the anger he felt vanished, he didn't even understand where it had came from, something just felt...off and it must have put him on edge. Now though, "Welcome back child, I hope you enjoyed your trip." he chuckled lightly as Ruby stuttered out a response. He was surprised though when she thrust out her hand, he recognized the bag she carried, and was a little shocked that she actually did bring him something back. He had only assumed it was something humans said to those who couldn't join them, he never honestly expected her to return with something for him, "Oh, and what's this?"

"I-I told you I would bring you something back." She smiled when he took the bag and opened it, but her face quickly fell when he looked inside and was confused. "W-Whats wrong, you don't like it?"

"No it's not that I just assumed it would be filled with crumbs."

She was offended at what he accused her of and crossed her arms as she pouted, "I can control myself!" She looked up and saw Rodric raising his eye brow questioningly at her, she felt her face heat ip as she looked away, "S-Sometimes..." Her face grew hotter as he laughed, but she was happy that he actually liked what she brought back to him.

"There are quiet a lot here, would you care to-"

"Yes please!"

The two of them ended up sitting on the floor below the window sharing the sweets that she had brought back with her, and they were even better than she could have imagined. She had brought back so many chocolaty things for him she felt like she was going to go into a chocolate induced coma, and she was going to enjoy every minuet of it. Though they seemed to taste a bit better since she was sharing them with Rodric, he wasn't as vocal as she was in her appreciation for all the chocolaty goodness, but he seemed to be enjoying them just as well. When the door to the dorm opened up she quickly hopped up, "Look you guys Rodric is finally out of the infirmary!" At least it would have sounded something like that if her mouth wasn't completely stuffed with soft and fluffy cakes, but it seemed that the others were able to catch the gist of it.

Yang could only force a smile at the scene she walked in on, they were much to close, she wanted to tear him apart and beat him to a pulp, to tell him to stay away from her sister. There were many things she wished to say, but for now Ruby seemed happy, she still didn't understand why but she didn't want to ruin her mood, she managed to force out the words "Oh joy..." She felt like the odd one out seeing as both Blake and Weiss picked a cake from the bag and mumbled out their thank yous..._This is going to be a long week._

* * *

**_Now I'm sure you all are probably getting tired of these information dump chapters, but trust me, it'll all come into play later. I'm not going to be like other fics where stuff happens just cause, I don't do things like that, I mean I wouldn't if it didn't ruin the flow of the story. As excited as I am to get to...certain parts, I have to be patient myself...its almost time. Besides that point, I am curious if any of my readers are interested in what Nyx looks like...if you are you can check my Deviant Art because I have a picture of her up on their right now. Again, thank all of you for reading and please leave reviews I want to know what you all think. _**


	12. Classroom Confrontations

_**So I've started to get into the swing of things a little, after the last chapter I now have this new chapter raring to go, but seeing as the the 13th is tomorrow, that is the day MH4U comes out, and when I will become very...ahem...busy. So please enjoy this chapter and like always RxR**_

* * *

**Classroom Confrontations **

Ruby sat on the edge of her bed kicking her legs, the bed responded with a slight sway and a soft groan from the ropes that kept her bed suspended, that probably explained why Weiss had jumped up and went over to sit at their desk instead. She couldn't help it though, Rodric was finally going to be able to attend classes with them, she couldn't wait to see what he though of them, though to be honest with herself she couldn't wait to see how he acted in class. She had to bite her lip as she thought of it, while it probably wouldn't do him any good she could see him getting into an argument with one of the professors, it wasn't nice to laugh at that thought but she couldn't help but find it kind of funny. She could hardly believe it though, it had been a little over a month since he showed up to the school and in her opinion he changed so much since the first time they met him, granted he still had his...issues he was different. Really different.

"Hurry up other people need to use the bathroom!" Yang shouted as she banged on the door, she huffed in annoyance as she went and took a seat in Blake's bed. She had been nice enough to allow Rodric to go and get dressed first and now he was taking forever, she should have just went before him, "Geeze and I thought I took long." Everyone else had already taken their shower and gotten dressed, they were just waiting on her, and by extension waiting on Rodric. She was tired, she hardly got any sleep last night because Ruby had stayed up until almost midnight on a bad sugar rush from all those cakes she had bought, what made it worse was that she spent half the night talking with Rodric constantly asking if he was excited to start classes tomorrow. Suffice to say that, that conversation went on for a lot longer that it should have, "Rodric get-"

"Cease you incessant nagging I'm finished I just...damn this confounded thing." Rodric walked out of the bathroom fumbling with his tie, he couldn't seem to figure out how to tie it as it were. He huffed in annoyance as he untied it for the hundredth time only to wrap it back around his neck and attempt once again, he could understand wearing the uniform for the school, he didn't need to stick out any further than he probably already did, but wearing a tie or not shouldn't have made a difference. The door to the bathroom slammed shut behind him as he let out a slow breath and removed the tie once again, he was moments from ripping the accursed thing to shreds, however it was taken from his hands by Weiss.

"This is getting painful..." She flipped his collar up and in a matter of seconds had perfectly tied his tie, "There that wasn't so hard." She shook her head as she turned to see both Ruby and Blake looking at her strangely, "What...I watched my father tie his all the time." She quickly walked back to her spot at the desk and said nothing on the subject, she didn't understand why it was such a big deal, she was simply helping him. If he was going to be a member of this team, as Ruby had informed them, she was going to have to start helping him catch up in a lot of the matters regarding classes and such. She knew Ruby wasn't going to be of any help, she struggled with her own assignments, there was no way she was going to be able to help someone else with theirs. Blake, despite the fact she had spent time with him, probably wouldn't help him either, she preferred to do her work alone and most of the time was finished long before anyone else. Yang...well Yang seemed to be having some sort of issue with Rodric, that was clear for anyone to see, and it seemed like she wouldn't help him even if her life depended on it, but then again she was about as useless as Ruby when it came to studying so she wasn't exactly expecting Yang to help. So it all came down to her, because no doubt in the end he would be seeking aide from someone and once he saw how she excelled in her classes there was no doubt in her mind that he would ask her. Before if he had so much as looked as if he were going to speak to her she would turn and walk away...but she did promise Ruby in their first semester that she would be a better teammate...and by extension a better person. She gave a heavy sigh as she pinched the bridge of her nose, _Why'd I make that promise..._

Rodric looked curiously at Weiss as she sat in the chair with her head leaned back, an exasperated look on her face, "Um...thanks Weiss..." She said nothing as he turned and walked over to the more stable of bunk beds and leaned against their posts being careful not to push the books to much. "So what, may I ask, should I expect from these...classes. I can only assume that it will simply be teaching me how to become a proper hunter, the vital areas to strike and such, correct?"

"Well not exactly," Blake stated as she looked up from her book, "There will be more than just that."

"Well good, because I can assure you I know how to do that perfectly well."

"...Right, classes will be something typical for a school for hunters. Locations and habitats and behaviors of different types of Grimm, Combat Classes, Aura and Dust classes, things of that sort. None of them are relatively hard, but some of the professors can be...hard to follow to say the least." She chuckled slightly at his confused expression, "Don't worry you'll see."

He would have tried to question Blake further, but the sound of Ruby jumping from her bed to the floor drew his attention, "So are you excited to start classes with us?" He opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off and continued, "I mean I'm sure you're at least excited about being out of the infirmary and being able to move around freely now, right?" He frowned slightly but attempted to answer only to be, once again cut off by Ruby, "Though take it from me you'll find these classes pretty boring, I mean you fought off a bunch of crazy robots, that's a lot more exciting than this class. Oh, but once we get to the Combat classes that's when we can start sparring so maybe you'll be able to show off some of your crazy skills. Oh...but you don't have a weapon, you should probably take care of that first before you-"

"Ruby." She stopped in her rambling and looked up at him, it was then she realized that she had been going on a tangent, she felt her face heating up as she returned her eyes to the floor.

"Sorry."

"It's perfectly fine just...breath child." She gave a weak chuckle in response as he sighed softly, "As for my weapon, well you'll have to forgive me when I say I disagree with you, for my test I used my bare hands and relied heavily on my own strength. I think the professors would admire that don't you think?"

"The only person I could think that would _admire _that would be Professor Port..." Ruby slapped her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing as Blake softly chuckled at the remark she had made, he didn't understand what was so funny about that, as he turned over to Weiss she too had her head turned and her shoulders were shaking with silent laughter. He huffed in annoyance at them, he didn't understand what was so funny, but he figured that he would eventually find out seeing as their classes would be starting soon. He still didn't know what to expect from these classes, it seemed the thought of asking Ruby about them last night had slipped his mind, he had been busy answering her questions to event think of his own, he honestly didn't even remember falling asleep yet he found himself waking up the next day. Perhaps he should have watched just how many of those sweets he actually ate, nevertheless he enjoyed them and enjoyed sharing them with her, but now there was one question on his mind.

"Who is this Professor Port?"

"Ready!" Yang proclaimed as she threw the bathroom door open.

The others simply nodded and stood grabbing their things as they all marched out of the dorm, Blake turned and smirked at him, "You'll see." Was all she said before she turned and left the room, leaving him thoroughly confused. Rather than waste time thinking about it he gave a heavy sigh before following them out.

* * *

Rodric cringed as he listened to the stories that were being told by this...professor, it seemed he finally understood why the girls had laughed, this man...Professor Port was indeed strange. Though he wasn't exactly sure if strange was enough to describe him, they had walked into the class and found that several other students had already been here and he was...entertaining them with stories. From what they sounded like it must have been stories from his childhood yet, there was something fairly off about them, everything he said sounded so outlandish that he would have imagined he was reading all this from some book. Sadly there was no book in sight, even as other students began to arrive he continued on never straying from the story he was telling, Rodric had to look around the class and was rather confused when he saw that everyone was taking it surprisingly well. No one looked confused, or disturbed, or in his case disgusted with the stories he was telling, he even turned towards the others that were sitting in the same row as he was and they were all occupying themselves until class started. He was shocked, how could none of them even react to what he was doing, leaning towards Ruby he whispered to her, "Is...is he always like this?"

Ruby kept her eyes on the paper in front of her as she ran her pencil across the paper making sure to keep the lines straight, but even as she did she nodded her head and tilted it slightly in Rodric's direction, "Yeah but this is one of his off days, usually he would wait until class started to start telling his story." She continued to draw until she placed her pencil down and held it up for Rodric to see, it was of a crudely drown crocodile letting out a mighty roar.

Rodric glance at the picture before looking back at Ruby, "How are you okay with this, he's supposed to be a professor isn't he suppose to be acting...professional in his field. What even is his field? Obviously it's not telling stories, as these are to horrible to take seriously..."

Ruby shrugged as she set her picture down, "I don't know it's just something he does, when he does actually teach it's actually pretty interesting, you should have see it the first week here. He brought in a live Boarbatusk and Weiss had to fight it."

"I didn't _have _to fight it I _volunteered _to fight it." Weiss interjected.

Ruby simply shrugged, "What's the difference?"

Rodric sighed heavily, he couldn't believe it, this was the school he agreed to attend, a school that promised to mold these children into remarkable hunters. Yet...they were being taught by professors such as Professor Port, "I can't believe I agreed to this..." There was no turning back now it seemed, he had went though all the trouble, taken the beatings to attend this school, he couldn't just let all of that go to waste. Thankfully a few moments later the bell signaling the start of class rang loudly through the classroom, it seemed to catch the portly man off guard as he visibly flinched at the sound of the bell. He stopped mid sentence and turned to address the rest of the class, Rodric sighed heavily, "Finally maybe he'll actually teach something..." he grumbled out under his breath.

"Welcome everyone, and welcome to a brand new semester at Beacon, and from the looks of it I can seem many brand new faces that are attending our prestigious academy for the Vytal tournament no doubt." He gave a hearty laugh as he looked about the class, taking in all the new faces that he was going to have the honor of teaching, "I have been informed by our headmaster that there is one student in particular that I should introduce, now this young mans transfers papers arrived a little later than expected but please welcome Mr. O'Connell, stand young man and introduce yourself."

Rodric was struck speechless at what had just happened, he grit his teeth in anger knowing that Ozpin was behind all this, despite his rising anger he did as he was told and slowly stood. In that moment he could feel all eyes on him, it didn't bother him, but it did bother him that Ozpin had thought of doing such a thing as this to him. Taking a calming breath he stood with his back straight as he looked around the class, "Greetings, I am Rodric O'Connell as you have all been informed, I will be attending Beacon from here on out."

"Wonderful my boy, not an ounce of fear in your heart, tell us young man where do you hail from?"

All the members of team RWBY stiffened at the question, they had all gotten so used to Rodric's presence that none of them had thought about coming up with some sort of lie to cover up a lot of the things they were unsure of. Weiss quickly raised her hand and attempted to distract everyone, "P-Professor don't you think we should be starting with the-"

"Mistral." He looked down at the confused and shocked faced of his team members, he couldn't help but smirk slightly as he looked back up to the professor.

"Ah, much like our very own Miss Nikos, tell me young man did you attend Sanctum Academy." Once again the girls of team RWBY were frightened at the question, even if Rodric managed to lie though his teeth about being from Mistral there was no way he was going to be able to-

"Only briefly." They had to keep from crying out in shock and surprise when he answered so honestly, they couldn't believe he came up with all this on his own, but once again he looked down at them with a small smirk before turning back towards the professor. "I only attended for a few months, I requested a transfer from the headmaster two months before the end of the semester, I would have been able to attend sooner but I decided to wait until the start of this semester. Luckily my papers were found before the semester started, I would have hated to miss out on such a...wonderful class." He forced a smile as he said so, even though it was probably the most forced smiled he could conjure the professor didn't seem to notice or care for that matter as he laughed loudly again.

"Well you're in for a treat then young man."

"Oh boy."

"Please take your seat and we can begin."

Rodric did as he was told, he left out a heavy sigh as he leaned his head back, despite lying so coolly, his heart was thundering in his chest, he wasn't sure if he would have been found out. Thankfully he hadn't and now he would be able to put it all behind him, however went he felt a nudge in his side he knew there would be no way this was going to be let go so easily. Sighing once again he turned his head and looked down at Ruby who was looking at him once again with that strange look of awe in her eyes, "How did you do that? I mean how did you know about those places you said."

"Oh that." He righted his position and crossed his arms on the desk in front of him, "Well I didn't just sit in the infirmary staring at the ceiling the whole time. I read what was there, and sometimes I would ask Nyx if she could bring me some books from the library, now that I think of it I never specified which ones...must have just been lucky."

"But...why Mistral of all places?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but instead he simply shrugged, "I suppose it seemed like an amazing place, somewhere that I would have enjoyed living had I actually been born there. I mean some of the things I read about for Mistral were simply-"

"Mr. O'Connell."

Rodric turned his attention to the professor who was now staring sternly at him, "Sir?"

"Now young man, I understand how it can be, you're just starting in a new school and I'm sure your eager to get to know many of the lovely ladies here, but you are in class right now please pay attention. Once class is over you will be able to speak to Miss Rose and any of the other ladies that caught your eye but please refrain from distracting anyone else."

Rodric forced himself to bite his tongue as he listened to the professor talk, he could hear choked laughter and giggles from around him but he kept his face free of emotion, even though there was a storm raging beneath his calm demeanor, "I...apologize professor."

"It's perfectly normal for any young man to be interested in pursuing relationships, but please wait until after class."

A low growl rumbled deep in his chest as the professor continued to push the point he had made, out of the corner of his eye he could see Ruby she was a deep red, a look of pure shock frozen on her face. _"S__toptar do bhéal tú lout saill..."_

"Excuse me?"

"Of course Professor Port, it won't happen again..."

"Excellent, now onto the lesson..."

* * *

For the next two hours he was forced to listen to the whispers of the other students around him as he pretended to focus on the lesson, he held no respect for a man that would purposefully embarrass and shame one of his students even after they apologized. It wasn't that he even cared that he had said all those things to him, he could say them until he was blue in the face, no he was more upset that Ruby had been caught in the crossfire so to speak, she was innocent in the exchange yet he brought her up simply because they were speaking. He cast glances over at Ruby occasionally though class, though he made sure the professors back was turned when he did so, the result was something he would have expected after something like that. She was embarrassed, she refused to look at him and focused on her work, the few times their eyes would meet she would turn a deep red before quickly returning her eyes to her paper.

Several times he was called on throughout the duration of the class to answer questions, most of them he had been able to answer with ease, all that reading actually did something beneficial, other than passing time. However there were multiple times where he was either wrong or stumped as to what the answer was, though that was usually when Weiss would answer correctly, he didn't know if she was trying to help or to show off either way it got the attention off of him for at least a little while and that was all he was happy about. He rubbed his eyes as he fought back a yawn, Ruby was right, this class was incredibly boring, more so because this...esteemed professor continually went off topic. He would start describing the behavior of Grimm only for it to break off into some tangent about how he single handedly fought off a hoard of Beowolves, with some strange object that just happened to be lying around. These tangents went on for minuets at a time, when he would look around, the other students took this as an opportunity to relax, sleep, or draw much as Ruby was doing. As he leaned over he watched as she did so, even though it was almost as, if not more crude than than the last one she showed him he still couldn't help but enjoy watching her work, each line she sketched she did so with such concentration it was simply amazing. Her artwork left much to be desired but she didn't seem to care, simply the act of drawing seemed to bring her joy, though his observation was cut short when he was once again called on by the professor.

Once the bell signaling the end of class he quickly stood and stretched groaning loudly, knowing this was only the first class of many made him dread what the rest could even be like. He watched as the students slowly filed out of the class to go to the next dreaded one, he was going to find it difficult to understand why the students actually enjoyed attending classes, he could hardly keep himself awake in the first one how was he going to learn anything from people as boring as these Professors. He followed the others out into the hallway, where he noticed their seemed to be a lot more students than normal, of course he was forgetting the fact that it was in fact a new semester and there were other transfers. He frowned slightly when he saw some of the other students look over at him before turning back to their friends and laughing among themselves, perhaps he should show them there was nothing funny about what happened. Though as he took a step towards them he felt a hand on his shoulder, he barely held back a growl when he turned and saw that it was in fact Weiss that had stopped him.

"Just ignore them, but maybe you should take this as a lesson for next time."

"A lesson in what exactly Weiss?"

"That this is a school you can't just expect to do whatever you want and get away with it. That, and that other people are affected by your decisions, that's something you should take to heart because it doesn't only apply to class but out on missions as well." With that said she walked off to join the rest of her team, he didn't want to admit it but she was right, even though he had been here a month he still felt like he had some sort of authority over the humans when that wasn't the case. Though he could see how breaking centuries of habit was going to be hard, he expected to do whatever he wanted with little to no consequence to himself, but now no one saw him as anything more than a human. No one other than Ruby and Nyx knew exactly what he was, though that still mattered little in his current situation, he looked human and was expected to act as such. Casting a glance back at the cackling group of students he could only huff in annoyance before following the others towards his next class, something like this crossed his mind multiple times when he was confined to the infirmary.

Though he had only interacted with a scarce few humans since his coming here, his understanding of their social norms were still foreign to him, he didn't know what was okay to say and what wasn't. The only people he had spoken for long lengths of time were Nyx and Ruby and when he spoke with them he spoke with them with unrestrained words and sometimes brutal honesty, neither of them seemed to mind or care that he spoke in such a way. Though he could only imagine that other humans would not care for the way he spoke, he could only assume that it would come off as rude, much in the same way he felt that Weiss came off as when she spoke. All of this was just so different, he didn't understand what he was doing exactly, he still didn't really understand why he even agreed to go to this school. Ozpin was right in a way, he did want to believe in the humans again, to believe they weren't all the monsters he imagined them to be...it was simply too hard to forget the things that happened, but he was trying. Surprisingly he found that his motivation didn't stem from his own want to become more tolerant of humans, it came from Ruby, the most unlikely source he could honestly think of. She had such an innocent outlook on life that it bordered on childish yet, whenever he spoke with he he knew that she held some maturity behind that childish outlook on life, she admitted to him that she knew bad people existed but she hoped through her work as a huntress she would be able to change that.

He didn't really understand why it was her alone that gave him hope for the humans, and then it came to him, innocence. Of course he would hope the humans weren't as bad as he remembered them, it was only so that she would not lose than innocent outlook on life, but he knew sooner or later it was going to be taken from her. Though that didn't explain the strange feeling he felt in his chest as he took his seat in his next class, it was an uncomfortable feeling, it felt like his heart was being squeezed and he felt...uneasy about that thought. He felt uneasy about Ruby learning that the world was always going to be a dark place, uneasy in knowing that Ruby was going to learn that good people are hard to come by, he didn't want her to learn it the way he had. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, or why for that matter that it even bothered him, all humans eventually learn the harsh reality of life, _Then why does such a thought upset me?_

Rodric sat idle for most of the class, if he was asked what happened in it he wouldn't have been able to answer, his mind had been in disarray over the thoughts that plagued his mind. He didn't even realize that the class had ended until Ruby had informed him, it was also at this time that she informed him that their classes would be different, Weiss and the two of them would be going to a Professor Peach's class and Blake and Yang would be going to some sort of study hall. He didn't say anything merely nodded in understanding and followed them to the next class, Weiss and Ruby began to talk about something but he merely listened as he tried to clear his mind. But when he tried to rationalize his thoughts they were always brought back to Ruby, and in turn brought back the uneasy feeling in his chest. He figured simply asking her about it would be enough to ease his mind, though when he looked up to her and attempted to speak, seeing the bright smile on her face brought the pain and unease back in full force that it should have forced him to his knees. He slowly closed his mouth as he frowned, he sighed softly and shook his head, _It can wait._

Taking his seat he looked around the class room and found that the contents of it were...strange, more strange than the out of place board Oobleck had in the last class. Here there were strange devices set up around the room, vials and crystals of various types of dust, what they and the devices had to do with the class he had no idea and feared he would not like what they were for. The professor on the other hand seemed...rather ordinary compared to the other two, she was a head shorter than Oobleck maybe around Ports height if he had to guess, she had a small frame but in all honesty very beautiful. Much like her name, her hair was a strange peach color, it hung down low on her back, and if he had to guess it should should have been shy and soft spoken. Though that was not the case, she was very loud and outgoing, she was very boisterous very much like Port had been though instead of going on tangents she seemed to transfer that energy into her lessons. Suffice to say, he rather enjoyed the lesson...even if he had no idea what it was she was actually talking about.

* * *

Strangely enough by the end of the class he felt...upbeat and more energetic than he previously had, maybe it was simply the professors attitude or something more...though he didn't honestly care. Once he left the class he was eager to get to his next class, though when his stomach began to grumble in protest he knew that his body was not as eager as he was. Upon following the others he realized that he was thankfully heading towards the dining hall, just the thought of that place made his stomach growl in response, it was a welcome reprieve from the thoughts that had plagued his mind for most of the morning.

"So what do you think?" If only for a moment. Looking down he saw Ruby walking next to him though she wasn't looking up towards him she was at least speaking to him again. "Is it everything you thought it would be?"

"Is what everything I thought it would be?"

She huffed and shook her head, "The classes! I mean besides what happened in Port's class...eh, I mean what did you think of the others?"

He gave a soft sigh as she tried to gloss over what had happened, it was obvious she didn't want to talk about it, and he sure wasn't going to bring it up either. He crossed his arms as he walked with her, "Well...that man Oobleck was it? He's...strange to say the least, I mean from what I _could _understand he does sound very knowledgeable but other than that he is very hard to follow." He meant that in a very literal sense, the man wouldn't stand still for more than a moment before speeding off into his next topic and to his new spot in the class. He had given up trying to follow him with his eyes and settled for trying to listen to him, though that was just as difficult, he would speak so quickly that all his words came together and made it very difficult to follow. Though he had managed to catch a few tidbits of information he felt that they wouldn't serve him well enough in that class, from how quickly he was speaking he could only imagine how much information went unheard as he tried to focus on his words. Of course neither Ruby nor Weiss seemed to have trouble following the man, but that was to be expected since they dealt with him much longer than he had, he could only hope he grew use to him and quickly, if the information he was spouting actually served him a purpose he needed to learn it.

"Yeah he can be...hard to keep up with..."

Rodric scoffed as he walked into the dining hall, "That's certainly putting it mildly..." He followed Ruby over to the table of food and began to serve himself as he wondered about the other classes he would have to eventually take. The only class he honestly seemed to enjoy had been that woman's class, though next time he would actually try to pay attention in it, he was mostly glad that neither Ruby or Weiss had seen the way he had acted in that class. It was shameful, he acted like some excitable child at the way the professor had presented herself and the class, he got excited over the simple things she had explained he couldn't understand why he acted like...like Ruby. He had to stop as the thought began to sink in, he had acted very much like Ruby in that professors class...he wasn't sure what he should feel at that revelation...he could only be glad that no one had seemed to notice.

"Well what about Professor Peach, what did you think of her?"

"Well..." He took his seat at one of the large tables as Ruby quickly did the same thing sitting next to him, with Weiss next to her, he looked down at his food as he tried to think of an answer that wouldn't show just how much he enjoyed her class. "...I think that she is a very...interesting professor." He began to eat his meal as Ruby did the same, while it was true he more than enjoyed her class he'd rather not go into just how much he did. "She carries herself very well, when I saw her I had expected her to be very timid but...I can at least say that I was very mistaken."

Ruby made a sound of agreement as she attempted to swallow the food she had stuffed into her mouth, as she forced it down she took large gulps of her drink. "Yeah that was my first thought when I first saw Professor Peach, she looked so shy, she kind of reminds me of Velvet a little bit but she's really fun. N-Not that Velvet isn't fun just that she's not as shy I had thought she would be, but she has to probably be my favorite professor, she just makes that class so much fun you know?"

"I can attest to that."

"Yeah she's pretty awesome, the other professors are cool to but I have to say I like Professor Peach the best. Though I really like Professor Goodwitch's class, I mean getting to see everyone going against one another is pretty fun to watch, and pretty fun to do. I've done it myself several times and each time is always exciting, but I still get nervous when she calls on me to fight someone, I don't know why I just do."

"Hm, what is it you humans call it? Stage fright, perhaps its as simple as that? If you think about it the professor calls you "on stage" to "perform" for the rest of the students, I think I can see why that would make you nervous."

"Your probably right..." They fell into silence as they continued to eat, the others arrived a bit later, Blake and Yang sitting across from the three of them as they began to talk with Weiss, Team JNPR eventually showed up trailing behind Nora who ran ahead of them to get some food. Ruby set her fork down as she clenched the hem of her skirt, "S-Say Rodric..." He gave his usual hum to tell her he was listening, "Do you ever...you know, get nervous?"

"...Is this about what happened in-"

"N-No I'm just wondering, you don't seem like the type of person to get nervous, I mean when you introduced yourself you did it without any hesitation. Even people who can put on a face still get nervous so...what about you?"

He set his utensils down and pushed his empty pate away as he crossed leaned forward onto the table, "No, I suppose I don't. I see no reason to ever be nervous, because for one I don't really care what anyone thinks of me-"

"We know that."

He frowned at Weiss who simply shrugged and returned to her own conversation, "Like I was saying I don't care what people think of me, because it doesn't affect me. If they like me, so what. If they hate me, I don't care. I am not here to please anyone other than myself, if some one were to have a problem with me, it still does not matter to me because it is not my goal to please everyone." At least in this form he found it easier to not care what people thought of him, because he was simply another human, if they didn't like him then they would find someone they did like and that would be that. It had been much harder when he was a dragon, because if they didn't like him then they didn't like any of the others, and that lead to many problems between his kind and the humans. "I simply do things for myself, if someone were to tell me not to do something because _they _do not approve, I would still do it. It's the same reason I do not get embarrassed, you can only be embarrassed if you allow others to make you embarrassed, since no one can then I am not. It's as simple as that."

"Wow." Ruby had to admit that Rodric was lucky to have such confidence in himself to complete be unfazed what people thought of him, she didn't have such a luxury. Since she was skipped ahead two years to attend Beacon she had to be the best at everything, she felt like she was constantly being judged if she made even the smallest of mistakes, it felt like a huge mistake in her eyes. She wished she was like Rodric, being able to just ignore people's comments but-"

"Tell me, do you do the best you can? Do you try your hardest in these classes? Do you do everything in your power to make sure you are at your best?"

"Wha-Yeah, of course I do."

"Then you have nothing to worry about. If you ever get nervous just remember your not doing this for anyone else, your doing this to better yourself, and that is all you need to focus on." She wanted to believe him, but she knew it wasn't that easy, she was under constant scrutiny, at least she imagined she was. No, of course she was, she was always being watched by the professors, every note they wrote they were writing her mistakes. With every glace they were judging her, she just couldn't- "Don't think, act."

She looked up at him and she couldn't imagine the kind of resolve he held in his heart, she wished she could have the same, to be brave like he was. It wasn't that she needed it in combat, when it came to that she was always confident it was simply with everything else, the reason she never really spoke to many other people was simply because she was afraid of making of fool of herself. She got embarrassed to easily, but if she started talking to others to break out of her shell maybe she would be able to be more outgoing, she didn't except it to happen right away but she knew he was right in a way. _Don't think, act. _ She felt her heart begin to beat faster as she looked down at her hands, she didn't understand why he acted so nice to her when he acted different with everyone else. It had to be because he only saw her as the child he always addressed her as, but there were times where they would have really mature conversations about whatever was on their minds at the times. For him it was usually about the different kingdoms and the possibility of both humans and faunus being treated different in other places, and for her it was usually about her future plans as a huntress. She recalled how he had voiced his concerns over such a dangerous career choice, she could feel heat creeping up her neck at the off hand remark he had made about it. _If it were up to me I would never let you do something so dangerous_, Yang had gotten mad at him over saying that to her, but she could hear the concern in his voice when he had said it. "R-Rodric I-"

"So what class is next then?" Ruby quickly closed her mouth when Rodric spoke up, she shook her head as she bit down on her lip, she couldn't believe she was about to say something so stupid.

Yang smirked as she smacked her fist into her hand, "Sparring class."

"So the combat class then?"

"Not exactly," Blake began explaining, "The sparring class is sort of like a time to study for the Combat class. In the Combat class we are graded for the way we perform, in the Sparring class we practice for the Combat class."

"...I see, well then lets not waste any time." They all stood from the table and began walking towards the class, though Rodric was mostly following the others. Ruby was the last to stand as she took a deep breath before slowly letting it out, she could still feel her heart racing from what she had almost said. She couldn't believe she would have done something so stupid, she doubted he even saw her like that, she shook her head before running to catch up to the others.

* * *

Rodric frowned slightly as he watched the sparring match going on before him, granted there were many matches going on, this one just happened to catch his attention the most. "Why does he keep getting up." Once again Jaune was slammed into the padded floor, though it was padded for their protection it seem to do little to lessen the pain, each time his back slammed into ground he would writhe and groan before eventually getting back up.

"He's stubborn." He turned his attention to the somewhat silent member of Team JNPR, his breathing was ragged and he had sweat on his brow, he had just finished his own sparring match against Blake and that in itself was quiet the spectacle, the two fighters were very agile it was nearly impossible to keep up with their movements. In the end though Blake had come out victorious, and it seemed that Pyrrha would be proceeding the same way soon. "Though both he and Pyrrha have been training a lot together, I guess it's only natural that he can take this much punishment, still..." Both their eyes followed as Jaune was tossed across the floor by Pyrrha, Rodric had to admit that Jaune was indeed stubborn, but it was interesting watching this almost cowardly knight get up again and again, it was almost...admirable. It would have been very admirable had he been able to go on the offensive, but against Pyrrha he was stuck in a very fragile defense, "That's why he's our leader though, he never gives up."

Rodric slowly nodded in understand as Jaune eventually yielded to Pyrrha, almost in an instant she switched her focus from the match, to his well being. She tossed her weapons to the ground and quickly rushed to his aide, he couldn't help but chuckle at the scene, the way she would fuss and worry over him. He was lucky to have her affection, even if he was painfully blind to it, he was still lucky to have it. He stood from his spot on the bench as he stretched, ever since the class had started he hadn't participated in many of the matches, he wasn't sure how one went about doing so. Was he suppose to initiate a challenge or was suppose suppose to offer him a challenge, he didn't know what the rules were, but from his observations, it seemed that everyone that was in a sparring match had weapons. He wondered if that was the reason he hadn't been offered a challenge, did they not wish to bother themselves with someone who had no weapon, did they really think he was that weak that he would be defeated so easily? Though as he looked around the room, he realized that it was probably because they couldn't be bothered to challenge him.

The room the class took place in was much larger than the gym had been, though he accounted for the fact that there were twice as many students in here than there had been in the gym. He also had to take into consideration that it was large enough for multiple sparring matches could occur at the same time, while giving each person enough room to move around freely. Suffice to say the room was very spacious, even so it still seemed fairly empty, but that was because most of the students weren't actually sparring they were either off in some corner talking to each other, or occupying the many benches and simply relaxing. He turned to see Goodwitch monitoring one of the on going matches, it was against Weiss and a student he had never seen before, it seemed that Goodwitch didn't care what the others did as long as they were not disturbing those who were actually participating. It made sense why both teams RWBY and JNPR didn't make such a large deal over this class, it seemed you could just about anything you wanted aside from sleeping.

"E-Excuse me." He was pulled from his thoughts by the sudden voice and turned to see a girl standing before him, her hair was a deep black that fell past her shoulders and seemed to stop just below her shoulders. She was almost as tall as he was if not a few inches shorter, though definitely taller than Ruby by comparison, she seemed very anxious as her eyes would constantly be on the move jumping from one person to another, though it seemed she tried to hide it it was still very noticeable. Behind the black frame glasses she wore she had a pair of cerulean colored eyes, though something seemed off about them, though it was probably the glasses as they seemed to almost be tinted blue. She was, if he had to guess, the same build as Nyx, she had a very lithe frame but as she crossed her arms he could see the muscles in her arms flex ever so slightly.

"Yes?"

"Would you happen to be Rodric?"

He looked at her for a moment, unsurprisingly he was very confused, he shifted his stance to a more defensive one as he crossed his arms, "I am, do you have need of me?" Instead of answering she turned around and motioned to two other people he had never met, they walked up to the other girl when she called for them. One of them was a faunus, she had a long thick, snow white tail that she managed to keep from dragging along the floor, as he watched her walk towards him he couldn't help but make the comparison to Weiss. She had that air of superiority, though it confused him as she smiled brightly towards him, it disturbed him slightly, with the smile and the contrasting air she emitted it put him on edge. Her long hair was braided together reaching down to her lower back, it matched the color of her tail as it was white as snow as well, her eyes were the color of dark honey. They way she dressed and carried herself seemed to show she came from a very prosperous background, he didn't like it but he tried to ease his mind as he had no reason to distrust her. He had already gotten to know one pompous, spoiled, stuck up child he was sure he had enough self control in himself to do it again.

The other girl that followed behind the first was also a faunus, she had a large pair of ears sitting atop her almond colored hair, it hung loose and free spilling around her shoulders and reaching down to the center of her back. She reminded him of Nyx more than the first girl did, mostly because her skin was almost if not more tan than Nyx was, meaning she spent most of her time in the sun or working out in the sun. The first thing he noticed about her was her relaxed demeanor which made him more at ease around the group in general, she wore a simple shirt with jeans that seemed to be tucked inside her boots. Though when he looked back up towards her face that's when he noticed the most interesting thing about her, she had a large ribbon wrapped around her head that covered her eyes, and even though it should have impaired her vision she continued to look around the room as if there were nothing obscuring her vision. "What is this about?"

"You guys!" He turned towards the voice as Nyx came sprinting across the class to join up with the group that now stood in front of him, "You were suppose to tell me when you were going to meet him."

The girl with the glasses shrugged slightly as she addressed Nyx, "Sorry you were busy with your match and he had come wandering over here so we decided to meet him ourselves."

"Still you should have said-"

"What is going on?" He demanded, first he is stopped by a group of girls and now Nyx is talking with them as if she knew them and they had yet to answer a single question of it, he was beginning to get frustrated due to it.

"Oh...sorry, I'm Rayvn, Rayvn Hughes member of Team RAVN." The girl with the glasses now identified as Ravyn extended her hand in greeting, hesitantly he extended his hand and took hers.

"Uh...greetings." She gave a small nod and moved to the side as she motioned for the next girl to step up, the faunus with the long tail stepped up next.

"_Bonjour _I am Avelyn, Avelyn Lambert, you know Nyx has said so many things about you." Once again he was put on edge at her words, the only way he could describe them would be honeyed, they sounded so kind and sincere yet he felt something else hid behind them. When she extended her hand he took it, though when he did she leaned forward and looked at him, her honey colored eyes were now a deep scarlet red as she whispered to him, "She says much more about you in her sleep."

"A-Aveyln!" Nyx quickly pulled her back as her cheek burned a bright red as she looked up at Rodric but avoided eye contact, "D-Don't pay any attention to her, s-she was just joking, _right Avelyn?"_

Avelyn on the other hand merely seemed confused as she tilted her head slightly, her eyes back to their original honey color looking confusedly at Rodric, "Hm? Did I say something?" Nyx sighed loudly as she shook her head, the red still staining her cheeks, that Avelyn was definitely a very strange person, perhaps someone he should be wary around. He turned his attention to the only girl left, though she made no move to approach him, he had wondered why until she put her hands in her pockets and spoke up.

"You'll have to forgive me, I'm not the biggest fan of greetings, but I'm Victoria Blackwell, if you want feel free to call me Vicky, it really makes no difference to me." She simply shrugged as she finished speaking, and he didn't honestly know how to take that sort of greeting, he felt that it was rude but he could understand what she meant, still it did upset him slightly. She gave a soft laugh as she looked towards him, "Come on don't get upset over it, it's just how I treat everyone, I'm not the type to go up with the "hi how are ya" and shake hands and all that."

He looked at her with a confused expression, "I can assure you I'm not-"

She scoffed loudly, "Oh please I can see it in your aura you're mad...and now your confused." She gave a light hearted laugh, "I bet your wondering how exactly I can "see" with this ribbon over my eyes huh?" She gave a soft sigh as she shifted her weight onto her other leg, "It has a little bit to do with my semblance I guess, I mean it has a lot to do with my semblance and my aura." She removed her hands from her pockets and crossed her arms a bit, "You see when I was younger I kind of discovered my semblance a bit by accident, me and some of the other kids were playing hide-and-seek, and when I closed my eyes and started counting I started to see these bright colorful fires burning behind my eyes. Like any other kid I quickly opened my eyes and closed them again, I did this a few times until it just sort of clicked with me, though rather than tell anyone I used it to my advantage and became the best hide-and-seek player ever." She chuckled softly as she rubbed the back of her head, "I know I was kind of a little jerk when I was younger."

She chewed on her lip lower lip as the sound of combat continued to rage around them, she wasn't sure if she should tell him everything, she barely knew him, but Nyx knew him the most. She said nothing but good things about him, but she wasn't sure if she could just tell him something so personal. "You know Victoria, if you don't want to tell me you don't have to." She looked up towards him and saw the look of concern etched in his face, even his aura that had been raging just moments ago, was now calm.

She took a deep breath before shaking her head, "It's fine..." She shifted her weight again before starting, "You see around that time I started to have vision problems, naturally since I was a kid I thought it was because of my semblance, but after a quick trip to a doctor it turns out it was genetic. Retinitis pigmentosa, I got it from my dad, he had hoped I wouldn't but you know what they say about fate right."

"I'm sorry but I don't understand, what is that?"

She looked up at him surprised that he didn't know, but then she had to remember not everyone knew what it was, the only reason she rememebred it was because she felt that it was something that had single handedly ruined her childhood. "Retinitis pigmentosa is a degenerative eye disease...I'm blind." She had to fight back the frown as concern was practically emanating from Rodric, "Ah, don't start that, I made it this far I don't think my blindness is something to be concerned with."

He couldn't help but frown when she brushed off his concern for her, "You'll have to forgive me for being so blunt, but how did you make it this far being blind?"

She merely shrugged, "My semblance, I can see people's auras, it gives me a good advantage during sparring...oh you meant with the Grimm." She gave a small chuckle as she watched his aura flare up, "That's from my aura, you see since Grimm don't produce aura's like we do I had to come up with a different way to do things. Since I lost my vision at an early age I started training my aura since an early age, what I do it I let it extend outwards from my body and it outlines everything up to a certain distance, I still don't know how far I can extend it but i never really needed to. I can either allow it to extend far and it gives me a fairly basic view of my surroundings, or..." Everything behind her eyes began to slowly vanish until only Rodric remained in her eyes, she focused her aura on him and watched as it began to crawl up his body allowing her to get a more detailed look at him, "...I can focus it on a single person or thing and it gives me probably the most detailed view of them...you're pretty handsome."

"I'll have to ask you not to do that please." She gave a light laugh as she raised her hands in defense, "I suppose that does come in handy then, but why do you wear the ribbon?"

She raised her hand up to her face and ran her fingers over the soft ribbon covering her eyes, "I wear this because I got tired of people asking "Oh are you blind?" even though I clearly couldn't see. I still get the few people who try to be funny but other than that I just wear it because I'm used to it." She shrugged as silence fell over the group, she didn't know what else to say, she had said everything she thought she should.

"W-Well besides that Victoria is the best fighter on our team, right Vicky?" Victiora was slightly caught off guard by what Nyx had said, a light blush bloomed over her cheeks as she shook her head giving a weak chuckle.

"I-I wouldn't say best, but I can at least hold my own pretty well, that way the others can focus on their own thing, I try my hardest not to burden them and I feel a do well in that respect."

"Really?"

She frowned slightly at the way he asked that, "Yes really, I was coddled enough in Signal because of my blindness, I managed to make it into one of the most prestiguous combat schools despite my disability. I say I do pretty damn well for myself."

Rodric couldn't help but smirk at the way she spoke, it was obvious her impairment still struck a cord with her, she was a strong woman he could tell but being blind still seemed to upset her. As did people questioning her abilities, "Oh I'm sure you feel that way Victoria but...what's that saying? Seeing is beliving, would you please indulge me in this and fight me, I've been wanting a challenge and no one here seems eager to give me one. So, what do you say?"

She was shocked, she was speechless that someone was openly challenging her, usually once they heard she was blind they avoided all topic involving combat. If it wasn't for one teacher back in Signal she probably wouldn't have ever gotten decent combat experience seeing as others actively avoided her simply because she was blind. Yet here was someone she just met, who she told about her disability and even so he challenged her and, though it was lighthearted, joked about her blindness. She couldn't help but let a large grin cross her face, "Sure I'll be right back."

Rodric watched as Victoria walked away, possibly to get into her combat gear, he was honestly excited to fight this girl. She claimed she was able to hold her own against the Grimm even when she had no vision to speak of, he was eager to see just how good she actually was. A sharp slap to his back pulled him from his thoughts as he turned around and saw Rayvn smiling at him, "You, you are officially in my good book."

"Um...why?"

"Victoria told us all about Signal, the way people would treat her like she was some fragile piece of pottery that would break if handled roughly. Back at that school no one would spar with her because they did want to be the person who "beat up the blind girl" I mean I guess I could see where they were coming from, but if she was in a combat school I think that should say enough. We all saw how amazing she was during the initiation, if you would have told me that she was blind, with the way she was fighting off the Grimm...I would have knocked you out for lying." She crossed her arms as the smile continued to linger on her lips, "Even then no one wanted to go against her during Combat class, you know we tried to spar with her whenever we got the change, but you can only do it for so long before she starts remembering our strategy. You're the first person outside of Combat class to actually challenge her, I think you might have just impressed her."

Rodric turned his gaze towards the double doors at the end of the room, "Yes well, we'll see how impressed she is after the fight, shall we?"

* * *

Victoria walked from the locker room in the same clothes she had entered with, the only thing that was different were the weapons she now dawned, as well as the ribbon being removed from her eyes. It didn't really make a difference if she wore it or not but, she felt like since this was such a special occasion she should remove it, the occasion being that someone had actually went out of their way to challenge her. She was giddy to say the least, she couldn't stop smiling and she had an almost noticeable spring in her step, this was probably the most excited she has ever been about sparring. She stretched her arms out as she approached Rodric, it seemed he had already saved a "ring" for them to spar in, though as her aura flowed over him she noticed something strange, "Whoa, whoa, where are your weapons at?"

He shrugged, "I don't have any, but trust me when I say that I don't need them."

He was crazy that was the only thought that ran through her mind, "No, no way am I fighting you when you don't have any weapons, I'm going to go take these-"

"Humor me Victoria, I'm sure Nyx told you about the test I had to take yes? The one where I completed and passed it with no weapon whatsoever." He couldn't help but smirk as he watched Victoria struggle with her decision, after a brief moment she gave a heavy sigh before shaking her head.

"Fine, whatever it's your funeral." She stepped into the ring and shook her arms and legs out, taking a deep breath she let her aura flow into her weapons. The shoulder guards that she wore slowly shifted and extended down her arms covering her arms in a hard yet very light metal, it slowly flowed over her arms like water and covered her hands and fingers in clawed gauntlets. The metal boot covers she wore slowly extended up her leg and stopped just above her knees, each boot cover had a pair of protrusions at ankle level, they were a pair of jagged circular blade on each foot, she popped her neck and tapped her foot against the ground, the metal blades jingling slightly with her movement. "You ready?" She saw when he nodded and she returned the gesture as she began to bounce on the balls of her feet, she wasn't sure what to expect from fighting him, but that's what made it more exciting. She pulled her aura in and focused it on him, she watched as he slowly began to circle around the ring and she was quick to mimic his movements. It was almost impossible to concentrate with how quickly her heart was beating, she couldn't believe that she was getting this worked up over a sparring match, but she knew why. He was the first person to actually challenge her, she could only hope he wouldn't hold back.

Deciding to take the initiative she let out a quick breath before running towards him, she could see him taking a defensive posture causing her to smirk, she stopped short and turned as she threw her leg out. He just backed away from it, but as it touched the ground she quickly turned into another kick, she pushed her aura into her leg letting it flood into her weapon as a loud whirring noise sounded as the blades on her boots roared to life. Having stepped closer during the kick Rodric was forced to lean back as the spinning blades just missed his chest, they instead cut a deep groove into the floor as she dragged her foot back into position. She chuckled at the expression that was on his face, "What's the matter, surprised?"

Rodric ran a hand over his chest after that last kick, he hadn't expected those blades to actually function, he had thought they were more so for show, he gave a short chuckle before shaking his head. "Yeah...something like that."

She shrugged as she took a few steps back bouncing on her feet once again, her ears twitched and moved as she heard other sounds around them, she couldn't afford to extend her aura but from the sounds of it, it seemed they had managed to gather a small audience after she activated her weapon. Her heart began to race again at the thought of people actually watching them, she shook her head though, this was her chance to actually show and prove to people that she wasn't this fragile ornament. Letting out a slow breath she clenched her fists as she ran forward again, she slid to a stop before reaching him, she allowed the momentum to carry her forward as she went into a handstand, she extended her legs as she spun on her hands the blades just missing cutting into Rodric. She pushed herself back into a standing position as she stood almost chest to chest with Rodric, she frowned up at him, "Don't do that."

He was caught off guard when she went from a sudden flurry of attacks to simply standing before him, "Do what?"

She shoved him back glaring at him, "That! You're not taking this seriously, you talked about wanting to fight me and you haven't even made an attempt at fighting back. I'm not some damn fragile flowing I can fight! If you won't take this seriously..." She reached behind her back and removed two large disk shaped objects and held them in her hands, she tightened her grip on them as large blades extended from the disks, "...I'll make you take it seriously." She forced her aura into her the weapons now in her hands, as the roared to life with a loud whirring sound as the blades began to rapidly spin, she took a few steps back as she glared at him, "Now take this seriously, and don't hold back..."

Rodric sighed softly as he nodded, he didn't think he would have been that obvious about it, but he had been holding back in his assault for obvious reasons, while he wanted to give her an equal opportunity to fight he still felt unsure about fighting back against someone who couldn't see. Though it seemed like there was no more holding back, she was upset, and she showed him with the addition to the spinning blades in hand, that she didn't plan on showing him the same mercy he had been showing her. He took a defensive stance as she looked ready to assault him once again, as she ran towards himself he had to remind himself not to hold back, she wasn't a helpless blind girl. She was a hunter out for his blood it seemed, she assaulted him with another flurry of kicks, each one he had to jump back from as she moved closer with each kick. As she spun on her heel she raised her leg up before trying to bring it down, instead his hand shot out and grabbed a hold of her leg before it could come down.

Victoria glared up at him as he held her leg in his grip, normally it would have been hard to get out of this position but not for her, she smirked as she pushed aura into her free leg. She used the extra boost in strength to push herself off the ground into a backflip kick, she felt when her leg was released allowing her to follow through and land easily. She looked towards him and noticed he was holding his chest, she felt fear well up in her chest but she forced it down as she readied herself, "I warned you." She ran towards him not giving him a chance to recover from the last attack, she fought with a ferocity that would rival one of the Grimm, she attacked with a flurry of kicks and swings of the blades in her hand. Even as she assaulted Rodric she began to grow angry because he still refused to fight back against her, he was too defensive he was deflecting her attacks rather than going on the offensive. She was going to have to try much harder to get him to fight back if that was the case, she jumped back and took a deep breath before rushing back towards him, she kicked off the ground into a front flip as she extended her leg bringing the blades down just missing him, though as her feet touched the ground she pushed aura into her legs to immediately go into a black flip. As she flipped back she brought her feet up with as much force as she could muster and kicked him square in the jaw. The wonderful sound of his body hitting the ground reached her ears as she sighed softly and flipped her hair back over her shoulder, "Are you going to take this seriously yet?"

Rodric groaned softly as he brought his hand up to his mouth and rubbed his jaw, she fought with hands and feet, he should have saw this coming. She was much more nimble than Fox had been, if he had to compare her to anyone it would possibly be either Ruby or Blake, he slowly pushed himself to his feet as he stumbled slightly, he still felt slightly disoriented from that last kick. "Very well..." He grated out, "...I suppose I have been holding back, but not anymore." A low growl ripped through his throat as his eyes turned to slits as he took a more aggressive stance. He took a deep breath just as she began to run towards him again, this time he let loose a wall of flames causing her to cry out in surprise and jump out of the way of the fire, she landed safely away from it but looked at him with a shocked expression. "You wanted serious, I'll give it to you."

She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat after that surprise attack he let loose on her, "Alright then..." She decided to alter her approach, she approached him this time instead of rushing towards him, rather than attacking with quick kicks she attacked with a flurry of strikes from the blades in her hand. With each strike she grimaced slightly, she could feel the resistance meeting the blades, he wasn't even trying to block the attacks, he was enduring them. As she went for her next strike she hesitated and that was when she felt his fist collide with her stomach, she stumbled back as she coughed and wheezed for air, she looked at him surprised that he actually struck back. She let out a breathy chuckle as she pushed herself upright, "Okay then..." She let her aura flow into the pair of glaives she wielded, as their blades began to turn she quickly threw her arms forward letting the blades fly from her hands towards Rodric. Despite being surprised she watched as he quickly dropped down to dodge the blades before standing back up, she chuckled as she raised her hands back up with her palms facing towards him.

"What will you do now that you've lost your-" He felt pain shoot through his legs, pain so great that it brought him to his knees, she looked up and saw that the blades had returned to her hand, his blood dripping from the blades. He began to laugh as he looked up towards her all his reservations about fighting her were gone now as he pushed himself to his feet despite the wounds to his legs. "Wonderful, this is what I wanted, fight me with everything you have!" He acted in that moment running towards her as she was caught off guard, though she recovered quickly throwing the blades back towards him, he simply pressed on ignoring their stinging bite as they bit into his skin.

She wasn't sure how to handle his new change in attitude as he rushed towards her, she could only fight defensively as he struck out at her, she wasn't sure who was worse off in the fight now him or her. She called her weapons back and tried to turn the tide as she struck out with the blades, she gasped in surprise as he seemed to press harder into the assault, her blades tore through his shoulder yet he seemed unfazed by it. He turned and grabbed her arm, flipping her over his shoulder as her back slammed into the hard floor, she groaned in pain as she looked up and cried out in shock as he brought his foot down towards her. She rolled out of the way before throwing herself forward and away from him, she quickly pushed herself to her feet as her mind began to race as to what to do next. She smirked slightly as she relaxed her stance and took several steps back, before rushing towards him again, she threw her blades out as the flew past him. He began running towards her just like she had wanted, as she drew closer she let herself fall and slide right between his legs, she dug her gauntlets into the ground as she directed the blades back towards his legs. They cut into his legs once again sending him to his knees as she quickly pulled herself to her feet and ran towards him, she pressed her foot into his back pushing off of it and delivering a powerful kick to the back of his head.

Gritting his teeth from the pain that racked his head, he turned and grabbed at her still extended leg and threw her to the ground, he pulled her towards him as he pulled his arm back. Though it seem she still had some fight in her as she threw her body around and kicked him in the head once again, the blow was enough for him to release her as spots began to appear in his vision.

From the position she was in she pushed herself up before throwing both her legs back towards him striking him in the chest, she heard when he was thrown to the ground, but after his sudden ferocity she didn't trust him to stay down. Despite being exhausted she pushed herself to her feet, as he began to stand she jumped onto his chest pressing her foot into his throat the blades biting into his skin, "Don't get back up..." She watched as he glared up at her, his aura was like a raging fire, she honestly felt a little scared as he reached up and gripped her leg. She pressed her foot firmly against his neck, if he resisted she would end up hurting him, though despite his flaring aura he simply tapped her on her leg. She quickly jumped off of him as he sat up coughing roughly as he rubbed his, no doubt, sore neck.

"I-ah-I believe you."

"What?"

"You said that you could pull your own weight and I believe you, I mean I can't in good conscious say you can not." He looked up and saw that she had extended her hand to him, smirking slightly he took her hand as she pulled him to his feet.

"You're not that bad yourself you know, really took me by surprise back there." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a long ribbon, as she tied it around her eyes, "Are you going to be alright, you did get a little roughed up back there."

He looked down at all the cuts he had received during the fight, the more serious once he had was his shoulder that had been torn open, but from the looks of it, it was already healing. "I think I'll be fine, though I can't say the same about my...my friends." She looked at him with a confused expression as he merely jerked his head in their direction, as she turned she had to fight back a loud laugh. They all looked absolutely terrified, Rodric gave a soft chuckle, "I suppose I should go take care of that, but Victoria..." She turned back towards him as he smirked, "We'll do this again soon."

She watched as he walked over to his friends and started to calm them down, she watched as Ruby practically started bawling her eyes in worry over him, she gave a soft chuckle as she crossed her arms. It seemed everything Nyx had said about him actually was true, and from their sparring match she learned even more about him, she laughed softly again before shaking her head, "You are something else..." She turned and walked towards her team who were gushing among themselves about how amazing the match was, she got lucky she knew that. That brought her back to what he had said, it seemed she had a future sparring match already planned, now that he saw she wasn't some fragile doll she knew he would not hold back. She could only smirk as she gave a light nod, _You're on._

* * *

**_I'll be honest, the fight or "fight" was very very sub par for my standards but after several attempts this was honestly one of the better ones. So I'll ask and please be brutally honest, in the comments tell me what you thought of the fight. And also, if anyone reading this has a character that has a similar fighting style to Victoria please message me and give me some pointers on writing better fight scenes because i was at a loss with this style. Also one more little thing to mention, a few of you have asked for it, some you have really wanted to see it after their initial confrontation, but now you get it. The battle of two dragons will commence in the next chapter, don't know what that mean? Just think about it I'm sure you'll figure it out._**

**_PS. I didn't mention it because Rodric didn't ask, and if he doesn't ask then I don't write it but Avelyn is a cat faunus, I based her off the Turkish Angora cat, but if your more of a disney lover I kind of based her off of Duchess (from the Aristocats for those who might not know.) Victoria is a Fennec Fox faunus. So there you go, the more you know. _**

* * *

**_S__toptar do bhéal tú lout saill = Shut your mouth you fat lout__  
_**


	13. The Dragons Rage-Part I

_**Wow, it's been nearly a month since my last update, hell I didn't think I took that long updating the story, now that I realize it all i can say is...Thanks, I mean it you guys patiently wait for me to update this and it just means a lot to me, so thanks you guys. That being said this is my first two part chapter, as I was writing this I realized that if I were to put it in one chapter it would be hella long. So two parts plus the second chapter would have seemed rushed if I had did it the original way before changing it. Anyway hope you guys like it RxR.**_

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**The Dragons Rage-Part I**

Groaning softly she tilted her head up and shut her eyes as the light flooded in from the window right into her face, she turned her head and buried it back into her pillow. She pulled her legs up to her chest before stretching out once again, the hardest part about waking up each morning was willing herself to get out of bed. "That's awful." Though that _used_ to be the hardest part about waking up each morning, now it was something entirely different, now it had to do with their newest team member. "That looks nothing like a giraffe..." She clenched her fist gripping her pillow so tightly that the fabric began to tear slightly in her hand, she didn't even have to turn around to know exactly who he was talking to.

"Wha-yeah it does!" She couldn't stand it, she couldn't stand the fact that Ruby had gotten along so well with Rodric, despite everything he had done to them she had some how became friends with him. She would grudgingly admit that in the last few weeks that he had actually been around them, and attending classes with them she had noticed that he had changed drastically. He tried not to show it but he even ended up smiling more, it wasn't often that he did so but she would notice it on sparse occasions, she didn't know what brought this change but she still didn't like it. "There better?"

"Not really."

"What yes it-"

"Can you two please be quiet, it's too early for this..." She pulled the sheets over her head as she tried to return back to her peaceful sleep.

"On the contrary Yang..." She clenched her pillow tightly, managing to rip a small hole in it from the force she used, "It's actually quite late, class begins in about an hour, we've been waiting for you." She grit her teeth before slowly sitting up and tossing the sheets off of herself.

"You should have woken me up then..."

"But we did," Ruby interjected, "You waved me off and said you would get up in a few minuets but that was...almost an hour ago."

Yang sighed heavily as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, "Well why didn't you try again?"

"I did Yang, you kept saying you would be up in a minuet, so I just gave up after the fifth time."

"I will admit though I found it rather amusing that Ruby continued to believe you would "be up in a minuet"." Ruby huffed and crossed her arms as Rodric merely chuckled at her reaction, Yang rolled her eyes at their actions, the two of them had started having little moments like this and it only served to annoy her further. Throwing her legs over the bed she slid off and landed deftly on the floor, it was then she realized that they all were actually waiting on her, Blake was sitting at the corner of her bed, nose buried in a book as usual. Weiss was busy combing through her ponytail, she was saying something because she noticed her lips were moving ever so slightly, she was probably singing to herself, but that meant she was concentrating on something as that was the only time she really sang to herself.

"Eh, well give me a minuet and I'll be ready."

"Care to bet on that Ruby?"

She clenched her fists as her sister giggled at his remark, she quickly grabbed her things before heading into the bathroom as the two of them began to wager things for the bet. She closed the door more roughly than she had planned on it, she sighed heavily as she locked the door and tossed her things onto the counter. She placed her hands on the cool porcelain counter and looked into the mirror before rubbing her eyes a bit, _Calm down. Relax. Breathe._ She took a deep breath before slowly exhaling, she opened her eyes and watched as the crimson color slowly faded from her eyes, _this is getting out of hand._ She found herself employing breathing tricks that her dad had taught her to keep her anger under control when she was going to Signal, she didn't know she was going to need to be doing it here of all places. _Yet here I am..._

She pushed off the counter and made her way to the shower as she turned the water on as hot as she could make it, as she waited for the water to heat up she began to undress. She tried to make sense of why she was so angry, but that stupid because she knew exactly why she was angry she just didn't understand _why _it made her angry, aside from what happened to her and Ruby, Rodric had honestly been more...well behaved after that. She turned her head towards the door when she heard her sister laughing loudly, no doubt at something Rodric had no doubt told her, she never seemed to laugh that loudly at anything else. She didn't understand it, it wasn't like he was even that funny, she was way funnier than he was...but Ruby hadn't laughed that loudly since she was young. She shook her head and forced the thoughts away as she stepped into the shower hissing as the hot water stung her skin, after a few moments she could feel all her troubles washing away, her wound up muscles relaxing. She closed her eyes as the water cascaded over her, even under the running water she still couldn't relax, this had been going on for weeks now and she still couldn't let it go.

She ran her fingers through her hair as she looked at herself in the mirror, the shower had done little to actually calm her down, she smoothed out her skirt before sighing heavily and exiting the bathroom. "Well look at that...five minuets on the dot."

"Yes! I win!"

Yang frowned at the fact that they had actually bet on her, but she forced it away replacing it with her typical grin as she gave a hollow chuckle, "You two actually bet when I would get out of the shower?"

"Yup and I won!" She shook her head as she watched Ruby jump up and down excitedly, sometimes it was hard to actually imagine her as the leader of their team. She scoffed slightly before crossing her arms.

"Alright well what did you win exactly?"

* * *

Yang was literally shaking with rage as she glared holes into the back of Rodric, she couldn't believe that her sister, her baby sister had actually came up with a bet like this. Ruby was possibly the most timid person aside from Velvet at this school, she didn't exactly like being the center of attention in anything outside of combat, yet there she was, sitting on top of Rodric's shoulders as he carried her through the hallway towards their class. She hated it, plain and simple, she didn't like that this was happening, she didn't like how close the two of them were, she hated how much time they spent together...she just hated Rodric in general. Hated how he simply came into their lives and began to change things, it might not have been much to anyone looking in from the outside, but to her the changes were too great to not notice. "Aww, what?" Pulling her from her thoughts she turned to see Nora walking next to her, looking up at Ruby sitting on Rodric's shoulders, "How come she gets a piggy back ride, I want one..." She watched as Nora turned to Ren before sliding up to him and giving her best smile, "Ren do you think maybe I could-"

"No Nora."

"Aw."

Yang crossed her arms as they all entered Port's class, she really wasn't in the mood to listen to any of his annoying lectures this morning, hopefully if she was lucky she'd be able to just sleep through the class. She huffed as she took her seat and instantly laid her head down on her arms as she attempted to get a jump on sleeping, she turned her head hoping to find a better spot for her head. Instead when she turned her head she saw Rodric kneeling down to let Ruby off his back, when he stood she watched as he made exaggerated gestures to Ruby as if he hurt his back from carrying her. She frowned as she watched Ruby blush and begin to apologize to him, only for him to place his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to show that he was joking. She quickly turned her head away from the two of them, the frown still set on her face, she hated it. The way the two of them interacted, the little things he would do, the way he would look for an excuse to touch her, and just the way he made her laugh she didn't like it. Out of all the people at this school, why did she have to get close to the one person who wasn't even from this school, they didn't even know _where _he really came from. To make matters worse they didn't even know who he really was, she had her doubts from the very beginning that his name was really even Rodric, he could have been lying to them from the very beginning. "What's wrong?" Once again she was pulled from her thoughts as she looked up at Blake who was looking down at her with concern, she gave a soft sigh and shook her head.

"Nothing, just...didn't sleep well last night."

"Those two keep you up with their talking again?"

"...Kinda." She wanted to talk to someone about this, to just vent her concerns and anger over the things she was seeing, but she didn't know who to talk to. Blake had started to speak with Rodric more than she usually did, though it only seemed to be when she caught him reading some book that she had also read. If she did talk to Blake about this she felt that she would just tell her to talk to Rodric and to get to know him, when all she really wanted to do was just punch his face in. Weiss...Weiss didn't interact with Rodric unless she really had to, any other time she didn't want to hear about him, she had taken up just trying to ignore that he was there. Bringing anything up involving him probably would only end with her getting angry at the person who brought him up. There was no way she could talk about this with Ruby either, she would probably be the main one to defend him about every concern that she had, and try to make her see that he wasn't as bad as she thought he was. Team JNRP only interacted somewhat with Rodric, but even then they always seemed like they enjoyed his company, well at least Nora seemed to enjoy his company. Pyrrha and Jaune both spoke with Rodric on the occasion they were all together, he never really said much but would usually contribute to the conversation if it was something he could talk about. Ren...well Ren didn't really talk to anyone that often, the only time she saw the two of them speak was a few weeks back before Rodric sparred against Victoria.

Speaking of Victoria, everyone from Team RAVN seemed to like him, so there was no point in trying to talk to any of them about her concerns. Nyx was just like Ruby, she always had nothing but good things to say about Rodric, and would of course tell her to just get to know him. Victoria liked him simply because he sparred with her willingly, but maybe she could take her concerns to Rayvn and Avelyn. No, that wasn't going to work Rayvn and Victoria were practically a thing, she would take her side no matter what and Avelyn...well she would probably just see it as some sort of joke and not take it seriously. It started to frustrate her to realize just how everyone practically stood by Rodric in one way or another, there was no one that she could talk to about this, even the professors would tell her the same thing. To just get to know him and talk to him and blah, blah, blah. "They do talk a lot...it's actually kind of-"

"Don't."

Blake looked down at her curiously, "What's wrong?"

"You were going to say that you thought it was-"

"Funny, Yang, I thought it was kind of funny...what's going on?"

Yang frowned slightly before shaking her head, "Nothing, just tired." She turned her head and closed her eyes, she wanted to avoid talking about this because it would just end up making her seem like the bad person for hating Rodric for seemingly no apparent reason. Thankfully Professor Port came into the classroom and kept Blake from asking anymore question, no doubt though once the class came to an end she was going to try and figure out what was wrong with her. Until then though, she was going to take advantage of this and actually get some sleep, from the sound of it, it seemed the professor was going to go on another one of his long winded stories. Perfect.

* * *

She slowly opened her eyes when she felt she was being shaken, groaning slightly she looked up and saw that Blake was trying to wake her up. As she looked around the class she could see that it was beginning to empty, she had at least managed to sleep through one class, now if only she could somehow do that for the others. Sitting up straight she groaned again as she stretched her arms out, "Well that didn't help much." She rubbed her eyes before attempting to stand, she had to use the desks as support as her legs were completely numb after sleeping.

"Hey Yang?"

She looked over her shoulder to see Ruby following close behind her as she gave her a small smile, "What's up Rubes?" She frowned when Ruby turned to Rodric only for him to nod like he was reassuring her about something.

"Uh w-well..._Tá tú an _um_ d..de...dearcadh de torc fiáin._" Ruby gave her a bright smile as she could only stare back blankly at her.

"Uh...what?"

She gave a light giggle, "Rodric taught me that, it means 'you are radiant just like the sun', he said you seemed down and thought it would cheer you up." Yang looked up behind her to see Rodric fighting back a smirk as his shoulders began to shake as if he were fighting back laughter. She clenched her fists as she glared at him.

"That's not what it means..."

Ruby turned to look at him as well as he simply crossed his arms not bothering to hide the smirk on his face, "And just how would you know that Yang?"

"You're practically laughing at me!"

He sighed as he shook his head, "Please Yang, you always seem to think I'm doing something of ill will. I was merely laughing because I found it rather cute that Ruby attempted to speak my native tongue." He could only grin wider when Yang's frown deepened, he would have to admit that she was much smarter than she acted, though he wasn't going to tell her what it actually meant. "Can we please move on now, we're going to be late for our next class." She git her teeth as she glared at him, his face was practically begging to be punched, but she restrained herself, this wasn't the time or the place to do that. She spared a glance at Ruby who's face was practically glowing red from his comment, she huffed in annoyance before turning around and quickly walking down the aisle and out the door. Ruby looked back to Rodric who merely shrugged as he knelt down to continue with the bet from that morning.

_ Damn him,_ that was all she could think, she should have realized sooner that he was slowly corrupting her sister. Teaching her how to speak in his own language, why the hell did she need to know how to talk like him, it wasn't going to serve any purpose since it would only be the two of them who knew it. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that if he taught her to speak his language he would be able to sink his claws further into her, and it only angered her further because she didn't know how to stop it. If he was someone she knew out of school she would easily be able to limit their interactions, but seeing as he was here with her she couldn't keep them apart. The last few weeks after the match he had with Victoria, Ruby had practically been hanging off his arm, always by his side, always with him, always talking with him. She hated it because she could never get her away from him for long, because Ruby would either become impatient with her or Rodric would show up and her attention would then focus on him. She just didn't understand why she found him so damn fascinating, he was normal compared to everyone around them, sure he could breathe fire as his semblance but she was sure there were other people that could do that too. Was it because he fought without weapons, if that was the case Ren could do that too she had seen him do it once in a sparring match, and yet he was her center of attention. There had to be something he was hiding, something that only she knew about to keep her attention focused on him, but she didn't know what it was and she knew he sure wasn't going to tell her, even under threat of physical harm he wouldn't break she knew that.

This brought her full circle in her problem, because there was no one she could "send" to find out what was so interesting about him seeing as everyone was on his side one way or another. She was just the one stuck on the outside seeing all the strange stuff that was going on while those on the "inside" saw nothing wrong with the situation or chose to ignore it. She felt like one of those actors from those horror movies she loved, where she could only see the truth while everyone else was brainwashed into believing the lies and she had no way to show them the truth, because she simply didn't know what the truth was. She clenched her fists as she entered Professor Ooblecks class and tried to calm herself, she tried to relax and hoped that trying to keep up with the professors lesson would at least distract her enough to keep from thinking of those two.

Sadly, today of all days, Oobleck decided that instead of forcing his students to struggle and keep up with his insanely fast lessons, that they would "take it easy" and have a study period. He only talked for ten minuets informing them that he wanted them to study and not goof off, he had made a point to look in her direction when he said that, and that if he caught anyone goofing off they would have to stay after and study by themselves. After telling them some of the things they should go over with each other he returned to his desk and began to grade papers, after giving a heavy sigh she turned towards her partner and smiled a bit when she saw Blake with a bunch of the material already spread out on her desk. "Your always prepared for just about everything aren't you Blakey?"

Blake gave her partner a sidelong glance before sighing softly, "Well considering who my partner is I have to compensate for her lack of preparation." She gave a small smirk before turning towards Yang, "But I think I've gotten used to it at this point, wouldn't you say?"

Yang gave a false frown as she crossed her arms, "That was pretty cruel Blake," She whined in attempt to make it sound like she had actually been hurt by her words, "How could you say something like that about your own partner?"

"It's true isn't it," Her response was more of a statement that a question, she shuffled her papers around only to turn to see Yang still frowning as she rolled her eyes, "You've heard worse Yang."

"I have," She placed her hands over her heart still continuing to feign hurt, "but never have I heard such cruel words come from someone as quiet and seemingly gentle as you Blake...and that hurts the most." She gave a stifled whimper as she turned her head away.

"...I'm getting a new partner."

"Wait don't go!"

* * *

Yang sighed as she looked down at the notes Blake had given to her, despite her having perfect handwriting she still couldn't make heads or tails of what the notes were even talking about. She set down the pen that she had been twirling around and tried to focus on the words, but studying was so boring, instead she reached into her notebook and tore off a scrap of paper and began to fold it. She continued to fold it until it wouldn't anymore and then proceeded to fold it in half, the once flimsy piece of paper was now much thicker and a lot harder, if only she had a rubber band she could do some real damage with it. Sadly she didn't have one and she doubted that Blake would give her one for what she wanted to do, giving a soft huff she set her folded paper at the edge of the desk and figured she might as well use it, flicking it at someone would still probably hurt either way.

She looked at the people in the rows below her and wondered who should be the one to take the hit, and with a flick of her ponytail the ice princess volunteered herself. She smirked to herself as she lined up her shot, she was probably going to get an earful from her during lunch about acting childish and whatever, but it wasn't her fault she was bored. She closed one eye and inched the folded piece of paper back and forth trying to get it in the perfect position to nail the princess right in the back of the head, she kept moving though and it was difficult to get the right position for her attack. As she kept attempting to get the "sweet spot" in her aim, her eye caught sight of something further down, near the front of the classroom. As she focused she saw that it was her sister, and of course right next to her was the person she was beginning to despise more and more with each passing moment she had to see him, from what she could tell it seemed like Ruby was taking this whole studying period seriously, that in itself was strange as she usually found any excuse not to study. However from the looks of it, it seemed the only reason she was putting any effort into it was because she was doing it to help _him, _if it wasn't one thing it was another with him.

For someone who acted like he knew everything, he always seemed to need help in these classes, he even resorted to asking Weiss, the one person he just never seemed to get a long with, for help. To make matters worse she always agreed to help him, in the end she always said it was to help the team, because if he didn't know anything he was only hindering their progress or however she had said it. Either way it didn't matter, he should have found someone else to get help from, he didn't need to be dragging her grades down along with everything else he was doing. She just couldn't stand seeing them together, every time she saw them it just made her angry because she just couldn't fathom as to why her sister spent so much time with him, and she hated the thoughts that came into her mind when she knew they were together. Her own partner would keep her away from them forcing her to do homework while the two of them ventured off to who knows where doing who knows what, it didn't help that when the two of them were gone all kinds of thoughts and images came into her mind and further distracted her from her work. Just like now, she could see Ruby laughing about something he had either said, or told her but at least this time she was being quiet about it, still she didn't like it.

In her seething rage she lost focus and ended up flicking the folded paper that she had spent time in aiming, and instead of hitting Weiss like she had intended to it sailed right past her and continued on right to Ruby. She cringed slightly knowing that she was probably going to be upset that she had done that but she could at least say it was an accident, though as it was about to hit her Rodric's hand shot out and caught the piece of paper with Ruby none the wiser. Though he turned in her direction no doubt looking for the culprit responsible, it was then she caught a glimpse of his face and the look he had sent a chill down her spine and made her heart race. His eyes were cold and hard, with a look of murderous intent hidden behind them, much like he had the day they had first found him. She could see so much seething hate and anger hidden behind his eyes as he looked for the culprit that had launched the paper at Ruby, and when his eyes fell on her she felt all that rage and anger focus directly on her. It caused her body to go rigid as her heart began to beat even faster just knowing that he was glaring at her like that, her hands began to shake as his eyes continued to bore into her.

"Yang?" She jumped at the voice that had called to her and turned to see Blake looking at her with a frown set on her face.

"I-I w-what?"

"I asked if you were paying attention but I guess that kind of answers my question." Yang looked to Blake before slowly returning her gaze to Rodric, the murderous look that he had on his face was gone, but was replaced with a disapproving frown. He looked at her for a moment longer before turning around and returning to studying with Ruby, with her having no idea at what had just happened. She let out a shaky breath before turning back to Blake.

"S-Sorry I kinda spaced out there."

"I know you did, please try to pay attention this is all going to be on the test, and I would appreciate it if you didn't just barely pass again." She gave a small nod and tried to focus on the things Blake was explaining to her, and this time she really tried if only to forget what had just occurred. It was hard though, those few agonizing seconds of him glaring at her as if he intended to rip her apart were burned into her mind, she wasn't going to forget that look any time soon. Even as the class went on and she tried to engage herself more into studying, much to Blake's amusement, she did have to constantly check to make sure that he wasn't looking at her, she just couldn't shake the feeling that he was looking at her.

After an agonizingly long amount of time, the bell signaling the end of class finally sounded leaving Yang to flop forward onto her desk groaning in despair at still having so much that was needed to be done. "Well had you started from the very beginning you would be done by now." She turned to look at Blake as she frowned, "Well it's true."

Yang groaned as she slowly pushed herself to her feet before yawning loudly, loud enough to draw the attention of several of the passing students, "Ah, well there's plenty of time till the test, no point in worrying about it right now right?" Blake gave a heavy sigh as she shook her head and walked out of the aisle and up the stairs leading out of the class room, she could never understand how Yang's mind worked, she would have assumed her of all people would have rather finished her work now that way she could goof off. Yet it didn't seem like that was the case with her, she always had to do things the hard way, whether it was in combat or in class she always chose the most difficult path. She was pulled from her thoughts when she felt an arm plop onto her shoulder, "Whatcha thinking about kitty cat?"

Again Blake gave a weary sigh, "Just thinking about what a difficult partner I ended up with." She looked to Yang before smiling and nudging her in the side, "Come on, I'm starting to get hungry." The two of them ended up walking all the way to the dinning room with Yang still hanging off her shoulder, chatting away about something or other, sadly Blake couldn't really concentrate on what she was saying as there were other things going through her mind. As much as she tried not to focus on what had happened almost a month ago, with Rodric's arrival it had been easy to forget, but now that things were going back to how they used to be the thoughts had returned. The time was coming closer for the four of them to make their move and find out just what Roman and the White Fang were up too, it would have been done a lot sooner but with Rodric showing up things had been a little difficult. She had no doubt he would have followed them, since he had been sticking to their young leaders side almost all the time as of late, and while he was an excellent fighter she didn't want to get him involved. They already had two extra tagalongs, she didn't need to drag anymore people in on their plan, not that she had actually asked Neptune and Sun to join them since they actually volunteered more than anything.

Just a few more days until the weekend and they would finally act out their plan and she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, as they approached the dinning hall she felt her shoulder being squeezed. She looked to Yang who now had a more serious look on her face, "Hey, don't worry, we'll be okay. Okay?" As much as she teased her partner about being lazy they all knew they could count on Yang when the need arose, she was Ruby's big sister, but in a way she was a big sister to all of them. Always looking out for them and making sure that they were okay, she always thought of them first and of herself last, she always had a smile on her face and always tried to cheer them up. She couldn't fight back the smile that crossed her face as she gave a small smile back at her, "Great, when the time comes were going to kick their butts, right?"

Blake shook her head as she gave a light chuckle, despite how serious of a situation was she always found a way to make a joke about it, never minding just how terrible her puns were they still put a smile on her face. That's what made Yang so...Yang, "Right."

As the two of them entered the dinning room the serious air lingering from their rather serious discussion quickly faded back into the carefree air that seemed to surround Yang. They took their seats at their normal table and continued to talk, rather Yang continued to talk while Blake opened her book and only half listened to whatever it was that Yang was talking about. Soon enough though the others had come to join them and the loud room seemed to become even louder as the conversation at their table seemed to grown even louder and more animated as more of their friends showed up. She couldn't concentrate on her book anymore but Blake wasn't one to really join in on such a rowdy conversation so she pretended to keep reading and simply enjoyed the rumble of mixed voices and laughter, she couldn't believe she had almost given this up when she had ran off all those months ago. When she looked up she saw the last two members of their table enter the dinning hall and all she could thing was, _Uh oh, Yang isn't going to like that._

Blake didn't honestly know why Yang had such a problem with Rodric and Ruby hanging out as much as they did, in her opinion it was good for their young leader to have a friend like Rodric. Sure he was...strange, and older than her but she seemed to open up a lot more lately since the two of them started to hang out, and honestly that was a good change from their once shy and socially awkward leader. As the two of them approached she noticed right away that their loud table had gotten much quieter seeing as the loudest one talking was Yang, and she stopped talking to eye the two of them as they grabbed their food and walked over to their table. She was never good at hiding how she was feeling, especially if it was anger, just glancing at her out of the corner of her eye, she could see just how hard she was glaring at the two of them. It surprised her that Yang had never brought this up, usually she told her everything...despite sometimes really not wanting to hear about it, so for her to keep it to herself was strange.

She gave a soft sigh as Yang began to harass the two of them as they took their seats, while it might have seem to have been in good fun with the way she was teasing them, Blake couldn't help but notice the bite that the words held. The way she grit out some of the words, and how forced her laugh seemed when she would laugh at Ruby's reactions to her teasing, it was then she began to grow concerned about her strange attitude. Yang was never one to not speak her mind, the many times she wished she would had proved that, perhaps this was a different situation seeing as it was her sister that her anger seemed to be focused on. She shook her head, no it wasn't her sister that her she was angry at, it was the person currently sitting beside her that had yet to have any sort of reaction to Yang's teasing, Rodric. Then that was the whole point, she was angry at Rodric for spending time with her sister, but she hadn't said anything because...because it was her sister? Or was it because she didn't want to seem like the overly protective sister? She looked to Yang trying to figure it out by the look on her face and the pitch in her voice but...but it was always so hard to tell what was on Yang's mind when she wouldn't speak it. Since she hadn't brought it up either meant that she didn't want to bother anyone else about it, which meant she wanted to figure it out on her own...which meant she was going to be a bit bi-polar until she figured it out herself.

Luckily it seemed Yang was able to keep her teasing fairly tame otherwise it would have been a rather awkward lunch period, but despite the constant barrage of teasing remarks Yang seemed...angrier. Despite all the flustered reactions she had squeezed from Ruby until she feared their leaders face would never lose it's seemingly permanent blush, it seemed those weren't what she was after. The whole time she had sat and watched the events unfold she realized that either Rodric didn't understand half the things that Yang was insinuating, or he was simply unfazed by them, he would simply answer her in a serious tone when hers was "joking." Either that or he would simply look at her confused before shrugging off her comments, it seemed Yang's whole mission to fluster or upset Rodric was a bust, and all she had managed to do was embarrass her sister. By the time lunch had ended Yang seemed to be in good spirits, at least to everyone else she seemed to be in good spirits, but to her Blake she knew that was far from the truth. As her partner she spent most of her time with the, sometimes obnoxious blonde, and right now she could tell Yang was a walking time bomb that was primed to explode if someone so much as looked at her the wrong way. Sadly that made thing much more complicated seeing as their next class was Combat class, she was going to have to give a silent prayer to whoever was unlucky enough to step into the ring with Yang.

* * *

Normally this was the only time she was able to focus, normally she would be sitting completely fascinated, normally she would be taking in every detail of the students fighting below them...but this wasn't normally. After her many failed attempts at getting any sort of rise from Rodric, the ire that had slowly be fading as she had bombarded him with remark after remark had returned in full force. It was just another thing to add to the mountain of reasons for her to hate him, he was either a complete idiot or was as thick as an Ursa's hide to not understand half the things she told him, it wasn't fair how she couldn't get him angry when he was able to anger her almost in an instant. Yes she still remembered that day in the infirmary those few weeks ago when he mocked her combat prowess so easily, she had never gotten the chance to make him eat those words, but he wouldn't be getting away this time.

She was ripped from her thoughts when a rather large explosion echoed through the large room they sat in, far below the stands the area where the matches occurred was filled with a thick black smoke. Despite the amount slowly filling the room, it all quickly disappeared revealing three people down below; Professor Goodwitch with her weapon extended having dispersed the smoke, Nora with her weapon hefted over her shoulder sporting a large grin that wasn't uncommon with her, and another student on their knees breathing heavily after their long match. "With that rather..." The professor looked down to Nora who merely grinned back at her leaving her to sigh heavily, "...interesting display, the winner of the match is Miss Valkyrie." Her face appeared on the large monitors hanging from the wall behind her leaving the rest of the students to cheer for her as the other student slowly pulled themselves to their feet and retreated back to the locker room. "Perhaps next time Miss Valkyrie you could show a little...restraint." She motioned with her hand to the large cracks and holes littering the area, she looked back to see Nora merely tilting her head up at her.

"Why?"

She was slightly taken aback by the remark when she remembered who she was talking to, giving a heavy sigh she simply shook her head, "Never mind." She watched as the young girl all too happily skipped off into the locker room before she turned to address the rest of her students, "Now, despite that display I hope you are all still eager to participate today, saying that who wishes to go-" She was cut off when a hand quickly shot into the air, she took a deep breath before sighing heavily once again, "Miss Xiao Long...why am I not surprised by that..." She wasn't even sure why she had bothered asking, every class period it seemed Miss Xiao Long was eager to challenge someone, though she would admit that she had been acting somewhat strange lately. She was no stranger to her fighting style, that being said Miss Xiao Long was always one to...toy with her opponent, always making jokes and just being laid back no matter who it was she was going against. Lately though she hardly said anything when she had her match, she always went all out, giving it all she had and sometimes over exerting herself in the process. Once the match was over she would always glance up to the stands as if she was looking for...something, she never found it though it seemed seeing as she would get very angry before walking off to the locker room. It seemed today would be no different, "Very well...let's see your opponent shall be-"

"Actually professor I want to fight Rodric." The room fell silent with her declaration before becoming abuzz with the rumble of loud whispers of people talking around them. It was no surprise though seeing as word about Rodric's combat abilities had spread like wildfire among the students thanks to a certain girl in red. Yang looked down with a smirk on her face hoping to see Rodric at least a little shaken up to finally be going against her, but much to her annoyance he didn't seemed bothered by her declaration at all. She clenched her fists as Professor Goodwitch spoke up.

"While I am certain you are eager to challenge Mr. O'Connell, Miss Xiao Long, I am afraid you will have to choose someone else." There was a chorus of groans and shouts of protest, though as she glared up at the stands all the voices quickly died down, "I am sure you are very much aware that Mr. O'Connell does not yet have a weapon of his own, I can't very well allow him to-"

"Allow me?" All eyes fell on Rodric who was no standing looking down at the Professor below him, "You can't _allow_ me? I don't believe that choice is yours to make Professor, I have been challenged and I will not be _allowed_ to accept it? I apologize Professor but you are sorely mistaken if you think I will not participate in this match." There was a low rumble of hushed whispers flowing through the room, no doubt talking about the way he talked to the Professor, he had no doubt that doing such a thing was reprehensible, but he would not allow her to treat him as if he were a child by choosing what he was and wasn't allowed to do. From the look on her face she seemed just as stunned as everyone else was at the way he spoke to her.

To say that she was merely stunned would have been an understatement, never had one of her students spoken back to her in such a way, sure some of them might have muttered under their breath when they were upset. She shook herself from the shock before looking to him with her normal glare that would normally silence any students objection, but she was surprised when he seemed to match her glare with his own. "I am sorry Mr. O'Connell I understand you feel that you are up to the task and trust you own abilities but I simply cannot-"

"Professor," He moved to the steps and walked down to the railing that was lower down in the stands from where he was, as he reached them he leaned against them and looked down at her. "You know as well as I do that I have no need for weapons..."

She frowned as she looked at him, she knew he was right, considering she still had the day of his test burned into her mind. She knew full well that he could probably handle any of the students currently in the class, he had a will of steel and a body that seemed to match that. She could still hardly believe that he managed to recover in almost no time with the injuries he had received during the test, some of them had been serious enough that it required the staff to perform surgery on him. Yet, he stood before her asking...no _demanding_ that he be allowed to accept the challenge that had been thrust upon him. "Mr. O'Connell I..." She looked up to him and saw the cold look in his eye, the way he held himself showed that he was not going to back down from this, she shook her head and gave a heavy sigh. "Very well." The room exploded into cheers once they heard that the match was indeed going to occur, she simply shook her head and waved her hand to at least repair some of the damage from the last match, _He better not get hurt like that again..._

With a smirk on his face he turned to look back at Yang only to find her gone, no doubt she had left the moment that Goodwitch had relented. Sighing softly he walked back up the stairs as it was the only way he could go to get to the locker rooms, but instead of doing so he stopped by the others and looked over to them. He didn't expect much from them though was surprised when both Blake and Weiss wished him good luck, though it seemed Weiss was less than thrilled to say it. He ignored her though and simply thanked them, he turned to Ruby who seemed to be the most nervous about the match, though before she could bombard him with her concerns he spoke up first, "So...just what should I look out for when going against Yang?"

* * *

Yang stood at the entrance of the locker room, from there she could see Professor Goodwitch tapping away at something on her Scroll, she always did wonder what- she shook her head, no she shouldn't be thinking about that. She let out a slow breath as she bounced on her feet as she tried to calm her nerves by shaking out her hands and shaking each foot, she didn't understand why she was so nervous all of sudden. This was what she had been looking forward to since that day, because now all his talk would show that, that's all it was...nothing but talk. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were trembling, she clenched her fists to keep them still, _Why can't I stop shaking then? _Whatever the reason was it wasn't important at this point, she had only one goal that she needed to focus on, and that was kicking Rodric's butt.

Giving a final check over her weapons she made sure they were fully loaded and she had spare rounds in the event that she ran out, with a final _final_ check she gave a small nod before turning back towards the entrance. Letting out a slow breath she shook her head in an attempt to shake away any lingering nerves, once she steeled herself she took her first few steps beyond the entrance of the lockers, once she did she was met with what she usually heard upon exiting. It was in that moment that the cheers from the other students reached her ears, all the nerves that had been building up simply melted away as her signature smirk played across her lips. She turned around walking back towards the center as she waved up to the students that cheered for her, as she looked at them all she wondered why she was ever nervous in the first place, this was her domain, this is where she ruled and every one of them knew it. She thrust her fist into the air earning an even louder chorus of cheers, she couldn't help but let her grin grow wider, this was her stage and all she had to focus on was putting on a good show. As she reached the center she turned and faced the professor whose face remained as stoic as it usually was, she only glanced up at her before returning her eyes down to her scroll.

She would have joked that she looked so excited had the shouts of excitement not grown in volume, and she knew why they would have done that. She turned towards the locker and watched as Rodric slowly strode from the darkness, and like usual he wore no type of combat gear but simply kept on the clothes he had. Aside from the jacket and tie he stuck to wearing his uniform, although she could see that he was rolling the sleeves back as he glanced up at her with a cocky grin on his face. Her own grin faded when she saw that he didn't even seem unnerved at the least, he didn't even seem nervous about fighting her like this, she clenched her fists before forcing a smile back to her face, "Geeze took you long enough, I thought you backed out on me for a second."

Rodric smirked as finished rolling his sleeves up, "Why would I do that? It's just you after all." He rolled his shoulders to make sure that his movements weren't restricted in the least.

_Just me? _"Tch, just me huh? Usually that fact alone would leave people shaking."

"I don't see why..."

Yang clenched her teeth at the way he was talking to her, acting like he wasn't scared, like he wasn't nervous about the match, how long did he plan on keeping up this act? She attempted to say something but was silenced when Professor Goodwitch stepped between them, "That's enough bickering you two, save that energy for your match." Yang crossed her arms and looked away and Rodric simply rolled his eyes and waited for the match to begin, Professor Goodwitch huffed slightly as she shook her head. She turned back towards the bleachers above them, "The match between Yang Xiao Long and Rodric O'Connell will begin, the rules are the same as always, the first one to have their aura reach the red or is unable to continue will have lost." There was an explosion of cheers coming from the students that grated on her ears as she winced slightly, at the same time she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye and turned her head slightly to see Rodric walking back towards the locker room, she began to say something only for him to turn back towards them. It was then she noticed that he was putting some distance between himself and Yang, _smart boy, _"Now are you two ready?" She looked towards Miss Xiao long who had a large grin on her face who simply nodded, she turned towards Rodric who, surprisingly had a blank face.

"Of course."

That was all he said, she nodded and took a few steps back and glanced at the both of them, and as she did she noticed that Miss Xiao Long was clenching her hands so tightly that they were shaking, she would have said something but from the long on her face it seemed she wouldn't have given her an answer. She raised her hand and gave them both one final look, before bringing her hand down, "Begin!"

Yang's muscles went rigid the moment those words were uttered, she fully expected to be rushed by Rodric to feel his fists colliding with her body, except... "What are you doing?" Rodric never moved, he didn't even lose his relaxed demeanor, he simply stood where he had been earlier and simply shrugged.

"Waiting." At the confused look on her face he chuckled slightly, "You didn't honestly think I would truly be stupid enough to make the first move without knowing anything about your abilities?"

"Honestly? Yeah, I kinda did." She smirked hoping that she had gotten under his skin, but one quick look at his face told her that, like always, her words had no affect on him.

He scoffed, "Of course _you _would think that." A smirk crossed his face when he could see the anger flash across Yang's face before she hid it beneath her normal cheery demeanor, _so easy. _

"Tch, whatever." She clenched her fists and wondered what she should do, she couldn't just stand here for the whole time, she had to do something, but what could she do? He already admitted that he was waiting for her to make the first move, but was that really the smart thing to do since he was waiting for it? Or should she simply try to outlast him, surely he would get tired of waiting and launch his own attack, wouldn't he? A frown slowly settled on her face as she tried to figure out just what was going on in his mind, but with that annoying grin set on his lips she couldn't think of anything except punching his face in. Though she was eventually pulled from her thoughts by the loud cheering of her sister, she couldn't help but grin at that, "Hey don't worry I got-"

"You can do it Rodric!"

She was...stunned, no angry, heartbroken? She was feeling so many things in that moment she couldn't think of a single emotion to describe what she was feeling, it felt like...like she was feeling everything all at once. She couldn't believe that her own sister was cheering _against _her, and for what, some guy that had stolen all of her attention in the past month. She clenched her teeth as she watched him simply wave his hand to acknowledge her, before she knew it she was already halfway towards him, she didn't even realize that she had started running but it didn't matter this is what he wanted after all. As she drew closer she pulled back her right arm, just as he turned to face her she threw her fist out fully expecting it to collide with his body as he had been caught off guard. It did, in a sense, her fist collided with his with enough force that it pushed her back slightly leaving her to stumble back as she shook her hand out, he did the same flexing his fingers as he smirked in her direction, "Oh, that almost hurt." She growled slightly and ran towards him once again throwing her left arm out with as much strength as she could put behind it only for him to copy her once again with their fist colliding together, though with much more force than the first time. The second strike was strong enough to create a small tremor below them leaving small cracks in the ground, Yang grit her teeth as she pushed against his fist only for him to do the same, at this rate nothing was going to happen. Letting out a breath she dropped her arm letting him stumble forward as she ducked underneath his approaching fist and getting inside his guard, she pushed herself up and threw her first up, this time having it strike his jaw. The force of her punch mixed with the added force of the weapon going off sent him flying back, much to her amusement, as she watched him land on his back she pulled her arm back loading another round.

_Smart, _He hadn't expected her to risk an attack by trying to get inside of his defense like she did, it surprised him that she didn't fight like he had expected her to, she was smart about it. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet rubbing at his jaw as he looked at her, there was something different about her, she didn't seem like her normal laid back self, there was a certain...look in her eyes. This wasn't the place to figure out just what was wrong with her though, seeing as she was already on the move going for her next strike. Within moments she was already in attack range, he leaned back as she went for another wide right hook, and was forced to jump back as she tried to punch him in his stomach. He continued to back away and avoid all her strikes, from what he could tell, they were much more vicious than they were when she had been fighting some of the other students, could she had really been waiting to unleash this on him. In his musing he didn't notice that she had once again closed the distance, she was much to close for him to avoid and instead braced himself as her fist collided with his chest, he was thrown back when her weapon let loose another round from her weapon though he managed to keep himself upright for the most part.

She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him clenching his chest, she couldn't believe that she had been so nervous to fight him when this was all he could do. _Man was I stupid, _She threw her arm back loading the next round into her weapon as a large grin plastered itself across her face. "I can't believe it..." She began, she looked him over before chuckling once again as she relaxed her stance and flipped her hair over her shoulder, "So is this all you have or are you just afraid to hit-" The words never finished leaving her lips as pain began to radiate though her cheek, _Man am I stupid, _she stumbled back only to feel pain explode though her stomach and then once again through her cheek before she stumbled back and falling on the ground. She coughed roughly trying to pull back some of the air that had been knocked from her lungs, groaning slightly she looked up to see Rodric looking down at her and frowned before jumping back to her feet. _Damn that hurts, _she winced slightly as her cheek and stomach began to throb painfully, it was her own fault for letting her guard down to mock him, talk about divine punishment. Shaking her head she turned her glare back to Rodric, "So, finally decided to give it your all?"

He let out a low chuckle as he closed his eyes and popped his neck, when he looked back towards her his ice blue eyes had become much brighter and colder as well as his pupils turning to slits. "You are sorely mistaken if you think that was my all." He gave her a toothy grin as she instinctively raised her arms either to block an attack or to give one of her own, "Let's push the limits shall we?" He rushed towards her causing her to take a step back trying to put space between them but he kept moving before throwing his right arm out, only for her to block it, as she did he threw his left arm out only for her to block that as well. _Very well, _he pushed himself closer to her until he was nearly on top of her and quickly brought his leg up and kneed her in the stomach, as she stumbled back he quickly threw out his right arm again only just managing to miss as she ducked under his arm and got inside his defenses once again. This time she threw out both her fists into his chest as each one went off throwing him back and across the ground as she threw her fists towards the ground letting the force of the shots carry her back and further away from him. She placed a hand on her stomach wincing slightly from the assault that it was taking, first his fist then his knee, shaking her head she looked towards him as he began to stand up once again.

"Heh, not going all at still it seems, where's your freaky semblance?"

He looked at her curiously before a large grin crept over his face revealing the row of sharp teeth behind his lips, "Do you wish for me to use it?"

_Me and my big mouth, _she quickly pulled her arms back opening her weapon up as she ejected the unused shells and quickly reached into the small pouch at her side and pulled out two small belts containing different types of shells. These had red tips and would prove to at least be more useful than the concussive shells she had been using prior, locking them into both her weapons she threw her fists forward as her weapons closed and loaded a shell into each chamber. She looked up just as a stream of flames rushed towards her, gasping in surprise she threw her arm to the side the shell going off and propelling her away from the flames as they rushed past her. She sighed heavily and turned back towards Rodric who was just smirking at her, she frowned and threw her fist out launching one of her explosive rounds at him, he seemed surprised at the projectiles coming towards him, but he simply moved out of the way of them leaving them to continue their path and explode into the wall behind him. She refused to show how surprised she was that he actually managed to dodge those rounds, granted they weren't the most fast moving of projectiles but they weren't very slow either, still someone like him should have had trouble dodging those rounds. She shook her head, this wasn't the place to think about such things, she looked back up to see Rodric taking a deep breath and decided now was the perfect time to strike.

She quickly pulled her arms back loading another round into her weapon before quickly throwing out both her arms launching two more explosive rounds towards him. Though they didn't even make it halfway before he let loose enough stream of flames, his fire engulfed her rounds setting them off in a loud explosion filling the area with a thick black smoke, it quickly rushed towards her as she crossed her arms as the air rushed around her nearly knocking her off her feet. As she took a breath she sucked in the thick smoke and began to cough violently as she covered her mouth with her scarf as she tried to fan away the thick smoke, though there was to much to simply fan away. She firmly pressed her scarf against her mouth and nose as she took small breaths, it wasn't much help but it was better than choking on smoke, she tried to look around but all she could see was the thick smoke around her. It didn't help that it stung at her eyes making them water and forcing her to close them every few seconds so she could rub at them, _Dammit where is he, _she spun in a circle looking for him but she couldn't see anything through the darkness. Tentatively she took a small step forward using her foot to make sure there was no obstruction, as she did she continued on continually keeping an eye out to make sure that he wouldn't- Her thoughts were cut short when a hand shot out from the smoke aimed right for her face, _how? _His hand obstructed her vision, at the same time she felt herself lose balance and begin to fall backwards, as she felt herself falling back she soon saw his head break through the smoke a large smirk on his face.

She fell back until he slammed her head into the ground with such a force that it made her vision go black for a split second, the force was enough to blow away the smoke giving her a clear look up at Rodric who continued to grin down at her, "Ready to give in?" She grit her teeth and reached up grabbing a hold of his shirt before lifting her legs and kicking them out into his stomach as she pulled on his shirt flipping him off of her and somewhere past him. She quickly jumped to her feet and turned to where he landed and quickly threw her first out launching round after round at him, each one colliding with his body or the ground creating a small explosion. She pulled her arms back loading another round into each chamber as she watched the smoke slowly fading from where he had landed, she cursed under her breath as she saw the silhouette of him standing just inside of the fading smoke. "If you intended to end it in a single blow..." He looked up towards her eyes seemingly shining through the smoke causing her to step back slightly, "you should have tried harder!" He began to run towards her, but with the distance Yang knew she had the advantage, she begin to throw her fists out firing off her explosive rounds, she watched as the tore through the air before striking him and exploding against him. Yet he continued to run towards her completely unfazed by the explosives, she clenched her teeth and unleashed another barrage of rounds on him, each one striking at either his chest or arms and yet he seemingly felt none of them.

_What is up with him? _She continued to fire off her weapon hoping that one of the rounds would slow him down or trip him up, but each explosion he just brushed off and closed the distance, before she could load another round she had to jump back as he swung out at her. As she stumbled back she tried again to load the round only for him to close in on her and start swinging at him, she was forced to duck and dodge his strikes giving her no time to ready her weapons. As he threw out another wide punch she ducked underneath it before releasing a flurry of punches into his chest stepping forward with each strike slowly pushing him back, that was until he caught and knocked away her hand and punching her in her cheek again. She stumbled back and threw a wild punch only to feel her hand being grabbed by his, she tried to pull away from him but he kept a painfully tight grip on her fist. She grit her teeth and threw another punch with her fee hand only for him to catch and hold onto it as well, she tried to pull her hands free but as she struggled against him he tightened his hold on her hands. She looked up at him throwing a glare his way only for it to falter as she noticed that he was opening his mouth flames beginning to lick at his lips as her eyes widened in shock, on instinct she pulled her arms towards her body to protect herself only for Rodric to get pulled towards her, both of their heads knocking together. It however caused Rodric to release her hands as he stumbled back slightly gripping his head as Yang did the same rubbing the sore on her forehead, _Damn he has a hard head...wait,_ realizing that she was free she ran towards Rodric and slammed her fist into the side of his head knocking him to the ground as she stood breathing heavily. She couldn't believe he was actually going to fry her like that, then again she wasn't exactly holding back, she shouldn't be shocked that he wasn't either.

Groaning Rodric slowly pulled himself to his feet his eyes instantly locking onto Yang as a feral growl ripped through his throat, "That was a pretty dirty move." He took a slow breath before quickly moving over towards her throwing his fist out, only for her to grab it and quickly move behind him forcing his arm to bend at an awkward angle as he groaned out in pain. He grit his teeth as he tried to move around to free his arm, but she kept a tight hold on it pressing it firmly against his back, each move he made she matched effectively keeping his arm pinned against him. "Unhand me!" He growled out as he looked over his shoulder and reached back with his free arm attempting to grab her, but being unable to see where she was proved that task difficult. He growled out again quickly taking steps backwards hoping to knock her off balance and free himself, but she managed to keep herself as well as him upright with his arm still firmly bent along his back.

A smirk grew across Yang's face as she watched as Rodric struggled to free himself, she ducked down when his free arm reached back attempting to grab at her, and pressed his arm firmly into his back when he tried to pull it free. _This is fun,_ watching someone so over confident as him struggling to free himself from her grip was downright hilarious, she tightened her grip on his wrist and pulled harder on his arm bending it further as she smiled listening to him groan in pain. "Oh man, if you can't get out of this you might as well give it up." He stopped for a moment making her a bit curious at his intention but only when he began to struggle even more she let out a loud laugh as she bent his arm further, "Come on, no point in dragging this out, I win. Just give up." She ducked down once again when he attempted to grab her with his other hand as she further bent his trapped arm to keep from doing it again, though she soon realized that doing so only served to make him struggle more against her. "Seriously, you keep this up your going to get hurt, just call it quits." It seemed her words only served to egg him on as he continued trying to grab her with his free arm only for her to duck down and bend his arm further, by now though his arm was bent at a rather odd angle and she was hesitant to push any further despite it being someone she didn't quiet like. She could only imagine the pain he was feeling from his arm yet he didn't give up, he continued to struggle and push against her forcing her to bend his arm further, every inch she pushed it only served to make her cringe, "C-Come on just give up already!"

Why, why was he putting himself through this pain just to keep from surrendering to her, was he really that much of a sore loser that he'd rather go through pain to keep from giving up. She had cast a look back towards Goodwitch but she didn't look like she was ready to call the match which put her in a difficult situation; she could either let him go and risk losing, or...break his arm just to win. Neither option suited her because this was Rodric, the one person who continually tormented her there was no way she was going to let him go because there was no way she was going to lose to him, but she wasn't determined enough to break the poor guys arm to simply win a sparring match. What would that make her, the girl that wanted to win so badly that she broke someone's arm rather than risk a loss, she was pulled from her thoughts when he started struggling against her, his free arm was reaching further back than before as she cringed as she bent his arm further. "A-Alright Rodric just give up already, your going to get hurt if you keep going." Again he ignored her words and reached back for her only for her to lean away from his hand and forcing her to twist his arm further, _there's no way he isn't feeling this, _"J-Just give up already, no one is going to think any differently of you." She was beginning to feel sick as she looked down at his arm, yet he continued to reach for her, her own resolve was beginning to waver as she looked at the odd angel his arm was bent at, "J-Just stop already! You keep this up and your arm is-" She was cut off when she heard the sickening snap and the arm she held onto jerk slightly, though her shock and disgust quickly faded when she felt his hand grip tightly into her hair before a sharp pain shot through her head.

Rodric ignored the pain flooding through his arm and now through his head as he kept a tight grip on Yang's hair, he knew he was taking a very big risk in doing something like this, he wasn't sure what was going to happen but even Ruby had seemed a little scared when she had told him this. _"Whatever you do, don't mess with her hair." _Well drastic times called for drastic measures as they say, he tightened his hold on her golden locks and pulled her head forward as he threw his back slamming his head into hers. The waves of pain that washed over him quickly dulled away the pain that was now going through his arm, he continued to throw his head back into her's until his arm was eventually released and she managed to pull away from his grip. He hissed out in pain as his arm dropped to his side, it was broken that was certain, but as he flexed the fingers in his broken arm he found that he could still use it, though it possibly wouldn't be that effective. A smirk on his face he turned to Yang and saw her breathing heavily with blood running down her face as she grit her teeth still glaring at him, though as she did so he noticed that her hair had become brighter almost as it if it were glowing. He watched as she stood up straight and her hair began to glow brighter as small tendrils of smoke began to rise from it, _What in the world? _He looked down at the hand that had been gripping her hair and noticed a few stray strands that he had ripped out during his assault, _was this what she had warned me about? _

His head shot up just as she slammed her weapons together, the action causing her hair to burst into flames, his mouth fell open slightly in surprise as she slowly raised her head revealing blood red irises that had replaced her normally lilac colored ones. "You...You messed up big time now." Her voice was much lower than her normal carefree one, in fact she seemed like a completely different person as she glared at him, she slammed her weapons together once again and the flames seemed to flow around her body licking at skin and cloth yet it didn't seem to harm her. She let out an almost feral cry that honestly started Rodric before she rushed towards him, though she was much faster than before, she quickly closed the distance between them and began her assault. She threw out punch after punch forcing him to dodge them, but even as he did he could still feel the force of the punch despite not actually hitting him, with each strike and each dodge he felt his stamina slowly whittling away. As he stumbled back he watched as she readied another blow and he raised both arms in an attempt to block her strike, instead of feeling her fist collide with his arm, he was throw back across the ground when her leg stuck his stomach. He coughed roughly as he looked up to see her running towards him again, quickly pulling himself up he let his instinct take over as he was at a loss of what to do, as she threw out her fist for a right hook he threw out his left arm and caught her fist. The force alone of her fist colliding with his head created a deafening shockwave creating small fissures in the ground below them, he looked up to see her glaring at him and instead of relenting she instead pulled back her left arm before throwing it out at him.

Her fist collided with him creating another large shockwave that rocked the both of them and deepening the cracks that had already formed below them from the first punch. She grit her teeth and looked up at him and was surprised and shocked to see that he had caught her punch with his broken arm, "W-What...b-but your arm is-"

"Broken...but not useless." Gritting his teeth he kept a tight hold onto her fists and began to overpower her once again as he slowly pushed her hands back even as she struggled and fought back against his strength, her own strength had begun to wane. "Looks like victory is mine." Yang grit her teeth as he knee's began to buckle underneath her as he pressed forward forcing her to kneel in front of him, she struggled against him gritting her teeth as she tried to call up any remaining strength to help her, "Look at you, I have a broken arm and still bring you to your knees how pathetic. Second best, just as I had said."

Yang looked up at him and shook her head she pushed her body harder using the remains of her aura to the fullest, she opened her hands and wrapped her hands around his wrists and twisted her body around, his arms crossed over her shoulder as she used her strength to flip him over and into the ground. As his body crashed into the ground she slammed her fists into his chest, again, and again she assaulted him giving him no room to retaliate, all her anger and hate towards him finally having a chance to be unleashed and she didn't hold back. Each time her fist connected with his body she felt just a sliver of the anger fading away, so she continued to attack him hitting harder and harder as she did not even noticing the voices around her. She pulled her arms back loading the final rounds into her weapon before slamming both her fists into his chest, the explosions larger than the previous, possible fueled by her own anger? She wasn't sure but knowing he surely felt the pain only made her feel that much happier that she could finally unleash it on him, she pulled her arm back to strike him once again only to feel herself being thrown back across the floor and away from Rodric. "I said that is enough Miss Xiao Long!"

She looked up to see Goodwitch standing between the two of them, she shook her head and blinked several times before quickly sitting up and looking towards Rodric. His shirt had been scorched, possibly from her semblance, he was bruised badly and some of his body was covered in burn marks no doubt from her explosive rounds. She looked up towards Goodwitch who was glaring down at her making her feel rather small as she quickly averted her eyes, "Huh, the winner is Miss Xiao Long, will someone please help Mr. O'Connell to the-"

"I am quiet capable of helping myself Professor." They both looked towards Rodric as he slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, he rolled his shoulders and flexed his hands before slowly moving to stand. He groaned slightly and shook his head, aside from his clothes he looked perfectly fine, he rubbed his head as he let out a low sigh, "I suppose I can't talk you out of sending me to the infirmary?" The glare that the Professor was giving him told him that he was very right to assume that, "Of course..."

Goodwitch said nothing but merely shook her head and turned to walk away, she cast one last glare down at Yang before walking away. Yang sighed softly before pushing herself to her feet, the two of them looked at each other, it seemed they both wanted to say something though neither of them wanted to go first. As she began to grow uncomfortable she opted to speak first, only she was cut off by a blur of red rushing past her, she looked up to see Ruby looking over Rodric and fussing over his injuries, completely ignoring her. She bit her lip and quickly turned and walked away towards the locker room, she couldn't believe it after all the blows and injuries she had taken she was still more worried about _him _rather than her own sister. She could feel her anger quickly taking over as she stalked past Blake and Weiss, "Hey Yang are-"

"What?!" She shouted glaring at Ruby who was slightly frightened and taken aback by her sudden outburst, even as she glared at her sister she didn't miss the death glare Rodric started to give her as well.

"I-I-I was just wondering i-if you were alright, d-don't you want to go to the infirmary and get-"

"I'm just fine..." Was all she said before quickly turning and walking into the locker room, Blake and Weiss shared a look before turning to their leader who looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"H-Hey Ruby why don't you take Rodric to the infirmary we'll go and make sure Yang does the same alright?" Ruby looked up to Blake and nodded as she turned back to Rodric, as she did both Blake and Weiss hurried off to the locker room. As they entered the locker room they both heard a loud crash as if something was thrown against the locker, as they both walked around one of the corners they saw that was in fact what had happened, Yang stood breathing heavily near a pile of crumbled up lockers. Blake could only stare slack jawed at the destruction her teammate had caused, she couldn't even find the words to say to talk to Yang.

"What are you doing?!" Though it seemed Weiss wasn't as helpless in that department, Yang turned and saw the two of them staring at her, as the red slowly bled from her eyes she quickly looked away.

"Nothing." She lowered her head to hide her face as she turned and quickly walked past them leaving them both stunned, by now though Blake had managed to find her voice.

"Yang wait what's going on? Why don't you talk to us?"

"There's nothing to talk about..."

"Yang what's-"

"Just leave me alone okay?!" The two of them jumped at her outburst but said nothing as Yang stood there before letting her shoulders fall slightly, "I just...I want to be alone alright?" Without waiting for them to answer her she quickly walked away from the two of them, leaving them stunned at her actions and worried about the way she was acting. Though they might not have said it out loud the both of them were thinking the exact same thing.

_What's going on with Yang?_

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**_Well I seriously hope I made up for that crap fighting scene from the last chapter, I mean seriously I hope you guys enjoy it. On another note I wanted to ask you guys something, I was just thinking, since I've been playing Monster Hunter a lot more lately (partially why it took so long to get this chapter out) this question is for those people who do play it, if you were to pair a monster with someone from RWBY, who would it be? what monster would it be? and why? To help try to think of the fighting style of the monster and general appearance to help, for me I would say that Rajang would be Yang's monster. Anyway tell me what you think, I might actually make commissions out of them. _**

_**Tá tú an dearcadh a torc fiáin = You have the attitude of a wild boar.**_


	14. The Dragon's Rage-Part II

_**Wow guys, it's been...I think a little over a month since I've posted something, to some of you that might not have seemed that long. For others all I can say is I'm sorry, hell to me it felt like years since I've last posted anything. This chapter is particularly long in hopes that it makes up for my absence, my excuse for being away...well i don't have one. I kind of fell in and out of writing and had writers block all at the same time. Some days I could write a page or two other days I could hardly get a paragraph done. Let's hope it doesn't take that long to get the next one out because I am excited for what's to come. That you all for being patient and please, enjoy reading and don't forget to drop a review. **_

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**The Dragon's Rage-Part II**

Silence, this was all she needed right now, just her and the quiet of the gym, though quiet wasn't exactly what she got, but the sound of her fists colliding with the heavy punching bag, that was quiet to her. This was her only way of relieving any stress and calming down, each time her fist slammed into the punching bag she felt another coiled muscle relax, each time another shock went up her arm, she could feel her stress slowly fading away. She had been lucky enough to find the gym empty and good thing too, she just didn't want to be around anyone right now, after that match with Rodric she just...didn't understand. She didn't understand how her sister her baby sister could just up and replace her like that, she didn't like it but hanging out with him constantly was one thing, talking together and laughing together while she didn't like it she could deal with it. But, to have her own sister cheering for someone else and then rushing to their side after the match was over, it was just to much for her, to think she had been easily replaced was just to much for her.

Sighing heavily she ceased in her assault of the punching bag and placed her hand on it to keep it from swinging, she couldn't stop thinking about it anytime she tried to get a reign on her anger she would just end up thinking about it. She huffed before returning to what she had been doing, throwing punch after punch at the punching bag. Did something happen that she didn't notice, why else would Ruby be so attached to Rodric, he had to have something on her and was holding it over her head. It was the only explanation, and Ruby would be to proud to come to anyone for help, after being assigned leader of their team she had tried to do a lot of things on her own without resorting to asking for help. What if this was the same thing? What could he have over her though, it wasn't like there was some dark secret that she was hiding, Yang had been with Ruby since she was little, she knew everything about her including every embarrassing secret she could have. She tried to think of what Ruby could be hiding that would be so bad that she could be blackmailed over it, but nothing came to her, sure her sister acted up in class sometimes but other than that she was as innocent as they came.

_Then what? _She grit her teeth as she slammed her fist harder into the punching bag, the more she tried to figure out just what he had on her the more her mind began to wander. She began to think that maybe he didn't have any dirt on her but that maybe he was doing something to her, threatening her, after what happened during their first encounter she didn't put it past him to do some low down dirty stuff like that. Her hands began to ache with how hard she was hitting the bag but she pushed herself on as she began to get lost in the things her mind showed her, what if this was that Stockholm Syndrome thing she had read about one time. What if his hold on Ruby was much more sinister than she had imagined, if he was threatening her that meant he could be doing just about anything to her, maybe she finally broke down and that's why she's so attached to him. Scenes began to play in her mind of the different things that could happened to Ruby and each one made her as sick as the previous one, growling loudly she threw an anger filled punch and punched straight through the punching bag. "Agh, dammit!" She watched as the sand poured from the hole she made as she removed her arm from it, no there was no way something like that would have happened, because she would have noticed it by now. Still, now that she thought about it those terrible images were stuck in her mind and she couldn't get rid of them until she found out just what was going on.

"Should have figured I'd find you here." She quickly turned and spotted Blake sitting at the bench she had left her things at when she entered the gym, she sighed softly before turning back towards the mess she had made. "I guess this explains why you haven't been answering my messages." Yang simply shrugged as she unchained the punching bag and tossing it into the pile of others she had managed to ruin in her attempts at clearing her mind. She walked into the storage area next to the pile and picked up another punching back, she hefted it over her shoulder as she walked back out with it to hook it back onto it's stand. "You know you can't hide in here forever Yang, you have to come back to the dorm eventually."

"Who says I'm hiding?" She asked with more bite in her words than she had intended to use, but with a quick look at Blake's face it seemed it didn't affect her either way. Shaking her head she went back to setting up the new punching bag before she went to work on it, while she admired Blake for being just as stubborn as she was when it concerned one of her friends, now was one of the times she wished she could just leave her be.

"Well seeing as you have your scroll set to 'ignore all' I would say you are." Blake sat and watched as Yang threw punch after punch into the brand new punching bag as her eye traveled to the piled of ruined ones tossed off to the side. Considering what she had did to the lockers after her match with Rodric this was at least a little...less destructive. While it was nice to see her trying to work her anger out with as little destruction to school property as she could manage, there was still one major problem that needed to be addressed. "Why didn't you go to the infirmary Yang?"

Yang hesitated in her punches long enough for the bag to swing into her and nearly knock her off her feet, she stumbled to keep her balance as she kept her back to Blake, "Cause I didn't need to go." She knew Blake wouldn't buy it considering the beating she had taken just a few hours ago, but she was perfectly fine considering what had happened, sure her head was throbbing slightly but other than that she was fine.

"Yang why-"

"Cause it's me, I mean look at me, does it look like I need to see the nurse? You wound my pride Blake suggesting that I couldn't take a few punches." She gave a hollow chuckle as she went back to attacking the punching bag, all the while she bit her tongue to keep from saying anymore, it was bad enough that her and Weiss had caught her little tantrum. She didn't want them to tell her how unreasonable she was being in hating Rodric, that was the last thing she wanted to hear after what happened, she didn't want to feel betrayed by anyone else.

"It's not the punches that I'm worried about Yang." Blake was usually blunt about speaking of things that seemed important as she saw no reason to tiptoe around a subject when getting to the point was the whole objective. This was different though, Yang knew how to dance around anything that had to personally do with her, making jokes or finding a way to turn it around and deflect the question onto someone else. Not to mention a head on approach with someone who fought much in the same way probably wasn't a good idea, she didn't mind getting confrontational with Yang, sometimes it was fun to see her partner genuinely getting flustered and upset. But, with the way she had been acting for the last few weeks she wasn't sure whether or not she would get physical as well, she couldn't win in a fight with her she knew that. Sure she could outlast her simply by using her Semblance but where would that get her when she was forced to be defensive when she needed to get to the root of the problem. She sighed softly before finally speaking, "How's your head?"

"Still rock solid."

"Yang-"

"I'm fine Blake really, if the four of us can go against a giant Nevermore on our first day, I think I can handle a little fight with some random guy." _Even if he does hit like a truck, _she shook her head and ignored the lightheaded feeling that filled her head from the sudden motion before going back to the punching bag. She could hear Blake sigh heavily from behind her but she ignored it as she focused on the pain that was now filling her arms, _how long have I been at this? _She knew she usually lost track of time when it came to training but she wasn't training...and she wasn't hiding like Blake had suggested she was just...just..._what am I doing? _Her strikes became slower and weaker until she stopped all together, she looked around the room slowly as if she were taking in every detail, _wait why'd I do that? _She was in the gym, she had come here after the match with Rodric, she remembered pushing past the students on her way here, she had been in a hurry to work off her stress before she did something stupid. Yet when her eyes fell to the pile of ruined punching bags she couldn't remember doing that, she didn't remember destroying them.

"Yang?"

She flinched slightly, not out of surprise but at the pain that lanced through her head when she heard Blake speak, it felt like she had a really bad ear infection with how much it hurt to hear her. She ran her fingers through her hair only to flinch again when her fingers brushed against the sore spot that Rodric had left after bashing his head against hers, when she held her hand in front of her eyes she frowned seeing the bits of dried blood on her fingers. She had tried her best to clean it up but by the time she had gotten to the gym it had dried and was a sticky mess on her face and in her hair, she had to scratch it off and some of it had gotten stuck under her nails. She groaned softly when she felt her stomach begin to knot up, she placed a hand on her stomach as the pain began to increase until she was almost doubled over from it, she didn't mind the sight of blood so she wasn't sure why she was feeling like this.

"Yang."

She held her hand out before groaning again, "I-I'm fine Blake just feeling-ugh." As she clenched her stomach her head began to throb, she groaned louder this time, _could this get any worse! _She hadn't felt this bad since she had caught Ruby's cold when they were younger, that was the last time she let her sister sleep with her when she was sick. She took a few deep breaths before standing up slowly and taking a last deep breath, she shook her head slightly as the pain began to subside, maybe she should have gone to the nurse like Ruby-

"Yang!" Blake watched in horror as Yang collapsed on the ground, she jumped from her seat and ran over to her and flipped her over, the first thing she checked was if she was breathing properly. _Thank goodness, _she gave a soft sigh when she found out that she was, she wasn't exactly sure what was wrong with her but now she was faced with the problem of trying to get Yang to...she quickly fished out her scroll and opened up her contacts before calling one of them.

_"Yes?"_

"Weiss, I need your help."

* * *

Weiss and Blake sat outside of the infirmary room waiting to hear news from the nurse on Yang's condition, Blake wasn't too worried because nothing seemed terribly wrong...but-no, she shook her head pushing the thoughts from her mind. _Yang's strong, she'll be fine. _She turned to her side and saw Weiss sitting with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face, "Honestly..."

"Weiss..."

"No, this is probably the dumbest thing Yang has done, and she's done plenty of dumb things." When she had gotten the call from Blake that Yang had collapsed in the gym she had shot up so fast from her seat that she had almost flipped her desk over. Ruby had freaked out when she got up so fast and wanted to know what was wrong, Rodric too wanted to know if she was alright, but before she could say anything Blake gave her a simple instruction. _"Don't tell Ruby." _She sighed softly before shaking her head, "I don't see why you had me lie to Ruby..."

"I didn't tell you to lie to her." She looked to Weiss who seemed to be glaring at her causing her to shrug, "Well I didn't, I just said not to tell her." She turned her eyes back towards the door to Yang's room as a heavy feeling began to settle in her stomach, she was worried about Yang. She knew Yang was strong, she knew that, she had seen Yang take down a full team on her own during combat class without breaking a sweat. Sure she was a bit roughed up by the end but she always had that smile on her face no matter what...she always had that stupid smile...

"Blake?"

She pulled herself from her thoughts and shook her head, "Besides Yang's a big girl she'll be fine, we would just be getting Ruby worked up and worried over nothing." Weiss gave a soft hum before they both settled back into silence both sets of eyes watching the door, with Blake's ears twitching under her bow listening for the faintest movement on the other side. She hated waiting, especially when it came to matters like this, Yang passed out in front of her and she had no idea what happened and now she was forced to sit and wait for the nurse to tell them if she was okay.

"Did she say anything?"

Blake sighed and shook her head, "About as much as you'd expect." This caused Weiss to huff in annoyance as she leaned back in her seat.

"Typical." She shook her head as she sighed heavily, after having to explain to Professor Goodwitch that they didn't know how the lockers ended up in that position, she was ready to tear Yang a new one. Verbally at least, she was smart enough to know that she wouldn't be able to beat Yang in a fight, a hand to hand fight at least. Though she did want to know just what had caused Yang to just go off the rails like that, she had a temper sure but she never seen anything like that, not to mention she never so much as saw her raise her voice to Ruby...that's what really concerned her. Yang was the over protective sister of the group and was protective of Ruby more than anything, more than even her hair, and to see her yell at Ruby like she had done was both upsetting and concerning. Of course neither her nor Blake had been able to get in contact with Yang after she had stomped off, they didn't really get a chance to look for her since they had to comfort Ruby and assure her that she did nothing wrong and that Yang's ire was simply misplaced. It didn't seem to work on her until Rodric spoke up and, honestly, said the exact same thing that the two of them had told her, only _then _did it seem to get through her head. She didn't understand what Ruby found so fascinating about him, but if he kept her from being upset then he couldn't be all bad.

She opened her mouth to speak but didn't get the chance when the door to Yang's room opened and the nurse walked out, surprisingly enough it was the same nurse, it had to be she doubted that there were a lot of nurses with red fox tails at Beacon. "How is she?" The nurse looked down at Blake and sighed softly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"She's fine, she simply has a very mild concussion, nothing to serious." She smiled slightly when she saw the two of them visibly relax at the news, though it shouldn't have come to a surprise to them, their teammate was very strong. "Though while we did examine her, we found a very small tear in the muscle of her right arm. Again, it's nothing too major, but she should be careful for a bit at least until it heals. She's awake if you two want to see her, we have her connected to an IV bag because she was dehydrated when she was brought it, just so you know, don't need the two of you freaking out." With that she excused herself leaving both Blake and Weiss alone.

"She's not very...professional is she?"

Blake shrugged slightly as she stood from her seat, "Does it matter? As long as she knows how to treat her patients I don't think it really matters how she talks."

Weiss followed suit and patted the back of her skirt sighing, "Just saying..."

* * *

Yang groaned softly as she turned her head to look at her surroundings, it was the infirmary no doubt, but she was wondering how she even got here. The last thing she really remembered was talking to Blake in the gym and then...waking up here, he head throbbed painfully when she tried to remember what happened and simply gave up on doing so. Lifting her hand up she saw a needle connected to a tube taped down on her hand, following the tube she saw that it led up to a bag filled with liquid, _was I really in that bad of shape?_ The sound of the door to the infirmary opening pulled her from her thoughts, when she turned her head towards the sound she saw both Weiss and Blake standing in the door, Weiss looked upset while Blake looked...horrified. _It's not that bad is it, _shaking her head she raised the arm that wasn't filled with a needle to wave to them, "Yo, what's up guys."

Weiss glared at Yang as she pushed past Blake, "Don't you 'what's up' us, what were you thinking? What happened back in the locker room? What happened after that, I mean look at you you're a complete-"

"Geeze princess you're killing me here." Yang groaned out as she clenched her head now throbbing head tightly, she knew Weiss had every right to be angry with her, but at least save it for when she wasn't in pain.

"Well you deserve that and a whole lot more after that stunt you pulled in-"

"Weiss..."

She looked over her shoulder to see Blake frowning at her before huffing and crossing her arms and walking off to the side, Blake looked towards Yang and saw the IV the nurse she was hooked up too. Even though she was warned about it, she still wasn't prepared to see her like that, not with the bandage wrapped around her head and not in a hospital gown. She had seen Yang roughed up before but she never seen her like this, this was a side she knew Yang never let anyone see, she would never let anyone see how vulnerable she was. She wrung her hands as she clenched them tightly, "How...how are you feeling?"

Yang shrugged slightly wincing slightly from the action, "Eh, aside from the killer headache and feeling like I'm going to hurl at any second...I feel great." She sighed softly as she leaned back into her pillow, "I'm fine really, the nurse said that it was nothing to worry about and that I should be out in-"

"Nothing to worry about..."

"Well yeah I mean I'm still breathing so I'm-"

"You have a concussion Yang."

"Yeah that's what it was, the nurse said it was something like that, you know funny story, this is actually the first time I think I've ever had-"

"Do you understand how dangerous that is Yang?!"

Yang jumped slightly when Blake suddenly shouted, it was a surprise to say the least, she never really heard Blake raise her voice that often. The only time she ever heard her get like this was a few months ago before the incident at the docks with Roman, she smiled despite the surprise and looked up at her to speak but stopped. When she looked into Blake's eyes she saw both anger and fear, no doubt angry with how she was simply brushing off her injuries, and fearful at how injured she possibly was no doubt. She cast a glance towards Weiss only to see that even the ice queen was caught off guard by the sudden outburst from their normally silent team member. Yang turned her head back and looked towards the roof, "I know how dangerous it is Blake, I'm not dumb...I just don't like worrying any of you."

"And brushing off something as serious as this is going to help us how?"

Yang chuckled softly as she closed her eyes, "Okay, okay it is kinda stupid. I just...I just figured that if I can smile through the pain then no one would have to worry themselves over me. I'm the strong one remember?" She gave a lightly chuckle before softly sighing, "I'm suppose to worry about everyone else, not the other way around."

"Idiot..." Blake gave a small smile when Yang looked at her confused, "We're a team, we're suppose to look out for each other, no one is suppose to suffer more than the other." Blake moved over and sat on one of the beds next to Yang's, "I'm shocked you haven't figured that out yet Yang."

Yang couldn't help but smirk as she closed her eyes and relaxed into her pillow, "What can I say I'm pretty hard headed." She chuckled softly before opening her eyes and looking over to Blake, "Thanks for worrying about me, I'm fine though...I promise." Blake shook her head and started to speak only to be interrupted by Weiss.

"Well seeing as your making jokes I guess my worry was misplaced. I think I'll take my leave, I have some work I left unfinished to deal with this nonsense." Without waiting for anyone to say anything she quickly walked out of the room, Blake sighed heavily as she shook her head.

"You'd think she's at least show a _bit _more concern when her team member ends up in the infirmary."

Yang chuckled slightly, "Oh Blake, don't you see, I think that is her way of showing she cares. I mean, she did come with you after all." Blake opened her mouth to argue with Yang but slowly closed it when she realized that she was in fact right...for once. If Weiss truly didn't care, she wouldn't have come at all, a small smile crossed her face when she realized that Weiss had changed a lot since their first meeting. She looked up towards Yang and saw that the smile that graced her face was replaced with the frown she had been wearing the last few days.

"Yang what's-"

"I see Ruby didn't come with you two..." Yang's frown deepened as she clenched tightly at the sheets that covered her, she scoffed slightly, "Can't say I'm surprised I guess...she has more _important_ things to see to huh?"

Blake wasn't sure what to say, the sudden change in attitude caught her completely off guard, she had thought that Yang was back to her normal self. She shook her head as she struggled to speak, "Yang I-I don't...what are you-"

"I shouldn't have expected anything different really, she hasn't spoken to me in a month, it's like she doesn't care about anyone else."

"What are you talking about?"

"Ever since he showed up here, it's always 'Rodric' this and 'Rodric' that, seriously what's so interesting about him."

"What's this about Yang?"

"What do you think?!" She shouted as she slammed her fist into her bed, "It's about Rodric, it's always about Rodric, ever since he showed up here it's always been about him." She roughly ran her fingers through her hair as she ignored the pain that shot through her head from the action, "I mean seriously what's so interesting about him, h-he's just some guy some _random _guy that we found in the forest and yet...yet..." She let out a heavy sigh as she looked up towards the ceiling, "I'm a good sister right Blake?"

Once again Blake was caught off guard by the sudden shift in attitude, by now she was wondering if they had actually given her some sort of medication. The Yang she knew was never like this, but then she never had a reason to be like this, "Yang I...I don't understand."

"I mean that has to be the reason right? I-I must have done something to Ruby without realizing it, I mean why else would this be happening? Why else would she be hanging out some much with Rodric, and cheering for _him, _and running to see if he was alright? What did I do Blake?"

"Yang stop, you didn't do anything alright? You're a great big sister that's all there-"

"Then why hasn't Ruby spoken to me since he showed up?!" She glared at Blake before huffing and looking back up towards the ceiling, she didn't know why she was yelling at Blake, she knew she had nothing to do with it, it just felt like she couldn't keep it in anymore. If she didn't say anything about it now she felt that it would end up making her sick in the long run, and after ending in the infirmary she didn't want anything else to happen, "I-I just don't get it Blake, what's going on?"

Blake slowly shook her head, she wasn't even sure what to say anymore, after getting whiplash with how often Yang's attitude was changing, she was left speechless. Though it seemed now she had finally heard just what was going on in Yang's mind for the past few weeks, sighing softly she got off the bed she was sitting on and moved over to Yang's making sure not to sit on her leg by accident. "Yang I..." She stopped herself, she wasn't sure where to begin, she wasn't the most...ideal person when it came to comforting others, but this was her partner...her friend. She sighed softly before starting again, "You're probably not going to like hearing this but...good for her."

Yang glared up at Blake, how could she say something like that after she let all of her concerns out like that, "What are you-"

"Just...hear me out for a second okay?" Yang frowned but nodded slightly nonetheless, "Ruby has made an...interesting friend outside of the group of friends she already has. For someone like Ruby don't you think this is good, you wouldn't want her to grow up into that person that refuses to go outside of her little group do you?"

"...No." Yang's frowned deepened as she crossed her arms, "But-"

Blake sighed heavily shaking her head, "But what Yang?"

"But why? I mean I'm not the only one who forgot what he did right? What he tried to do? He tried to kill us back in the forest, am I the only one who remembers this or am I just going crazy?"

"You already are a little crazy Yang."

"You know what I mean Blake, back in the forest he didn't just threaten to kill us, he _tried _to kill us. If it hadn't been for Weiss with her glyphs I think all of us would have been toast, oh and speaking of Weiss, did we all just forget how he tried to break her arm and neck?" She took a few deep breaths to calm her beating heart, she shook her head once again as she clenched her fists, "She got hurt because of him, he filled her mind with all those...terrible thoughts and images, things she should never have to learn about and she just...forgives him. Why, why after everything he's done to us...done to her, would she just forgive him so...so easily."

"Because that's who she is Yang..." She looked away from Yang who was now, no doubt glaring at her, "What I mean is that...she's still young, she still see's the good in people, why she forgave him after all that I couldn't really tell you. But, if she did, she did it for a reason don't you think? Ruby isn't naive, she knows he hurt her and sadly I think she understood what he was telling her, but if she forgave him then...maybe she saw something that we couldn't see." She turned back towards Yang and placed her hand on her leg patting it gently, "Listen...none of us have spoken to Rodric like Ruby has, honestly none of us really go out of our way to speak with him like she does, so of course she's going to be more comfortable around him than we are. After the incident in the forest we were all wary of him, even Ruby, but she made the effort to talk to him, she went out of her comfort zone to get to know him, and this is what happened."

Yang sighed heavily but said nothing, she was right after all, after the incident in the forest and what happened in the dorm none of them wanted anything to do with Rodric...except for Ruby. She remembered how angry she had gotten that Ruby had gone out of her way to find Rodric and to apologize to him, she was beyond pissed when she hung up on her, she just didn't understand why she was apologizing. But, as she thought about it she remembered what happened that night, the way Ruby begged and begged and begged for Rodric to tell them about his home and then she asked something that just...set him off. It was Ruby's fault, as much as she didn't want to admit it she knew it was true, she tried to use the excuse that Rodric had went to far but in her mind she knew that if Ruby hadn't pushed him he wouldn't have reacted. She shook her head to push the memories away as something suddenly dawned on her, "Wait...you said that we haven't tried to talk with him, but you and Weiss talk to him all the time."

Blake couldn't help but smirk slightly at that, "You call what Weiss and I do talking?" She gave a soft chuckle before continuing, "Yang if that's what you think then you sadly haven't been paying attention to your team like you should be. When I 'talk' with Rodric it is probably the most...forced conversation I ever had, and compared to how we used to be...it's pretty bad. Weiss on the other hand tried to put on this brave front when interacting with him, but she's scared, scared to be anywhere near him after the forest incident. The reason it looks like we all get along has simply been for Ruby's sake, she's our leader, how is she going to keep a team together when one person makes us all uncomfortable. How is she going to keep the team functioning, when we all refuse to communicate with Rodric, she has it hard enough already being leader at such a young age, we don't need to make it harder on her."

"I-I get that...I really do but why does she have to hang out with him so much, i-it's like I hardly ever see one without the other, they're more stuck together than Nora and Ren are." She huffed slightly as she turned her face to the wall, "I don't like it..."

Blake couldn't help but smirk slightly seeing a bit of the old Yang coming back to the surface, "Why Yang, are you jealous of Rodric?"

Yang felt her face flush slightly as she crossed her arms more and attempted to sink into her pillow, "W-What I'm not jealous of him I-I just mean...he's older than her by at least several years...it's weird isn't it?" She squirmed slightly before looking back at Blake slightly concerned, "You...you don't think they're-"

"That's a stupid question Yang." She shook her head sighing heavily, "Honestly as her sister I would think you'd have a little more confidence in Ruby to not do something like that." She was silent for a moment before speaking again, "I doubt she even knows how...that works...and honestly Rodric doesn't look like the type of person to force her to do something like that."

"Looks can be deceiving you know?" When Blake said nothing she looked towards her only to receiving a scathing glare causing her to look away, "B-But I guess you're right." She sighed heavily as she rubbed her eyes, all this hate she held in her heart all this time, she couldn't exactly deny it was only because she refused to see anything other than what she wanted too. She knew that Rodric was different than when they had first met, just the way he acted around them showed that he was different, he didn't try to keep his distance like he used too. He didn't actively try to talk to anyone else, but it was a lot better than to how he used to be, the only person he still seemed to get into arguments was Weiss. Even then that was because they were so alike that they butted heads on multiple occasions, both of them having swelled prides and matching attitudes, their dorm room just wasn't big enough to fit all that ego in. She just refused to see it because she was filled with this blind hatred for him that stemmed from his mistakes, and while she did have enough justification to hate him for doing them, she couldn't exactly hold it above his head.

Giving a heavy sigh she closed her eyes as she shook her head, all those stupid things she had thought of back in the gym slowly faded from her mind, she knew something like that would never happen. Ruby might not be the best at dealing with people but if someone was seriously threatening her in any way she wouldn't hide it if she couldn't deal with it herself, those thoughts had simply been her over active overly protective big sister brain working against her in her worry for Ruby. She honestly felt a little disgusted with herself to even think for one second that someone was forcing Ruby to do something like _that _even though she really didn't like Rodric, going so far as to accuse him of doing something like that was a bit much, even for him. While she wasn't going to just up and forgive him for everything he's done she could at least...try and start over with him, while she normally started people off at the same level when they met Rodric was going to have to start from the bottom before she even began to trust him. She groaned loudly as she covered her face with her hands, "I can't believe I was being so stupid!"

Blake gave a low chuckle before patting Yang's leg again, "It's alright Yang, we're all kind of used to it."

Yang slid her hands off her face and onto the sheets pouting slightly as she looked towards Blake, "When did you turn into such a wise cracking cat huh?"

Blake gave a slight shrug, "Around the same time I grew accustomed to your terrible, terrible puns."

Yang ignored the jab made at her _amazing _puns as her stomach began to twist up almost painfully, she wasn't sick as she didn't have that disgusting taste in the back of her throat. After all this talking and thinking things over she remembered something that happened not even a few hours ago that gave her the sensation of being sick, "H-How is she?" She cringed slightly when the smile that Blake had been wearing slowly faded before she looked away.

"She...she was really upset over it, was really beating herself up trying to figure out what she had done wrong." She looked up and saw the pain in Yang's eyes as she quickly spoke up again, "B-But we calmed her down, told her she didn't do anything wrong..." She bit her lip as Yang seemed to relax ever so slightly.

"Oh...good I wouldn't want-"

"Actually..." Blake hesitated slightly wondering if she should tell Yang the entire truth, whatever hatred she seemed to have for Rodric seemed to have faded but wasn't gone completely. She feared that if she were to continue that it would only rekindle her hate for him, but maybe if she knew that he cared for her sister in the same way she maybe she wouldn't be _as _angry. "I-It wasn't us that calmed Ruby down...actually me and Weiss couldn't really calm her down, she was just so sure she had done something wrong to make you angry at her." She sat back slightly rubbing her arm before continuing, "You see it was actually...Rodric that managed to calm her down, he pretty much said the same thing we did but...she seemed more responsive to him." Blake said nothing more and instead tried to gauge the exact level of anger on Yang's face, but for the first time since she knew her, Yang showed no anger. She wasn't sure if that was a good thing, or a very bad thing, "Yang?"

"Oh...that's...good."

"Good?"

Yang simply nodded, "I mean he calmed Ruby down after I made her upset, I don't think I really have a reason to be upset with him...you know?"

"Right...you know Yang I'm really surprised that your not-"

"Upset?"

"Yeah..."

"I'm fine Blake, he cheered Ruby up so I can't really be upset over something like that." They were both silent after that before Yang began to laugh softly, "You have to have more confidence in me Blake, I'm not going to lose my mind over every little thing."

Blake scoffed and crossed her arms, "Really? That coming from the girl that loses it when so much as a single of strand of her hair is cut?" She could help but smirk as Yang seemed to flush slightly at the comment, apparently she didn't count those actions as "losing it."

"O-Oh you remember that huh?"

Blake smirked, "How could I forget, I watched the entire thing. To think someone like you who is so laid back and carefree would completely loose their mind when that Ursa cut off one, single, tiny strand of hair." She couldn't help when she felt her smile widen when Yang seemed to grow more embarrassed at the reminder of how the fist met, seeing her like this was so strange. Yang wasn't the type of person to easily be embarrassed but seeing her at a loss for words and her face completely red, she couldn't help but find it a little...cute. She quickly shook her head, a little surprised at herself for thinking like that, granted there was nothing wrong with the thought it just...surprised her. She had never thought that the words 'Yang' and 'cute' would ever really go together, 'annoying', 'insufferable', 'terrible joke maker' were the words she associated with Yang...yet...

"You alright there kitty cat?"

She was pulled from her thoughts and looked up only to see those bright lilac eyes looking back at her, she quickly looked away before managing to stutter out a response, "Y-Yeah I'm fine." She turned back to Yang whose eyes flitted across her face, no doubt she was looking for any sign that she was lying, sadly for Yang she was good at hiding things. It was a sweet gesture, but that's just how Yang was, she was in bed at the infirmary and she still cared about her friends more than herself. Giving a sigh Blake pulled her legs up onto the bed and crossed them as she turned to Yang who was already sitting up, almost as if she had suspected this was what was going to happen.

* * *

The two began to talk, though it seemed to devolve more into the antics Yang would get into while she had been going to Signal, from what she heard she was a bit surprised that Ruby had managed to get through her time at Signal just fine. She would have thought after managing to let several stray animals into the school she would have been expelled, surprisingly she wasn't, what was more surprising was that Ruby wasn't under constant watch in the event she tried something similar. Despite getting on trouble in multiple occasions it seemed Yang wasn't very different from how she acted now, and Blake couldn't help but find that funny. She had this idea that Yang might have been this studious student in her time in Signal, maybe even going so far as being the protective older sister until she graduated. She had been partially right about that in one regard, perhaps that was the reason she found her self laughing and enjoying the stories Yang told her, maybe it was just the fact she had gotten her partner out of her slump that allowed her to indulge herself in these stories, she wasn't exactly sure.

"A-And then he ended up with this large tear in the back of his pants, t-that he never noticed!" Yang gripped her sides as she fell back into her pillow laughing loudly struggling to breathe, the nurse had come in to see what all the noise was but had thankfully left when she saw the two of them laughing together. She didn't know what had suddenly come over Blake to her to laugh so much, she never laughed this much, whatever it was she didn't want it to stop. She never heard Blake laugh this much, and as strange as it was for her to even think...she liked it, this wasn't one of those fake laughs Blake usually gave in public this was a genuine from the heart kind of laugh. She looked to Blake who was busy trying to cover her mouth to keep from laughing any more but it seemed her stories were too much for her and every time it seemed she settled down she would end up breaking down into another fit of laughter. She couldn't help but feel a small smile come over her face as she watched Blake's shoulders shake from laughing so much, she felt heat rising from her face as she quickly shook her head.

Blake managed to stop laughing long enough to wipe the tears from her eye, she couldn't believe some of the stuff Yang had told her they sounded so far-fetched, but she knew better than to think she was lying. Giving a soft sigh she turned and was surprised to see the time on the clock, she hadn't thought she would have been in here so long, she knew that Ruby was probably pestering Weiss by now as to where she was. She stepped off the bed only to stumble forward as her legs nearly gave out from under her, as she managed to right herself she gave a low chuckle, "Well I should probably be getting back, you'll be able to leave soon right?"

Yang gave a light nod, "Yeah the nurse just wants to do one last test on me and then I'll be good to go."

"That's good, then I'll see you back at the dorm."

Yang nodded as she watched Blake move over to the door, she couldn't help but chuckling slightly causing Blake to turn and look towards her just as she opened the door. Though she really wished she had stopped herself at what she had said next, "You know, you're pretty cute when you laugh like that Blake." Yang instantly froze up as soon as those words left her mouth, she looked up towards Blake who seemed to be staring at her in shock, they stared at each other in silence as a dark blush crawled up both of their faces. Yang quickly shook her head and gave Blake a wide smile trying her best to play off her slip up, "S-Sorry that was weird wasn't it...m-must be this stuff they have me on."

Blake relaxed slightly as she looked at the needle currently in Yang's hand, she gave a light nod before speaking, "O-Oh t-that's fine...anyway I'll see you back at the dorm." She quickly exited the room and closed the door behind her, she gave heavy sigh as she placed her hand on her chest only to find her heart racing. She didn't understand why though, like Yang had said it was only because of the medication they were giving her, she pushed away from the door shaking her head slightly. Even as she walked out of the infirmary something nagged at the back of her mind, she suddenly stopped in her tracks as her heart began to race again, _Wait they didn't give her any medication..._

* * *

Yang pulled the pillow over her face groaning loudly into it in the hopes of suffocating herself after making such a major slip up like that, while it was true what she had said she didn't know why she said it in the first place. It was just one of those times where she got so relaxed that she just blurted out the first thing on her mind, wouldn't have been the first time something like that happened. She froze when she heard the door to her room open again and slowly slid the pillow from her still red face expecting to see Blake again, thankfully it was only the nurse, though she gave her a curious look.

"Are you alright Yang?"

She gave a heavy sigh as she let her head fall back onto the bed, "Just perfect..."

Running one last test Yang was finally discharged from the infirmary though she was given some medication to take for the headaches the nurse informed her that she _would _get in the coming days. Looking down at the little bottle of pills she sighed softly, she had been in the infirmary for much worse and she was never prescribed medication over it, her aura usually dulled any pain she felt until she was completely healed. Guess headaches worked differently, tossing the bottle into the air she caught it as she walked down the hallway, it was empty well sort of empty there were still plenty of people walking around and talking. She shook her head as she watched some of the people walk by her, she still couldn't believe she said something like that, she wasn't thinking that much was obviously but she usually managed to keep her stupid comments to herself in cases like that. The more she thought about it the more she couldn't help but admit that it wasn't because she wasn't thinking it was more along the lines that...that she couldn't exactly help it.

She groaned loudly as she snatched the bottle of pills from the air, she didn't get why it had to be so complicated, it never was before. It just seemed she couldn't stop thinking about Blake ever since that incident at the docks a few months back, she had been so worried about her, even though she knew she could take care of herself she couldn't get rid of the anxiousness she felt. Then after they found her she couldn't be happier she wanted to wrap her arms around Blake and just hold her, the clatter of the bottle of pills pulled her from her thoughts as she looked at the bottle lying on the ground. She slowly shook her head as she picked them back up, she just couldn't help it really, she was just amazing. If she were to go all the way and actually confess to Blake, which she would probably never do anyway, she knew Blake would probably let her down and not for any reason but simply because she was a Faunus. That would be the only reason really, Blake didn't want anyone to know about what she was, she barely let team JNPR know her secret, and starting a relationship with someone would probably be the very last thing she wanted to do.

Blake might have been this quiet mysterious person but her friends knew exactly how she was, she was kind of like the sister of the group kinda like herself, just less...loud. She cared about her friends and would want the best for them, since humans think so lowly of the faunus she wouldn't ever want someone to catch the backlash of something like that, she would sacrifice her own happiness for someone else's well being. Well too bad for her one Yang Xiao Long was a stubborn and hardheaded person, and she wouldn't have to worry about her, she let her fists do the talking and if someone wanted to say something bad, well they wouldn't like what her fists had to say. Though none of that would matter if she couldn't even get the guts to say something to Blake to begin with, she let some of her thoughts slip out and lied about being drugged up so she didn't freak Blake out. She probably didn't even feel the same about her based off the way she had looked at her after that had slipped out.

Yang groaned again only louder drawing strange looks from the students that walked by her, her head was starting to hurt thinking of all this stuff. She opened the bottle she had with her and popped a few of the pills in her mouth before making her way towards the dorm. She just had to act natural, just act like herself and everything would be fine...at least she hoped so.

* * *

Yang fidgeted slightly as she stood outside her dorm room, she didn't want to go in but at the same time she did, she needed to clear some things up with Ruby but...she didn't want to be around Rodric when she did. She really didn't want to make a big spectacle out of it, she sighed and pressed her back against the wall next to the door as she pulled out her scroll and found her sisters name, _Hey Rubes do you think you can come outside right quick? _She closed her scroll and put it away as she waited, she could hear some sort of commotion on the inside but it was kind of hard to tell what was going on, not even a few seconds later did the door fly open and Ruby rushed out with the door closing behind her. She turned and looked ready to run off but stopped when she saw her standing there, "H-Hey sis..."

"Oh...hey Yang..." They stared at each other with the silence growing thicker by the second, she shouldn't have been surprised that Ruby would have been like this after having yelled at her. She pushed off the wall and couldn't help but notice Ruby shifting slightly from her spot, but before she could even open her mouth Ruby interrupted her. "I-I'm really sorry Yang, I-I don't know what I did to make you mad but I'm really really so-"

Yang threw her arms around Ruby and pulled her tightly against her in a firm hug, she didn't want to hear her apologize over nothing, she had no reason to and it wasn't right for her to think so. When Ruby struggled against her it only served to make her hug her even tighter until Ruby finally pushed her away gasping for breath, "G-Geeze what are you trying to do kill me?"

"S-Sorry Rubes I just...listen Ruby I'm sorry about what happened earlier I just, I shouldn't have spoken like that to you. You don't have anything to apologize for I was just angry and ended up snapping at you for no real reason, I'm sorry Ruby." When Ruby didn't say anything she just decided to keep going, "My head was just full of this stupid stuff and I didn't really have anyone to talk to it about and it just all kind of came to a head and I let it out on you..."

"Yang..."

"I-I mean it was just all really dumb stuff, when I finally had a chance to sit down and think about it i-it was just me being stupid and not thinking clearly. I was seeing things that were all in my head I was just being really really stupid."

"Yang."

"I-I mean I can't apologize enough Rubes you were just caught up in the cross fire between me and my mind, I-I know that sounds weird but I just...it's really hard to explain I just mean that I'm really really-"

"Yang!" She jumped slightly when Ruby suddenly shouted her name, she looked down at her sister who seemed to be scowling up at her slightly, she never seen her look like that and it made her squirm a bit. Though before she could say anything Ruby wrapped her arms around her waist giving Yang the tightest hug she could manage, "It's fine Yang, I guess I kind of figured that was the reason you snapped at me. I mean I've seen you angry before and learned not to bother you but I guess I just got caught up after your match and didn't notice."

Yang fought back a whimper that began at the back of her throat before throwing her arms around Ruby again and pulling her tightly into her chest, "S-So you're not mad at me then...even though you have every right to be?

Ruby shook her head as she looked up at Yang, "Well...if you take me back to the Baker's Dozen I think I could find a way to forgive you."

Yang couldn't help but chuckle as she squeezed Ruby again before sighing, "Have I ever told you that you're the best sister ever?"

Ruby gave a light chuckle, "Well you could stand to say it more often you know?"

"Ha, in your dreams."

The two of them shared a laugh before Yang kissed the top of her sisters head, "Thank you Ruby."

After they shared their moment Yang entered the dorm with her sister and neither Weiss nor Blake really payed much attention to her except for welcoming her back. It seemed they kept her little incident a secret from her sister, and she was thankful, she didn't want Ruby to be worrying so much over her. She did question the bottle of pills in her hand and she brushed it off and said that she had a really bad headache and nothing more, while everything seemed relatively normal she couldn't help but notice that Rodric was a little more colder to her than normal. She even tried to lighten the mood by making some rather poor jokes yet he didn't seemed to enjoy them as Ruby did, he didn't even crack a smile like he usually would when he tried to hide the fact that he found her jokes funny. The only time he seemed to relax was when Ruby was anywhere around him, it would make sense though, after her episode in class he wasn't going to enjoy her presence very much. She still remembered the look he had given her back in class both when she had launched her folded paper at Ruby and when she had snapped at Ruby, he was very protective of her she noticed, though it seemed Ruby didn't.

Aside from Rodric and sometimes Weiss they all ended up talking up until they decided to go bed, there wasn't much said after that but she felt that, despite Rodric's anger towards her, everything was fairly normal. Even Blake seemed to be acting rather normal around her despite the slip up from earlier, she had wondered if Blake actually bought the lie she told her. Somehow she doubted it, but if Blake didn't bring it up she wouldn't either, after all there was no need to ruin the friendship they had over a rather stupid slip like that. She sighed as she looked up at the roof as her fingers played with the edge of her sheets, the day after tomorrow would be when they finally made their move. She had wished they had done it sooner but so much had happened between the time they made their plans and now, with Rodric suddenly appearing out of no where, they had been fairly distracted until now. There wasn't anything stopping them now though, except for the classes that they had to endure until then, she wouldn't admit it to anyone but she was fairly nervous about going against the likes of people like the White Fang and that Torchwick guy. He didn't look like much but according to Blake he was a pretty good fighter, good enough that someone as fast as she was couldn't even touch him, it made her nervous, not for herself but for everyone else. She shook her head and gave a light sigh, everything would be fine it was just simple reconnaissance and information gathering nothing else, giving herself a firm nod she turned on her side and attempted to fall asleep.

* * *

Yang's eyes slowly opened, at least she thought they did, all she could see darkness, groaning softly she threw her pillow onto the floor and threw the sheets off her head before groaning again as the light flooded her eyes. She rolled over in an attempt to block out the light and nearly fell off her bed, now that her head was hanging off the edge though she looked down and saw that Blake was still asleep. She couldn't help the smile that came over her face seeing the peaceful look on Blake's face as she slept, she shook her head slightly trying to shake away the blush creeping up her face. She looked over to Weiss' bed and saw that the ice queen was asleep too, _no way, _she shot up in her bed and looked across the room and saw that Ruby was in fact still asleep as well. "I'm the first one awake..." She couldn't help but feel weird about that fact, she had never woken up early in her life, her file filed with tardy slips back at Signal was proof of that.

"Second actually..." She jumped slightly at the voice as she quickly turned her head in the direction only to see Rodric sitting in the chair of their desk completely dressed in his uniform. "Couldn't sleep..." He gave a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair that he had yet to put in it's usual ponytail, she fidgeted slightly, after him ignoring her all last night and then suddenly talking to her she didn't know what to say. She wasn't just going to ignore him though, she had promised herself that she was going to try an attempt at fixing things between them.

"You uh...you feeling okay?" She tried to gauge his reaction but didn't give anything away through facial expression, he simply nodded, though while he didn't say anything his body language said a lot more. Something was bothering him, "What's wrong?"

He looked up to her before looking back down towards the ground, "I...I don't know, I just have this strange feeling in my stomach, it feels as if I swallowed a ball of lead. It's been there since last night and has yet to go away, I feel...uneasy."

Yang was a little shocked that he had answered her honestly, she had expected some sort of sarcastic remark from him, but from the way he was fidgeting and constantly moving it seemed like it was honestly bothering him. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off when he spoke again, "You should probably take your shower before the others wake up while you have the chance." She attempted to say something but he didn't look like he was going to say much else, guess she wasn't the only one who didn't like talking about what was on their mind. They probably had more in common than she was willing to believe, but before she could dwell on that thought any more she heard her sister groaning from her bed, and that caused her to jump from her spot on the bed and rush into the bathroom.

Rodric merely shook his head as he turned towards the bed and watched as Ruby slowly sat up wearing that over sized shirt she had bought on their trip into Vale. "Well good morning little one."

Yang ran her fingers through her freshly washed hair before stepping out of the bathroom much to the shock of everyone else that had now woken up as well, they all expressed their surprise to see Yang up early without the coaxing of anyone else. She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes, "Whatever I can get up early any time I want...I just chose not to, I need my beauty sleep after all." She flipped her hair over her shoulder to emphasize the point that she was trying to make, though it seemed everyone ignored her while they busied themselves with getting ready for their classes that day. Amidst the chaos that was Team RWBY's dorm in the early hours of the morning there was only one person who ever seemed out of place, but today it seemed he stood out a lot more than usual.

While Rodric wasn't the most social of the group, even rivaling Blake sometimes, he seemed a lot more...closed off today than usual. It was a very rare occasion when Rodric and Ruby weren't talking to each, it was either because Weiss was making Ruby do her homework , or she was eating, or sleeping. Any other time the two of them were joined at the hip, much to her dismay, but it seemed like whatever was bothering him might have been a lot more than he was letting on. He was spaced out, anytime Ruby asked him something she would end up having to repeat herself , Ruby being Ruby she didn't think much of it and simply continued to talk despite Rodric obviously not listening. She felt like she should ask him, if not as a friend then at least as a concerned teammate, but she had the sneaking suspicion that he would say that it was nothing, she didn't think pressuring him to talk to her would do anything for trying to fix things between them. She was going to leave it alone, she just hoped that it would really end up being nothing.

Their first class of the day was with Professor Peach, they were suppose to be learning about the different habitats that different species of Grimm inhabited, but apparently according to the professor that since someone in the class failed their last test by a large margin they were going to review for the period. Yang just didn't understand why everyone was looking at her as she said that, anyone could have failed the test, either way she settled to scribbling on the paper in front of her as the professor droned on about stuff they already covered. She only looked up once when she stopped talking to at least make it look like she was paying attention, after that she dwelled on her own thoughts, though most of them seemed to be about the things she and Blake talked about the night before. A lot of her thoughts brought her to the topic of Ruby and Rodric, and how she had treated the both of them, she already made amends with Ruby she just had to find someway to apologize to Rodric.

The thought alone made her cringe, she wasn't one who actively apologized to people we weren't friends or family, but she could at least admit she made a mistake in judging him. That was a start at least. She gave a light huff as she laid her head on the table and continued to scribble on her paper that now had several lines completely colored in from her pencil. She set her pencil on the table as she turned her head and saw Weiss give her a disapproving look but said nothing as she continued to jot down notes, she stuck her tongue out but was either ignored or went unnoticed by her. She rolled her eyes at that and looked past her to see Ruby really focusing on the notes, it was kind of weird she never really seemed to pay attention when it was reviews but it seemed like she was really-oh she was asleep. Yang couldn't help but smile at that as she shook her head, she tilted her head slightly to get a better view further down the table and spotted Blake, she felt another smile crossing her face as she watched Blake work. The way her bright amber eyes quickly jumped from the paper in front of her to whatever it was the professor had written on the board, and that cute way the ears hidden beneath her bow twitched ever so slightly when she was concentrating hard on something. Or the way she would look at her when-Yang blinked several times only to realize that Blake was in fact looking directly at her, she quickly looked away and back to her own blank, hopefully Blake simply mistook her gawking for her staring into space.

Giving a soft sigh she shook her head slightly, just in a matter of a few hours things had changed, at least for her. Blake had no idea, at least she hoped she had no idea, about her feelings for her, and yet with the few hours that they talked heart to heart Yang had managed to turn into a love struck school girl. She watched enough dumb romantic comedies with Ruby to know almost all of the dumb cliches they used, and now she found herself at least doing one of them. This wasn't how it was suppose to work she was suppose to be laid back with this sort of thing, she had it all planned out, she was going to wait for the perfect time and then ask her. Now though everything seemed to have fallen apart, with Rodric showing up out of the blue, this plan to find out just what the White Fang was up too, it was a lot on her mind. If she was being honest with herself, it scared her, not knowing what they were going up against and not knowing what would happen in the end with Blake. She never showed it though, she was the laid back and take nothing seriously person of the group, she had to keep the image up despite being terrified of what would happen. She didn't want to drag her baby sister into this, but she was the one who came up with the plan, she wasn't going to end up sitting out after that, the only way to make sure she would be safe was to go with her.

Everything else was didn't matter, as much as she liked and cared about Blake her sister came before anything, if running blindly into the darkness would keep her sister and friends safe, then she would run as long as she needed too.

* * *

The next few classes flew by in a blur, she was busy thinking of other things and right now the classes didn't even matter for her, tomorrow the plan was going to go into full effect, she had to get her mind straight. While she wasn't one to plan things out like everyone else she always thought about contingencies, whether they ran out of dust or ammo...or in the off chance someone actually got seriously injured, she always thought of every scenario everything she had to do to adjust to the situation. Thankfully she's never had to implement any of her contingencies, she chalked it up to everyone pretty much being unstoppable even her sister who honestly surprised her during their initiation. Even though she was glad she couldn't leave out the fact that a lot of dumb luck factored into them never getting hurt, she could only hope that their streak continued long into the future. Speaking of the future, if memory served she had a paper that was do by the end of next week and she had yet to start on it, which would be why she suddenly found herself in the library after lunch.

Her eyes scanned over the titles of the books, but it was one of the reasons she had put it off for so long, finding the right books to use was murder. She tilted her head back groaning loudly before looking back towards the book, if only Blake were here with her, she would have found several books she could use in an instant. She pulled a random book off the shelf and flipped it open and quickly read a few sentences before placing it back on the shelf, she took a deep breath before sighing heavily. Shaking her head and turned away from the shelves, she was still going to have the weekend to work on it, she probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate on it anyway considering what was going to happen tomorrow. She gave a light hum as she walked down the stairs to the first floor of the library, after so much time had passed since their initial plan had formed it felt like it would be a long way off, but now that it was just around the corner she felt...strangely calm. Despite the storm of thoughts running through her mind about everything that could possible happen tomorrow, she was strangely calm about it, she held her hands out in front of her and found that they weren't shaking. "Weird..."

She shrugged slightly and began to make her way towards the exit when she was stopped by a rather hushed voice of her sister, "We're still on for tonight again right?" Those words alone made her stop in her tracks, instantly her mind went to many terrible thoughts, she quickly shook her head and looked around for where her sister was. When she spotted her familiar red cloak she quickly ducked behind one of the bookshelves closest to her, she had only gotten a glimpse of her but she had also spotted Rodric sitting next to her, _Why doesn't that surprise me?_

"I suppose so, though I believe I won't be able to keep you up late this time correct?" There was nothing said in response to that meaning that Ruby more than likely nodded, "I still don't understand why we are keeping this a secret, we aren't doing anything wrong are we?" Yang's eyes widened slightly at those words as her breath caught in her throat, there was no way to stop the many thoughts that flooded her mind, as much as she tried to keep them at bay it was getting harder not to think about them.

"What of course not, but this way we won't end up being interrupted, you know?" Yang had to fight back a gasp of surprise from what she had heard, from the sound of it, it seemed Ruby was the one who was planning...whatever it was they were talking about.

"I suppose there is logic behind that, its better to have our privacy than to perform in front of others."

Yang's jaw was nearly on the floor from what Rodric had said, "Well I wouldn't call it performing but yeah same thing." Yang's mind was a completely blank after than, she had tried to give Rodric a second chance but just within moments it sounded like all her fears had been true. What was worse was that it sounded like Ruby was the one planning everything out and pretty much going to great lengths to make sure no one knew what they were doing. "Oh shoot come on we got to our next class." There was the sound of chairs scrapping against the floor followed by hurried footsteps with steady ones trailing behind them. She gave herself a few moments to compose herself before stepping from behind the bookshelf, if she was having trouble concentrating in class before, there was no way she was going to be able to pay attention now.

* * *

Yang laid on her bed facing the ceiling as her mind continued to race nonstop after everything she heard a few hours ago in the library, below her was Blake reading another book with Weiss sitting at the desk quietly working on her class assignments. Ruby and Rodric weren't back yet, apparent from the message her sister had sent her, Rodric had gotten into some sort of argument with another student and was forced to stay behind after class, and of course Ruby decided to stay behind to wait for him. She sighed heavily and rolled over letting her head hang off the edge of the bed as she looked down at Blake, her amber eyes glanced up at her before returning back to her book, "Yes Yang?"

"Say Blake..." She gave a soft hum though she didn't look back up at her and instead focused on her books, "Have you noticed Ruby...I don't know...acting differently?"

"What? You mean that thing about her going to study every night with Rodric?" When Yang didn't answer her she looked up to see Yang staring at her with her mouth hanging open, "You mean you never noticed? They've been having study sessions for about a week now, I mean yeah I was surprised about it too at first, but considering both of their grades have improved-"

"Moderately improved."

Blake sighed and rolled her eyes at Weiss' remark, "Improved, I didn't really think much of it, why what's up?" She looked up to see Yang frown slightly before shaking her head before laying back on her bed.

"Nothing...never mind." Yang closed her eyes as she shook her head, she felt so stupid for over reacting like that, it had only been a day since she decided to start over with Rodric and this is what she did. She was only glad she managed to keep her surprised outrage contained when she had heard all of that, otherwise she would have made an even bigger fool out of herself than she already felt like. Still she didn't really understand why they had to keep it a secret, considering it was Rodric it probably had to do with some sort of pride thing he had, didn't want others to know he was studying so hard at a school that seemed to have grew on him. She also wondered why he called it performing, but even then Ruby had seemed confused about it too, it was probably just what he called it, he seemed to have a strange word or phrase for just about everything. It wouldn't honestly surprise her if he had had a different word for studying , she was happy to be wrong about something for once, and was a little glad that Ruby's grades seemed to have picked up as well.

Some time later the door to their dorm opened and from the sound of it Rodric and Ruby had returned, it was fairly easy to tell as Rodric still seemed angry about whatever it was that had set him off in class. As always it seemed Ruby was the one trying to defuse his anger, Yang simply rolled her eyes and rolled over burying her head into her pillow as she let out a yawn, as much as she wanted to know the details of what happened she also just wanted to relax for the night. She could catch a few snippets of the conversation but not enough to put the whole story together, but boy did it sound pretty interesting, sadly for her it sounded like Ruby was trying to keep him from saying to much about the incident, it made her even more curious and she knew she was going to have to get it from her sister at some point.

Yang hadn't realized how long she had actually been lying in bed when she was startled awake when the bathroom door closed only to hear Ruby addressing everyone else, "Alright well me and Rodric are heading out again, we're probably going to be back a little late so...sorry if I wake anyone in advance." There was a mumble of a response from Weiss who sounded like she was still deep into her homework, chances were that she didn't hear a thing Ruby said, which meant they were going to hear about it later when she was inevitably woken up by them. Yang didn't say anything in response, she figured that Ruby thought she was asleep already seeing as she hadn't said a thing to her yet, which was great her thinking that was going to be a big help. Her eyes opened again when the door to the dorm opened up, Ruby was in the middle of saying goodbye again when Blake spoke up and interrupted her.

"Enjoy your date you two."

Yang froze up at those words despite herself, but it seemed Ruby was more caught off guard by them as she choked on her words mid-sentence, "W-What?! I-It's not a da-" She was cut off when the door clicked close no doubt Rodric had closed it, probably while wearing that smirk on his face, what ever his reason he seemed to enjoy when Ruby got embarrassed, she wasn't one to talk she enjoyed it as well it was one of the reasons she teased her a lot. She just looked cute when she was all flustered, she shook her head when her mind started to wander, she couldn't afford to get distracted right now. She pulled her scroll from under her pillow and pulled it open and took note of the time, in ten minuets she was going to make her move, while she wouldn't be able to sneak out she didn't need to worry about Blake and Weiss. As long as Rodric and Ruby didn't know she was going to make a surprise visit , then everything was going to be fine.

Time ticked by as slow as it could, it probably didn't help that she checked her scroll every few seconds to see if it had changed yet, but with the ten minuet wait finally passed she quickly sat up before jumping off her bed. Neither Blake nor Weiss said anything from her sudden movement, she was a bit surprised but seeing as one was immersed in their book and the other on their homework it made sense. She shrugged slightly and made her way towards the door, as she was closing it behind her Blake gave her a few parting words that made her frown, "Have fun."

She frowned at those words, it seemed Blake knew exactly what was going through Yang's mind and had decided to torment her a bit, why else would she have told Ruby to enjoy their "date." If it was to simply tease her sister than she could have said any number of things before she left, so why had she said that in particular she wondered, no doubt she was using Yang's worries against her. While it might have seemed a little mean spirited to use something like that against her, she knew she was probably doing it just to show how silly her worries had been. She gave a heavy sigh as she shook her head, she had to relax, she had been jumping to conclusions way too much lately, if she kept up like this she was going to end up driving herself crazy. Well...at least more crazy than she had already driven herself when she thought Rodric was doing all those terrible things...she quickly shook her head once again to rid herself of those thoughts.

* * *

The thoughts began to creep into her mind again she she struggled to push them down, she crossed her arms as she stared at the locked doors and darkened windows of the library. They had lied to her, no Ruby had lied to her, she was hurt by that fact though not as much as she had expected to be, yet she was very hurt at the same time it was a strange feeling. Ruby had lied to her about things when they were younger, but this was so much different and much worse, worse for her anyway seeing as she was struggling to keep the terrible thoughts from her mind. She ran her fingers through her hair before taking a deep breath and exhaling sharply, she frowned as she looked up and down the dimly lit halls, it was late and all the classrooms were locked and darkened. That at least meant they weren't in some class, still that didn't leave a lot of places for them to sneak off too, the dinning hall still served food for at least another hour, but if they were just going to go eat why not say so?

She groaned loudly as she tried to think of all the places that they could have gone as she started to walk down the hall, if they went outside there was no way she was going to be able to find them easily. Beacon's grounds were huge, she got lost plenty of times in just their first week there, there were still a lot of places she didn't know about, like that once place Blake disappeared to when she wanted to be left alone. It would take too long to search for them if they went outside, they would be back at the dorms before she managed to even search a fraction of Beacon's grounds, the only other place they could have gone to was the roof a lot of students liked to hang around up there at night as it gave a clear view of the sky. She shook her head, that didn't sound like either of them to go out to star gaze, she groaned softly as she walked by the gym her pace slowing down slightly as she looked at the doors, maybe they were here? It was the only place in Beacon that was open until pretty late for students who were really dedicated to training or had trouble sleeping, she herself frequented the gym on the many occasions she found herself to have trouble sleeping.

She tilted her head slightly a frown evident on her face, even if they were here she did understand why, Ruby was a great fighter sure she was bit rough around the edges but that's why she was at Beacon. Rodric...she would grudgingly admit that he was an...alright fighter, he could use a little work but combat classes would help with that, there was no need to come to the gym. She sighed and decided to continue her search despite not even knowing where to start looking, though she didn't get far from the doors when she was stopped by a rather familiar voice, "Come on I know you can do better than that, I've hardly broken a sweat!" Yang's brow arched sharply at the words as she moved closer to the door to hear better while being careful not to make any noise.

From the other side of the door she could hear ragged breathing and a groan of effort, "W-Well you'll have to forgive me I-I don't possess the stamina you do little one..." There was no holding back the thoughts that flooded through her mind as she had to bite down on her lip to keep from saying anything that would give herself away.

"Oh you always say that, you've been able to keep up pretty well lately don't start slacking now!" There was a low groan that came from Rodric, but it seemed Ruby was undeterred by it, "Now come on, I'm going to go all out this time and I expect you to keep up with me."

"Can't we take a moment to rest, I don't think I'll be able to keep up with you for another round..."

"Nope! Now come on, don't hold back, give me your best shot!" The sounds that followed her exclamation were...less than subtle in Yang's mind, she could feel her face heating up despite not wanting it too. She willed herself to move to just burst in there and break up whatever it was they were doing, but she seemed rooted to the spot as her heart race as she was forced by her own body to listen to what was going on beyond the doors. She her eyes in a fruitless hope that it would some how be able to block out the noise she was hearing, her heart was nearly beating out of her chest from the sounds, she bit down harder on her lip nearly drawing blood. "Come on, faster!" Her eyes flew open at the words and instead of embarrassment that she had felt she felt pure rage flood through her body, her hear beat faster as she turned and gripped the handles of the door a growl ripped through her throat as she tossed the doors open.

"What in the world is-" Her shout was cut off when a cry of pain cut through the room, her eyes widened when a splash of red splattered onto the floor and Rodric stumbled back gripping his chest.

"Rodric!" Yang was pulled from her stupor when Ruby's weapon clattered to the ground as she rushed over to him to assess the damage, Yang's eyes slowly moved up his body before she gasped in fear. A thick red line was drawn clean across Rodric's chest, Ruby's weapon had cut cleanly through his shirt as well as his flesh, his blood was flowing freely as it dripped down his body staining his clothes as well as the floor. "Oh my god, I-I'm sorry I-I didn't mean to hurt-" Ruby was cut off when Rodric grabbed at the hand she was extending towards him as he shook his head, they both turned to look at Yang who was frozen in her spot at the door as her eyes were locked on the wound across his chest.

"I'll...I'll be fine little one, j-just give me a moment." Rodric turned and headed towards the locker room leaving a trail of bloody droplets in his wake, silence reigned over them as both Yang and Ruby watched Rodric disappear into the locker room. The silence didn't last much longer after that when Ruby suddenly rounded on her and glared at Yang.

"Why did you do that?!"

Yang was shocked from her fear and managed to barely stutter out a response, "D-Do what?"

Ruby's frowned deepened, "Why did you just barge in like that?! That's not how people act Yang, you could have at least knocked or came in like...like a normal person!" Ruby was freaked out, she could feel her hands shaking, she was angry, angrier than she had ever felt, she had hurt her friend when she didn't mean too. She looked down and saw his blood staining the floor, it still bubbled slightly but seemed to have finally cooled down, she gave a shaky sigh as she moved back towards her weapon.

"I-I'm sorry Ruby I-I just thought...I mean I heard you too a-and I thought..."

"You thought what?" She looked at Yang who seemed to be struggling to find her words, she sighed softly and bent down to pick up her weapon, she looked at the blade and saw the blood staining the blade. She frowned as she cast a glance towards the locker room, "Yang what did you think we were doing?"

Yang still struggled to come up with an answer as she didn't want to just come out and say that she thought her sister, her baby sister was...being intimate with someone. She shook her head and did the next best thing, "Never mind that...i-is he going to be alright? Shouldn't we take him to the infirmary, or something?"

Ruby collapsed her weapon back into its compact form and stored it in her holster before turning to Yang, "Yeah he's going to be fine...I think." She quickly shook her head before looking back towards Yang, "Don't try to change the subject, you didn't answer me, what did you think we were-" She was cut off when the locker room door slammed shut, they both turned to see Rodric walking towards them, his shirt still torn and bloodied but there was a noticeable wound that was now missing from his chest. "Well there you go he's all-"

"Wait a minuet." Ruby turned to see Yang staring almost slack jawed at Rodric, "How did he do that? There's no way he could have healed that sort of wound in just a few minuets. I've taken injuries almost as bad as that and it took hours before my aura could heal it and even then I still had to go to the doctor to get checked out. So how did you, someone who I've had doubts that you could use your aura, manage to heal something of that severity in just a few minuets."

"W-Well you see Yang...I-I mean Rodric he...um he..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head as she struggled to find a way to explain Rodric's miraculous recovery speed, she frowned slightly as she looked up to Yang, "He can heal like that because...that's his semblance?" Yang didn't seem to buy that explanation as she frowned down at Ruby before casting her glare back at Rodric. He sighed heavily behind them as he shook his head, before speaking.

"Just tell her Ruby." Yang's brow arched slightly at those words, as she looked down at Ruby.

"Tell me what?" Ruby didn't answer her right away she instead turned her concerned gaze back to Rodric.

"Are you sure?" He simply nodded as Ruby turned back towards Yang who was now growing frustrated at being kept out of the loop.

"Tell me what." She said with a slight bit of anger slipping into her words, though it seemed to go unnoticed as Ruby looked down at her feet and tugged at her skirt slightly.

"W-Well you see Yang, Rodric...Rodric isn't exactly what he seems to be..."


	15. A Fated Meeting

**_Now I know everyone had been wondering what is going with this story and all I can say is...amazing things. I have finally gotten to the part I have been dying to write for so long long, like since I stared this story i have been dying to get to this point. As you can see is it is extra long, and I can explain that...writing fanfictions are hard. Cause once it get to a canonical part of the story you have to put it in, you can't take it out, you just can't. Anyway I hope you all enjoy this, and please, please tell me what you think. RxR_**

* * *

**A Fated Meeting**

Rodric gave a weary sigh as the hot water washed over his body, he could feel all his muscles relaxing and uncoiling beneath the heat, he groaned softly as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was wrong to underestimate the young leader of this team, yet he constantly found himself doubting her abilities, and each time he did he always found himself in this same position, aching all over and seeking relief in the hot waters of the dorms shower. Though it seemed their training session the previous night had proven to be more...exciting than it usually was, he looked down to his chest and ran his fingers across where the blade had cut through, there was no scar or mark but the feeling remained. He couldn't even fathom what was going on in Yang's mind when she had burst into the gym, that split second that his concentration had been broken had been enough to give him that wound. _Honestly...what was she thinking, _to make it worse Ruby had almost injured herself in the process, luckily he stopped her before she could touch his blood, while it wouldn't have necessarily been his fault he would have still hated for her to be harmed by him.

He gave a soft sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair, she should have been more careful, he already warned her about how dangerous his blood was, and she still foolishly attempted to touch his wound. He gave another sigh as he shook his head, he was being a bit judgmental, she injures herself constantly when she worked on her weapon, he knows because he sees when she comes back from the forge with bandages over her fingers. He groaned softly as he shook his head, he didn't understand why he found himself worrying over her, she was a capable fighter, whatever injuries she sustained she never seemed to complain about, in fact she would seem proud of them. He couldn't help but smirk a bit at the though, _she is a strange one indeed, _still there would be times he wished she would practice at least a bit more caution. "Hey hurry up in there!" He was pulled from his thoughts when Yang began to yell at him through the bathroom door, "Some of us still need to shower before class!"

He chuckled slightly, as always the last to get up and the first to get angry, everyone else had already showered while she slept, meaning the only one who had yet to shower was her. Sadly he didn't feel like parting with the hot water as of yet, surprisingly she didn't say anything else in his silence, it made him curious about what happened after she had left the gym last night. She didn't really say much about it when they had returned to the dorm, and from the way Blake and Weiss were acting it didn't seem as if she had told them, yet she didn't act as cold towards him. _I wonder..._

* * *

"What..." That was all she could manage after Ruby had made a very poor attempt at explaining herself, but from what she made out of her sisters babbling it sounded like she was trying to say something about Rodric. Though it was all hard to tell because she was trying to explain several different things at once and kept getting off topic, to make matters worse Rodric was the one who gave her the go ahead but didn't even seem to be trying to help her out in an explanation. In fact he was just standing there with his bloodied shirt and a smirk on his face listening as Ruby tried to explain whatever it was she was trying to explain to her. "Okay, okay just...stop. Ruby, what are you trying to say?"

Ruby sighed as she looked back to Rodric who only shrugged at her, "Yang, you know those stories you used to read to me when I was younger? You know the stories about the knights, and princesses, and...and dragons?"

"Yeah..."

"Well..." Ruby rubbed the back of her head before sighing heavily and moving over to Rodric and gesturing to him while giving a half-hearted, "...ta-da."

"Pleased to meet you."

Yang could help but frown as Rodric only continued to smirk at her, "Ruby I don't get what your trying to say so could you please just spit it out."

Ruby chewed on her lip and looked up at Rodric once again for reassurance, and while it seemed she had gotten it, Yang didn't see any hint of Rodric doing or even saying anything to her. "Well...you see Yang, Rodric...um...Rodric's a dragon."

Ruby tried to gauge Yang's reaction during the silence that followed her statement but all she could read from Yang's face was that she was extremely confused. Though she kind of expected something like that, it was a much better alternative that what she had honestly imagined Yang would do after she told her that, luckily there was no demands to get away from him or accusations of him being crazy, just a simple confused look. That was something she could deal with.

"Uh...run that by me again Rubes."

Ruby rubbed the back of her head as she made various noises as she tried to figure out something to say, "Well...I mean...I don't really know how to explain it I mean he's a dragon. That's about as good as an explanations going to get."

"Why don't you start from the beginning child." She looked up at Rodric before giving a light huff and nodding slightly, she gestured for Yang to follow her as they moved over to one of the many benches around the gym. Once they took their seats she began to tell Yang everything that Rodric had informed her about, even going into his past, he would have stopped her but she had interestingly enough left out the part about Serana. He could feel a small smile tugging at his lips when she glossed over that bit of information, seeing as she was telling her sister everything else, there was nothing in his past worth hiding, but he was...glad when she kept that bit to herself. He kept his eyes forward as he listened to Ruby re-telling everything he had told her, despite doing so he could feel Yang's eyes on him, no doubt trying to discern whether or not he had lied to Ruby or not. It made sense that she didn't trust a word he said, his eyes widened slightly when he remembered what he had Ruby tell her a few days ago, he was going to have to find some way to bring that up eventually.

"So...he's a dragon?"

"Yeah..."

"...Then where are his...you know?"

"He...he doesn't have those Yang, he's still a dragon though, just...just in a human body." Ruby gave a nervous chuckle as she looked up at Yang who was now looking hard at Rodric, she couldn't tell if she was upset or not but she was looking at him really hard. She turned and looked to Rodric only to see that he wasn't looking at either of them, he kept his eyes forward but he seemed relaxed enough, that was a good thing...probably. She gave a light but nervous chuckle as she turned back to Yang who was still staring at Rodric as if she was trying to see something inside of him, "What are you thinking Yang?" Ruby began to grow slightly worried when Yang didn't respond right away, she simply continued to stare Rodric down, she didn't understand how Rodric wasn't freaking out yet. Dragon or not, he had to at least feel slightly uncomfortable with the way Yang was staring at him, she couldn't even stand a minuet of Yang staring at her like that. "Yang?"

She gave a soft hum as she finally pulled her gaze away from Rodric only to look down and see the worried look on her sisters face, she gave a heavy sigh before shaking her head, "I'm thinking that this is a lot to take in." She looked back to her sister only to see a starry eyed and hopeful look on her face, she rustled her hair chuckling slightly, "I'm not saying that I believe him exactly but...it explains a lot I guess..."

"What do you mean?"

"Yes, Yang what ever could you mean by that?"

She gave her usual smirk and shrugged slightly as she placed her hands on the back of her head before leaning against the wall behind them, "Who knows, it could mean a lot of things you know?" She chuckled lightly when Ruby huffed in annoyance towards her, she smiled and stood up and rustled up her hair once more time for good measure, "Anyway you kids don't stay up too late we got..." She stopped herself as she looked over to Rodric completely forgetting that he was left out of their little plan, she looked back towards Ruby before continuing, "...we got important stuff tomorrow." Ruby gave her a firm nod before she turned back towards Rodric, she crossed her arms and hummed slightly, "Try not to burn anything down." She smirked and choked back laughter before turning and walking out of the gym.

"Why do I get the feeling she doesn't exactly believe you?" He looked towards Ruby as she merely shrugged, he gave a sigh before resting his head against the wall behind him. He didn't honestly care whether or not Yang believed him, as long as she didn't barge in on the two of them again, he would appreciate it if she didn't make him suffer any more injuries. Though he was curious if she was going to tell the others about what Ruby had just told her, he honestly wouldn't be surprised as she wasn't known to keeping things to herself, he wondered what the others would think of it. "What do you suppose she meant by 'it explains a lot' comment she made?"

Ruby shrugged, "Who knows, she says a lot of things, not a lot of them end up making sense."

"So a bit like you then?" She looked up at him and frowned, he kept his eyes locked with hers and continued despite her frown deepening. Though as he thought her frown soon faltered as a smile soon broke through and she gave a light laugh. He couldn't help but give a soft laugh in return, she always seemed to break under his gaze, though that might have only been because she was never angry when she appeared to be. She wasn't a very good liar. "Come, we should go."

* * *

"Hurry up!" He was pulled from his thoughts once again when Yang's voice rang through the bathroom, he shook his head as he gave a heavy sigh, he quickly shut the water off before stepping out of the shower. He quickly dried himself before running his fingers through his hair and wringing it out, as he did this he felt his arms shaking slightly, curious he held his hands out in front of him only to see them trembling. He realized he never did discover the causer for his discomfort the previous day, that feeling of unease had only grown stronger and it seemed to be affecting him even more than it had been previously. He had thought that the feeling had simply vanished during the day, but seeing it now only made him realize that with his mind occupied from classes that he had simply forgotten about it, obviously it was still there. "Geeze, come on already!" He let out a low growl as Yang began to kick at the door, both urging and annoying him at the same time, thankfully he was already dressed all he had to do was put on the accursed tie, he should have attempted it on his own in order to annoy Yang further. Sadly, he was not in the mood to listen to her banging on the door, griping all the while, he grabbed his tie and stalked over to the door before tossing it open.

"Perhaps if you actually took the time to wake up when others called you, you wouldn't be so angry at being the last in the shower!" He growled out, she merely shrugged and pushed past him before slamming the door shut behind him. "Honestly, it isn't that hard to wake up when someone calls you." He shook his head, before looking at Weiss who was sitting at the desk against the wall, it seemed as if she were going over some notes before class, nevertheless he held his tie out before clearing his throat. "Could I trouble you once again Weiss." She looked over at him before rolling her eyes and huffing before she stood up.

"Honestly, you should have at least figured it out by now considering how many times I've done this already." She snatched the tie from his hands and flipped his collar up before quickly tying it together, she tightened it a bit much but he said nothing as he simply adjusted it to a more comfortable position. He opened his mouth to at least thank her for helping him but she was already taking her seat back at her desk and returning her focus to her notes, he shook his head as he adjusted his collar. As he did he could feel a pair of eyes on him, turning towards the feeling he caught Ruby's silver eyes staring directly at him, at least it appeared she was staring directly at him. Her eyes were on him but it didn't appear that she was even aware that he was standing there, it seemed she was having another episode of 'daydreaming' as Weiss had called it at one point, seeing her like this is made him curious about what was going on in her head. Almost as if to answer his question she began to smile a bit as her cheeks grew red, he frowned slightly before turning to Blake who was sitting on her bed reading a book.

"Is she going to be alright?" Blake took one look at Ruby before smirking and returning back to her book.

"Probably." He sighed heavily at her comment, though he wasn't too surprised by it, it seemed whenever their leader acted strangely they took it as a normal occurrence. For all he knew it could have been, he had only been with them for a short while, he still wasn't used to all their little quirks especially Ruby who seemed to have the most out of all of them. Since neither Blake nor Weiss seemed bothered by the way Ruby was acting at the moment he decided he wouldn't worry about it either. He gave a sigh as he took his place against the window, as he did he heard the glass shift under him giving a soft crackling sound. He turned his head towards the sound and frowned slightly, it seemed the broken window had yet to be fixed, he spent most of his time underneath this window it made him wonder how he never noticed that it was still broken. He frowned as he turned away from the cracks, perhaps he tried not to notice it, while he had apologized and was forgiven for what happened, he didn't like remembering what he had done in a childish fit of rage, it wouldn't be the first time he tried to ignore something so obvious. He crossed his arms before gripping his side, the sound of the bathroom door being thrown open pulled him from his thoughts as steam flooded into the room.

"Alright you lazy bums let's go."

"Excuse you! We've been waiting for you!"

He gave a small smirk as Yang and Weiss began to bicker, it at least took him mind off the thoughts that were going through his head at that moment, if anything the girls in this door were good at distracting him. Though while it served as a good distraction it seemed that the argument was becoming more heated by the second, he shook his head as he sighed heavily, "If you two are quite done, I believe that we have some classes we must attend." They both glared at him but seemed to agree with his statement, had it been any other day he would have gladly sat back and watched the two of them argue until they were out of breath. But at that moment he could feel the slight tremble beginning in his arms again, it was perhaps the first time he was eager to attend classes, anything to keep his mind occupied so that he wouldn't be shaking anymore. He still didn't even know the source of his distress, all he knew was that it had only grown much more apparent since the previous day, all he could hope was that their classes would serve as a much needed distraction.

* * *

His mind was a mess, the classes did not serve the purpose he had hoped they would, in fact that only served to make his unease grow much more. Being surrounded by so many people put him on edge, his instincts and senses were on edge throughout the day, the shaking in his hands had gotten much more worse that he had given up on doing any classwork. As much as it pained him to admit, he felt like a animal trapped in a cage, there would be times during their passing period when he was surrounded by the other students in the halls and he would find that he couldn't breathe. It seemed like he was also putting up a poor attempt at hiding it as some of the others asked several times if he was alright throughout their classes, despite trying to put on a front they didn't believe him. There was nothing they could do anyway, he wasn't even sure why he was feeling like this, all he had to go on was that feeling sitting in the pit of his stomach, that feeling alone put him on edge and seemed to feed into his unease. By the time the second class started he simply wanted the day to be over with, sadly he knew there were still many classes before that could happen, he just didn't know how he was going to deal with them in the state he was in.

Despite that he was able to notice something when he was granted a minor reprieve from his anxiety, it only seemed to grow worse whenever Ruby was around. For some reason whenever she was near he was much more aware of things around them, he knew where everyone was and where everything was, any time someone made a sudden movement around the two of them he could feel his heart racing and his muscles tightening. It was then he began to realize what was happening to him, it was his survival instinct, when the thoughts of attacking people and protecting himself and Ruby began to fill his mind, there was no doubt that was what it was. He hadn't felt this strong of a drive to survive since...for a long time, he knew better than to rely on his instincts in a place such as Beacon but every moment that passed the feeling to simply give into his baser instincts grew stronger. Several times throughout the day he retreated to the bathroom to calm himself, though it never seemed to help, separating himself actually seemed to make things worse for him. Being alone and away from other people put him even more on edge and caused him to become jumpy, being alone in the bathrooms where it was much quieter made him hear things, _is this what it feels like to go mad? _

When lunch finally came around the feelings inside of him grew worse by the second, and the pit of unease growing in his stomach made it impossible for him to even eat, nothing looked even mildly appetizing. The others didn't buy into the excuse that he wasn't hungry but didn't push the issue, his mind was already frayed he didn't need to argue over something so trivial. The truth however was that everything literally made him sick, something as simple as smelling the food around him caused him to retch a bit, that wasn't something he could easily hide. Several times they insisted that he should visit the nurse to get checked out, but he adamantly refused, stating that it would pass soon and he would be fine. He as well as they knew that it wasn't true, while neither him nor the others knew what was wrong with him, all he could really do was hope that it passed soon. He couldn't afford to be slowed down by his overactive nerves and senses, he still had several classes to get through not to mention there was something more urgent that he had to deal with later in the day, something that required him to be at one hundred percent as they say. When lunch ended he gave a heavy sigh before sucking in a sharp breath and pushing himself from the table, _just a few more classes, nothing I shouldn't be able to handle._

* * *

Rodric lowered himself to the ground below the window of Team RWBY's dorm as he let out a low groan, it turned out that a few classes were indeed something he couldn't handle. While he had been mentally exhausted from his frayed nerves and overly active senses, now he body ached in conjunction with his already throbbing head. He should have expected it though, but with his mind occupied he didn't really realize what was happening until it was too late, fighting Yang in his state had been a big mistake. During their last class Yang had eagerly asked for another match with him, Glynda seemed all too eager to set him against her once again, he didn't know why he expected her to hold back. During their first encounter he didn't hold back whatsoever, it only made sense that she returned the favor, but with his current state he hadn't been able to attack or defend properly, suffice to say the match ended rather quickly. Since then Yang had been shooting glares at him, it had something to with her muttering something along the lines of "not taking it seriously", he couldn't blame her for being angry as he was angry with himself for letting himself be distracted by his own senses.

Ruby kneeled down next to Rodric as she looked at him, he had been looking sick since he had gotten out of the shower that morning, and it only seemed to have gotten worse. He was twitchy and seemed to be acting really paranoid, she wanted to know what was bothering him so much but considering how he had been acting she had no doubt he would have just changed the subject. "You alright there Rodric?"

"Perfectly-" He jerked his head to the side as his neck cracked loudly causing him to sigh heavily, "-fine." He pinched the bride of his nose as he took a deep breath before exhaling heavily, all he felt like doing was simply sleeping, but he knew there was still much that he had to do this day.

"Okay or not, you gotta get out."

He glared up at Yang obviously not in the mood to be taunted, "Excuse me?"

She rolled her eyes in a very exaggerated manner, "Look I know you want to see all this..." She motioned up and down her body with a wave of her hands, "...but in order to persevere whatever modesty you have, you gotta leave."

Rodric opened his mouth to argue, but when he saw that smug look on her face he thought better than to argue with her, she wasn't the best academically speaking but she had a way of twisting peoples words around. He let out a slow breath as he pushed himself to his feet, "Fine." He shook his head as he walked towards the door with Yang following right behind him, he stepped out into the vacant hallway huffing slightly as Yang spoke up behind him.

"Maybe next time." Was all she said before closing the door, he clenched his fists and took another deep breath before letting it out in a rush as he took his place against the wall next to the dorm's door. _She's one to talk about modesty..._He smirked slightly at that as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back against the cool wall, he still didn't understand why his survival instincts had kicked in so suddenly. He had been in Beacon for nearly a month, and in that month he had been severely injured and stood at death's door more than once, and it had never once made it's appearance. Yet now when he was simply attending classes with the others, it suddenly surfaces and torment's him throughout the day and embarrasses him in a match against Yang of all people. He growled as he shook his head, whatever the reason he hoped that it was the last time he was going to have to deal with it, though with his still trembling hands and overly heightened perception he knew that it had was still going to be present for at least the remainder of this day.

He jerked his head to the side when he heard the door to the dorm open, thinking they had allowed him entrance he reached for the handle, only for it to be pulled open from the other end and caused him to stand face to face with Weiss. He opened his mouth to speak only for the girl in white to push past him with a huff, "Excuse you." He growled slightly as he moved to the side to allow the others to exit, it was then he noticed that they were all wearing different clothes, much different than what he normally saw them in. He shook his head, their clothing wasn't important, what was important was the fact that they were all walking down the hallway.

"Where are you all off to in such a hurry?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Yang called back with a wave of her hand.

"I believe that is why I asked Yang, now where are you going?" He asked with a firmer voice which caused all of them to stop and turn back towards him all of their faces carrying a glare, all of them except for Ruby's.

Yang huffed as she rolled her eyes, "Geeze _dad _we're just going to-"

"Going to find the White Fang?" All of their eyes widened slightly in surprise before Blake and Weiss turned their glare towards Yang, who flinched back slightly instantly raising her hands to defend herself.

"W-What are you looking at me for I didn't tell him anything."

Weiss continued to glower at Yang as she crossed her arms, "Well if you didn't tell him anything then who..." Her words died in her mouth as she suddenly realized the only other person who could have blabbed to Rodric, she turned her attention to their young leader only to see her trying to sneak her way down the hall. "Stop right there Rose!" Even with how far she managed to get they could all still hear when she let out a loud, 'eep' of fear, with her distance she could have easily bolted from them but it seemed she had learned not to do that anymore. "Come. Here." Weiss glared holes into Ruby's back and it seemed to affect her as she squirmed and fidgeted in place before finally relenting and slowly trudged her way back towards them. "What were you thinking?! Why would you tell _him _something like that."

"I-I didn't mean to, it just...sorta...came out..." She gave a nervous laugh as she wrung her hands under the disapproving glare of Weiss.

"What else did you tell him?" She watched as Ruby bit her lip and stared down at the ground, it seemed like she was trying very hard not to break under her gaze. Sadly everyone knew that Ruby would eventually break, and though it was a small break, no one missed when Ruby's eyes quickly darted to Blake and then back to the ground. Their eyes widened again in shock as Blake moved closer to their young leader.

"You told him I was a faunus?!" She hissed in a rather harsh whisper, she tried to not sound angry, but it was hard when she was trying so hard to keep her heritage a secret. She didn't want everyone at the school to look at her differently just because of what she was, she had already made a good standing, she didn't want it to be ruined.

"I already knew you were...if that make's any difference." They all turned to him in a single movement, that look of surprise seemingly stuck to their faces. "What?"

"Y-You knew?" He nodded in confirmation as Blake struggled to gather her thoughts, she had a million questions racing through her mind that she wanted to ask him, but felt that she would settle on the one that was nagging her the most. "How?"

Rodric shifted uncomfortably at the question, it should have been a simple answer, in fact it was a simple answer, but he looked at it from their perspective and found that it wasn't as simple as he thought it was. "Well...you see I could..." He looked up seeing the four girls looking at him curiously, "I..." He quickly shook his head before fixing his gaze back on them, "It's not important, what is important is the fact that your going out in an attempt to find out what this White Fang group is up to." He shook his head frowning slightly, "Don't you understand how dangerous that is?"

Weiss crossed her arms and glared at him, "Of course we know how dangerous it is, but we don't plan on doing anything that requires putting our self in danger. This is a simple reconnaissance mission, nothing more, all we're going to do is find out exactly what they're up to." She gave an indignant huff as she turned her nose up at him, "We already decided to do this, and there is nothing you can do, and there is certainly nothing you can say that will stop us from-"

"I will be joining you."

"...Excuse me?"

"You heard me perfectly clear Weiss, I intend to follow you on whatever ridiculous mission you have all planned, being stuck in Beacon has taken a toll on me and I fear that if something exciting doesn't happen soon I'll be forced to burn down this school just to break the monotony..." At their...shocked silence he knew that his joke maybe went a tad too far, seems he wasn't as well versed in comedy as Yang seemed to be, he gave a weary sigh before shaking his head, "...very well, I'll simply be going in regards of safety. While I have no doubt that you are all very capable of fighting, a controlled environment is much different than real combat. Think of me as...a contingency _if _something were to happen."

"Aw!" Yang exclaimed loudly as she placed both her hands over her heart in an exaggerated manner, "You _do _care!" Rolled eyes from both Weiss and Blake as well as stifled laughter from Ruby was the only response she got, Rodric however did not find her funny in the slightest. "Anyway, thanks for the offer and all, but we already have a couple of tagalongs for the ride and we-"

"Will have one more. You must have misunderstood what I meant Yang, I wasn't asking to come along. I _am _coming along, and there isn't anything you can say, or do to chance my mind." He crossed his arms and cast a glare at Yang when she opened her mouth intending to argue with him, she instead shut her mouth and gave him back an equally scathing glare. The two locked eyes with each other mentally challenging the other, willing the other to break, but before long a smirk crept across Rodric's face before Yang groaned in frustration and threw her hands up.

"Fine, whatever you can come along, do whatever, I don't care." She gave a frustrated huff before becoming much more serious, "Now come on, we've wasted enough time." She turned and started to walk down the hall with the others following her, he gave a heavy sigh before doing the same but keeping a bit of distance between him and the group. It made him curious why they seemed so determined to keep him from going with them, and why Ruby kept looking back at him with a look full of concern. He wasn't sure if they were simply worried about him, which if they were they should know better than that, they've seen the things he's suffered, surely this couldn't be any worse. His stomach clenched painfully at that exact moment as he placed his hand over the area to ease the pain away, he didn't think much of it but did find it strangely funny that his stomach decided to hurt at that exact moment, the word 'foreboding' crept into his mind. He shook it away and continued on, wondering just what the plan was anyway for something like this.

* * *

When they arrived in the courtyard they met up with two more people, both of which Rodric hadn't seen before, or if he had he never took notice of them. The first was noticeable from a distance, tall with bright blue hair and a dark red jacket, it made him question how it would be a reconnaissance mission with someone who stood out such as he did. The other...wasn't as noticeably tall, perhaps a few inches shorter, still he stood out as well with bright blonde hair and slightly tanned skin that was exposed from the button up shirt that was left unbuttoned. Neptune and Sun, gave a brief introduction which he returned in kind, they expressed their surprise at never meeting him before to which he gave a forced laugh that neither seemed to notice. It was there that they went over the plans, either to remind themselves or for his sake, either way he was grateful to 'be in the loop' so to speak. From what he heard, rather what he was told, it seemed that the pairs consisting of Blake, Sun, Yang, and Neptune were going to be heading into Vale to figure things out on their end. Yang with her 'contact' and Blake with her knowledge of where to find the White Fang rally, it made him curious as to why she knew the exact location of something like that, but he kept his curiosity to himself.

The only group left was Weiss and Ruby, it seemed that they were going to stay at Beacon and go to this...CCT, it didn't seem as dangerous as some of the other things the others were doing, but they had their partners so he elected to stay with Weiss and Ruby. Yang made her comments and Weiss made her faces but neither argued with him over it and instead went their separate ways, well nearly separate ways, both Blake and Yang's pair headed for the airships and would no doubt split up once they made it to Vale. When he turned back towards Weiss and Ruby he found that they had already started off without him, he gave a sigh before following after them towards the large building looming in the distance. As he watched it grow larger he remembered seeing it during his first day here, when he escaped the confines of the dorm and wandered out into the night, he had seen it in the distance but had no idea what it was. Apparently this was the CCT that Ruby had seemed...strangely eager to see, he stopped mid stride as he craned his head back just to look up at the large building, he had to admit...it was a grand sight.

When he finally caught up with Ruby and Weiss it seemed they were having some sort of conversation, one of which he only caught the end of, "-allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War." He raised his brow curiously at that, he couldn't imagine something akin to a war ever happening in a place like this, but for something as spectacularly grand as the CCT to be a gift, it made a bit of sense. Not a lot of people were giving away buildings of this size as gifts if it wasn't for a very particular reason.

Before he could question what exactly the Great War was, Ruby spoke up instead, though she did it in a way that mocked Weiss, this pleased Rodric and he found it impossible to keep the smile from his face. "Oh, look at me. My name's Weiss. I know facts. I'm rich." She quickly covered her mouth as she broke done into some strange snorting laughter, Rodric found it hard to keep his own chuckles to himself. Weiss however didn't find it as funny as she glared at him before turning her glare on the still giggling Ruby.

"Ugh, don't be a pest. Besides, the only reason _we're _here is because _you _like the tower so much. We could have just as easily made a call from the library."

"I know, but it's so _cool! _Oh, I'm going to take a picture." Both Weiss and Rodric rolled their eyes at her antics, though Rodric did so more in amusement while Weiss did so in annoyance. In her eagerness Ruby pulled her scroll from her pocket and instantly fumbled with it as it fell from her fingers, giving another chuckle Rodric started to retrieve the device for her, only to see it stop at someone's feet. The person reached down and picked it up instead before holding it out, with a bright smile on their face.

"You dropped this." He looked up to see bright green eyes staring back at him, he glanced over the girl taking not of her orange, almost bronze colored hair that was decorated with a rather large pink bow. He looked back at Weiss and Ruby to see that they were both as equally surprised as he was, but Ruby seemed to have something else behind her eyes, something akin to recognition. Which made more sense when she called the girls name.

"Penny?" For some unknown reason the girl seemed to grow uncomfortable when Ruby said her name, there could have been a number of reasons for that, but none of which seemed to fit with the girls growing unease. "Where have you been? We haven't seen you since that night at the docks." He turned towards Ruby instantly curious as well as worried about what she was talking about, something about the way she had said that sat uncomfortably heavy in his stomach, only adding pressure to the unease that was plaguing him.

"S-Sorry I-I think you're confused..." She then hiccuped in a rather odd manner, though it was strong enough to force her to lose her grip on Ruby's scroll, which launched itself from Penny's hand and back into Ruby's. "...uh...I've got to go." With that she quickly turned and hurried away and down the steps ahead of them, it was probably one of the oddest encounters with another person he's had so far in his time in Beacon. Still something about that strange girl felt odd, she was lying, that was obvious, but there was something else that he just couldn't quiet place.

"What was that about?" Weiss mused from behind him, he gave a light sigh before turning back towards the two of them, and that's when he noticed the now determined look that had crossed Ruby's face.

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Before either one of them could tell her anything she was already chasing after the girl that had just departed, he gave a heavy sigh as he turns in Weiss' direction when her grumblings were heard.

"Don't worry Weiss, I'm sure you can handle this...monumental task on your own." He gave her a grin as she glared at him before turning and quickly following Ruby, he sighed when he found her and the other girl already at the bottom of the steps talking to each other, he didn't understand how they could both move so quickly in such a short amount of time. Nevertheless he took his time down the stairs watching the two of them talk, while Penny had her back towards him, he could see Ruby perfectly from where he was. To say she looked...troubled would have been a severe understatement, whatever the two of them were talking about it seemed to have shaken Ruby severely or worried her immensely, possibly the latter as he never really seen Ruby shaken. Before he even reached the last set of steps Penny quickly looked around before hurrying off leaving Ruby behind, he took the last few steps slower watching the body language of the young girl in front of him, she was worried. Of what, he had yet to find out, "Is...everything alright?"

"H-Huh?" Her head quickly snapped around to see Rodric standing on the last step from the bottom, his eyes looking over her for...something, "Y-Yeah I'm fine it's just...I don't know something doesn't seem right." She wrung her hands together as she turned back watching the speck that was Penny disappear into the distance. Ever over the bustle of the other students wandering around, and the loud noise of airships coming and going in the distance, she could still heard Rodric's footsteps as he moved to stand next to her. Her body tensed up slightly when she felt him standing so close to her, as subtly as she could she inched herself away from him, hoping that it wasn't so obvious.

"What did she tell you?"

Thankfully it seemed he hadn't noticed, giving a soft sigh she shook her head, "She was being really weird, weirder than normal, she said that it wasn't safe to talk here. I don't get what she meant, but that's all she said and then told me to meet her at a cafe in Vale." Rodric gave a low hum which caused her to look up towards him, only to see him crossing his arms with him slowly looking around the area, apparently he was just as confused as she was when Penny had told her that it wasn't safe there. "What are you thinking?" He gave another low hum before dropping his arms to his side and looking down at her.

"I'm thinking we should probably head to Vale."

* * *

The two of them were lucky to catch an airship that was just about to depart towards Vale, they took their seats in the very back away from everyone else as they had before, and much like before Rodric dug his fingers into the hard plastic of the seat. Ruby took notice right away considering the way he went rigid just as the ship was taking off, it was tough but she managed to contain her laughter, "Still scared of flying huh?"

"I'm not scared of flying I just-" He was cut off as the ship shook slightly from the turbulence, but from the way Rodric pushed himself back into the seat he made it look like the ship was going down, "-I just don't like others having control over something I have no say in. I've flown for centuries, of course I wouldn't be comfortable with someone else having control over it, especially in a contraption such as this." Ruby gave a light hum as she watched Rodric attempt to relax, while he said he didn't enjoy the flight he didn't seem as...rigid as he had been the first time he had flown in one, still she decided that it would be best to get his mind off of it and asked him something that had been bugging her.

"So Rodric..." He muttered something in response though she wasn't quiet sure what he said, but she was sure that she at least had his attention, "...I've been a little curious about something-"

"Aren't you always?" She looked up to glare at him but stopped when she noticed the way he was smirking at her, she felt her stomach knot up tightly which caused her to gasp slightly in surprise. She quickly turned her head and focused on the clouds that were rapidly passing by as she waited for her racing heart to calm down, taking a slow breath she kept her focus on the clouds.

"Yeah...w-well I was just wondering about that thing you said at Beacon."

"You'll have to be a bit more specific than that."

She turned towards him then frowning slightly, "You know...the thing about Blake and how you knew she was a...you know."

"Ah, that...yes, well what did you wish to know about it?"

"Well...did you mean what you said? About knowing all along or were you just saying that to keep me out of trouble?"

He gave a heavy sigh as he leaned back into the plastic seats attempting to move into a more comfortable position, "Well...both I suppose." Ruby began to fiddle with the edge of her cloak as she felt a slight warmth spreading though her chest as well as over her cheeks.

"Why..." She looked up to see Rodric looking back at her with a confused look on his face, she quickly realized what she said and tried to quickly change the subject, "I-I mean how...did you know she was a faunus?"

Rodric sighed heavily and ran his hand across his face, "Do you really wish to know?" He looked over to her only to see that she was eagerly nodding, he honestly didn't know why he expected anything different, he gave another sigh as he began to feel slightly uncomfortable. "I knew Blake was a faunus because..." He frowned slightly as he looked down at the floor shaking his head, "...because I could..." He shook his head growing frustrated with himself for not being able to simply say it, growling slightly he huffed in frustration before finally speaking ,"I-It was because I could...I could smell her."

Ruby was shocked by the answer or rather she would have been had she not been trying to keep herself from laughing at how weird it sounded, she bit her lip and dug her fingers into her thighs to keep from laughing out loud. It was hard though, she had heard some pretty strange things, but coming from Rodric this was especially strange. Several small noises of laughter slipped through her pursed lips as she tried to quiet herself, "S-So y-you could smell h-her?" Speaking was almost impossible as with each word she just wanted to fall out in laughter, but tried her best to stay calm so she wouldn't embarrass Rodric any further.

Giving a large sigh Rodric shook his head, "Laugh if you must child, I doubt I can embarrass myself further after revealing something like that..."

Ruby shook her head as she fought back the rising laughter, taking a few deep and rather shaky breaths she finally managed to calm herself, "So what do you mean you could s-smell her?" She tried her best but it really was too funny when she thought about, she had no doubt she would be breaking into fits of chuckles whenever she looked at Blake from now on.

Rodric cast a glare towards Ruby but said nothing as he shook his head, "Considering what I am, I suppose it's no surprise that I have a better sense of smell than humans, perhaps even better than most faunus if I were to wager." He leaned his head back into the seat as he gave a sigh, he couldn't believe he was really telling, let alone explaining this to Ruby, "When I had first arrived at Beacon I spent some time in the infirmary and Velvet had wandered in to seek aide, it was then I realized that she didn't exactly smell like a human. I made the conclusion that Faunus have a different scent than humans, considering Blake has the same...particular scent I suppose I was correct in my assumption."

"Huh, weird..."

"Why?"

Ruby merely shook her head smirking slightly, "Nothing, I just...I thought you knew because of all the weird nicknames Yang gives to Blake."

"I thought those were merely terms of endearment..." He frowned slightly, now that he thought about it Yang did make a lot of cat jokes around Blake, he always wondered why she would give Yang as well as himself that fierce glare, perhaps she had been worried that he would catch on from that alone. "...I suppose it was a bit more obvious than simply her scent...she does consume a lot of tuna after all..." He shook his head pushing the thoughts from his mind, "No matter, not a word of this is to be said to anyone not JNPR, not RAVN, Weiss, Blake, or Yang, _especially _Yang."

"Alright I promise."

"Ruby."

"What? I promise I won't tell anyone."

"I mean it Ruby, not anyone."

"Alright geeze, I won't tell anyone."

"...Alright." He eyed Ruby cautiously, he trusted her enough to tell her that he was a dragon, but seeing as this was possibly the most embarrassing thing he has ever admitted to, he'd rather it just stay between the two of them. He wasn't sure how much trust to put into her to keep his secret, if she knew any she didn't speak of them, or perhaps the others knew better than to trust her with secrets, which if it was the case he had made a very grave mistake. Only time would tell it seemed, though now that he brought up team RAVN he was curious about something, "Hm."

"What is it?"

"It's just...strange, the faunus have a particular scent to them compared to humans, but that girl, Rayvn she smells like a faunus but she's a human. Just...strange I suppose."

"Well, she does share a dorm with three other faunus, maybe their scent rubbed off on her, plus she and Victoria are...dating I guess? Maybe that has something to do with it?"

He stared at the ground giving a slight nod, though he wasn't exactly convinced that, that was the answer he was looking for, "I suppose..."

* * *

When the airship landed at the docks in Vale, Rodric was all too eager to exit the metal contraption, with the air brushing across his skin and noise other than the loud hum of the engines filling his ears, he was much more at ease. He slowly looked around as the other students filed from the airship, he was hoping to catch sight of the girl they were looking for, Penny. Seeing as she had left before they had, there was no doubt she was already waiting for them wherever it was she had asked Ruby to meet her, "Do you know where the cafe she asked you to meet her is?"

"Yeah I've been to it before it's not far from here." She led the way with Rodric following close behind, she gave a soft sigh as she passed by the people walking down the streets, while the ride into Vale took her mind off of everything for a bit, now that she was here she was beginning to worry. Worry for Penny, she hadn't seen her since that night in at the docks and now she was acting all weird, pretending not to know her and then telling her it wasn't safe to talk, she really hoped that everything was alright.

"This girl..." She was pulled from her worried thoughts when Rodric began to speak, she looked over her shoulder to see him looking around, it was then she remembered he never did get a proper look at Vale the first time. She was still going to have to invite him back here soon, "...how did the two of you meet?"

"You mean Penny? Well...we just kinda ran into each other...literally. Only it wasn't me, it was Weiss that ran into her."

"I...what?"

"Well when we met Penny, Weiss had wanted to come into Vale when some students from the other kingdoms were arriving, cause she wanted to spy on the competition for the tournament that we are going to have at the end of the year. That's also when we met Sun, he was one of the exchange students, and well...we kinda chased after him and Weiss ended up running into Penny."

"I...see, but that doesn't explain how the two of you are so-"

"Close?" She looked over her shoulder to see Rodric frowning slightly from being interrupted, she stuck her tongue out and laughed softly before turning forward once again, "Well I guess we're close because the next day we ended up fighting some White Fang member at the docks and-"

"What?!" He stopped dead in his tracks at what had just been revealed to him, his shout had also drawn the attention of several passerby but none of them stopped. What...upset him the most was when Ruby turned and looked at him with a confused expression, as if he didn't have the right to be upset with this discovery. "You've fought these people before?!"

Ruby nodded slowly, "Yeah, well I mean I didn't really do much Blake and Sun had taken care of most of them before we got there, Penny got to see more action than I did, but yeah I guess I've fought them before. Kinda." She gave a slight shrug before turning and continued to walk towards their destination, Rodric however didn't understand how she was so calm about this. He didn't understand why he was so bothered by this, Ruby was a capable fighter, this he knew if their sparring matches told him anything of her skill, it was just the thought of Ruby putting herself into danger like that it...it didn't sit well with him. He rubbed his chest hoping to ease away some of the discomfort he was feeling before he followed after her, without much inclination she continued on about Penny and how amazing she was when she fought the White Fang. It was all well and good, it was even a better distraction for him and took his mind off of what she had just told him, though that didn't last too long when her focus shifted onto a man, Roman Torchwick.

As she began to explain who this man was the aching and discomfort in his chest grew more and more until it was a nearly crippling sensation, it didn't help much when she explained how she first encountered that man. As she began to go into the details about how she _single handedly _thwarted a robbery and even went so far as to pursue the man that was robbing the store she was in, he could feel his heart clenching tightly in his chest with every detail she gave to him. He couldn't understand how she wasn't left shaken after someone tried to rob her, she wasn't scared, in fact she was proud of her action, while he was in fact proud that she was able to pull off a feat such as that he was more worried for her well being than she seemed to be. The more she spoke the more his nerves slowly began to break down, he hadn't been there to see any of the things she said she did, which was just as well he figured, had he been there he would probably be having a much worse reaction than he was having right now.

"...and that's when Professor Goodwitch came in to help and-oh look there she is." She rushed off towards Penny completely unaware of the mental mess she had left Rodric in, as she approached Penny she could see that she was looking around nervously. Ruby slowed in her pace as she drew closer to Penny and placed a hand gently on her shoulder causing her to jump slightly, she gave her a soft smile when Penny quickly turned towards her. Penny happily returned it but she noticed it faded as her eyes looked over her shoulder, Ruby turned and saw Rodric walking towards them shaking his head. "Oh right I didn't introduce the two of you yet, Penny this is my friend Rodric, Rodric this is my friend Penny."

Penny looked up at the man that was named Rodric, he didn't look like most of the other students that attended Beacon, he was probably another one of the exchange students she wagered. Nevertheless since Ruby said this was her friend that meant that he was her friend as well, by extension, she extended her arm as she flashed him a friendly smile. "Salutations friend, any friend of Ruby's is a friend of mine."

Rodric was a bit wary of the girl, but it seems his worries were misplaced, it wasn't often he met new people it could have been very possible that he was simply wary of anyone he had yet to meet. Rather than dwell on his thoughts he reached out for the girls extended hand and grasped it firmly, "It is always a pleasure to-" He froze, the moment his hand come into contact with Penny's something felt off, he looked at the girl his eyes looking her over trying to quickly determine what it was he noticed. Though when she began to give him an odd look he quickly shook his head and continued from where he stopped, hoping that neither of them took much notice to his strange behavior, "-to meet one of Ruby's friends." This seemed to appease Penny as she gave him another wide smile that could rival Ruby's and roughly shook his hand. When the two of them parted Penny instantly began to speak with Ruby while Rodric flexed his hand and trying to rub away the sore feeling that now dwelled in his hand, Penny had an extraordinary grip for such a young girl. He followed close behind the two of them though he wasn't really paying attention to what the two of them were speaking about, his mind was still wondering what it was about Penny that had caught his attention, it was only an instant that he felt like something was off though it wasn't long enough to determine what it was exactly. He pushed it from his mind as he shook his head and gave a heavy sigh, to many things were occupying his mind this day, it would have to wait until much later when he could think about them in a timely manner, in the mean time he tried to focus on the conversation that was happening in front of him.

"Well what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you just disappeared. Were you kidnapped?!" Ruby frantically asked, her worry only growing more the more she spoke, though that wasn't anyone's fault except her own. When Penny had suddenly disappeared that night she feared the worst, and now that she was with her right here again she wanted to know everything that had happened between then and now.

Penny quickly shook her head surprised a bit by what Ruby had come up with, "Oh, no! Nothing like that."

"Then where _did _you go?"

"I've never been to another kingdom before. My father asked me not to venture out too far, but..." Penny hesitated slightly as she wrung her hands together, she loved her father and feared that she might be accidentally painting him in a negative light, "...you have to understand, my father loves me _very _much; he just worries a lot."

Ruby seemed to calm down slightly as she sighed a bit, Penny's dad sounded a lot like hers, she couldn't get even the smallest of scratches without her dad freaking out. She didn't understand how he could overreact so much to something like that, she was surprised he hadn't had a heart attack with all the times Yang would come home black and blue from fights she had gotten into. She gave a light chuckle as she shook her head, "Believe me I know the feeling." She bumped her shoulder into Penny's and gave her a soft smile, "But why not let us know you were okay?"

"I..." Penny hesitated slightly as her smile faltered, she still felt so bad for worrying her father that night that any mention of it reminded her of just how disappointed he must have been, even if he didn't show it. "...was asked not to talk to you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anybody, really."

"Was your father that displeased with your actions?"

Ruby frowned slightly with how direct Rodric could be, but she couldn't deny she was curious as well, "Yeah, was your dad that upset?"

Penny was slightly confused as she shook her head, she didn't understand how they reached the conclusion that it had been her father, "No, it wasn't my father it-" She was cut off as loud feedback echoed around them, as the three of them turned the corner they had been walking towards the came upon a large plaza filled with a somewhat large group of people standing around a platform in the center. With a quick look over Penny knew she didn't want to be here, she could see several guards standing around the plaza, thankfully it seemed none of them were looking in their direction. She looked back up at the platform and gave a light gasp when she saw General Ironwood walking back and forth in front of the Androids that were standing in front of the metal cases. She let out a light breath when she noticed that it was simply a holographic image of the general and not the real thing, still seeing him made her slightly nervous.

"_The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant__for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree? Wouldn't you agree?" _There was scattered applause from those in attendance as they agreed with the man on stage, Rodric couldn't help but cross his arms as he frowned as the machines that stood behind the man gave a stiff bow. " _But... the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it? Presenting... the Atlesian Knight-200!_" The large metallic door on the large cases rolled up revealing several new machines, no doubt the ones the man had been boasting about, he watched as they all simultaneously kicked over the machines that stood before them, Rodric's frown only deepened as he watched the masses applauding these new creations, he wasn't sure what exactly upset him about seeing these machines. Perhaps it was the fact that these soulless things were going to be 'defending' people when they wouldn't even be able to make decisions for themselves. Or perhaps it was simply what they were called 'Knights' that simple word still brought many terrible memories to mind, even as he pushed them away the anger they brought still remained. _"Smarter, sleeker, and admittedly, a little less scary." _From where he stood he saw one of them strike a ridiculous pose at the mans words causing him to scoff in annoyance.

"People are really putting their lives in these things hands?"

"Shh!" Rodric frowned again when Ruby urged him to be silent as she simply stood in awe at what was being presented, he gave off a low growl as he turned his attention back towards the plaza.

"_These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require... a human touch._" Rodric couldn't help when his curiosity was peeked at the mans words, this man, a General by the sounds of it was actually concerned about the humans in his care. It was strange, humans in that position of power usually cared little about what happened to the ones in their care.

"Ruby..." He glanced down to see Penny giving Ruby a concerned look, to him Ruby was simply entranced with everything that was happening before them, Penny was worried possibly because she had never seen Ruby do something like this. He simply shook his head and returned his attention to the man, wondering what he would say next.

_"__S__o, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company, are proud to introduce... the Atlesian Paladin!" _The man disappeared and was quickly replaced with a large hulking beast of a machine, in an instant Rodric's curiosity swiftly turned into anger. He let out a low growl as he stared at the image on the platform, to think he was actually being bought in by that man's words, he spoke of removing the humans from danger but it seemed his plan was to simply send fewer humans into danger by giving the few a very capable destructive force. He gave a light scoff as he shook his head in disbelief.

"He actually believes that this is wise, humans do not need this much power in their hands...they abuse the power they already have and this..." He shook his head once again before turning away from the imagine, he didn't bother listening to the rest of the man's speech it, to think he had begun to believe that humans had grown wiser since his time and then to see this. He ran his fingers through hair giving a heavy sigh as he tried to calm himself, he was letting his whirlwind of emotions take hold again, humans are much wiser than the ones from his time, they managed to create metal behemoth after all. If it was given to humans in the military, given to those who have sworn flesh and blood to protect people, then taking them from the front lines and giving the few such power...it did make sense after all. Though like all things only time would show whether or not this was a good idea.

"Ruby? Maybe we should go somewhere else..." He slowly turned back around to see Penny slowly backing away from the both of them, he quickly turned his attention to the plaza and noticed two of the guards pointing to the three of them before they began to make their way towards them. It was then he heard rapid footsteps behind him, quickly turning he saw as Penny quickly ran across the street and down an alley between two shops, he turned back towards the guards and saw as they were now sprinting towards them. He began to call Ruby but it seemed that Penny running away from them was enough to break her from her awe induced stupor.

"Penny! Wait! Where are you going?"

"Where ever it is I think it would be best if we followed." Ruby gave him a quick nod before turning and quickly running after her with Rodric on her heels, he cast a glance over his shoulder as they ran into the alley to see the soldiers following close behind. He let out a low growl as he kept as close to Ruby as he could in their pursuit of Penny, as they turned a corner in the alley they both saw that Penny was already crossing the street into the next alley, nevertheless they kept on quickly doing approaching the street.

"Down here! She went this way!" Rodric glanced over his shoulder to see one of the soldier motioning towards them as two others quickly ran down the alley towards them quickly catching up with them, he cursed under his breath for not practicing harder with Ruby to increase his stamina. The two of them quickly made it across the street as a loud screech sounded from behind them, he didn't bother looking behind him, whatever it was he hoped it served to slow their pursuers down. He looked up to see Penny disappearing around another corner, there was a large raised platform with a large pile of boxes stacked atop it, before he could say anything about it Ruby quickly pulled her weapon out and unfolded it into its large scythe form. He couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"Great minds thing alike Ruby, do it." She grinned at him giving a firm nod as he took a deep breath and she pushed herself ahead of him quickly slicing through one of the supports of the platform, bringing down the pile of boxes to block their path. He let loose a stream of fire setting the boxes ablaze, he hoped this would at least give them a few moments to get away from their pursuers, he quickly turned away from his handiwork and witnessed Ruby running along the walls. While he was awed at the spectacle he was amazed that Ruby had managed to catch up to Penny so quickly with that technique.

"Hey, stop right there!" He turned towards the shout only to see the two soldiers on the other side of the burning barricade, glowering at him in frustration. He simply smirked and began to move away from them before turning just as Ruby grabbed a hold of Penny and instantly vanished down the alleyway. His smirk disappeared almost as quickly as the two of them had, he quickly pushed himself as he rounded the corner of the alley to just as Ruby tumbled out of the alley into the center of the street, he felt his heart clench tightly as Ruby struggled to right herself after her fall.

"Ruby..." He started down the alley desperate to reach her, but his legs felt as if they were weighted down, his breath caught in his throat as he heard a horn blaring from somewhere unseen, but from the feeling of dread that filled his body...he knew where it was coming from. "Ruby." He could only watch on in horror as he struggled down the alley as Ruby stood and turned towards the sound, frozen by fear, he knew he wouldn't reach her in time he wouldn't be able to save her, he failed...again. "Ruby!" As he blinked Penny had suddenly appeared by Ruby and...pushed her out of the way only for her to throw her hands forward as a large truck slammed into her hands and was lifted off the back wheels from the force, the ground beneath Penny's feet cracked and shattered from the impact. Fear was replaced with shock, and then awe, the weights that dragged Rodric down were gone and he quickly rushed forward to Ruby desperate to know if she was unharmed. "Ruby!" This seemed to pull her from her fear induced trance as she quickly turned towards him only for him to quickly pull her into a tight embrace, "Thank the gods your alright..." He gently pushed her away and looked her over, "You are unharmed, correct?"

"Y-Yeah I-I'm fine..." Too much happened all at once, she was still trying to comprehend it all, and having Rodric hug her and be so close to her didn't help much. Even so she couldn't even form a blush with how stunned she was at what just happened, Penny, a girl who wasn't that much taller than her, managed to stop a truck from killing her...with her bare hands. While Rodric was looking her over for injuries Ruby couldn't take her eyes off a Penny, she looked...scared, "Penny..." With the simple utterance of her name Penny looked over towards her and she could see the fear in her eyes, Penny looked around desperately looking for an escape as a crowd began to gather at the scene she had caused. Her breathing came in short gasps as she quickly turned and ran into the alley once again rushing past Ruby and Rodric. "Penny! Come back!" She shrugs from Rodric's arms and quickly rushed after her as fear began to well up in her chest, she wasn't even sure if Penny was injured after saving her like that.

Rodric allowed Ruby to pull away from him as he turned his attention to the damage the young girl had caused, the front of the truck was pushed inward, and the street was going to need a lot of repairs. He couldn't believe someone like Penny had done something like this, he looked up and saw the soldiers trapped on the other side of the now large crowd, he gave a soft growl before turning and following the two girls into the alley. When he managed to catch up to them he could see Penny pacing back and forth, she was obviously panicked but he didn't understand why, he slowed his approach as Ruby moved closer to Penny. This was her friend after all, he didn't know her well enough to calm her, he would simply leave that to Ruby, he still needed to calm his own racing heart after what nearly occurred.

Ruby approached the clearly distraught Penny as she panted lightly, the adrenaline finally fading from her body after her near death experience and left her trembling slightly, despite that she desperately wanted to know what was going on. "Penny! Please! What is going on?! Why are you running? How did you _do _that?!"

Penny moved away from Ruby shaking her head furiously as she sucked in sharp breaths, "I-I can't, everything's fine!" She hiccuped before she hugged herself clenching her sides, "I-I don't want to talk about it!" She hiccuped again as she shut her eyes wishing she could simply disappear.

Ruby's heart clenched in her chest, it hurt to see her friend this...troubled, it was only made worse because Penny seemed so scared to talk to her about whatever it was. She took a slow step towards Penny afraid that she might send her running if she moved to quickly, she slowly tried to close the distance between them as she spoke again, "Penny, if you just tell me what's wrong I can help you."

Penny was trembling now as she continued to shake her head, she didn't know what to do, she couldn't run from them, Ruby was too fast there was no way she would be able to get away. She looked down at the damage that had been done to her hands and quickly shook her head, when she felt Ruby drawing closer she quickly backed away, "No! No, no, you wouldn't understand..." She clenched her hands tight and held them to her chest as she turned away from Ruby, she was trapped she didn't know what she was suppose to do, she didn't want to tell Ruby like this, she was much to frightened that she would end up scaring her friend off.

"Let me try, you can trust me."

Penny shut her eyes and clenched her hands tighter, it seemed there wasn't much to do except to tell her the truth, she was frightened. Frightened that the brief friendship the two of them shared would be over in an instant, she quickly turned and approached Ruby desperate for one last confirmation, "You're my friend right? You promise you're my friend?"

Ruby was slightly taken aback by Penny's sudden approach and her question that was filled with desperation, she only took a moment to collect herself and give her a comforting smile, "I promise."

Penny's eyes searched Ruby's, she looked over her face to see if there was any hint of Ruby attempting to deceive her, when she found none she gave a small sigh. She should have known better, despite only knowing Ruby for a short time, she didn't seem like the type of person to lie about being friends with someone. Swallowing the lump in her throat she looked at Ruby once more and froze slightly when she noticed Rodric standing behind them, he must have noticed her fearful look because the moment she froze he took several steps back and turned away from them. Seeing that there was no longer a need to draw the situation out she looked down at her hands and slowly unfolded them, she revealed the skin on her palms having been torn away from the impact. Instead of blood and bone lying beneath the skin, there was cold grey metal lying beneath her fake skin, "Ruby...I'm not a real girl..."

Ruby's eyes were locked on Penny's outstretched hands, the skin was peeled away to reveal the metal that hid beneath, she was dumbfounded, there were a number of things she wished to say to comfort Penny. However being suddenly blindsided by the confession of Penny left her mind blank and was barely able to mutter the first thing that came to her mind, "Oh."

Rodric rolled his eyes slightly as a smirk crept across his face when Ruby mumbled out her response, he slowly turned towards them and made his way towards them, in his small movements he noticed Penny quickly attempt to hide her hands again. It didn't matter he had heard what she said, but he attempted to ease her mind all the same as he gave a wide grin before shaking his head, "Leave it to Ruby to be ever so eloquent with her words, you must contain yourself child, I fear Penny might not understand you if you continue on in that manner." He couldn't help but let his smile grow wider when Ruby turned towards him frowning as her cheeks grew red, he turned his attention to Penny as she gave him a small smile, still unsure over the situation it seemed.

Ruby shook her head and jabbed Rodric in the side with her elbow when he got closer, she didn't bother looking up at him, knowing him he was probably still smirking at her. She felt her throat go dry at the thought, she quickly shook her head and focused instead on Penny as she tried to grasp what she was just told. "Penny, I-I don't understand..."

The faint smile that was on Penny's lips slowly faded as she crossed her arms and looked down at the ground, "Most girls are born, but I was made." She looked back up at Ruby and tried to smile again, "I'm the worlds first synthetic person capable of generating an aura." Once again the smile quickly faded as she turned her head away, as if she were ashamed of the words that left her lips, "I'm not real..." She murmured sadly.

Ruby wasn't going to have any of that, she reached out and pulled Penny's hands towards her, she looked down at the torn skin and exposed metal before closing her hands and smiling up at her, "Of course you are. You think just because you've got nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?" She didn't exactly get the reaction she had been hoping for, instead Penny looked generally confused as she leaned in close.

"I-I don't...you're taking this _extraordinarily _well..."

"I can assure you this is probably not the strangest thing she has heard before." Penny looked up at him confused before Ruby pulled her attention back to her.

"You're not like those things we saw back there, you have a heart and a soul I can feel it." She gently tapped on her chest a metallic echo was her response but she smiled nevertheless.

"I can attest to that statement as well. Penny it matters little whether you were born or made, what matters is what you do with the life you've been given. You say that you're capable of producing an aura, then Penny that means you have a soul, you're capable of thinking for yourself. You have emotions Penny, you aren't some cold unfeeling machine, as far as I am concerned your as human as Ruby or anyone else for that matter." Penny's lips seemed to move but she said nothing, it seemed she was at a loss of words, but it seemed she was still capable of moving, she proved it by pulling both him and Ruby into a rather tight embrace. He gasped slightly as she squeezed the two of them, the air forced from his lungs, he could only groan in discomfort.

"You two are the best friends anyone could ever have!" Neither one of them were able to reply to her with her arms crushing them in her tight embrace, despite the pain however Rodric couldn't help but let a small smile grace his lips, _friend..._while he had no doubt that he had made friends in his time in Beacon, to actually hear the words spoken were...strangely pleasing. He looked down at the girl that held them tightly as the smile grew larger upon seeing the large smile she had on her face.

Ruby groaned softly from the hug, she thought that Yang gave crushing hugs, but Penny's easily outmatched hers, "I can see why you're father would want to protect such a...delicate flower." The words were muffled a bit as Ruby's face was currently buried in Penny's chest and her lungs were slowly but surely being crushed, and almost instantly they were both released leaving Ruby to stumble back slightly as she coughed.

"Oh, he's _very _sweet. My father's the one who built me. I'm sure you would love him." Rodric shook his head to see that Penny seemed to be back to her normal self, and his curiosity had been sated. He took a few steps away from the two of them so they could continue on in their conversation, _a machine with a soul..._the thought did not sit well with Rodric but upon seeing the way Penny acted he knew he had no real reason to distrust such an idea. In fact if she hadn't told them he would have just as well thought she was nothing more than a human...a human who was strangely energetic and overly happy. He gave a light chuckle, _another Ruby..._he turned his attention back to the two of them and saw that Ruby was now frowning, curious he moved closer to hear what was bothering her.

Ruby didn't understand what Penny was telling her, aside from the fact that she was a robot, that she understood but now she was talking about saving the world. That she didn't understand, everyone knew that they were in a time of peace, sure there were rough spots here and there, but nothing bad enough to warrant a savior of any kind. "Penny, what are you talking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace."

This time it was Penny who gave the confused look back at Ruby, she slowly shook her head before responding, "That's not what Mr. Ironwood said..."

Rodric frowned at that, something didn't seem right, "What do you mean by-"

"Check down here!" Rodric quickly turned towards the voice, and frowned when he heard the sound of footsteps quickly following, it seemed the incident that Penny had caused would distract them much longer.

"Damn..." He quickly turned and searched for a means of escape, but it seemed the alley they had ran into was a dead end, surely he would be able to overpower any soldier that tried to stop them. Though that didn't seem like the best course of action to take, had it been merely him then he wouldn't have thought twice about it, but since he was with both Penny and Ruby he couldn't do something so rash. Whether he would openly admit it or not he couldn't deny that Weiss was right, his actions would affect those around him, he had to think about them as well as himself. Frowning he turned back towards the two of them, only to see Penny lifting Ruby over her head and carrying her over to a large dumpster, he was so caught off guard by Penny's actions that he couldn't say anything even as she tossed her in and started to close the lid but stopped so the two of them could speak. Once they were done she closed the lid and turned towards him before starting to move towards him, he quickly held his hand up to stop her, "I...I understand, I can do it myself thank you." He quickly moved past her and lifted the lid of the dumpster, quickly entering it, before he shut the lid he looked towards Penny, "Stay safe." She gave a firm nod before he ducked down and closed the lid.

* * *

The stench was almost unbearable, but he knew this was perhaps the only way to get away from those soldiers, although there were in fact numerous ways he could get away, still that meant making more trouble for the two girls and he wasn't willing to do that. He looked only to see Ruby lifting the lid of the dumpster ever so slightly to get a peek of what was happening on the other side, he shook his head but said nothing of it, if they were caught then he would just have to rely on his aforementioned plans. He could hear faint talking through the dumpster but couldn't make out what was being said, he frowned slightly, knowing that Penny was doing this for their sake, he could have easily taken out the guards and let the two of them run and yet..._is this what friends do for each other. _He looked back up towards Ruby and he knew without a doubt he would do anything if it meant protecting her, but was that simply because they were friends or was it his old instincts or...he shook his head, it mattered little to him, all he knew was that he would do whatever it took to keep her safe. "Hey..." He looked up to see Ruby looking at him, "I think they're gone." He gave a slight nod before slowly lifting the lid on his side and looking out into the now empty alley, he gave it another moment before throwing the lid open and climbing out of the dumpster, he took a quick look around only to find that both Penny and the soldiers were gone. He didn't like that, he should have done something, but what good would that have done it would have only served for getting all three of them in trouble, he always kept coming back to that. There was nothing he could have done and he knew that, he just...he hoped she was alright.

A yelp caught his attention as he quickly turned to see the lid of the dumpster slam shut, he frowned slightly and moved towards it and threw the lid open, inside Ruby was now covered in trash as several black masses quickly buried themselves in the trash. Crying out Ruby quickly shot to her feet and scrambled to get out of the dumpster, Rodric assisted her as best he could, and the moment her feet touched the ground she quickly shook the garbage off. She was mumbling and speaking under her breath about something, she was clearly distressed so he tried his best to keep his laughter from building, "What's the matter child?" She groaned in disgust as she tossed some of the garbage she removed from herself onto the ground.

"I _hate _rats..." She shuddered at the very mention of them, not to mention feeling one of those..._things _scurrying and brushing against her was just...she didn't like it. She looked around and saw no signs of Penny or the soldiers, they were long gone by now she knew, she just wished she could have done something to help her, Penny wasn't afraid of them but...she just felt like she should have done something. Giving a light sigh she looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was already setting, given everything that happened she wasn't surprised really, but she felt like she was forgetting something. There was a point to her being here besides following Penny but she could quite- she jumped slightly as her scroll began to ring, she quickly pulled it out and saw that it was from Blake. _The mission!_

As soon as she answered the call it showed that it wasn't just for her but for everyone, seeing that she began to grow worried, _"Everyone if you can hear me we need back-" _Blake was cut off by Sun screaming something in the background, it was hard to make out but it sounded like he was screaming for help, once he was done he added to the situation.

_"Big robot! And it's big! Really big!" _Ruby quickly ended the call, she didn't need to hear anymore, she was shaking either from fear or excitement, she wasn't sure but she knew she was ready. She looked down at her scroll as it showed exactly where Blake and the others were running to, she nodded before closing it and turned towards Rodric watching as he placed boards on the dumpster to keep it closed. She smiled slightly as she walked towards him waving her scroll in the air.

"It sounds like things are starting to get a little crazy on Blake's end, we need to get over there and help out, Sun said something about a big robot and...come on I'm not going to miss this."

While Rodric was worried about Ruby participating in something as dangerous as this he couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm, "Well I think it's about time something interesting happened, let's go."

Ruby gave an eager nod as she quickly turned and began to run out of the alleyway, with every block they passed the buildings slowly gave way to empty lots and smaller buildings. The excitement was slowly fading away as the busy streets and milling people slowly disappeared until it was just the two of them running through abandoned lots and deserted buildings, before long there were no buildings or lots to speak of. Instead large stone pillars reached high into the sky connecting to large stone platforms high above their heads, when Ruby slowed down he followed suit until she stopped completely, he took deep breaths struggling to breathe, he was surprised with himself for even being able to keep up with her, then again it was possibly just adrenaline fueling him. He looked up as Ruby unsheathed her weapon, yet she didn't move, "What exactly are you-" A loud crash cut him off, he quickly looked around but saw nothing that could have made the noise, he quickly realized this as he looked up to see a large behemoth of metal come crashing down lading up right before them, not even a moment later the rest of the girls landed besides them.

"This is..." He looked the large machine over and felt his rage beginning to to boil over, the couldn't fight something like this, they didn't even know what this was, he took a step forward only to be stop by Weiss using her weapon to block his path. "What are you doing, you can't possibly fight something like this, you'll-"

"You'll just get in the way!" Rodric was outraged, he couldn't believe she would say that to him, before he could say anything she continued on, "_You _don't understand, we've trained for situations like this, while you may be as strong as Yang you aren't prepared for something like this. Whether or not the story Ruby told us about your test is true, it still stands to show that you are brash and unrefined, if you fight this you'll hurt yourself and possibly us." Once again he knew she was right, if he focused merely on the machine before him he would end up hurting one of them, he let out a low growl as he took a step back, "For once just trust us, and stay back, we'll be fine..." He frowned and growled out in frustration but relented anyway, she was right after all, it seemed she was always going to be right.

Before he turned away he grabbed her arm and looked down at her, "You watch out for her." She looked at him confused, unsure of what he was talking about but she nodded anyway and he released her, he back away from them and only then did he see Ruby giving him a warm smile. To comfort his raging state of mind no doubt, he tried to return the smile but couldn't, he quickly turned and quickly made his way towards one of the large pillars, at least there he would be out of their way.

"Freezer Burn!" He didn't bother to turn around when Ruby called out those words, not even a few moments later a thick chilling mist enveloped him obscuring everything in pale white. He stopped before he ran into one of the large pillars and quickly moved around it, _out of sight out of mind, _he growled slightly, he hated that he had been reduced to this. Four girls were there fighting off that machine and he was stuck here of all places, he should be helping them he knew that, but he also knew that Weiss was right if he tried to help and he lost control of himself if he let his anger and instincts take control of him...he would be putting them all in more danger than they are already facing. All he could do was stand there and listen as they fought on, _is she okay? Is she hurt? _He couldn't stop worrying, the sounds of combat combined with the sounds that machine made from simply moving were maddening to listen to, every fiber of his being told him he should be helping but he knew he would be putting them in a much worse danger if he did.

She had her friends, she was a capable fighter, she knew what she was doing, he had to trust that they would look out for her and keep her safe. She knew what she was doing, he could hear that, whatever those names were that she was calling out seemed to be pushing that large machine back, he would have to remember to ask her how she came up with that as an idea. As the fighting went on and on he began to lose confidence in them, going against such a large machine after all that was built for military use...surely they would have trouble with it, several growls tore through his throat as he struggled with himself wondering what he should do. He took slow steps and peered around the large column and...he couldn't believe what he was seeing, he watched as Ruby launched herself towards the large machine with no fear as Blake promptly followed suite, both of them a blur of red and black struck the legs in a flurry of color and rose petals. He felt a smile spread across his face as the upper half of the machine quickly spun around and fired its weapon into the ground, only to find Ruby gone, instead both her and Blake had jumped into the air and came down together to take one if it's arms.

He stepped out from behind the stone column and watched as the two of them quickly retreated back to where Weiss stood, he wondered why, at least he did until he saw Yang quickly running up behind the machine before leaping onto its back delivering a quick volley of explosive strikes to it. It seemed she was doing at least a significant amount of damage to it, that was until it seemed to stumble back only to launch itself through several of the stone pillars with Yang taking the brunt force from each one. He could only watch on as the Yang slid down one of the pillars only for the machine to turn around and punch her straight through it, as much as he and Yang disagreed with each other he felt a feral growl rip through his throat as he proceeded to run back towards the group. _I should have stayed, I should have..._His run soon slowed as he approached them, he watched as Yang stood back up completely unharmed, and once again the large beast of a machine struck out at her, only this time Yang stopped it with her hands. In an instant she turned the tables and threw out her fist and completely destroyed the metal arm, the remains of it raining down around them, but instead of the metal beast relenting it continued its assault by kicking Yang with enough force to launch her towards and past them.

Blake reacted quicker than he had been able to and toss her weapon towards Yang, once she caught it Blake proceeded to swing Yang in a large circle attempting to hit the machine but it simply moved out of the way. "We have to slow it down!" He looked towards Ruby and without hesitation ran towards the hulking machine, whatever plan she decided to come up with would undoubtedly work, all he had to do was keep this thing distracted. As he drew closer the large machine lifted one of it's legs before bringing it down, he quickly jumped to the side and ran between its legs behind it. As before it turned it's upper body to face him, and that's when he let loose a steam of fire directly onto it, it seemed surprised by the attack and stumbled back. He pressed his advantage following it's each step with another volley of flames, before he could attack once again he stopped when ice exploded along it's back. He looked shocked at first until he looked past the machine and saw both Weiss and Ruby attacking in tandem, again and again ice exploded along the machine until its legs were encased in ice and fused to the ground, he let out a low chuckle as he ran between the legs back towards them just as he saw Yang flying towards him in a streak of fire.

Behind him he could hear the satisfying creak and groan of metal coming undone, which was quickly followed by the sound of the metal monstrosity crashing and scraping across the ground. Once he was back with the group he turned to see what was left of the machine, he was satisfied to see that it was completely destroyed leaving only a lone man clad entirely in white standing there. To know that a single man causes all of this and put everyone though so much trouble angered him greatly, hearing the sound of a weapon being primed, he turned to see Yang hair a glow and eyes a deep crimson red. Their eyes met and they nodded to each other, he took a breath as she pulled her arm back and together they launched their attack flames and shell sailed towards their target and promptly consumed him in their combined flames.

As the flames died away Rodric hoped to see nothing more than charred remains of the one who dared attack him and his friends, instead he saw not only the man still standing there but in front of him another young girl, with strangely colored hair and a parasol. Once again it seemed that there were others who could render his flames useless, he growled out as he watched the girl give a large bow, taking the action straight from his mind Yang rushed towards them with an intent to destroy. The girl that stood in her path didn't even seemed phased by her, and as Yang approached she pulled back her arm before throwing it out only for the girl to put her parasol in her path and then...shattered. He assumed that was the end of them, except the sound of a loud engine pulled his attention skyward and above them in a black vehicle were both the man and girl.

* * *

The girls quickly approached Yang as Rodric stood looking in the direction they had escaped from, _coward..._he growled slightly as he shook his head, after all that it seemed it was all for nothing. Rather than dwelling on it he turned towards the girls and moved over to them only for Blake to walk past him in a huff, he didn't say anything and only continued over to the remaining three only to see Weiss and Yang arguing over something. "So that's it then, he just get's away and...what?" Ruby looked at him and simply shrugged.

"There's not much we can do, he's gone let's just...go back to Beacon, it's all we can do really." He gave a heavy sigh and nodded in agreement, the four of them walked back and joined with Blake as they prepared to head off, though they stopped to inquire about Sun and Neptune, neither of whom he saw during the fight. He wondered if something had happened, he shuddered slightly as a chill tore through him, it was unexpected and sudden but it seemed the others had felt it as well as they began to complain about the sudden cold. "Geeze where did that come-"

_"My my how quaint is this?" _Rodric's whole body seemed to freeze where he stood as those words echoed through his head, just like back at Beacon he began to shake but with the added cold it was much more obvious that he was shaking, _"I never thought I would find you here mingling with these..._humans_, though I'm not as surprised as I should be." _He mustered as much strength as he could and slowly turned to face the voice that was now piercing through his mind, when he completely turned his breath caught in his throat as the woman cast an evil looking smile towards him. _"Hello again, Rodric." _The woman that stood before him stared through him with deep forest green colored eyes, her snow white hair had streaks of ice blue running through it, she stood with her arms crossed and that unsettling smile never leaving her lips. His eyes looked towards her crossed arms and he once again felt his breathing hitch and his heart clench in his chest when he saw that her arms were a bright ice blue. _"You look so surprised to see me, why is that?"_

"Rodric..." He looked over his shoulder and saw that Ruby was looking up at him curiously, seeing her there he could feel his instincts working quickly once again as his breathing seemed to increase, _keep her safe. _"...who is that?" Before he could answer the woman that stood in front of them laughed loudly, something that didn't sound natural coming from her, just with her laughing caused them all to shudder uncomfortably.

"How rude of me I forget that these..._mongrels _don't understand our language."

"What did you say?!" Rodric quickly turned to Yang, her eyes flooding with crimson as she took a threatening step towards the woman, "I bet you won't be smiling when I-" He quickly grabbed her arm and kept her from getting an closer to her, Yang didn't appreciate this and instead turned on Rodric glaring at him, except she stopped when she saw the fear clear on his face, "Whoa, Rodric what-"

"Just stop Yang." He looked past her and towards the woman stills standing there that smile still on her face, he returned his attention back towards Yang, "That isn't someone you can fight...trust me, l-let's just leave." Yang looked like she wanted to argue but instead she pulled her arm from his grip and nodded, he gave a heavy sigh but was glad she didn't argue with him...for once. He looked back up towards the woman but avoided looking at her eyes directly, "I-I'm afraid you must be mistaken, I-I don't believe we've ever met, but we must be going now." Without waiting for her to respond he quickly turned and ushered the others away making sure to keep himself between Ruby and the woman at all times, _just let us go, just let us go I beg you..._

"I don't think I ever gave you permission to turn your back on me, so why don't you just _stop _right there..." Rodric's legs locked up almost instantly as his breathing began to grow labored again as he struggled to make his legs move, in those few moment he even contemplated severing his own legs, not that he wouldn't survive it, he just needed to get away from her. The others quickly noticed his absence and turned to see him standing there struggling to move, Ruby wondered what he was doing and started to approach him.

"Rodric what are you-"

"Stay back!" Ruby jumped slightly when he shouted at her, though that wasn't what surprised her it was the strange desperation she heard in his voice, it was unlike him and actually made her worry about him, she didn't understand what was going on.

"Aw, worried about your little _pet?_" She gave a hollow chuckle before sighing and frowning towards Rodric, "_Face me _when I speak to you." Gritting his teeth Rodric could feel his body slowly turning towards him, completely ignorant to his will, when he had fully turned towards her he kept his eyes down and away from her, the shaking in his body was very obvious at this point, "Look at you, you're trembling, _come _let me ease your worries..." Rodric's eyes widened in fear at her words, and once again he felt his body bending to her words, he could feel the muscles in his legs straining to move him. He simply grit his teeth and tightened his muscles and used all his will to keep from moving, it seemed to work at least until he heard a displeased growl echo through the air, "I said _come here_..." He growled in response trying to keep his legs still, but even as he struggled his legs began to carry him forward and closer to the smiling woman.

"Rodric what are you doing?!" He couldn't even turn to see the face of Ruby, she was undoubtedly terrified of what was going on in front of her, even as he strained his body he continued to move towards the woman in front of him.

"I-I can't-"

"Don't you worry about him, he's in perfectly...capable hands now." She smiled as he stood before her, she gave a light hum as she looked him over before shoving him to his knees and giving off a dark chuckle. She ran her fingers through his hair before gripping a handful and jerking his head back to face her, "It's so good to see you again Rodric." She leaned down closer to him her breath crawling across his face and no doubt chilling him down to the core, "I can only guess how much you've missed me..."

Rodric subdued the shudder that ran through him from being so close to this woman, "Not at all..." He growled out, he glance up to the woman and saw that she was no doubt unfazed by his words and instead simply chuckled as she ran her fingers across his face. He sucked in a sharp breath and forced himself from flinching away from her touch, the cold that radiated from her hands bit into his skin and was extremely painful.

"Now you know that isn't something you say to someone you haven't seen in so long, Rodric..." She gave him a gentle smile and gently placed her hand over his mouth before gripping it tightly, her smile grew wider as she saw the skin around her hand slowly turning black, "It isn't kind."

"Who are you?!" She looked up towards the group that still stood before her as the smile instantly faded from her face, she shook her head and stood back up removing her hand from Rodric revealing the black hand print that now marred his face.

"You're all still here are you, I scarcely noticed. You'll have to forgive me but vermin such as you are so far below me I have a habit of ignoring your existence." She took pleasure in the looks of anger that crossed all of their faces, she couldn't help but chuckle softly the unsettling smile settling across her lips, "Oh, have I angered you?"

"You've done a lot more than that lady, who the hell are you?!" Yang glared at the woman but she still remained unfazed by her intimidation, she wondered who she was, from the looks of it she no doubt worked for Torchwick and possibly the White Fang.

"Oh...brave words coming from someone so insignificant, what do you think you can possibly do to someone like me?"

"Oh you're about to find out when I-"

"Yang stop!" They both turned towards Rodric, one looking surprised and the other undeniably angry, the woman kneeled down in front of him and took hold of his face and dug her nails into his cheek.

"One warning, that is all you get, do not speak out again..." She growled out, she didn't wait for his answer as she stood and turned to face the group that stood before her, she ignored the girl with the blonde hair and instead looked out over the rest of the group before stopping on a pair of silver eyes. "Hm, you child..." Rodric's eyes widened in fear as his heart began to beat in his chest, "...what is you're name?"

Ruby looked surprised that the woman asked her that, but seeing as she was no longer hurting Rodric, she felt that she could at least answer her question especially if she meant she wouldn't be hurting him anymore. She swallowed the lump in her throat before sighing softly, "R-Ruby Rose..."

"Hm, interesting..." A large smile played over her lips as she kept her eyes on the now named Ruby, "...how very interesting. You know I have only seen one other person with silver eyes such as yours...I wonder." She gave a low chuckle as she eyed the young girl, "How old are you?"

Again Ruby was caught off guard by her line of question but she shook her head and answered, anything to keep her attention on them and off of Rodric, "F-Fifteen..."

"Hm...so that would mean, yes fourteen years ago would have been the last time I seen eyes like yours. You are a very curious child indeed, when I see you I can't help but be reminded of that woman fourteen years ago, her and several others. Such an arrogant lot, they really believed they could into my domain and _kill _me, such foolish humans...but then again you all are." She could only smile in pleasure when the girl seemed to grow uncomfortable, "I wonder if you knew her in any way...her name escapes me however I wonder what it was, how embarrassing to forget a name like that, those men screamed it as I killed them, ah what was it." She began to pace back and forth as she thought tapping her chin as she continued the charade of struggling to remember the name.

"Narissa..."

"Quite, Rodric I'm trying to think." She turned on her heel and looked up into the sky searching for the answer, Rodric however was shaking in fear, _what will she think, how will she look at me, she'll despise me. _"Oh that name is right on the tip of my tongue, what is it?"

"Narissa stop."

"Relax Rodric I'll get it." Rodric was stuck on his knees, he couldn't even bare to look up at Ruby, Narissa was going to tell her something that he couldn't even bare telling Ruby, something she desperately needed to hear should have came from him and no one else. "You saw it all didn't you, even in your slumber I know you did, do you recall the name?" _She's toying with me, with us. _"It was a...season wasn't it?"

"Stop it!"

"Ah that's right, how could I have forgotten those pitiful screams, they called out and begged her, screaming over and over again in vain. 'Run Summer...'" Rodric kept his head down as the words left Narissa's lips to echo in the silence of the night, he grit his teeth as he began to shake once again when he heard a weapon clatter to the ground...his heart clenched painful as he heard the faintest of whimpers come from Ruby, _I'm so sorry..._

_ "_W-What did you say..."

* * *

_**Okay, so as I said deviating from cannon events is hard, what's harder is actually putting an OC into a cannon moment, ie the whole Penny scene was very difficult to write. Now about Narissa, a lot of people have figured her out already but for those of you who haven't I'll just say this. I will not be coming up with a brand new language for her, for one it'll be very impossible to come up with a translation for it, plus I'm sure none of you will want to scroll up and down to simply see what she's saying, so from now on, it'll be like that, and you'll see why soon enough. **_

_**PS, a lot you have had trouble finding my deviant art link on my profile so I changed it up, it is still in the same place, I just changed it to literally say "My Deviant Art Profile." So if you still can't find it...well i don't know what to tell ya'. But speaking of Deviant Art, I just uploaded two new photos, one of Narissa and one of Rodric and my other OC Nyx getting...eh, getting to know each other a bit better, if you know what i mean ;). Anyway check those out and tell me what you think, RxR**_


	16. The Bitter Cold and The Wilted Rose

_**Oh, man I can't believe I did it. Ever since last chapter i've been working on this one nonstop, every day because I had been so excited to write it. Strangely as I wrote it I didn't want to write it at the same time, weird but it makes sense as you will all see. Oh man this chapter though, this is the one I've been **_**dying _to write since I started. By the way _TheMAO17 _seeing as you will read this eventually...I'm sorry, you'll see why. Anyway enjoy and please review, I mean it please review I am dying to see what you all thought of this chapter._**

* * *

**The Bitter Cold and The Wilted Rose**

The silence that followed was unbearable, he didn't dare look up, he didn't want to see the look of hurt and betrayal on Ruby's face, he didn't want to see that look of disgust and hate on her face. Way back during their first outing into Vale, Ruby spoke of the Grimm in a pained way, he had picked up on it...he should have asked her what was wrong. He should have have done anything to keep her from finding out about it this way, he dug his fingers into his legs as he grit his teeth, _she'll never forgive me._ "W-What did you just say..." His heart clenched up upon hearing the pain in her voice, she was just a child but she understood the things she was being told, the soft whimpers and tremble in her voice told him, she in fact knew of the woman Narissa spoke of.

"Hm, what was that? Do you actually know that name?" She looked over the girl a large smile on her face seeing her trembling before her, her eyes were obscured by her hair but she had no doubt that tears were flowing from her eyes. She couldn't stop her smile from growing wider at the mere thought, she gave a throaty chuckle as she looked up and saw the girl with the blonde hair glaring at her, her violet eyes were a deep crimson red. "You there, looking at me with eyes full of malice, do you have something to say to me?"

Yang was shaking, not out of fear but out of pure rage, her baby sister was standing in front of her trembling and trying so hard not to cry, it hurt her down to her core. All she wanted to do was hurt the one who hurt Ruby, she clenched her fists and grit her teeth, "How...how the hell do you know that name?!"

Narissa tilted her head slightly, "Name? Oh, you mean Summer do you? Ah, it's hard to forget a name like that when several people are screaming it, 'Run Summer,' 'Get away Summer,' 'Save yourself Summer,' ugh it went on and on, it was only fair I killed them...if only to silence their pathetic mewling." She gave a dark chuckle as she shook her head, "Such a foolish woman, she should have heeded their advice, maybe then she would have lived, instead they all simply died in vain because they honestly thought they could kill me."

Ruby couldn't stop shaking, she was biting down on her lip to keep her sobs silent, her legs trembled before she fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around herself. She shook her head unable to believe that the woman before her was what killed her mother, "T-They said it was Grimm...s-she was sent to clear them out a-and-" She was cut off when a chilling laugh echoed around them, Narissa couldn't contain herself from the pathetic rambling she heard.

"I-Is that what they told you, is that what they called me? Grimm?!" She laughed out loud once again before eventually calming down and staring at the girl that was no on her knees, "Of course you humans would call me a Grimm, you have no idea of what I really am. You have no idea the power that I wield, even in this pathetic form I could still decimate armies and no one would be able to stop me." She took a breath as another smile found its way to her lips, "Tell me, did they tell you she died a hero? That she fought valiantly to the bitter end? That she met her end with courage and honor?! That she would be remembered as a hero?!"

"Stop it!" Ruby couldn't take it anymore, hearing her talk this way about her mother was...to much, she fell forward onto her hands as she trembled, feeling the tears flow down her face. "Just stop..."

"And if I don't?" Rodric tightened the grip on his legs, it wasn't a question, but a threat, "What will you do? Will you continue to snivel and cry, will you plead for your lives like those humans once did? Will you try to be courageous and fight back, because if you do you will surely fail. Well what will you do?"

Yang couldn't take it any more, all this taunting and...the lies she was spreading, she sent her sister to her knees in tears and she finally had it with this woman, "I'm going to beat your face in you crazy b-"

"I would enjoy seeing you try, wretch!" The sinister smile returned to her face when the girl with blonde hair took a step towards her, the air around them began to grow colder as Narissa's eyes turned to slits as she stared the girl down. "I will enjoy spilling your blood..."

"Yeah we'll see about that when I-"

"She'll kill you Yang!" Yang stopped and looked towards Rodric a look of shock on her face, "She won't hesitate to do it this isn't a fight you can-" He was knocked onto his back as pain exploded across his face, he groaned loudly to keep from crying out, he could feel warmth spilling over his face and turned to look up at Narissa who was glaring down at him. His eyes traveled to the hand she held up noticing the dark blood staining her fingers, he lifted his own hand and gently pressed it against where he felt the pain and hissed loudly when his fingers came into contact with the wound. Quickly moving his hand away he saw that not only his fingers but most of his hand was covered in blood, he turned a glare up towards Narissa and gave a low growl before it was quickly cut off when she slammed her foot down into his stomach.

"I thought I made myself perfectly clear when I said 'one warning...'" She slammed her foot down into his stomach once again, roughly digging her heel into him, she could only smile as he tried so hard to remain strong and not give into the pain. She glanced towards the girls before her and gave a wicked smile as she reached down and gripped Rodric's throat as she lifted him back to his knees, she turned his head towards them as they all gasped in shock and horror. "This is what will happen to those who defy me." She gripped his head to keep still as she ran her tongue across the wounds she made, his blood had a metallic tinge to it but she continued on probing his wounds with her tongue.

Yang could feel bile rising in the back of her throat as she looked on at the sick display, it was bad enough that there were thick...claw marks across Rodric's face, they went from his jaw and just...straight across his face. One of the thick red lines just barely missed his eye, she couldn't believe what she was seeing, sure she had seen him get sliced across the chest from Ruby's weapon, but he had healed from that. This...this was just sick. That woman seemed to be enjoying herself, she was licking up the blood that spilled from the wounds staining her skin, to make matters worse she was pressing her tongue into the wounds it looked like, she could feel herself gag slightly but refused to show it. Behind her however she heard audible gags, she turned to see Weiss looking away covering her mouth as she trembled slightly, she turned towards Blake to see her looking away as well and clenching her fists as she shook. She turned back to the woman seeing her standing now as she licked her lips clean, her cheek still covered in blood but she didn't seem to mind it one bit, "Who the hell are you?"

Narissa kept her hand on Rodric's head, she could feel him trembling beneath her grip, more than likely the pain was getting to him and the loss of blood was possibly effecting him as well. She looked down and saw the blood that leaked from the wounds bubbling ever so slightly, in only a matter of moments the wounds would be healed, and she would be free to do it again, she gave a wide grin as she turned back towards the girl, "I am something none of your tiny minds could even hope to comprehend, sadly I don't have the time to toy with you as I would like. However that doesn't mean I won't try." She dropped her hand from Rodric's head and onto his shoulder, which she then gripped tightly, digging her nails into his skin drawing blood almost immediately.

"Why are you doing this, why are you doing this to us?!"

Narissa gave a heavy sigh and dug her nails deeper into Rodric's shoulder, "Oh don't flatter yourselves, you lot aren't anything special and I honestly wouldn't even be wasting my time with you if my...oh so loving _brother _learned where his place was." Silence once again filled the air around them as those words left Narissa's lips, Rodric slowly lifted his head to see all of Team RWBY looking towards him, he tried to look away but found it hard when Narissa gripped his head and kept him facing forward.

"Brother..." Yang murmured, she looked from Rodric to the woman and couldn't even see any trait that would even relate them.

"Rodric...y-you know her..." Looking into Ruby's tear stained eyes was painful, if she didn't despise him before hand then she surely must now, to discover that he was related to the person that killed her mother. He averted his eyes and said nothing, he didn't wish to make the situation any worse than it already was, he could only imagine the things that were going through everyone's heads, imagining it only made it worse in his mind. He sucked in a sharp breath when his hair was gripped tighter and as Narissa gave his head a firm shake to grab his attention.

"Don't just ignore the whelp Rodric, answer her." He turned his glare up towards Narissa as a low growl tore through his throat, she quickly silenced it by jerking his head forward facing the girls before him once again. He gave a heavy sigh and slowly nodded his head, but this didn't seem to please Narissa as she roughly jerked his head again before growling at him, _"Speak!"_

"Y-Yes, she is...my sister." He lowered his eyes to the ground not wishing to see the way they would look at him now, it pained him to even admit he was blood related to this..._monster. _The terrible things she's done always weighed heavily on his mind, if it only showed what a terrible monster she was he wouldn't even mind, but her actions affected not only him but the rest of his kind. Because of creature's that shared her ideals he as well as others were put in the same light as she was, she was as much Grimm as any of those abomination he faced, to him there was no difference between them.

"Then why..." Rodric looked up to see Yang looking towards him before quickly turning to face Narissa, "...you say he's your brother, then why are you doing that to him?!" Narissa couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the question, her laughter slowly withered into a light chuckle.

"Why? Because as I said he is _my _brother, I can do whatever I please to him." To emphasize her point she knelt down behind him and looked right at the girls before them and pulled the neck of his shirt down exposing his bare shoulder. She gave a wide grin revealing her mouth to now be full of razor sharp fangs, she ran her tongue along his shoulder before sinking her teeth into his flesh. She could feel him go rigid beneath her as he began to breathe heavily, she couldn't help but smile at how strong display he was putting on, as his blood filled her mouth she bit down harder until her teeth touched bone. His body jerked back against her as she heard him hiss in pain, he was still trying so hard, she gave a low chuckle before she bit down harder on his shoulder her teeth digging deeper into his flesh, her teeth grinding against the bone in his shoulder. She continued to bite down harder and harder until she heard a very satisfying snap, which was followed by a loud cry of pain.

"What are you doing to him?!" Ruby couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth after watching as that woman sank her teeth into Rodric's shoulder and bite down until she snapped the bone. She watched as Rodric collapsed to the ground writhing in pain as the blood continued to flow from his shoulder, the woman however simply stood back up and spit the mouthful of blood onto the ground, "What's the matter with you!"

"Me?" Narissa scoffed, she was honestly shocked that this girl had the nerve to blame her, "There is nothing wrong with me _girl, _if you wish to blame anyone then perhaps you should blame yourselves."

"What?"

"If it weren't for you, and your pathetic race there would be no need for this, but as it were seeing as you humans simply _refuse _to die, it comes to this." She let a low growl slip from her lips as she began to slowly lose her composure, "If only my brother learned his place and left your kind alone, he wouldn't have to suffer like this, but he is so...enraptured with you pathetic creatures and it sickens me." She looked down at Rodric who seemed to have calmed down, the wound however remained open and the blood continued to flow from it, "No, he must always see the humans up close, the humans always fascinate him...please, what is so fascinating about a race that should have never been." She turned her attention back towards the girls as a snarl tore through her throat, "What is about you that he finds so fascinating, when I look at you all I see are disgusting humans..." She turned her attention to the girl with the black bow and turned her nose up in disgust, "...and filthy _animals."_

Blake's eyes widened in shock at the woman's words, yet another person had been able to discover her faunus heritage without her saying a word about it, or anyone having told them. "H-How did you-"

"Oh please, you practically reek of that foul scent...I've been stuck around you animals long enough to sniff out one of your kind, I can hardly tolerate your scent, I don't understand how Rodric could have dealt with you for as long as he did." She shook her head, and as she looked up again she saw the girls' eyes were on Rodric, she looked down at him curiously before looking back up at the girl in white, a wide grin crossed her face as realization took hold. She let a low chuckle roll from her lip, "Oh don't tell...you didn't know did you?" She turned her attention to Rodric who was glaring up at her once again, "You didn't tell her...oh of course you didn't, I forget you act as if you are ashamed of what you are..."

"I only act that way because _you _make me ashamed of what I am, it's because of you and others like you that the humans hate and fear-" He was cut off as she slammed her foot into his stomach again, forcing the air from his lungs as he coughed loudly gasping for breath. It was a futile attempt as she moved her foot and placed it against his throat cutting off his air supply, he gripped her leg and tried to force her foot from his throat, but she simply applied more weight to his neck causing his vision to blacken momentarily before it returned.

A twisted smile crept over Narissa's lips as she pressed her foot down on Rodric's throat, the smile only grew wider as she watched his eye lids flutter ever so slightly as he began to lose consciousness, all the while the grip on her leg faltered ever so slightly. She would lessen the pressure as life seemed to flood back into him, his eyes turned hard as he would glare up at her once again the grip on her leg tightening as he attempted to dislodge her, "What a pathetic display..." She muttered.

"Stop hurting him!" Narissa growled in annoyance as the girl cried out once again, instead she simply pressed her foot harder on Rodric's throat before turning to glare at the young girl.

* * *

"What does it matter what I do to him, it does not concern you, it's not as if you..." Narissa's words slowly faded away as her eyes locked with the bright silver eyes before her. She looked at the way the girl looked down at Rodric, she then looked at the other girls who looked angered at the way she was dealing with Rodric. A laugh slowly built up turning from a low chuckle into loud uproarious laughter, the laughter slowly died away until only a few chuckles were heard, "Oh, I cannot believe this." She moved her foot away from Rodric's throat as he let out a loud gasp as air finally returned to his lungs, though he couldn't enjoy the minor reprieve as he was forced back to his knees before the vision even fully returned to his eyes. "Is this what it has finally come down to, is this what you have finally reduced yourself to? You've finally succumbed to your darkest carnal desires?"

"What...what are you-"

"Don't play coy with me now Rodric, so which one is it?" She looked over the girls that stood before them before settling on the girl with the long white hair, despite the disgusted look on her face, she could still feel the air of superiority practically emanating from her. Even in a situation like this she still found it necessary to stand like a proper aristocrat, Rodric hated these types of humans, for him to tolerate her it only made sense how he managed to tolerate her presence. "Is it her?" She purred in his ear, she forced him to look in her direction, he didn't answer her right away, it seemed he was still slightly disoriented from her earlier treatment, despite that she continued on. "I'm right aren't I? You detest these type of pompous humans, so why would you be around one if it weren't for that simple reason?"She gave a low chuckle as she turned her attention back to the aristocratic girl before her.

"You there, the girl that has obvious delusions of grandeur..." The girl glared at her but seemed to not notice that by doing so she subtly agreed with her statement, this caused Narissa to grin wickedly. "Tell me am I right in my assumption?"

Weiss frowned at the way the woman looked at her, she didn't wish to have any conversation with her after witnessing her treatment towards Rodric. Weiss would admit that she didn't...enjoy Rodric's presence unlike Ruby, but even so she would never take pleasure in watching Rodric suffer the way he was at this woman's hand. She would have refused to so much as acknowledge her presence, but considering how she was currently handling Rodric, she felt that if she continued to ignore her that it would only end up hurting Rodric in the end. She grit her teeth before huffing and glaring at the woman, "What assumption are you talking about?"

"That you satisfy Rodric's needs of course." Narissa said it as if it were so obvious, the smile she held on her face only grew wider as the girl before her seemed stunned at the accusation, the others slowly turned towards Weiss with different looks of shock and confusion. "I am right aren't I? After all Rodric would never tolerate being around humans like you, humans that are so full of themselves and think only of themselves and the way they appear to the public. It only makes sense that, _that _would be the only reason he so much as tolerates being around your kind, so tell me girl do you submit to him, does he force you to your knees while you beg for him." She glanced at Rodric and it seemed he was finally coming around again his eyes seemed clearer and his breathing wasn't as labored as before, she gave a low growl as she turned back towards the girl a frown now covering her face. "Or perhaps this is actually how is it? Does seeing him in this position excite you? To see him bloodied and weak and on his knees, is this how you treat him?"

She growled out menacingly, before turning and looking at the girl with the long black hair as she sneered at her, "Or perhaps it's you, since my brother seems to enjoy 'slumming it' as you humans call it, perhaps he enjoys bedding animals. Am I correct?" The sneer slowly left her face only to be replaced with the same twisted grin she wore when the whole situation started, she knelt down behind Rodric and wrapped her arms around him and dug her fingers into his stomach and chest, "I can only imagine you animals enjoy _toying_ with your partners." She slowly dragged her fingers across his body causing him to hiss in pain as he began to shake from it slightly, she kept her eyes locked on the amber ones that stared back at her in horror, she moved her fingers back to where they had started at before dragging her fingers across his body in the same place. The twisted smile only seemed to grow wider as the sound of tearing fabric was soon replaced with the sound of tearing flesh, as the sensation of hot blood fell across her hand.

Blake slapped a hand across her mouth as she gagged several times, she could feel bile rising in the back of her throat as she watched the woman tear several lines across Rodric's body. Mixed with the things she was accusing her of made Blake sick to her stomach, she glanced back up only to see the woman continuing to dig her fingers deeper into Rodric's body, at one point when she removed her fingers to repeat herself she saw white behind all the blood. Blake doubled over clenching her stomach and covering her mouth as she began to dry heave, her entire body was shaking at this point, she wasn't going to be able to stand much more.

"Leave him alone!" Ruby clenched her fists as she cried in vain, it was all she could really do at this point, with how this woman was doing all these things to Rodric she didn't know if they could even do anything to stop her. The tears that burned her eyes were no longer from what she had just learned but from what she feared would happen, Rodric was a dragon but he even told her that they could die from injuries. Looking at all the things this woman was doing to him, she began to fear for his life.

Narissa ignored the cries and simply continued on turning towards the girl with the long blonde hair, despite everything that was happening before her that girl had yet to look away from the two of them. Her eyes were still their deep crimson color and from the looks of it she was shaking either from fear or anger, whichever it was Narissa couldn't help but smile, if that girl wished to lash out, she would enjoy pushing her towards the edge. "You seem capable of taking a bit of punishment, surely you must be the one my brother is so...infatuated with. Only someone like yourself could even hope of taking us on as partners and actually surviving, we tend to be a little..." She dug her fingers deep into Rodric's side as he groaned once again in pain, his warm blood soon spilled over her fingers as she gave a dark chuckle, "...rough, and lose ourselves a bit when lust overcomes us." She watched as the girl clenched her fists and began to walk towards her, a large grin spread across her face as she watched her walk towards her death, though the smile quickly faded when the youngest reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Yang stop, didn't you hear Rodric? She'll kill you." Yang grit her teeth in annoyance, Ruby was right, with how she was treating her brother there was no way that some one like her was going to have any mercy on her, but she couldn't just stand around and watch as she tortured him. She pulled her arm from Ruby's before turning towards Rodric and the woman, it was clear from the look on her fact that she was enjoying watching them struggle. Yang hated this, after all the near death experiences and all the fights they've been in up until this point and now they were scared. Though none of them had ever fought anyone like this woman, the way she talked about Rodric and herself, Yang wasn't even sure that she was human. Then she remembered the previous night, Ruby had told her all about Rodric and what he had told her that he was, she didn't believe it rather she didn't want to believe it, but to see him like this bleeding all over and still conscious...she couldn't deny it anymore. Rodric was a dragon, whether she wanted to believe it or not, he was obviously something that wasn't human, as any other human suffering those wounds would have either passed out or died by now. She clenched her fists tighter, _dammit what are we up against?"_

"Aw, what's the matter? Lose your nerve?" Narissa gave a toothy smile as she looked at the blonde haired girl, "Now where were we...ah, yes." She looked over the girls still determined to find out which one was her brothers play thing. None of them seemed to be the one her brother had claimed, she gave a light hum before her eyes fell on the youngest that still kneeled on the ground, she gave a light chuckle as she turned to her brother. "You always lust after the youngest don't you?" She murmured in his ear, though she had no doubts that the animal among them had heard what she said, "What is it about the young girls Rodric, is it simply that they are innocent?" She felt him go rigid beneath her hands, "Untouched?" A low growl rumbled in his chest as she grinned widely, one of her hands roaming up towards his neck, "Or is it because you enjoy corrupting them, soiling them, and ruining them so they only yearn for your touch?"

Rodric snarled as he quickly turned towards Narissa mouth wide with the intent to sink his teeth into her flesh, he however stopped in mid strike as his eyes widened in fear. It was pressure, a gentle pressure, but pressure nonetheless that had caused him to stop in his attack, and the look on Narissa's face was of pure amusement. One of her fingers rested gently against his neck, more specifically his jugular, had she aimed anywhere else he wouldn't have hesitated in ripping into her face. Though while he could survive most injuries, he had yet to fully heal from the ones she had inflicted upon him, and if she ripped his jugular open...he would bleed out before he could heal the damage. She gave a light chuckle and ran her finger up and down the length of his neck making sure to keep pressure on his jugular, "What's the matter Rodric, afraid to take the risk?" When he refused to answer her smile quickly faded as she grabbed his neck and slammed him back into the ground, "Pathetic." She growled in frustration and quickly stood and slammed her foot into his stomach again and again, all in an attempt to vent her anger but every time her foot slammed into his stomach and she watched him gasp out for the breath ripped from his lungs, it only made her angrier.

Several snarls ripped through her throat as she continued to bring down her foot onto Rodric before she finally kicked his chest causing several sickly snaps to be heard. "Look at you!" She glared down at him as he struggled to breathe, sucking in ragged breaths as he returned her glare, "Why do you care so much for these wretched humans, look at what they've done to you. They've made you docile and weak, the Rodric I remember was never this pathetic...the Rodric I knew enjoyed slaughtering the humans as much as I did." There was a surprised gasp from behind her and turned to see the young girl looking towards them eyes full of surprise and fear, she couldn't help but let a gleeful smile cross her lips, "Oh that's right child, when your kind grew greedy and arrogant, you all attempted to slaughter us like mere animals. Instead it was your kind that were slaughtered when we fought back, and Rodric and I were the ones that led the charge, we were at the front of every assault. Oh you should have seen the look in his eyes when he slaughtered the humans and when he burned their homes to the ground, he was unstoppable we were-"

"Y-You're wrong..." She frowned as she looked down at the girl on her knees, "You're wrong, Rodric wouldn't...Rodric isn't like that, he told me all about the war between your kind and ours, he didn't enjoy it but he had to do it to survive. If the humans never started to kill your kind Rodric would have never needed to fight in that war."

Narissa scoffed as she shook her head, "And just what do you know about our kind child?"

Ruby clenched her fists as she bit her lip, she didn't know why she was even talking to this woman, after everything she's done, everything she's said. For some reason she felt slightly braver than she had earlier, she didn't know how long she was going to feel like this but she wasn't going to waste it on her knees, slowly she pushed herself up back into a standing position. She took her weapon in hand and stood on shaky legs but stood nevertheless, she took a deep breath before continuing, "I know...I know not all dragons are evil, Rodric taught me that, he told me that all the dragons wanted was to just live their lives. H-He...he told me how cruel and evil the humans of your time were and...and I'm sorry."

"What?!" Ruby flinched slightly when everyone seemingly shouted the same thing at her, she shook her head and took another breath, she didn't know what she was doing but she hoped that maybe she could calm this one down.

"I-I said I'm sorry...I know that doesn't mean much coming from a human a-and from a hunter but I truly mean it. We humans aren't as bad as we used to be, I-I know there are still people out there that are bad and would love nothing more than to hurt others, but that isn't who hunters are anymore. I...we can probably never make up for what the knights of the past have done but...please you have to believe us when I say we aren't bad people. If you just give us a chance I'm sure we would be able to change your mind, I mean...we were able to change Rodric's mind about us so I'm sure we could do the same for you." Ruby tightened her grip on her weapon, she didn't know what she was doing exactly, she wasn't even sure if she could convince this woman to give them a chance. But...but if her suspicions about her were right then she had to at least try, the way she talked about the humans she couldn't help but remember the way Rodric would talk about them, in a way they sounded exactly the same regarding their hatred for humans. She wondered if this is how Rodric would have sounded if they had never met, if somewhere down the line they would have run into him and if he would have sounded exactly like she did. The mere thought of it made Ruby uncomfortable, she couldn't imagine Rodric being this cold and cruel, he had his reasons for hating humans as he told them, but this...she couldn't ever see him like this. To be so consumed by hatred, it seemed like such a terrible life to live, and she wanted to help her, at least try and help her see that things had changed. If she couldn't completely change her mind the least she could do was make her doubt, if she could at least do that then maybe at some point she would realize it herself.

She looked back up to see the woman with her head bowed and fists clenched, she couldn't see her eyes but when she looked past her and looked to Rodric, the shocked look in his eye said enough. She didn't honestly think she could do it but it seemed she might have just been able to convince the woman to give them a chance if nothing more, Ruby could feel a small smile growing over her lips as she watched the woman in front of her. The woman's shoulders began to shake and it made Ruby wonder if she had been brought to tears, she didn't intend for that to happen and it actually pained her slightly to see someone brought to tears by her. She opened her mouth to at least try and apologize but was stopped when a low laughter reached her ears, she turned towards her team thinking that it might have been one of them, or at least Yang, laughing but was confused when she saw that it was none of them. She turned back towards the woman as the laughter began to grow in volume, the smile she had slowly vanished from her lips as the woman looked up just as the laughter had slowly grown into near maniacal laughter. Ruby took a small step back towards her friends as the woman continued to laugh, it was beginning to boarder on insane and it was starting to worry her.

Narissa's admittedly insane laughter slowly faded as she looked towards Ruby and simply shook her head, "Did you honestly believe that nonsensical drivel would change my mind, you must be much more naive than I believed." She turned her attention towards Rodric who was now struggling to push himself to his feet, she could only smirk as he attempted to defy her will, "Is this how they convinced you? Using honeyed words and empty promises of a better tomorrow, honestly I thought you better than that..." Narissa didn't miss the low growl that crawled from his throat but ignored it as she turned back towards the girls to see the youngest conversing with the blonde one, _How rude of them, I'll have to fix that..._

* * *

"Ruby I can't believe you actually thought that was going to work..." While she wouldn't admit it, she knew that Ruby's idea was probably a lot better than anything else they could have thought of. Despite it not working she had managed to pull her attention away from Rodric for the time being at least, now they were just going to have to figure out how to get out of this in one piece.

Ruby gave a slight shrug, "I had to try something you know?" She sighed softly before turning back towards the woman and gasping loudly in shock as her eyes widened in fear. _H-How I-I didn't even hear her move..._Standing in front of her and looking down at her was the woman who, previously had been standing a couple of dozen feet away from them at least, and now she was practically invading her personal space.

"Now that your words have failed you, what will you do now child?" She reached up and gently ran her fingers along the young girls pale skin, as expected the young girl gasped in shock at the cold that bit into her skin. "Will you turn to force? Will you use your weapons to subdue me and show me just how little the hunters have changed from my time?" Ruby gasped out once again as the cold the woman seemed to exude tore into her body and stole the air from her lungs, she bit her tongue as a soft whimper crawled up her throat as the cold that bit into her cheek began to boarder on painful. She sucked in a sharp breath and began to pant slightly to try and alleviate the pain that was beginning to radiate across her face, it was only then did she notice her short breaths coming in small puffs of white when she exhaled. She was cold, very cold, she looked up towards the woman who gave her a malicious smile, "Well, what will you-"

"Narissa, enough!" Rodric grit his teeth as he continued to force himself to stand, he had made little progress in the time Narissa had been distracted, it came as no surprise to him but it angered him nevertheless. He had only managed to move from kneeling on both knees to only using one and using the other as leverage to try and move himself to his feet, it was an agonizingly slow process that resulted in little. With every move he attempted he could feel invisible weights pressing down on him, pushing his body into the ground nearly rendering him immobile, every time he struggled to defy Narissa's words the weights would grow heavier, heavier, and heavier still. It mattered little to him how heavy the weights would grow, all that mattered was that Narissa returned her attention to him, too far she had strayed away from him and he wasn't going to simply kneel idle while _she...they_ suffered her ire. While the pain he suffered was great it mattered little when he was the only one who suffered, but now that Narissa's attention had been taken from him the fear that coursed through him outweighed any pain he could feel, every movement drew blood from his open wounds, he could feel the warmth drenching him but he didn't care. As long as they didn't suffer, he would gladly shoulder the pain, "I believe you have more than made your point."

Narissa glared at Rodric for interrupting her but couldn't help but smile as she watched him struggle to stand, she didn't know how to feel about it, she found it slightly funny that he thought he could obviously use his will alone to disobey her words. What she didn't find as funny was the progress he had made in disobeying her, standing after she commanded him to kneel should have been an impossible task, but seeing as he had made ample progress didn't sit well with her. "My point...oh Rodric I am far from making my point, there is still much to do and sadly not a lot of time to do it, so I think I best hurry things along. However it seems you have something you wish to say so _stand_ and speak."

The weights vanished, there was no longer any pressure holding him down, and in one swift motion Rodric managed to stand on his feet, although he swayed slightly at the sudden movement. His head felt fuzzy and his vision blurred ever so slightly, the blood loss was beginning to turn into a problem, so far it was only a nuisance but if it continued then it would surely be a problem. "What do you what, I mean what do you honestly want? I'm right here, if it is me you want then why waste your time scaring these children when I am right here! You've come from gods know where to do _this _to me, and now you stand here terrifying these children, why are you here? What do you want!"

She looked at him in bewilderment, never has she ever met someone that was as arrogant as him, he knew what happened to those who spoke to her in such a tone, yet he did not care. He must know that she could kill him without hesitation, whether they shared the same blood she had her own dignity to uphold and if that meant cutting him down for his arrogant acts of defiance then she would, yet he showed no fear in his eyes. She gave a low dark chuckle as she looked him directly in the eye, "What I want? Rodric as my brother you know very well what I want, I want to see this wretched world burn. We have let the humans grow too large and too strong in the decades we have been away, and now that we are back, we must take our rightful places. This wretched town is full of humans and those disgusting animals, our kind would never have tolerated such filth to-"

"No, _your _kind would never have allowed the humans to live as they do now, if it weren't for you and your blind followers we would still have a place in this world. It is because of you and your hatred for the humans that has left us as we are now, it was because _you _started that damned war that we killed the humans in defense. It it wasn't for you and your foolish ideals we...who knows how the future could have looked, but you had to force our hand, thousands of us died in that war and most of them are never coming back. If it wasn't for the elder who knows how many more we would have lost because of your foolish war."

Narissa couldn't help but scoff at the words he spoke, "The elder? That old fool was to complacent, he allowed the humans to grow arrogant, if he simply let the war continue we could be ruling this pathetic race or better yet we could have simply wiped them all out. Imagine it we could have been worshiped as gods to these-"

"We already were revered as gods! But you, too blinded by your arrogance and hatred couldn't see that, the humans that came after the war told legends of us. We were creatures of power and beauty to them, they prayed for the gifts we once bestowed upon them, they prayed for us to protect them and to give them strength in their times of need. If you only watched and listened instead of being deaf and blind to reason you would have seen what we had...what I had."

She gave a hollow laugh as she shook her head sadly, "I see what this is all about, poor Rodric still caught up on one human, you still try to see the good in the humans by remembering her don't you? Tell me where is she now Rodric?"

"Don't."

"Oh that's right I sometimes _mistake_ the difference between us and the humans, tell me what is it that we can do that the humans cannot?"

"Narissa..."

"_Right, _unlike the humans we actually can be reborn, so if I were to die and if you were to die too of course, then sometime in the future we would both come back. Wait...but what about your precious human?"

"Stop, Narissa."

"Oh that's right, she's dead. She is never coming back, and you know why she is never coming back? It's because the humans killed her, humans like _these _that you are trying so hard to protect, it is because of them that she is dead! How disgusted she must be to know that you, the person she gave her heart to was here defending the very creatures that took her life, the very creatures that forced poor little-"

"Don't!" Rodric was shaking with pure rage as she spoke about the girl he once loved in such a way, he could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest as his hands shook with how tight he had clenched them. Despite how angry he was, when he spoke there was a distinct quiver in his voice from the pain that was beginning to resurface at the memories of her, "Don't you dare speak of her, don't you dare speak as if you knew her. You know nothing about her and I refuse to let you speak ill of the dead!"

Narissa's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the audacious way Rodric spoke to her, she couldn't help but let a smile cross her face as she looked towards him. Enjoying the pain and anger that flickered over his face in a fascinating mix of emotions, _all this for a human. _The threatening manner he spoke in was apparent but she cared little for his petty threats, as she calmly smiled at him, "Poor little _Serana_ would hate to see the disappointment you've become..." The following bellow of rage that came from Rodric didn't surprise her, in fact she would have been more surprised if he hadn't, what did surprise her was when he charged right towards her. The murderous intent clear in his eye was a strange looking in his eyes, never had she seen it as clearly as she did now, however it was still less than impressive. She gave a weary sigh before shaking her head, "_Stop," _she looked towards him to see him once again rooted to the spot he stood, he didn't make it anywhere near her in his blind rush. She gave another sigh as she slowly walked over towards him, the only sound that could be hear was each step she took and the feral growls that came from Rodric as he once again tried to will his body to move. She stopped right in front of him looking directly in his eye as she slowly shook her head, "What did you think you were going to accomplish Rodric?"

She looked towards him to answer but all she got was another growl that ripped through his throat, "It matters not, you failed in whatever it was you _thought_ to do, and now you will see what it gets you." She said nothing else as she walked around behind him and moved his right arm until it was raised outward. She placed her hand firmly on his elbow and firmly grasped his wrist and slowly began to pull his arm back, she turned her head to look at his face as she increased the pressure on his arm. She took in every detail of his face, from the way his eyes twitched as the pain began to increase and the way his jaw clenched, she grinned slightly before, in a single motion she snapped his arm backwards having it bend completely in the opposite direction. Rather than cry out in pain like she had hoped he fell to his knees groaning loudly in pain, giving an irritated huff she dropped his arm that now hung limply at his side.

Rodric trembled from the pain that shot through his body, not only from his now broken arm but from his own tongue he had just bit into, in an attempt to silence his pained cry he bit down onto his tongue. He didn't expect the pain to be great enough for him to bite hard enough to draw blood, the warm metallic liquid filled his mouth as he curled in on himself breathing heavily. With each sharp exhale specks of blood came from his pursed lips and splattered onto the ground and fell down his chin, _Damn her. _He sat back and glared up at her as he spat the mouthful of blood in her direction, as he looked at her he felt a strange sense of calm come over him, rather than anger that he had felt towards her he felt a large smile come over his face. He began to shake again but not from the pain that still ran through his body but from...laughter that bubbled up from his core, it started low drawing her attention before he had delved into full blown near insane laughter. "Look at you, oh look at you, you think I fear you simply because of what you can do to me? Oh Narissa if you truly believe that, then you are even more foolish than I even imagined." Another low chuckle rumbled from deep in his chest as she began to grow angry, he cast her a bloodied smile as she glared down at him, "Does that anger you, does it anger you to know I do not fear you? I fear what you can do, yes that is true, but the pain and suffering you put me through, no that I do not fear. I have suffered a pain far greater than anything you could ever hope to make me suffer."

Snarling she grabbed Rodric by the throat and squeezed tightly, her anger only grew when he continued to smile, she snapped her teeth near his ear before giving a low growl. "You cannot possibly imagine the pain I could make you suffer Rodric..."

He gave a strained chuckle, "I do Narissa, I can imagine it clearly, but it can still never compare. You claim that it was the humans that killed my beloved, but you know as well as I do that, that...is untrue." He met her eyes and there was nothing but cold blooded hate hiding behind her eyes and the only thing he could do in that moment was give a cheeky smile that seemed out of place in the position he was in, "You claim that you are stronger than the humans but you are weak,you have a weak mind, and a weak soul. You could never have gone through what I did, to live with what I did..."

Narissa growled out before she slammed Rodric's head into the ground before she stood over him growling out as her anger began to mount, "Weak! You call me weak, yet here you are, broken and bloody and at my mercy, but I shall show you none. You think you can imagine the pain I will make you suffer but, oh dear sweet brother you cannot possibly fathom the depths of the agony you will endure. You forget who it is you speak to, you forget your place in the hierarchy, you forget just who I am! I am-"

"The Empress of the Frozen Peaks..." Rodric's eyes widened in both fear and surprise as he turned towards the voice only to see that it came from Ruby, that strange sense of courage he had in the face of the danger he faced vanished as soon as those words were spoken. His breaths were coming in short pants as he turned his attention back to Narissa who was standing there her mouth slightly ajar and her eyes were were cold and strangely distant. He gasped slightly in surprise when his back hit the floor, she had released the grip she had on his neck and slowly stepped over him and towards Ruby.

"What did you just say?" Surely she heard wrong, there was no way the humans of this time would know of the name those knights had given her, but the chills that crawled across her body told a different story. Her heart was beginning to race as her body trembled with each step she made towards the girl, the power that boiled beneath her skin was reaching a fever pitch, and those simple words made her lose her grip of her power. Each step she took caused a small patch of ice to grow beneath her feet as a thick white mist began to flow from her mouth with each heavy exhale, "What did you just say?!"

Ruby flinched back as her throat suddenly went dry, her legs began to shake uncontrollably, each time she tried to speak she could only manage to let out a strange strangled sound. Each time her words failed her she would only grow more panicked as she took a shaky step back and nearly fell with how much her legs were shaking, her breathing was panicked and it was only because of that did she finally notice how much colder it had gotten. With each panicked breath she noticed the white puffs that rose into the air, she briefly glanced at them before turning her attention back towards Narissa. She sucked in a sharp breath and tightened her grip on her weapon before speaking again, "I-I said y-your the Empress of the-"

"Who told you that name?!" The girl leapt in fear as she shouted at her, she couldn't contain her anger any longer, hearing those words, that name come from humans lips disgusted her. The wretched name, was the humans way of being clever, to give their kind demeaning names such as that, she had grown to loathe that name. Every human she attacked, every village she sundered she would hear that name being shouted, oh how she hated it but the humans were tenacious and persisted in calling her by it. "I said who!" Before she could say anything else and before the girl could answer her when as gasping cough caught her attention, she slowly turned to face Rodric as he coughed up more specks of blood across the ground, the silence that followed caused him to look up towards her and the moment their eyes met she was immediately on him. Her hands gripped his throat squeezing tightly as he feebly struggled against her grip, "How dare you! How dare you tell them that damned name! To think that you would refer to me by that disrespectful name, I'll enjoy sending you back to the abyss..."

Rodric attempted to growl at her but it was stopped short when she tightened her grip around his throat, he clawed at her arms but his fingers slid off the ice like texture along her arms. He reached out and pressed his hand against her face trying to push her away, but with each failed attempted her grip only tightened more. His vision began to blur as he writhed beneath her grip, trying to get away and trying to get the air he desperately needed, her grip only tightened as he struggled beneath her. Darkness began to dance on the edge of his vision as his body began to grow heavy, his struggling began to die down as he weekly held her arms attempting to remove them from his throat. With no air left in his body his eyes began to close against his will as he struggled in vain to keep them open, a distant chuckle caught his attention, he looked up to see Narissa smiling down at him. The words she spoke were almost impossibly to make out, they sounded so distant and muddled as if she were speaking through water, "Don't worry Rodric, your precious humans will be joining you." Those words brought life back to him though it was far too late, from the lack of oxygen his body was in no position to struggle against her, as the darkness consumed his vision he heard her laughter slowly fading as his consciousness began to fade, "We'll meet again soon I-" A hollow gunshot silenced her words and in an instant life flooded into his body once again, he turned on his side coughing as he gasped for the air he desperately needed. The darkness still obscured his vision, all he knew was that he was still alive for the moment, he attempted to push himself to his feet but was stopped when he felt Narissa push her foot into his back forcing him to lie flat on his chest.

That sound, had sounded so loud that it actually shocked her from her blind rage, she looked up and around trying to find where it came from. A shocked gasp pulled her attention back to the girls that still stood before them, _how tenacious, _it was then she noticed the small amount of smoke rising from Ruby's hands. As she lowed her eyes she saw that it wasn't from her hands but instead from the strange weapon she had seen her fighting with, she glanced from the weapon back to the girls terrified expression before it suddenly dawned on her. "Did you-" She was silenced when pain shot through her body, she looked down and saw dark crimson red splattered across her pale skin, her blood was flowing down her leg and pooling around her feet. She placed her hand where the pain was the greatest and hissed at the contact, quickly pulling her hand away only to see it completely stained red, she watched as the blood in her hands slowly frosted over before looking back towards the girl. "You...you...you dare assault me!" The blood across her body quickly froze over as her anger flared up once again, the temperature quickly plummeted around them as she took a menacing step towards them. Thick mist escaped her mouth as she breathed heavily, seething with unsurpassed rage, "You miserable little child, not only do you attack me, but you do so in the most underhanded way, is this what they teach you hunters? I see there is no shortage of-"

* * *

A ball of fire consumed Narissa as she ranted, Yang panted softly, her body had just moved on its own, she didn't know what happened until after she had launched her attack. Slowly lowering her hand she looked towards the others only to see the shocked expressions on their faces, she turned her attention to Ruby and placed a hand on her shoulder causing her to flinch slightly. When Ruby looked back towards her there was nothing but fear in her eyes, fear of what she had done, and with the threatening manner Narissa had been speaking in, before she could reassure Ruby that everything was going to be just fine an all to familiar snarl brought her attention to where she had launched her attack. As the smoke cleared it showed that her attack had little to no affect on Narissa, all it really seemed to do was manage to make the already crazed and angry woman just that much more angrier. "As I said," she growled out, "there is no shortage of cowards among hunters..." Yang clenched her fists tightly if only to keep her hands from shaking, along with the fear that coursed through her body the unnatural drop in temperature was beginning to affect her as well, she knew that it was still to early in the year for the temperature to drop especially like this. She began to wonder just how much of what Ruby told her about Rodric had been true, she didn't know what to think about it when she had been told and never really gave it much thought after that, but seeing and hearing the way Narissa talked and acted there had to be some truth to what she was told. If there was truth behind it, and if this was how ruthless and dangerous these dragons were, she didn't know how they were going to get away from someone like Narissa, seeing as she didn't seem like she was planning on showing them any sort of mercy and simply let them go. "Well then what shall you do? Don't let this end so soon, entertain me."

Yang looked towards the others and saw both Weiss and Blake reaching for their weapons, she didn't know how they were even going to fare going against someone like this, she knew they were going to get hurt. There was no way they were going to come out of this unscathed, she turned her attention back towards Narissa who was just standing there an unsettling smile on her face. Yang closed her eyes and let out a slow breath before opening her eyes again, she pulled both her arms back loading a new round into her weapon before taking off in a mad dash towards Narissa. She could hear the others shouting at her, they probably thought she was crazy to run towards someone as obviously dangerous as Narissa, and she might have been a little crazy now that she thought about it. It didn't matter, she was always the first one to run into danger, she was the distraction, and right now they needed as much distraction as they could get and Yang planned on giving them all they needed. She locked eyes with Narissa and grit her teeth when that creepy smile on her face only grew, _let's see how much your smiling after this, _she quickly closed the distance and pulled back her arm before launching forward with all the strength she could muster. It was only briefly did she see the smile fade from Narissa's face, only briefly because in the next moment pain exploded across her face and her back met with the cold hard ground. Over and over her back hit the hard ground, pain wracked her entire body before she finally managed to slide to a stop, she gasped and sucked in a sharp breath as she writhed on the ground, she refused to cry out and show just how much pain she was in. She lifted her head slightly as she turned her gaze towards Narissa when she heard the chilling laughter leave her mouth, "What, was that it?"

Yang frowned and slammed her fist into the ground before jumping back to her feet, she winced and hissed slightly as her body disagreed with her swift movements. Her cheek was beginning to throb painfully, she had been slapped once before in Signal when she got into a fight with one of the girls over something, this didn't feel anything like it. She rolled her shoulders and popped her neck before raising her weapons as Narissa laughed again but said nothing more, she threw both fists forward launching more of her explosive rounds towards the woman if only to shut her up. Both shells struck her body exploding in a ball of fire and smoke, as planned the laughter ceased, but what wasn't planned was Narissa stepping through the cloud of smoke and slowly walking towards her. Gritting her teeth in frustration Yang launched attack after attack, most of the shells struck her body full force with enough explosive force to slow her down, but it didn't seem to be fazing her at all. While most of her shells hit their mark, with the speed she was attacking most of them sailed harmlessly past her and struck the ground, one that made a clear path to strike her face was swatted away with her hand exploding off to the side. "Please tell me this pathetic display isn't the best you can do?" Yang quickly pulled her arms back, releasing the spent shells and quickly loading in the new rounds and locking them into place, seeing as long range wasn't working all to well it seemed a change of tactics was needed. Taking a deep breath she slowly exhaled before rushing towards Narissa, she usually felt more confident about a heads on approach to situations like this, but after seeing everything Narissa did to Rodric without so much as a second thought she had her doubts, seeing as she had already made her move there was little time to dwell on the doubts and concerns present in her mind.

As the distance dwindled she only then realized that she had no plan to speak of, the usual 'punch it till it stops moving' didn't seem like it would work against a...dragon...or whatever she was. _Too little too late, _she mused as she focused back on the current situation, she clenched her fist tightly as the distance finally disappeared and she threw a straight punch with everything she had. It didn't do much as Narissa simply sidestepped her causing her to stumble past her, she slid along the ground trying to regain her balance as she quickly turned and threw a wild swing as she turned hoping to hit her in the process. She gasped out as her arm was grabbed tightly by Narissa, the cold that tore through her arm was almost as painful as the amount of pressure she was putting on her arm. Within seconds she lost feeling in her arm as the cold began to spread to the rest of her body, gritting her teeth she spun around effectively twisting her arm but managed to throw out a kick, but rather than hit her stomach her leg was stopped by Narissa's other hand. Once again the sheer cold tore through her leg chilling her to the core, and in a matter of seconds just as her arm had the leg now trapped in her vice-like grip had gone numb. She had to clench her teeth just to keep them from chattering, but the position she was in made it impossible to keep from shaking, with the cold taking over her body, the leg she was standing on was hardly able to hold her up anymore, it if wasn't for Narissa she would have been flat on her back, sadly it didn't seem like she was planning on letting her go so easily. "One..." Yang began to wonder what she meant by that but when her grip tightened considerably on her arm and leg she had a fairly good idea what she meant, even though she had thought her arm and leg had gone numb, the moment the pressure increased she felt pain explode across both limbs as she ground her teeth groaning loudly. There was a low chuckle and then she was dropped, the air rushed from her lungs as her back hit the ground, coughing she quickly sat up only to see Narissa a fair distance away from her with Blake standing between the two of them, the moment she tried to stand pain washed over her body once again as she collapsed back on the ground.

Blake looked over her shoulder looking at Yang on the ground, she noticed that both her arm and leg were tinged a pale blue, there was no time to assess the damage but she could only hope that it wasn't anything to severe. She turned her attention back towards Narissa as she tightened her grip on her weapons, she watched as she lifted her arm and looked it over seeing no damage, Blake's weapons however had a light frost covering the sharp edges. She shook her head and readied her weapons as Narissa cast her a grin, "Well I didn't expect the animal of all things to rush to the rescue, I'm not disappointed mind you, I'll have just as much fun tearing you apart." Blake frowned before rushing towards her, she raised her weapons and readied them to strike, instead she started to leap over her leaving behind one of her clones, surely she wouldn't have ever expected something like that. When she was stopped in midair she knew she was in fact very wrong about that, she felt the cold crawl up her leg before she was slammed down into the ground, she groaned softly as she looked up towards the ever smiling Narissa. "Please don't tell me you honestly expected a little trick like that to work?" Blake threw herself back rolling to her feet, yet was immediately sent to her knees when her leg buckled beneath her, the leg that had been grabbed was now slowly going numb. Despite her now somewhat useless leg she forced herself to her feet, she knew she didn't seem as threatening with her legs shaking from just trying to hold herself up, but by using a bit more of her aura she was able to fight back the creeping cold and the numbness in her keg, she just needed a bit of time. "I told you, you have no idea what-" Narissa stopped and threw her hand out just as several shards of ice collided with her and shattered against her extended arm, a low growl rumbled in her chest as she turned towards the culprit.

Weiss lowered her weapon and sighed heavily, she should have known that Yang would have rushed in without saying much of anything, in fact she expected it from Yang. But, Blake, now that wasn't something she was prepared for, so to see her rushing in without even explaining a plan was strange and infuriating. She glanced towards Ruby who seemed to be frozen in place, she was still shaking and she knew it had nothing to do with the cold, the smoke had long faded from her weapon but her eyes had yet to leave the puddle of blood left on the ground when she had shot Narissa. Admittedly it surprised even her that she had managed to do something like that, it seemed it shocked Ruby even more from how she was acting, she could only hope she snapped out of it soon enough, she let her aura flow out into her weapon as the blade began to glow a bright blue. Twirling the weapon between her fingers she drove the blade into the ground as a line of jagged rushed towards Narissa, but even before it reached her Narissa threw her hand out and split the line, one rushing harmlessly past her and the other just barely missing both Blake and Yang. She pulled her rapier from the ground as the all to familiar growl reached her ears, she looked up to see Narissa glaring at her, "Did you truly intend to harm me with the very element that bends to my will? Truly?" Frowning Weiss pulled the hammer back on her weapon letting the revolver spin before she pulled the trigger stopping and locking it on the Burn dust, letting her aura flow through the weapon the blade began to glow a bright red.

"If ice doesn't work then try fire!" Weiss swung her rapier upwards launching a large arc of fire straight towards Narissa, if she had some sort of control over ice then surely this would do the trick. As the arc flew towards Narissa, she was stunned when she simply swatted it away, breaking the arc and caused the flames to flicker and die in the air, it was impossible. She had never heard of someone as strong as this that had that much control over dust to simply swat it away as if they were swatting a fly, she knew that going against the White Fang would be dangerous but if they truly had someone this powerful working for them she wasn't sure if they would be able to handle them, _are we in over our heads? _She shook her head, she couldn't afford to get distracted now, she pulled the hammer back on her weapon and locked in the bright yellow dust, a pale yellow light extended across her blade a bit of the electricity acing over her blade. She gestured with her hands as bright white glyph appeared beneath her feet, taking a deep breath she raised her weapon and launched herself towards the woman, she knew in a one on one fight she wouldn't stand a chance against her, but if she simply kept moving and attacking when she could then she might have a chance. With the aide of her glyph she was practically skating across the ground, as she rushed towards Narissa she saw her throw her arm out in an attempt to grab her, instead she ducked down and struck out with her weapon, she misjudged the distance but the electricity that arced towards her body seemed to have some sort of affect on her. She decided to use this to her advantage, dashing and spinning around Narissa and striking out when she could seemed to work just fine, the attacks she managed to land however seemed to have little affect, the thin red lines her rapier left on her exposed skin seemed to vanish in an instant. The effects from the electric dust, however seemed to have a lasting affect on Narissa, from the looks of it, it seemed she was beginning to slow down.

_Curse that damn girl,_ she quickly turned trying to grab the girl in white that was rushing around her, but ever time she turned towards her she was gone and striking at her from behind. It didn't help that whatever she was using on her was starting to slow her down, she could feel her muscles constrict and nearly render her limbs useless as they all started to become stiff. She could feel the electricity coursing through her, she didn't expect it to have such a prominent effect on her, she growled out when she turned and felt the cold sting of metal bite into her exposed flesh and the muscle spasm that followed before it too began to constrict. Feeling the anger growing she began to pant heavily before she inhaled deeply, dark blue flames licking at her lips before she threw her head forward letting loose a stream of the blue flames, she turned her head as it struck the ground raising large jagged shards of ice in an arc around her. It must have caught the girl of guard as she moved quickly to move out of the way of the growing ice and trying to dodge her cold flames at the same time, doing so however make her careless, as she rushed towards her in a frantic attempt to keep from being skewered by the growing ice and from being frozen by the flames she rushed straight towards her. The girl turned towards her just a moment too late, for when their eyes met her fist had already struck the stomach of the girl stopping her in her tracks and sending her to her knees, she smirked as she watched her cough and gasp for air as she clutched her stomach, she would admit that this girl had proven to be more interesting than the others, sadly it was time to end the fun. She raised her arm and sneered down at her before striking down at her, rather than hitting the girl however she felt when her arm was stopped in mid swing, she turned growling, only instead of seeing someone stop her it was a black ribbon that wrapped around her arm stopping her.

Blake held the ribbon tightly in her hand, but Narissa was stronger than her probably even stronger than Yang, she grit her teeth having to use almost all her strength to keep her from moving her arm. "Now Weiss!" She pulled back on the ribbon giving Weiss a clear opening, without faltering Weiss raised her weapon and drove the blade right into the exposed stomach of Narissa. Watching the blood flowing from the wound and around her weapon should have filled her with a sense of accomplishment, but for some reason she couldn't shake the unmistakable sense of dread that came over her. When the temperature began to drop once again to an unbearable degree, her eyes widened when the fresh blood flowing across her stomach frosted and froze over, she gasped when the same frost began to creep down her weapon as she attempted to pull it from Narissa but instead found it frozen fast in her body. Blake's muscles began to fail her as they grew weaker as the cold began to overtake her body, it was hard to keep hold of her ribbon when her entire body was too busy shivering, she had thought that Weiss stabbing Narissa through the stomach would have been the end of it but with the temperature dropping and a thin layer of ice growing across her ribbon told her that it wasn't the case. A loud slap brought her attention to what was happening, she watched as Weiss slid across the ground before stopping a few feet away from Narissa, "Weiss!" She felt Narissa pull hard on the ribbon and she pulled back just as hard only to stumble back when the ribbon snapped from both the ice covering it and the force of the two of them.

"Honestly..." Narissa gripped the weapon that was now lodged into her stomach, she ripped it out as the blood flowed once again for a moment before the wound froze over, she tossed the weapon behind her and out of the girls reach. "...to think you lot would actually prove troublesome." She looked towards the girl in white who was now back on her feet with a noticeably red mark across her cheek, she turned to see the other still standing with both her weapons drawn, _as if she could honestly do anything. _She looked behind her to see the blonde still there...except there was no one behind her, "Wait...where did-" She felt a strong force collide with her face before a deafening explosion and fire obscured her senses, the pain that followed was instantly obscured by the extreme amount of rage that began to flow through her veins. She could feel still the fist pressed against her cheek, she instantly turned and struck out with the same amount of force she had felt right into the girls stomach, she could hear her gasp out in surprise and shock as the air was ripped from her lungs. As she doubled over she gripped her hair and pulled her head back before striking her in the face and sending her to the ground where she rightfully belonged, she raised her foot and started to bring it down on her chest but was stopped when she felt a pain shoot through her stomach once again. Looking down she saw a long black metal blade protruding from her stomach, growling in anger she looked over her shoulder to see the girl with the bow driving her weapon through her, she could feel the blade being pulled out and rather than let it she gripped the blade and held it firmly. She could feel it cutting into her hand as the blood began to flow from her hand but she ignored the pain and instead began to freeze the blade in her hands, the tighter she gripped the it the harder she felt the girl pull on her weapon and the colder she made the blade. In one swift moment she jerked the blade to the side and snapped off a large portion of it causing the girl to stumble away from her with a broken weapon, she turned towards her and tossed the remainder of the weapon to the ground.

Blake looked down at her now broken weapon before looking back up towards Narissa to see the gouge mark she left in her had stopped bleeding, rather than heal like the others had, it seemed she opted to just freezing the wound over. She tightened her grip on her bladed sheathe and shifted her broken weapon into it's pistol form, at least she would still get some use out of it, until she ran out of ammo that was. She watched as Yang struggled to her feet behind Narissa, at least she was still kicking, she turned her attention to Weiss who was still standing off to the side, no doubt she was looking for a chance to retrieve her weapon that was still much too close to Narissa. Sucking in sharp breath Blake threw herself towards Narissa, quickly closing the distance with her bladed sheathe at the ready, as she closed the distance Narissa threw her arm out in an attempt to grab her. Instead Blake jumped back leaving one of her clones in her place causing her hand to phase completely through her and throwing her off balance, using another clone she launched herself forward and past Narissa as she struck out with her weapon as she flew past, rolling as she hit the ground she quickly ran towards Weiss' weapon. The moment her fingers brushed against the cold metal she could feel chills rapidly crawling across her body, using her semblance once again she threw herself to the side just as a jet of blue flames shot through where she had been standing, as she quickly pulled herself to her feet she tossed the weapon towards Weiss before raising her pistol and firing several times at Narissa.

As soon as she held her weapon back in her hands Weiss let her aura flow through it as the electric dust coated the blade, with a bit of flare she swung her weapon as a yellow streak of light left the blade. As it shot outward the streak split off into two directions, one of them landing below Blake and the other landing below Yang, as they struck the ground beneath them a giant clockwork glyph appeared beneath the two of them quickly activating and covering them a pale yellow light. Blake took the initiative and quickly rushed towards Narissa using her semblance to quickly dart around her striking out at every opportunity she could, soon Narissa was covered in thick red lines that couldn't heal any faster than they were appearing. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Yang quickly jumped to her feet when she felt a surge of energy coursing through her, she quickly jumped into the fray following Blake's example and proceeded to unleash a barrage of strikes on her, she had never been the fast one on the team but now she felt like she could keep up with the others. Whenever Narissa turned towards her she quickly ducked under her arm and came up behind her quickly continuing her assault, she felt like she should have been in the way with how close to Narissa she was, but for some reason she could _feel _when Blake was coming around for an attack and was able to adjust perfectly. She had never felt this in sync with Blake before and it was strange, strange enough that it brought a smile to her face as the two of them continued to circle around Narissa faster than she could follow leaving cuts and burns along her pale skin. She glanced off to the side and saw a wall of flame rushing towards her, she quickly sidestepped around and behind Narissa before kicking her square in the back forcing her towards the flames that crashed into her and enveloped her.

Ruby stared in a mixture of surprise and awe at how amazing everyone was fighting, while she had been stuck in her fearful stupor the cry from Blake as she called out Weiss' name had been enough to pull her focus to what was happening. She had gathered enough nerve to rush into the fight herself but was stopped when she saw how well everyone was working together, how in sync both Blake and Yang were, and how perfectly timed Weiss' attack was. She knew that it wasn't over yet, despite being consumed in burn dust Narissa stumbled back from the flames annoyance and anger written clear on her face, Ruby swung her weapon around her body and held it so the blade was far behind her, taking a deep breath she pulled the trigger and launched herself forward. The distance quickly faded as she changed her grip on her weapon, as she drew closer she swung her body around bringing the blade of her scythe forward aimed right for the middle of Narissa's body. Instead of hitting it's mark however Ruby was thrown back and out of the air by a strong blast of cold air, Ruby shuddered as she tried to stand, the cold creeped through her body and made it almost impossible to hold Cresent Rose as the metal was so cold it made it painful to hold. She readied her weapon to try again but stumbled back when another blast of cold air struck her from where she was, she looked up to see a thick sheet of ice growing around Narissa.

Narissa let out a slow breath as a thick mist flowed from her lips, "I believe that is quite enough of that..." She heard a cry of surprise as she quickly turned to see the girl with the bow sliding across the newly formed sheet of ice right towards her, grinning from ear to ear she closed the distance and grabbed the girl by the throat and proceeded to lift her before slamming her down into the ice. Her smile grew wider as she lifted her leg before bringing it down on the girls chest, she heard several sharp snaps followed by the girl crying out in pure agony. She dug her foot into her surely broken ribs enjoying listening to the girl cry out in pain, following the pained cry was another cry but one of rage, she turned to see Yang rushing towards her in a blind fury as she simply smile and moved towards her to close the distance. The girl attacked her with pure animal like fury, but it seemed the rage blinded her, every attack was easily dodged and she began to toy with her moving ever so slightly to dodge a strike or pushing her arm away causing her to stumble. When she threw herself forward she moved to the side causing her to stumble towards her, she brought her knee up and drove it into the girls stomach before punching her directly in the chest. Despite taking the air from her lungs before it seemed her attacks did nothing but drive her forward, every strike she endured she returned in kind, soon the two of them were simply trading blows, she would take a punch to her stomach and she would repay the girl with a strong blow to her face. She was surprised that Yang had managed to last as long as she did against some one like her, to take so much punishment and to still fight back with such strength and ferocity, when their fists collided with such a large force that it pushed them across the ice that's when she noticed something interesting about the girl. As she looked her over she noticed that her eyes were now a deep shade of blood red and her hair was glowing brightly almost as if it were made of fire itself, _I wonder..._her musings were cut short when Yang rushed towards her once again. She gave a low chuckle as she followed her actions and rushed towards her as well, she followed each of her actions, raising her arm when Yang did and throwing it out at the same time. This time when their fists collided it was with a much greater force than before, strong enough to crack the very ice beneath them, though it wasn't the only thing to crack, following the loud cracking of ice Yang cried out in pain as she stumbled back gripping her arm. Giving a dark chuckle Narissa pressed forward throwing her arm out with the same amount of force and struck the girl in the side as the sound of snapping ribs and another scream of pain brought widened the smile on her face.

She watched as the girl stumbled back before collapsing down on the ice struggling to breathe, she felt a presence behind her and jerked her head to the side just as the blade of Weiss' weapon shot past where her head had been. Rather than toy with her she simply grabbed her arm and kicked her leg out behind her taking out Weiss' leg and leaning forward and pulling the girl up and over her shoulder only to have her back meet with the hard ice below. Keeping her grip on her arm she turned and twisted her arm forcing Weiss to writhe and turn just to relieve some of the pressure that was building in her shoulder. There would be no relief however, even as Weiss turned over laying face down on the ice, Narissa twisted her arm further and stepped on the girls back to keep her from moving any further, she jerked her arm slightly as she twisted her arm causing her to finally drop her weapon. She didn't stop there however she smiled a large unsettling smile as she continued to pull and twist on Weiss' arm until her arm jerked upwards slightly and the girl screamed in pain, she gave a dark chuckle and pulled upwards once again causing the girl to scream even louder before she dropped her now useless arm. She stepped away from the girl as she rolled onto her back and held her limp arm in her other arm yelping in pain with every movement and every bit of contact, she gave a low chuckle as she looked around at the others laying around her broken and now useless. "This is the fate of every hunter and ever human that chooses to defy us, you do not have the power to stop us and I have more than proved that." A loud gunshot drew her attention as she turned towards the sound only to see a streak of red rushing towards her, she gave a light hum as she saw a glint of metal come towards her, she lifted her arm as the blade caught and dug into her arm but did nothing else. She smiled at the girl's shocked expression as she threw her arm out and wrapped her hand around Ruby's small neck, she squeezed tightly on it causing her to gasp out and drop her weapon. "Oh, I nearly forgot about you. What did you think that was going to accomplish? As you saw I single handedly rendered your friends useless, what did you think a child was going to do?" She felt the girl kick her legs forward both feet striking her stomach as she gave a weary sigh and shook her head, "Just like your pathetic mother, a fighter to the bitter end, you know you lost yet you think you still have a chance." She tightened her grip on her neck effectively stopping the girls struggles as she dug her fingers into her hand trying to escape her grip.

* * *

"Stop!" All eyes turned towards Rodric as he struggled to get to his feet once again, the progress that he had made before had been all for nothing when he was forced back to the ground and nearly choked to death. He had been useless this entire fight, forced to sit and watch as everyone suffered because of him, he didn't understand why they chose to stay when they could have easily left him to his fate. Whatever the case may be, he wasn't going to sit by anymore and let them suffer anymore, "Leave them alone..."

"I forgot you were still here..." She turned back towards the girl still in her grip and looked at her before turning back towards Rodric a grin on her face, "Tell me, since you care about these humans so much, what will you do to save them?"

Rodric frowned knowing better than to answer something like that, Narissa had no sense of forgiveness, the only way she could ever forgive someone would be if they died by her hand. "Anything..." He growled out, despite knowing this he answered nonetheless, perhaps if he gave himself up to her she would consider sparing their lives and releasing them in exchange for him.

"Oh...interesting." She turned back towards Ruby watching as her eyes began to flutter shut, the struggle she had been putting up beginning to falter, she released her grip slightly on her throat. When Ruby gasped out for air she quickly tightened her grip once again smiling as tears began to build up at the corners of her eyes, turning her attention back towards Rodric she looked him over before smiling, "Will you die for them?"

"Yes!" He answered without hesitation, he did not fear death, what he feared more than death was watching these children die because of him. He would rather die than have something like that plaguing his mind, he had been useless and unable to do anything, if they died like this because of him he would never be able to forgive himself.

"Oh, how touching." Narissa looked over the girls that laid before her and couldn't understand how Rodric could easily throw his life away for such pathetic creatures. A growl rose from her throat as she turned back towards the girl in her hand, "Very well, you will die." Rather than loosening her grip on Ruby's neck she tightened it further and brought her hand up and held her fingers together placing the tips of them at the center of the girls chest. "After I take care of these humans..."

"What?! You can't, have mercy on them!"

"Mercy..." Narissa looked up at the fearful silver eyes of Ruby before turning back towards Rodric looking strangely confused, "What is that?" She flashed him a large grin before turning back towards Ruby pressing her fingers harder against her chest as the blue that covered her arm slowly crawled down and covered her hand and fingers in the same light blue. She pulled her arm back and began to throw it forward a large grin plastered across her face.

"Leave her be, she is only a child!"

Narissa stopped her fingers inches from the girls chest, she growled out in frustration, "What does it matter whether she is a child or an adult, she is a human and they all deserve to..." Her words trailed off when she turned towards Rodric, rather than still being on his knees as he had been before he was now standing on his own two feet glaring at her. She looked at him oddly before turning towards the child she held in her hand, Ruby struggled against her weakly gasping for breath, she slowly turned back to Rodric just as realization struck the both of them. The glare that Rodric had on his face slowly faded and was replaced with a look of absolute horror, while the sadistic smile returned to Narissa's face as she gave a low dark laugh. "I was right...it is her." She turned back towards Ruby who was beginning to fade once again, she released and tightened her grip just to keep the child alive, if only for a bit long, she raised her arm again and pressed it back against her chest. "You said that I am weak-"

"Stop."

"That you are stronger for your suffering-"

"Please."

"Show me this stength-"

"Don't."

"Show me your ability to live-"

"She is only a child!"

"When all you love is taken from you again!" Narissa pulled her arm back and drove it forward into the girl she held in her arm, the look of shock and confusion that crossed her face amused her, her mouth opened to speak but all that came from her lips was blood that ran down her mouth.

Rodric cried out, but the words were deaf to him and most of all to Narissa, he could do nothing as he watched the events unfold before him. Pain ripped through his chest and tore the breath from his lungs as he fell to his knees, he wanted to look away but he could not bring himself to do so, he watched as Narissa dropped Ruby's lifeless body to the ground leaving her in the pool of her own blood. He watched as she turned towards him, one arm covered completely in blood a sick smile on her face as she looked down at him, a bloodcurdling scream reached his ears as he turned to see Yang looking towards Ruby with tears rolling down her face. How long had she been screaming he wondered, he turned his attention back towards Ruby only to see that Narissa had closed the distance between the two of them, she stopped in front of him and kneeled down before running her bloodied had across his face. She smeared Ruby's blood across his face before she smiled once again, "Let's see just how strong you are..." She stood and simply walked off, he looked up once again to see Yang rushing towards her sister, he grit his teeth and curled in on himself as a hollow pain began to spread through his body. She was screaming, that was all he could hear she cried out Ruby's name over and over again trying in vain to rouse the poor girl, he could feel his throat tightening as he fought back choked cried.

_Not again, not again, not again..._He pulled at his hair as that thought played over and over again in his mind, he had failed once again to protect someone, and once again they payed the price simply because of what he was. _Is this my fate..._He pulled harder on his hair as the cries began to build up in his chest, Yang's screams and cried echoed in his head along with his thoughts, as her frantic sobs grew louder he finally broke and threw his head back crying out loudly. He fell forward and dug his fingers into the ground as his entire body trembled as the hollow pain only seemed to grow more consuming every emotion within him leaving him feeling cold and empty. He slowly pushed himself to his feet and moved towards Ruby, the image of her lying there covered in blood with a large hole in her chest was seared into his mind, he grit his teeth as a feral growl tore through his throat. He wiped at his eyes that had grew blurry from the tears he shed, he could feel nothing now even the sadness had been taken by the hollow pain that now filled his body, his eyes focused on Ruby's face her silver eyes that were now closed forever. He growled out in anger at the mere thought of it, he shook his head as he looked towards her once again as he clenched his fists tightly drawing blood from his hands, he refused to let it end here. He refused to lose anyone simply because of what he was, he looked towards the others that seeing Yang cradling Ruby's head as she rocked slightly crying out her sisters name. Blake who stood off to the side holding herself as she shook, crying silently, and Weiss stood alongside Blake simply looking at Ruby's lifeless body. She shed no tears but he could only imagine what was going through her mind, he turned his attention back to Ruby as he looked down at her, if they didn't think he was just as much a monster as Narissa was, he would change their mind very shortly...

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**_Oh man this chapter was crazy, but you know a weird thing about it and I didn't really realize it? Just recently I started to watch Akame ga Kill and I realized that without trying Narissa is kinda based off Esdeath. For those who watched it am I right? For those who haven't...you should its pretty good. Anyway, oh man this chapter took a lot out of me, I think I might take some time to recover. I mean I don't think a lot of you are that eager to see what happens next right? Right, I'm sure you could all wait say...a month or two maybe? Yeah I think that sounds good thanks for being so understanding everyone ;)_**


	17. The Lines We Cross

_**So...I have to confess that I have had this chapter done maybe a few days after I posted the last one, the only reason I hadn't posted it was not to torture any of you but more so out of...being nervous. You see writing this whole story takes a lot of courage to post so that a bunch of people can read and judge and do all that stuff with, the thing is everything I wrote I have planned out from the very beginning. From Ruby dying to this...and well I was just nervous that people would think this was like a cop out. I mean it might seem that way but you have to know, if you've read my story up until this point, you should know I never pull anything out of my ass, everything that happens has been mentioned at some point in the story...that being said ti still doesn't stop me from being nervous, I guess go ahead and read this and tell me what you think, whether its good or bad I'll leave it as is and continue on with the story. **_

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**The Lines We Cross**

He closed his eyes if only to rid himself of the sight that was laid bare to him, if only for a moment, clenching his fists he squeezed his tighter willing the scene to leave him. The scent that lingered in the air was much to familiar to forget, the smell of spilled blood gave rise to memories he wished he could forget, to a moment in time where he stood in the same spot as he did now. Slowly he opened his eyes as smoke clouded his vision, he sucked in a sharp breath as he grit his teeth as the sound of crackling fire and houses collapsing reached his ears. He lowered his eyes to the ground to see it covered in blood, lying in the pool of blood was a young girl, dressed in white robes now stained red, her pale skin even paler in contrast to the crimson pool around her. Her raven hair soaked in the blood beneath her, the dark locks splayed out like a black curtain against a red backdrop, he forced back a choked sob as his eyes dropped down to avoid looking at the sight. His shaking hands drew his focus, looking to his side he saw his arm covered in blood, his weakness had led to this, his inability to fight back had led to the destruction around him and the death of a young girl. He shut his eyes as he clenched his hands tighter feeling pain shoot through them as his nails pieced his skin drawing blood, he clenched his eyes tighter as the fire began to lick at his skin, it was painful but not as much as he wished it was. The pain was hardly anything to him, he wished it was more, more to at least drive away the immense pain that filled his chest, to drive away the memory that was now burned into his mind. _"Ruby..."_

His eyes flew open and the scene before him was gone, but not entirely, the smoke and fire left no trace aside from the smell that lingered and the sensation that crept up his arm. The lifeless girl and the pool of blood still remained, the only difference now was that there were others who had lived to see this tragedy and the blood was not on his hands. "Ruby, please..." He looked down to Yang who held her sisters head in her lap trying, in a vain attempt to wake Ruby from her permanent slumber. He grit his teeth and turned away looking towards the others, Blake had turned her back on the scene he didn't blame her if he had the choice he wouldn't look either, but it was his fault. Weiss still looked on, clearly in disbelief that something like this had happened, she tried to hide it but he could clearly see the tears the flowed down her face. "Come on, wake up..."

He clenched his fists tighter, "Stop..." he growled out, such a display was not uncommon for humans when faced with the death of someone they held dear, but it served no purpose aside from blinding them in a false belief. _It's a lie, they'll wake up, they're just asleep, they're not dead..._he hated lies such as these, in his despair he had sought out comfort from the painful truth, believing the events that passed were simply a dream...a terrible dream he had never been able to wake from. Even now when the truth is laid bare for him to see, he could still feel a part of him refusing to see what was in front of him, he moved his arms to cross them over his chest but stopped when a sharp pain shot up his arm. Looking down he saw his arm, while limp was bent in the wrong directions, frowning slightly he took hold of his arm and pulled until it snapped loudly back into it's proper place. Strangely he felt no pain, given the situation he wondered how long it would be until he could feel anything aside from a deep regret and shame, he looked towards Ruby's face and frowned.

"Please, please Ruby please..." His frown grew deeper as Yang's pained voice reached his ears, he couldn't stop her from mourning the loss of her sister but she had to realize that she was not waking up. No more would those bright silver eyes look up at them, filled with all the happiness and joy a child like her could ever hope to have. She did well in the fight against Narissa, she did well to show bravery in the face as one such as her, she even went as far as to save him at the risk of her own life. _Dammit..._it was his fault, just like before it had ended this way because of him, not only for what he was but for becoming attached to her. Being near her for so long, he had grown used to her presence, and because she was simply a child he had grown to care for her, in the end it mattered little. "Come on y-you gotta get up..."

"Stop it." Why couldn't she see that her pleading was doing nothing for the situation, Ruby couldn't hear her and nothing she could do would make her open her eyes. Nothing she could do would wake her, this was not some nightmare they found themselves in, all the pain they felt was real, the stench of blood that filled the air was real, and the lifeless body of Ruby was much too real. He turned his attention to Yang who kept her eyes locked on Ruby still desperately shaking her sisters shoulders, convinced that she was simply asleep, he might not have liked Yang but seeing her like this was...wrong. He moved over towards her, cringing at the sound of the blood beneath his feet before stopping behind her, he reached out to her only for her to slap his hand away. "Yang..."

She grit her teeth as she leaned over Ruby, tears ran down her face before dropping onto Ruby, she quickly wiped them away as she shook her slightly. "I-I gotta get her up, s-she can't sleep out here like this, she's g-gonna get sick..." She ran her fingers through her sisters hair, ignoring the sticky clumps held together by the blood, she ignored the chill running up her legs from the cold blood she was sitting in, _it's not her blood, she's perfectly fine I-I just gotta wake her up. _She fought back the sobs that rose at the back of her throat, she didn't understand why she was crying, they had won the fight against Narissa and now...and now, "C-Come on Rubes, y-you can sleep when we get back to Beacon..."

"Stop Yang..."

"T-Then I can take you to that bakery you keep asking about..."

"Stop Yang."

"I'll even get you that new part for your w-weapon you've been gushing about..."

"Stop it."

"P-Please get up, y-you gotta get up..."

"Stop."

Yang crouched over Ruby wrapped her arms around her as several whimpers finally escaped her lips, "I-I promised dad I would take care of you, so you have to be alright. Please open your eyes, please Ruby just-"

"I said stop it!" Rodric grabbed a hold of Yang's collar and pulled her away from Ruby tossing her across the ground as he turned on her, "Your groveling is doing nothing Yang, she is dead." The look of anger that crossed her face was a much more welcome sight that the look she had previously had, he turned away from her and looked towards Ruby. An image of the girl in bloodied robes flickered over her body before disappearing, he clenched his fists tightly, "She fought well and died honorably, even in the face of fear she stood tall, in the face of certain death she did not relent..." He looked towards Blake and Weiss who were not looking towards him, he averted his eyes, "She died a warriors death, I can say there has been few who fought so valiantly...she would make her mother proud."

"Hey man..." Yang pushed herself to her feet, shaking in rage as she tried to keep her mind calm from the storm of emotions that threatened to blind her actions. "...where do you get off talking like that huh? The only reason any of us did anything was because we did it to save you, none of this would have ever happened if you had actually fought back, none of this would have happened if you never existed!" Silence proceeded her exclamation, she sucked in sharp breaths as she tried to calm herself down, but she was shaking almost uncontrollably now as the tears continued to flow down her face. "If we never found you that day everything would be normal, if we never found you that day none of this would have ever happened, if...if we never found you that day R-Ruby would still be..."

"Ruby would still be dead Yang." He looked directly into the blood red eyes that glared at him from his statement, "Whether you intend to believe it or not, _we _exist Yang, and one day this exact same thing would have happened either way." He didn't miss the way the anger flared behind her eyes as he turned away to look upon Ruby once again, "My kind exist, to what extent, I haven't a clue. But, fate has a grim sense of humor, if you hadn't met me there is still the chance you would have met Narissa, or perhaps another that shared her point of view." He gave a soft sigh as he walked back to Ruby's side as he looked down at her, the hole in her chest was clear to see from where he stood, while grisly it seemed the damage was minimal. It seemed Narissa, while piercing straight through the young girls chest, had missed the most vital of organs, Ruby's heart seemed to still be completely intact. Her lungs as well seemed to be unharmed, nevertheless it seemed Ruby simply died from the trauma and shock from blood loss, "Fate does have it's humor..." _But, fate has take too much from me... _"Perhaps fate did plan for this meeting to happen, to have Ruby meet with her mothers killer and proceed to die to the same person that took her mothers life. You could also say that it was fate that you all found me that day, and that it was fate that allowed me to be here at this moment, after all I could have died a number of times up to this point." He gave a light scoff as he kneeled down beside Ruby and took her hand into his, "Yes...fate does have a sense of humor."

He ran his fingers over the back of her hand before turning her hand over and looking at her blood stained palms, her hands were cold and the blood that pooled around her was thick. He ran his fingers through the blood that surrounded him and looked at his fingers that were now crimson red, "I don't understand...what are you talking about?!" Rodric kept his back to Yang, he ran his tongue over his fingers licking up the blood he had collected, he heard gasps of disgust and an angry growl come from behind him but he didn't care. It didn't matter what they thought of him now, with Ruby dead because of him and his inaction he knew how they must have seen him, anything he did now would only confirm what they thought. Perhaps that was for the best, "I said what are you talking about!"

"Fate, Yang, I am talking about fate. As in, it could only be fate's doing that I arrived in this time, and in this place, to be here at this exact moment." He turned his attention back to Ruby as he gave another sigh as he brushed some of her hair from her face, "To think I would go to such lengths to save such an annoying girl..." He gave a hollow chuckle as he shook his head as he ran his fingers through the blood around him before licking his fingers clean, it was cold and thick but still had a strong hint of iron. He looked at Ruby's closed eyes as he smiled slightly, "I'll never understand your fascination with something like me..." He closed his eyes the smile still on his face, "You two have such strange tastes." He felt a hand grip his shoulder and squeeze tightly as he looked back at Yang who was glaring down at him.

"What the hell do you think you doing?! Drinking my sisters blood, you no better than that monster we just fought!"

Rodric gave a light hum as he turned back to Ruby, "I suppose you right, I won't deny that, I've been called much worse and I don't think I can deny those claims any longer. My kind has done...many things to earn names like that, though there has always been one thing that humans have had a split decision on..." He looked down at his own arm as he ran his fingers along the inside of his arm before stopping at his wrist, he pressed down slightly in that area causing the veins to rise slightly as a result. "Sometimes I question our ability to do such a thing for mere humans, but in situations such as these, I can say I am very glad we have learned to do such a thing..." He shrugged Yang's hand from his shoulder, "I suggest you stand back Yang, once I begin there is to be no interruptions."

Yang looked down at him, confused and angry, "Stand back...once you begin...what the hell are you talking about?!" He said nothing as she glared at the back of his head, to anyone else it would have looked like he was simply mourning the loss of Ruby, but with him constantly scooping up her blood and licking his fingers clean it pissed her off and sickened her to no end. The longer he sat there without explaining himself only made her angrier, she had gone through too much in one day she was in no state of mind to deal with his crap. She grit her teeth and grabbed him by the shoulder to pull him away, she didn't expect to feel pain shoot through her stomach, the pain radiated through her body and amplified the pain from her broken ribs. She gasped out for air as she fell to her knees, her voice caught in her throat as the pain paralyzed her to the spot, she sucked in a sharp breath before crying out in pain as she collapsed on her back writhing as the pain washed over her. She forced her eyes open only to see Rodric looking down at her, the look in his eye reminded her of Narissa, the pain instantly faded and was replaced with fear.

Rodric hissed slightly as pain shot up his arm, even though he had snapped it back into place it seemed it still hadn't healed enough to use it as he just did. He turned his attention back to Yang as he let a growl slip through his lips as he grabbed her by her jacket and forced her to her feet before turning and shoving her in the direction of the others, "I've had enough of your pathetic sniveling, the more I am forced to listen to it the less chance of success there is. You humans always have this terrible habit of wasting time on time sensitive matters." When Yang turned to glare at him he forcibly shoved her back once again causing her to stumble towards Blake and Weiss, she growled slightly and tried to push him back but he simply knocked her hand away and shoved her back once again.

"Hey what the hell is your problem!"

"You're my problem Yang!" He shoved her back harder this time nearly sending her to the ground, "All you've done is sit there and cry and beg, you have done nothing to rectify the situation!" He growled once again before shoving her once again finally pushing her with the others, "In fact all you have done is be a nuisance, I have been the only one who has tried to change what has happened and you continue to get in my way!" He glared at Yang before turning his back to her and walking back towards Ruby, "I suggest you stay there, if for nothing else then for your own safety, and simply allow me to do what I must!" As he reached Ruby's side he dropped to his knees, the blood splattering against his clothes and Ruby's hand, he frowned slightly and wiped the blood away murmuring out a soft apology to her. He once again took her hand into his, he sighed softly and closed his eyes and focused on her hand, his raging heart slowed to an almost faint beat, slowly the feeling of her hand faded from his, he kept focus before he felt another presence in his hand. It was faint, but he could feel...her, her boundless energy still remained, but for how long, he couldn't be sure nevertheless a smile spread across his face. _You never give up, regardless of the situation..._

"What are you going to do?" Her energy faded from his senses as he opened his eyes and turned his angry glare in the direction of the voice, only when a pair of amber eyes flinched slightly did he soften his gaze. He sighed softly as he gently lowered Ruby's hand onto the blood stained ground, "Why are you so desperate for us to stay over here while you're over there with Ruby? Why did you and that woman keep saying 'our kind'? What are you? _Who _are you? Why did this-"

"So many pointless questions that I haven't the luxury, nor the energy to waste on answering. If you are still so curious about what exactly I am after everything is said and done...and if I am still alive then I will answer them at your leisure. Or I may not, we can only see what will happen, but as for what I am doing well..." He looked up towards her and cocked his head to the side before returning his gaze back towards Ruby, "I suppose it matters not whether I tell you or not, but I plan on performing a ritual that my kind is famous...or rather, infamous for." He sighed softly as he shook his head, "Granted I did not have the luxury of preparing in advance...but then how could I have foresaw something of this nature, hm even if I had I would have focused more on trying to prevent it rather than prepare for it." He scoffed as he looked back up towards Ruby's face as he placed his hand over hers, "I suppose it does not matter now..."

Blake looked at him as he spoke to himself, or spoke to Ruby, it was hard to tell with the way he continually looked towards Ruby every time he began to mutter to himself. She found it...upsetting that he was carrying on in such a manner, while he had gotten so angry with Yang for crying over her sister even going so far as to scold her actions, he in turn continues to talk to her as if she was still alive. She found his action...disheartening, she was unsure of where his mental state was at this point, she recalled the story he had...forcibly told to Ruby about another girl he cared for and the actions that lead up to her death. She feared that seeing Ruby in such a state might have pushed him a bit to far, there was no inclination that said he had gone mad, aside from calmly speaking to Ruby his actions seemed normal. His emotions seemed to be a mess, he went from being devastated, to cold, to angry, and then to calm within a matter of moments, but seeing as what had just happened she assumed that was the reason for it, still seeing the normal calm and composed Rodric acting in such a way was mildly disturbing. Thought that wasn't the only disturbing thing, "W-Wait...a ritual?"

* * *

He turned his attention back to Blake and gave her an empty smile, "Of course, only us _unholy creatures_ are so adept at performing rituals such as these." The smile quickly faded from his lips, "Now if you would be so kind as to remain silent I will be able to do what I need to do before it's too late." When she opened her mouth to question him further he frowned slightly as a growl rumbled in his chest, whether she heard it or not made no difference as she closed her mouth and remained silent either way. "Now then..." He turned back to Ruby as a faint smile appeared on his face, taking a deep breath he raised his arm up to his mouth, he hesitated only slightly before opening his mouth that was now filled with sharp teeth and sank them into the flesh of his wrist. Pain shot up his arm causing him to groan out in discomfort, despite the pain he continued to bite down into his wrist forcing his teeth through the flesh and muscle, he could feel the veins bursting in his mouth overflowing his already blood filled mouth causing the red liquid to drip down his chin. He jerked his head back ripping free the chunk of flesh in his mouth, he suppressed a shudder as he turned his head and spit the mouthful of flesh off to the side. He turned back to the mess that was now his hand, despite not feeling the pain of such a serious wound his hand still shook almost uncontrollably, even so he clenched his fist tightly causing blood to rush forth from the wound.

"_The bestial blood that takes, can also give."_

He could feel a familiar warmth welling up at the back of his throat, he opened his mouth slightly as he exhaled, the flames that escaped licked at his lips. He brought his arm back towards his mouth and exhaled softly against his skin, rather than burning his flesh the flames seemed to crawl from his lips and wrapped around his arm. The tendrils of flame began to slowly wrap around his arm, he held his arm out watching as the flames danced across his flesh leaving it unharmed as it snaked its way towards the wound he had created.

"_The flames that destroy, can also create."_

When his flames came into contact with his blood it hissed loudly at the contact, he cringed slightly but kept his eye on the flames, he sucked in a sharp breath as the flames began to seep into the wound. The pain returned as it shot through his arm as the flames dug their way into his body, he grit is teeth as the tendril ceased their movements, he let out a heavy breath as he panted softly. Once the flames found their place in his arm they began to grow brighter before turning a deep ethereal blue color, it seemed the flames had fused with his blood creating a blue colored liquid fire, he scoffed at the sight but he moved his hand nevertheless and held it over the hole in Ruby's chest. He looked at the blue flames that danced across his and the liquid fire that rested in the open wound almost as if it were waiting for him to continue. Gritting his teeth his squeezed his hand once again as a single drop of the liquid fire dropped from his arm and into Ruby's chest.

"_One, finds what was lost,"_

He squeezed his hand again as another drop of his blood dropped into the wound, he looked down at the pool of blood, it seemed to be quivering slightly, almost as if it were reacting to the ritual.

"_Two, returns what was found,"_

His eyes widened as a pain began to well up in his chest, it nearly caused him to double over from how excruciating it was, despite the amount of pain he kept his position. He grit his teeth as the pain only seemed to increase exponentially with every passing moment, he gasped out for breath as the pain began to affect his breathing. He couldn't stop, he knew the risks when he began the ritual and he didn't care for them, everything that could go wrong for him mattered little when there was a precious life at stake, gritting his teeth he squeezed his hand once again as another drop of blood fell and landed in Ruby's chest, this time the pool of blood surrounding them began to shine brightly before all the blood erupted in the same ethereal blue flame that wound around his arm.

"_Three, binds so what was found can never be lost again."_

The pain increased so incredibly fast that it caught him off guard causing him fall forward onto his hands as the pain wracked his body, he bit down on his tongue to keep from crying out as his body twitched and trembled under the sheer amount of pain. Blood began to fill his mouth as he bit down harder on his tongue as the pain continued to increase, he could hear shouting though it was almost drowned out from the pain flooding his senses and his own groans of pain. He turned his head to see the others looking on in a mixture in horror and awe, except for Yang, she was shouting at him from where she stood, tears clear in her eyes and when she took a step forward his anger as well as the flames flared with a strong intensity. "_Hold her back, do not let her any closer! _If she attempts to stop me, I will kill her!" Yang didn't seem to care for his threat, but the look of fear in Blake's eyes told him that someone cared for the obnoxious blonde, he watched as she reached out and grabbed a hold of Yang attempting to hold her back. He pushed himself back to his knees and despite trembling he held his arms out in front of him and over Ruby as he took several labored breaths, but he managed to reign in his anger and as a result the flames surrounding him lowered in intensity. He wondered what this scene looked like through their eyes, to them it must have seemed as if he were trying to burn away the remains of their leader. He grinned slightly, if only they could truly see what he was doing, the sapphire colored flames that licked at her flesh left her skin untouched and unharmed.

"_Given life through the earth, I know beseech it to do so once again."_

Struggling Blake kept a tight hold onto Yang, it pained her deeply to hear her crying out in such a raw emotional way, she understood the pain she was going through. Even so, she couldn't allow Yang to get any closer to Rodric, she feared...no she knew that Rodric would make good on his threat if she allowed Yang to get any closer. She didn't know what to think of Rodric anymore, she had always assumed he was a good person deep down but seeing what he was doing she wasn't sure anymore, she could only watch as the blue flames he created consumed Ruby, she didn't smell the scent of burning flesh but she still didn't understand what he was doing. With every word he spoke she could feel chills running over her body, there was a strange power in the air and a very heavy feeling of...something, she couldn't place what the feeling was but this all felt so...wrong. The words he spoke made her uncomfortable they were in a language she was unfamiliar with, and they didn't sound like the language he usually spoke in fits of anger this was different, her eyes widened slightly as she finally recognized the words. The reason they made her uncomfortable and the reason it all felt so wrong, he was speaking the same language that Narissa had spoken to them, granted she didn't understand it, nevertheless she knew for sure that it was the same language it sounded exactly the same. She was tempted to let Yang go so she could stop him, but the fear of his threat caused her to tighten her hold on Yang, she could only sit and watch as he continued with his...ritual.

"_Let the life I was given be given to one who has yet to live."_

The fire that burned before him lowered further to the point of going out, rather than doing so it began to snake from the pool of blood and encircle him in a circle of burning blue flames. He closed his eyes and outstretched his arms to his sides as he leaned his head back facing the sky before opening his eyes once again.

"_Take the life that flows through me and give it to the one who is deserving of it."_

Tendrils of flames shot out from the circle of flames that surrounded him and burned their way into his body, he did not cry out as he kept his eyes skyward. He could feel the heat burning through his body snaking their way through him seeking out the beating of his heart, every movement of the flames caused pain to shoot through his body yet he remained still and silent. Soon he could feel fire burning at his chest, the flames had found their way to his heart, an excruciating pain shot through his chest and the flames disappeared from his body leaving several holes for the blood to flow through. He panted heavily as his blood began to pool around him, he wasn't done yet, no matter what pain he went through it would all be worth it in the end.

_"I offer my blood, let what sustains me also sustain the one before me."_

He coughed roughly, specks of blood falling from his lips, he shook his head as a weak growl rumbled in his chest, losing so much blood in a matter of a few moments was beginning to take its toll on him. Coughing once again he kept his arms straight and held them over Ruby as they began to shake, another growl and a shake of his head and he forced his arms to be still, he had no right to complain seeing as he was the cause of this. He moved one of his hands and held it over Ruby's heart, with his other hand he held it over his own heart and dug his fingers into his chest, he could feel his heart pounding against the palm of his hand.

_"Let my soul give rise to a brave fighter, let her never know fear, let her face her opposition with the ferocity of a dragon. Let her strength leave her enemies devastated, and leave her unopposed. Give her the strength and bravery to travel down the path she chooses."_

He exhaled sharply as his lungs began to tighten, each breath was a struggle in itself, the longer the ritual went on the harder it was becoming to even draw a breath. He took in as much air as his constricted lungs allowed, looking back towards his hand he noticed that a faint light was now emanating from it, _just a little more. _Another faint light caught his attention as he looked past the one in his hand he could see a very faint but somewhat visible pale red light reaching out towards him. He followed the trail that the light left and saw that it was coming from Ruby, as the red light weakly reached out towards him he gasped in surprise when it seemed to latch onto his hand. With the light now connected to him he could feel...he could feel her, _is this...her aura, her soul? _He gave a weak chuckle as he watched the light seemingly dance across his skin as it crawled up his arm, it seemed even in such a dismal state her soul still clung to her body. In an instant the small smile that he had on his face vanished as the soft light that covered his arm began to react violently, the light flashed and rushed quickly over his arm before it encompassed his entire arm, the feeling began to fade from his arm as her aura seemed to force its way into his skin. He grit his teeth as he tried to move his arm away from her heart but found that he was unable too, he struggled against her trying to pull his arm away but found he no longer had control over it, _is...is she fighting back?_

He doubled over as the pain increased once again, it felt as if hundreds of red hot irons were being forced through his arm, growling slight he forced himself to sit back on his knees, as he did he felt an incredibly sharp pain shoot through his arm. He forced back his cry of pain as he turned his attention to his arm only for his eyes to widen at the sight, with Ruby's aura forcing its way into his body his arm began to give off a faint blue glow along his arm, it seemed to be attempting to force back the intruding aura. With his body reacting to the intruding aura with what seemed to be an aura of his own, the two opposing lights began to tear his arm apart, several spots along his arm began to spit and rip apart causing blood to spill over onto the ground. He clenched his now bloodied hand as another wave of pain washed over him, despite the agony he was suffering he sucked in several sharp breaths intent on continuing, he would not stop now simply because of a small amount of pain. _Take my arm, take my heart, take my soul, I don't care take everything if you must! You will come back to me or death will take us both._

"_Tear the flesh from my bones and release the soul that dwells within, I sacrifice everything to give rise to the one that has given everything for me. I may fall so that she may rise once again, take the breath from my lungs so that she may breathe once again."_

The pain increased once again as he cried out, unable to keep the cries of pain held back anymore. He doubled over once again as blood rushed forth and spilled from his mouth, he retched as blood rose from his throat and spilled across the ground, it seemed that such a ritual was impossible for a single dragon to ever perform on their own. He cared little for that fact, he was nearing the end of the ritual only then would he see if he went through so much pain for nothing, or if he had defied all odds.

"_Take the soul that I offer in exchange for the life that has been so wrongfully taken, take everything from me and return everything that has been taken from this poor soul!"_

He turned his attention to the light in his hand that was now glowing much more brightly than it had previously done, he watched as it seemed to increase in size before it began to shrink down to a single point. For a moment everything was still and in the next the light expanded outward incredibly fast and with such a strong force that it threw him away from Ruby and across the ground. As his back slammed into the ground it ripped the air from his already constricted lungs leaving him breathless, he coughed roughly before attempting to bring air back into his body. As he attempted to breath in he found that to his horror that he no longer could, his hands instantly went to his neck and began to claw at his throat in a futile attempt to clear whatever could be blocking his airways. He writhed on the ground as his lungs began to burn from their lack of oxygen, as he pressed his fingers against his throat he could feel a lump clogging his throat, gritting his teeth he arched his back and opened his mouth in a attempt to breathe once again. Though as he opened his mouth he could feel the mass in his throat quickly rush up his throat towards his now open mouth, his eyes widened as a pale white mist rose from his open mouth and into the air hovering above him. He could only watch as the mist continued to rise from his mouth and begin to collect and grow into a large mass above him, as he watched it grow he could feel his body begin to grow weaker, he snapped his teeth shut, he wasn't exactly sure why he had done so but it had been a baser survival instinct that much was sure. He managed to keep the mist from escaping anymore though there wasn't much that could be done with the mass that now hovered above his head, when the burning of his lungs returned to the forefront of his thoughts he gasped out instinctively and was elated to feel the air rushing to fill his empty lungs.

A strange sensation filled his chest causing him to look up towards the floating mist above his head, it hung there ominously before it quickly floated over to where Ruby lay. He forced himself to sit up as he watched the mass of mist hover over Ruby before slowly floating closer to her face, and in an instant it slipped past her lips and more than likely found its way into her lungs. He wasn't sure if this was an effect of the ritual, but he felt no fear in his heart, still the events were making him a tad uneasy if nothing else, he turned his attention to the flames as the began to flicker growing brighter then dimmer. He watched as the flame coated blood began to spread out in long tendrils, they crawled along the ground at several points as if they were searching for something. As quickly as the moved along the ground they just as quickly ceased in their movements, rather than move outward they began to rise into the air, blood and flames rose into the air and met at a single point. The points met and began to form a large orb made of blood and flames, the orb continued to grow until it had collected all the blood that had been spilled on the ground, when it had collected it all it seemingly began to drain into the hole in Ruby's chest. Even though the wound that had killed Ruby reached from her chest to her back the blood did not spill onto the ground again, instead it almost seemed to disappear into her body, more than likely it was returning to her veins where it once resided. Once the orb completely emptied itself into her body, the open wound in her chest healed at an incredible speed, the speed rivaling his own healing capabilities, and in an instant the wound was no more. His eyes were locked on Ruby's form there was no movement despite, he grit his teeth fearing that everything had been for naught, that was until a loud gasp pulled his attention back to Ruby who was arching her back as she gasped for breath. The joy he felt was short lived as the moment she gasped for breath a crippling pain lanced through his head, he cried out and gripped his head attempting to quash the pain, but when the young girl began to cough violently he forced himself to his feet despite the debilitating pain. As quickly as he could manage he rushed to her side and slid onto his knees as he quickly laid her on her side as she coughed up mouthfuls of blood, possibly what had collected in her lugs. As she began to reach out blindly for something he quickly took her hand in his lightly squeezing it as he rubbed her back with his other hand, "_You've gone through a terrible experience child, _lay down and rest."

She coughed roughly once again, her lungs burned and her chest hurt, she kept her eyes clenched tightly as she struggled to breath, "B-But I-"

"It's alright child, _I'll protect you." _She turned her head and looked up at him as she opened her eyes, he frowned slightly the light was still there in her eyes but it seemed it had dimmed considerably, he could only hope that it was temporary. She seemed to struggle a bit as she attempted to speak again and instead gave up on it and returned her head to his leg, soon her ragged breaths were replaced with slow and somewhat steady ones, it seemed she some how managed to fall asleep. Moving as slowly as he could manage he gently lowered her head onto the ground as he stood and moved away from her, he scoffed slightly, that scoff slowly turned into low laughter, he had actually done it, somehow he alone had managed to do it. He continued to laugh as he fell to his knees, as his laughter slowly ceased, he could feel himself gag slightly slapping his hand over his mouth he retched violently as blood passed through his finger. He doubled over and began to heave as the blood dripped from his mouth, and once again he retched as he vomited up another small amount of blood, he stayed in that position as he retched several times but it seemed he had emptied his stomach from the blood. _Well I expected there to be some damage, _spitting the remainder into the small puddle of blood he had created, wiping his mouth he turned back to Ruby only to see Yang cradling her in her arms. He could see the tears rolling down Yang's face, despite her mixture of laughter and crying Ruby managed to sleep through it, _poor girl has gone through too much in a single day._

"What did you do?" He turned to see Blake standing a fair distance away from him yet her amber eyes bore into his, it was a look that demanded answers. He scoffed slightly and turned away from her, even though she glared at him, the way she stood clearly told him that she was now afraid of being near him, it was a proper reaction after having witnessed just what he was capable of. He forced himself to stand, in doing so he heard the shuffle of her feet along the ground, turning towards the sound he saw that she had moved further from him, a smirk appeared on his lips as he locked eyes with her.

"Afraid?"

She frowned at the way he said it, despite everything he spoke as if nothing had happened and he was joking around with her. She clenched her fists ignoring the throbbing pain in her ribs as she straightened her back and glared at him, "I said what did you do."

He sighed heavily the smirk fading from his lips as he turned to face her, he didn't miss the way she flinched away at the movement, "Does it truly matter Blake?" When she hardened her gaze and attempted to speak he cut her off and spoke roughly, "No, does it truly matter? I saved Ruby, do the details truly matter?" Slowly she closed her mouth but continued to glare at him, he sighed once again as he shook his head, and muttered to himself. "It's so pleasing to see how grateful you all are." He turned his attention back to Blake and saw her glaring even harder at him, no doubt she heard him, before he could question her he saw her eyes dart to his arms before looking back at him. He raised his arms to see what she had been so intrigued with and wasn't all that surprised to see that his arms were now covered in blood, through the thick blood he could see where his flesh had been torn apart. He attempted to wipe the blood away and cringed slightly as his hands came into contact with the fresh wounds, even as he wiped away a small portion of the blood more welled up from the wounds and replaced what he had cleaned away.

"You're bleeding..."

"Oh, is that a fact, I scarcely noticed that."

She frowned at the sarcasm that practically dripped from his words, saying nothing more she instead point to her face, she watched as he reached up and touched his cheek and instantly flinched away. She didn't understand how he couldn't feel the blood dripping down his face, it was such a large amount, he was bleeding much more than he had been when Narissa tortured him. His face, his neck, and all of his arms were covered in blood and it didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon, despite whatever healing abilities he proclaimed to possess it didn't seem to be helping much now. She turned away from him and looked at the scene that had been unfolding behind her, Yang cradled her sister crying happily, she doubted that Yang even understood what happened but it seemed she didn't care either way. She smiled slightly, while she wouldn't admit it to Rodric she was eternally grateful for whatever he had done here, he somehow brought Ruby back to life and she knew there was nothing she could ever do to thank him. If he hadn't been here she didn't know what would have happened with Yang but she knew she would have never been the same, she would have never been able to be the same without her sister. Biting her lip she turned her head slightly in Rodric's direction, she took a slow breath before muttering out a single phrase, "Thank you," and without waiting for him to say anything in return she walked away from him and back towards the others.

Rodric watched as Blake walked away before a smirk crossed his face, he said nothing in return as he watched Blake kneel next to Yang to console her, he would have simply left it at that, but despite the fact that the ritual had succeeded there was still much that could go wrong. Sighing softly he turned towards the group, "Where is the nearest medical facility?" They all looked towards him, and he swore he could feel the anger and hate radiate from them, all except for Blake, she showed no emotion and he truly wondered what she thought of him. Weiss' glare was nothing new to him but he could feel sense a new breed of hatred she held for him, as for Yang there was simply an air of murderous intent radiating from her, nevertheless he pressed for an answer once again, "Where is the nearest medical facility?"

Yang grit her teeth in an attempt to suppress the ever growing anger, "Why do you want to know?!" she snapped at him.

Rodric rolled his eyes as he sighed, "What's the human saying, 'we're not out of the woods yet.' I have done everything in my power to resurrect Ruby, I would however like my efforts to not be in vain. If we could take her to the nearest medical facility I would be...most grateful." There was always the chance of there being some sort of complication with a ritual such as this, granted there were usually a number of dragons that prepared and performed such a ritual, he had neither the numbers nor the time to prepare for such an event. That being the case, despite him successfully resurrecting the young girl, there could have been something that was wrong on an internal level, he simply wanted her to be treated by someone with more medical knowledge than he possessed. He watched as they all conversed with themselves, more than likely wondering just how much they could trust him at this point, he cared little about their trust or lack thereof, he simply cared about one thing.

Yang sighed softly, both Weiss and Blake had a point, while he did save her it would be better if they had her properly checked out. Yang grit her teeth before finally answering, "That would be the Vale General Hospital, but don't even think of laying another hand on Ruby I'll be the one to-" Yang was cut off when pain shot up her arm, she had attempted to slip her arm under Ruby's legs to lift her up but the moment she tried the pain had returned. With everything that had happened in such a short amount of time, she had completely forgotten about her broken arm, and with the pain returning she just now remembered about her broken ribs as well. She shook her head and tried again anyway, she tried to slip her arm beneath Ruby's legs only to feel another wave of pain wash over her body, she hissed loudly but tried to hide the pain. She glanced up towards Rodric only to see him looking down at her smirking slightly with his head tilted, _well come on then, _she could almost imagine him saying those words. "I-It's just a couple of blocks away I can-" She bit her lip as pain shot up her arm once again, tears began to sting at her eyes as she tried to fight through the pain, it was almost to much to bear but she wouldn't allow him to-

"Honestly..." He sighed heavily as he walked towards the group as they all turned their attention to him, "...you humans and your pride." When he reached Ruby's sleeping form he kneeled down and slipped his arm beneath her legs and back before standing with her in his arm. He didn't miss the scathing glare Yang cast towards him as she quickly stood to block his path.

"I said I got her you don't need to-"

"Take her then." He held Ruby out for her and waited for Yang to take her like she proclaimed she could, he tilted his head slightly as he watched her struggling to lift her right arm. He could see the frustration building in her eyes as she bit on her lip attempting to force her broken limp to cooperate with her, a small smirked appeared on his face, "No?" She returned her glare to him as he gently thrust Ruby in her direction, Yang began to shake, he would have thought it was from anger but when he saw the tears building in her eyes threatening to spill over he realized he had taken it to far. He sighed softly as he pulled Ruby back towards his chest, "If you do not plan on taking her, then lead the way at least."

"Hey I can-"

"Oh enough Yang." He snapped, he had grown tired of her terrible attempts at hiding the pain she was in, he understood her reasons for wanting to appear strong, but she was pushing the act too far. "You will do nothing more than injure the poor girl, you can hardly lifted your damned arm what makes you think it would be even feasible to carry Ruby. She may be light but I doubt your arm can even handle her weight, if you wish to be useful then lead on." Yang began to shake more before she quickly turned away from him, he could hear as she took a shaky breath though she said nothing before walking ahead of him. He said nothing as the others glanced towards him before quickly following behind her, he huffed slightly but followed nonetheless, he followed in relative silence the only sound around them was the sounds of their shoes on the ground and the occasional grumble from Ruby. Every time she did so she would shift ever so slightly in his arm, he couldn't help but smile at that, it was a good reminder that she was in fact alive, he only wished there was something he could do about the destruction of her clothing. While he had been able to heal the damage to her body, he sadly couldn't repair the damage done to her clothing, thankfully it didn't expose much of anything he just wished he could do something about it. He turned his attention to the buildings they passed as they walked, it was so strange to see the once lively town seemingly deserted, though he didn't expect to see a multitude of people wandering the streets so late at night. Perhaps it was better that way, he would rather not have people staring at them as they walked, a group of four people covered in blood and carrying a young girl would probably give them a bad image.

* * *

As they rounded a corner a large white building came into view, in the dark of the night the large sign shone brightly as well as the hundreds of light filled windows. If it weren't for the lights along the street the building would have been bright enough to not need all the other lights, he saw the others quickly making their way towards the building and he did his best to follow suit. Despite the fact he was carrying their injured leader and sister they still went on ahead and entered the building, he growled slightly in annoyance but quickly followed them, as he approached the glass doors he was startled slightly when they opened by themselves. He eyed the doors warily before quickly entering the building as a chill tore through his body, shuddering slightly he looked around seeing nothing but a long white hall with blue tiled floors and crude paintings hanging from the white walls. He looked around as he walked down the hall seeing people wandering around, many of them in pure white uniforms and many others in regular clothing, they all gave him varying looks of shock but none of them said a thing to him. As he walked around the far corner he spotted the others speaking to an older man in the same white jacket he had seen many times at this point, a woman with a large bed on wheels came from one of the many halls as he walked towards them, the older man simply glanced at her before pointing in his direction. He took a step closer before holding Ruby tightly against his chest as the woman with the bed approached, he looked towards the others but found that they were all being led down separate halls, his frowned deepened as the man approached him. "Where do you intend to take her?"

The man looked him over curiously it was obvious he wished to know how he came to be covered in so much blood, nevertheless he simply shook his head before looking him in the eye. "There is a room on the third floor where we much take her, your friends have informed me of what has occurred, she appears to be fine but there are a few tests we must run to make sure that is the case." Rodric hesitated slightly as he looked up towards the man and then towards the bed, frowning slightly he gently lowered Ruby onto the bed as the woman quickly took her away. "Don't worry she will be alright, you on the other hand need immediate medical attention, I suggest that you-"

"No."

"I...excuse me?"

"I do not require such a thing, I shall be fine I just..."

He didn't miss the look the man gave him as he followed the direction he looked at, as he turned he watched as the woman took Ruby down one of the many halls. "Ah, I see." The man turned back towards him and gave him a gentle smile, "In that case I would suggest you take the elevator to the third floor, her room will be the last one on the left of the elevator. If you need to...there is a shower in the room that you are free to use, when the tests are complete she will be brought to the room to rest." The man gave him a light nod before turning and returning to the desk he had started at, Rodric was slightly caught off by how understanding the man seemed to be.

"I...thank you." The man looked towards him once again and simply nodded before returning to the clipboard in his hand, he moved past the large desk and continued on down the hallway. He had forgotten to ask the man exactly where to find this elevator, but if it was on the same floor as him there was a good chance he would find it on his own. As he turned the furthest corner a light ding caught his attention, turning around he saw the metal doors of the elevator slide open, several people stepped out of the cramped space and looked at him oddly before continuing on with their business. He stepped inside the elevator just as the doors closed, he looked at the panel that contained several buttons with different numbers, he chose the third floor seeing as that was the place he had to head. As the elevator jerked to life he stumbled back slightly as the floor beneath him started to move, though it wasn't from the sudden movement, as his hand gripped the metal rail that ran along the back wall he could feel his body begin to tremble. It seem the events that had passed were finally catching up to him, he felt exhausted and sick and angry, but before he could lose himself in the torrent of emotions the doors slid open once again. Steeling himself he stepped out of the elevator and turned left looking for the last room, now wasn't the time for his emotions to take control of him, there would be a time for it, yet that time wasn't now.

Standing in front of the farthest room marked 311 he reached for the handle and pulled the door open, there was no marking to indicate this would be the room, he could only hope that it was and he wasn't intruding on someone else. As he stepped into the room the chill he had been feeling throughout the building felt much stronger here, _I hope she doesn't become sick because of this cold air, _frowning slightly he looked around taking in the room. It wasn't as big as he imagined it to be, to fit Ruby and the large bed she rested on he would have imaged the room to be as big as the infirmary back at Beacon, seeing it now showed that wasn't the case. Their were several windows along the furthest wall with blinds, all drawn for this time of night, below the windows was a somewhat large couch. It was made of some sort of leather from what he could see, there were cracks in the material showing it was somewhat worn and aged, aside from the couch there were two chairs one against the same wall and the other against the walls closet to him. He also noticed a small, painfully small TV in the corner of the room, he shook his head and turned towards the only door in the room and entered the bathroom. He frowned slightly as he looked around the small bathroom, there was just enough room to walk in, aside from that it seemed them crammed as much as the possibly could in the small bathroom. The toiler was next to the sink, which was next to the tub, which was across from the standing shower, which was also next to a small cupboard. He didn't understand how this was suppose to be sufficient for patients, it seemed like they would injure themselves just trying to maneuver in the small space provided. Nevertheless it would do, he could only hope that Ruby wouldn't have to reside her for longer than she had to.

Locking the door behind him he opened the small cupboard near the shower and found it to be full of towels and toiletries, shaking his head he took one of the towels before closing it once again. He tossed the towel onto the sink before removing the destroyed and bloodied clothes and tossing them into the sink, one they were removed he entered the shower and slid the door closed as he turned the hot water on. Sadly the water wasn't as hot as he liked, rather it felt lukewarm, it seemed if he wished for a proper hot shower he would have to wait to return to Beacon. Still, it was at least something, he kept his eyes closed as the water ran over his body, despite the lack of scalding hot water he could still feel his muscles relaxing beneath the water. He ran his hands over his face cleaning the dried blood off, he moved to his chest and arms rubbing roughly trying to remove the blood. As he ran his nails over his arms he felt them scratch against something rough, he opened his eyes and looked to his arm only to see dark green scales covering the entirety of his shoulders and even covering most of his arm. Though as the reached further down his arm they seemed to fade into his arm, but as he ran his fingers along the faded scales he could feel them laying right beneath his skin, thankfully they didn't feel uncomfortable. Rather, he hadn't noticed them until this point, he ran his fingers along the scales and found that they felt smoother when he ran his fingers up his arm instead of down his arm, _strange. _He recalled when Blake told him he had been bleeding from his face, he reached up and ran his fingers along his face, he found a small trail of scales just below his eyes, though their texture wasn't as prominent as the scales on his shoulder he could still tell they were there. He followed the trail of scales and felt them growing more textured along his neck before his fingers were back at his shoulders, he sighed heavily as he dropped his arms and allowed the water to rush over him. It seemed performing an ancient ritual had not only taken a toll on his body but pulled a bit of his true form to the surface of his human body.

He closed his eyes once again and turned his head up water, there was no point in worrying about the scales, they were here just as he was and he doubted they were simply going to go away. Not that he exactly wanted them too, it actually felt...comfortable to have them once again, while they might not give him the ability to fly as his wings might have been able to, they were still welcome just the same. For a moment he briefly wondered what the others would think of his new change, but quickly decided that he didn't care, it wasn't exactly going to sway their opinion of him seeing as they witnessed him bringing Ruby back from death's grasp. _Ruby..._he lowered his head before opening his eyes once again, the only reason he had them was because he saved Ruby, and the only reason he had to save Ruby was because she was killed, and she was killed because he had been weak. Not physically weak but because he was weak willed, had he had a stronger will he would have been able to fight against Narissa's influence and perhaps he wouldn't have had to watch such a young girl die. He sucked in a sharp breath as he bit his lower lip, images of Ruby lying in her own blood flashed through his mind and mixed with the images of Serana lying on the ground bleeding as the world around them burned. Two deaths, both because of him, both because had been too weak to fight back, only one he had been able to save...he threw his fist out slamming it into the tiled wall of the shower, he began to shake as the images faded from his mind, though he could still feel the weight they left on his heart. His eyes began to sting and ache, he shut them and allowed the water to run down his face, there was nothing he could do now about the past, all he could do was remain strong and push himself forward, time does not stand still...not even for his kind.

He bathed himself as best as he could with the small amount of soap that was in the shower before shutting the water off, he stood there letting the water fall from him before shaking his head and stepping out. He took the towel he left on the sink and began to dry himself, he had a bit of an issue with his new found scales and the towel catching slightly on them, but he still managed to dry himself enough as he began to get dressed. Sadly, seeing as he didn't have any other clothes with him, he had to don his bloodied clothes once again, he shuddered slightly when the now cold and sticky blood came into contact with his skin as he pulled his pants on. He took his shirt and looked into the mirror, he dropped his arms as he looked at his reflection, rather than ignoring the obvious as he usually did he turned his eyes to the large scar that marred his side. He turned slightly to get a better look at the malformed scar, it was deep and jagged and caused the skin to sink inward slightly, he ran his fingers along the scar, it started from just beneath his arm and trailed down disappearing slightly below his pant line and would continue for a bit more stopping just a bit from where his hip was. "Tch, just another reminder of what a failure I am..." Growling slightly he quickly pulled on his bloodied shirt and turned away from the mirror, he stood there for a moment before glancing at his reflection again before quickly turning away once again and moving towards the door.

As he pulled the door open he the rush of cold air envelop his body, after being in the warm water the cold air was an uncomfortable reminder of where he was. Though the room was much more different than when he had entered, for one the others were there in varying degrees of medical treatment. Weiss had her arm covered completely in a cast and held in place with a sling, Yang was the same way with her arm in a cast and sling but he could see bandages wrapped around her stomach beneath her clothes. Blake, being the only one who was least damaged from Narissa's assault, was of course the one with the least amount of treatment needed, he could see the bandages wrapping around her exposed stomach. All three of them turned to look at him when the door had opened and all of them had varying looks of anger on their face, it was clear they didn't appreciate his presence anymore, he ignored their looks and turned his attention to the last member of the team that lay before him. He felt his throat tighten as he looked at Ruby lying in the bed she had been taken away on, it sickened him to see her lying there with tubes coming from her body, though he once again had no one to blame but himself. The steady beeping coming from one of the large machines she was connected to put his nerves on edge, he felt that at any moment those beeps would silence and everything he did would have been for nothing. He averted his gaze, he turned and moved away from the bathroom door and pressed his back against the wall near the door he had entered from, he rested his head against the cold wall as he looked up at the lights in the ceiling. "That's a new look."

He didn't miss the malice laced in the words Yang spoke to him, it was clear she was simply forcing herself to speak to him, he didn't understand why she even tried if she didn't want to. He shrugged anyway, "I suppose it is..." Yang scoffed at his short answer, it seemed she didn't wish to speak with him yet she wanted him to go on some long triad about his new look. She never did make much sense, but it seemed she made even less sense than she usually did, he wasn't sure how that was even possible.

Nothing more was said after that, none of the others even attempted to make conversation with him, not that he minded, he had goes ages without conversing with anyone surely he could handle it again. Even as another doctor entered the room to reveal the results of the tests, it still remained silent, thankfully it seemed nothing was terribly wrong with Ruby. There was however one thing that the doctor mentioned that he found rather amusing, "Although, while we took her temperature she seemed to be slightly above average, normally this would signal a fever. However it could also mean her body is fighting off a small infection, we will run a few more tests to determine what it is but do not worry it isn't anything to worry about." He looked around the room and gave a slight nod and turned to take his leave, however when his eyes met with Rodric's he gave him a curious look before continuing on and walked out of the door. Once the door closed Rodric couldn't help but scoff slightly.

"I can say for a fact that he won't be finding any infection." The others turned to look at him, Yang continued to glare at him yet he could tell she was curious as to why he had said that, but didn't seem keen on asking.

"What do you mean?"

He looked to Blake who looked towards the ground as he turned to look at her, he huffed slightly as he crossed his arms and looked up towards the ceiling. "The only reason her temperature has risen is because it took a lot of my own blood to complete that ritual. My blood is literally boiling beneath my skin, and now that same blood runs through Ruby's veins." He heard one of the chairs scrape across the ground and the familiar hiss of pain from Yang, if she didn't calm down she would end up injuring herself further, "Do not fret she is perfectly fine, she will just run at a slightly higher temperature than normal...for the rest of her life. When she wakes I would suggest you all keep her from doing anything too strenuous, at least until her body has properly acclimated to her new core temperature. Until then make sure she stays properly hydrated, she will suffer from mild dehydration but it shouldn't last long."

"Why are you talking like your just going to ditch us?"

He lowered his gaze to Yang who had returned to her seat cradling her arm, "Oh, I was under the impression that you all wanted nothing to do with me after everything that has happened. Unless I am mistaken, but it is hard to mistake those glares you have all been throwing my way, as well as that malicious tone that has yet to leave you voice Yang." He held his gaze on her, though it only caused her to lower her head to avoid said gaze, instead he turned his attention towards Weiss who merely glanced at him before looking down at the floor as well. When he turned his attention to Blake he was surprised to find that she held his gaze the longest, he could see the hurt behind her eyes but in the end she turned her eyes to the floor. Once more when silence reigned he rested his head back against the wall and said nothing more, after all nothing more needed to be said, he had gotten his answer through their silence. Whether they didn't want to admit it out loud in fear of sounding like terrible people, their silence spoke loudly, they didn't wish to have any more connection to him, and he didn't blame them. All of this happened because of him, he turned his head slightly towards the clock watching as the time slowly ticked away.

A sudden scrapping of one of the chairs caused him to blink several times, he focused his eyes on the clock and saw that at least two hours had passed since he had lost focus on the time. He sighed softly as he rubbed his aching eyes, he had no idea if he had fallen asleep or if he simply allowed his mind to wander unintentionally. He was once again pulled from his thoughts when he felt a hand grasp his, opening his eyes he saw Yang holding onto his hand with her uninjured one, she said nothing but she tugged him in the direction of the door. He didn't argue and simply decided to follow her, once they exited the room she released his hand as the door clicked closed behind them, "Why are you here?" He looked at her curiously before scoffing and shaking his head, though that didn't seem to be the answer she was looking for, she rounded on him glaring at him with those crimson colored eyes, "Don't give me that, just tell me why are you here?"

He held her gaze before a smirk crossed his face, "I believe that answer depends on who you are asking." She gave him a confused look as the smirk on his face only grew wider, "Why are any of us here for that matter, perhaps there is some greater purpose we are meant to achieve, as I said it all depends on who-" He was cut off when she grabbed him by his tattered shirt and spun him around and slammed his back into the opposite wall.

"Don't be a smart ass, why are you here, in this hospital with us? Is it because you feel bad, that you feel sorry for us ending up like this? Well guess what, all this happened because of you, just accept what happened and don't bother giving us your pity because we don't want it."

Rodric frowned deeply at those words, he knocked her hand away fixing his gaze on her, "Do not misinterpret my concern for pity Yang." This caused her to scoff as she shook her head, "What's so funny about that?"

"That now your concerned. Back there when we were getting torn apart you didn't seem so concerned then, no you just sat back and watched like it was a show for you or something." She pushed him back into the wall glaring at him, "Did you enjoy it huh? Did you enjoy watching us all getting beat up like that, you never did like how cocky I acted, did you enjoy watching me getting put in my place? I bet you just loved playing the hero huh, letting Ruby get killed like that just so you could-" Before she could say anymore he grabbed her wrist and twisted the both of them around and forced her against the wall as he growled in her ear, he pressed her arm against her back as she whimpered in pain.

"Do not assume you know what went through my mind Yang, because you will be _dead _wrong. You may consider me to be a monster because I was forced to sit and watch as everything I knew was threatened, but know this, even monsters fear something. That is something you could never understand, even if you lived as long as I have you would never know the true meaning of fear. There is nothing I would have liked more than to trade places with Ruby in that moment, and deep down I know you wish I had, after all I am the monster that caused all this, right Yang?" She struggled against him trying to push him off of her, but with her only good arm bent behind her back and the other pressed against the wall she was in no position to make him do anything. "Of course I am, even now, even when I did everything to save Ruby you still despise me, it is the nature of humans after all. I have done so much, and risked so much more all for her, and still you wish I had ended up like she had, there is never any pleasing you humans." He growled once again in her ear before bending her arm roughly causing her to cry out before she quickly silenced herself, he huffed in annoyance and dropped her arm. The moment he did she quickly rounded on him throwing her fist out causing him to lean back from her wide strike, he chuckled slightly, "Oh, do you intend to show me the extent of your ungratefulness?"

"I would have to have been grateful for something in the first place before I could be ungrateful..."

"Saving your sister isn't something to be grateful for...I'll be sure to keep that in mind if a situation like this ever occurs again then."

"Don't be an ass. If you had actually done something instead of just sitting there, none of this would have happened!"

He scoffed as he shook his head, "You still don't understand the position I was in, I had no choice but to sit there Yang, when will you get that through your thick skull!"

"Maybe if you actually explained what you meant then I-"

"You would still hate me just the same! Do not try to act like you would actually sit and listen to me, you are beyond reasoning at this point, and I know exactly how humans like you act when they are like this. You will only hear what you want to hear, you are so blinded by your anger there is no point in trying to explain anything to you, because you would not hear it either way, right?" She glared up at him but said nothing, "Of course, we are done here then." She scoffed as he turned back towards the door, but before he could get any closer to it she spoke up.

"Fine, just tell me one thing then..."

He sighed heavily as he looked up at the ceiling, what little patience he possessed was being whittled away dealing with her, "What?"

"Narissa...she said a name that royally pissed you off, who is that?"

Rodric turned his head towards her growling slightly, the anger he had kept restrained was beginning to surface, "That name isn't something you need to concern yourself with, you would do well to remember that." She frowned but said nothing as he turned away from her, the rage still boiling just beneath the surface, she was foolish but he didn't think she would be foolish enough to-

"I bet if it was Serana you would have-" She was cut off when he suddenly turned on her, her eyes widened in shock when he threw his fist out so quickly she barely had time to jerk her head to the side. Where her head had been only a moment before his fist slammed into the wall with such force the material shattered and crumbled beneath his fist, she didn't even have to see what the damage was, the noise from the wall breaking was enough indication of the force behind the punch. She opened her mouth to say something and found that she couldn't speak, or breathe for that matter, she felt pressure on her throat as she was forced back against the wall struggling for air. She turned her head slightly and was face to face with Rodric, but the moment her eyes locked with his, all the anger and hate she felt for him faded away and was replaced with fear. That look in his eye, that look that practically screamed murder, she had only seen it once but it had been enough to burn it into her memory, but now she was seeing it once again and he was locking eyes with her. She tried to pull his hand away from her throat, but with only one working arm it wasn't going so well, even less so when he squeezed on her throat and snarled at her, she let go of his arm and instead tried to push him away but he wouldn't budge. She looked up at him and saw that he was much closer than he had been, she tried to keep from shaking as she turned her face away from as she gasped out for breath.

He exhaled slowly the heat building at the back of his throat rolled from his lips and against her skin, "You test the limits of my patience Yang, did I not warn you, how stupid are you to ignore such a blatant warning?" The only answer he received was her gasping for the air he had taken from her, he snapped his teeth inches from her face causing her to flinch back slightly a strained whimper rising from her compressed throat. "Scared? You should be Yang, maybe this time you will heed my warning. I will tell you once and _only _once more, that name, you would do well to forget that name. For your well being, I highly suggest you forget it, understand?" She didn't reply she didn't even nod her head in understand, she truly was the most stubborn human he had ever met, he snarled and tightened his grip on her neck forcing her more against the wall, "I said do you understand?!" She struggled against his grip as she tilted her head back sucking in a strained breath.

"Yes..." He looked down at her and squeezed her neck once again for good measure before releasing her, the moment he did she quickly fell to the ground gasping out for much needed breath. She coughed roughly as she glared up at him, as she did he could see the distinctive bruise he left against her neck, seeing it caused him to frown and turn away from her just as the door to the room was thrown open.

"What's going on out here?!" Blake looked towards Rodric expecting an answer but when the ragged breathing caught her attention she looked past him to see Yang on the ground, "Yang!" She quickly rushed to her side and dropped to her knees looking her over, as she did that's when she noticed the large bruise covering her neck, "Wha..." She looked up and only just noticed the large hole in the wall above her, she grit her teeth and turned back towards Rodric, "What happened?!"

He kept his back towards the two of them as he clenched his hand, "Nothing, we simply talked." Before they could say anything else he moved once again towards the door to return to the room, but once again he was stopped by Yang speaking up.

"W-Where do you think you're going?"

"I have done everything in my power to save Ruby, I do not understand why I must keep reminding you, I simply wish to be there when she wakes up, is that a problem?" He let a low growl build in his chest as she looked over his shoulder and down at the two girls on the ground as he frowned deeply, "Is it?" He didn't miss the subtle way Blake tried to move when she placed herself more in front of Yang, Yang however looked away from him as she bit on her lip and trying to cover up the bruise he had left on her.

"No..."

"I thought as much." He turned away from them and pulled the door open only to see Weiss stumble back away from the door, she tried to stand her ground, but with a scathing look and a low snarl she flinched away from him and made room for him to pass. Once he entered the room she quickly exited to check on Yang no doubt, it didn't matter to him, as he told her he had only stayed around for one reason alone. He turned his attention to Ruby that laid in the bed, his eyes darting across her body for any signs of movement but sadly there still didn't seem to be, he grit his teeth as his frustration began to mount. He had so many questions that would never be answered, the only one that could was Narissa, but after killing Ruby she left and they were too preoccupied to even think of following her. Not that he would have suggested it anyway, she was much to dangerous for any of them to follow, even if they could hold there own against her, in that moment none of them were in the position to follow her. _This is the last time I will ever watch someone get taken from me, this I swear it. _A low growl rose in his throat but he quickly quieted it when the door opened once again, the girls walked in with each one eyeing him cautiously, he scoffed slightly but said nothing more.

* * *

Silence reigned over them, no one was willing to say anything, but perhaps it was better that way, what could there be said anyway in a situation like this. While no one said anything there was the occasional low grumbling from Yang and sometimes from Weiss, his eye was drawn to them when they began to silently argue with each other, between both of their hushed whispers it was hard to tell what was being said, but when Weiss huffed in annoyance and stood from the couch it made sense. Weiss moved over to the chair that Yang had previously be in, while Yang took Weiss' seat but rather than sit she instead stretched herself across the couch, resting her head against the arm it seemed she intended to get some sleep. He turned his attention to the clock and saw that it was indeed as late as he had imagined it to be, two in the morning if the clock was correct, sighing softly he rubbed his eyes. He had hardly realized how long the night had been, everything only seemed to happen in a matter of moments, yet here they all were many hours after leaving Beacon, and in that time all of them have been changed. He turned his attention to Blake who had her head tilted back on the chair she said in, eyes closed and breathing even, it seemed she had beaten Yang to the idea.

He wondered what went through her mind, she had demanded answers to what he was, and what he had done, yet while they were all here in the same room she had yet to demand anything of him. He found it odd, but considering the circumstances he doubted she wanted to cause a scene like Yang had, if that was indeed the case then she was much wiser than Yang, though that was very obvious during his time with them. The soft scrapping of a chair drew his attention to Weiss as she fidgeted around and tried to make herself comfortable in the chair. He was curious as to what was going through her mind, during the whole situation she had yet to say a single thing to him, she had yet to say a single thing in general now that he realized it. Perhaps it was the shock of Ruby being killed in front of her, or perhaps it was that and the shock of seeing her being brought back from death. There was a number of things it could have been, and it worried him to see her act so unfeeling and colder than normal, she didn't even cry like the other two did at the death of Ruby. He wouldn't admit to being an expert on humans but holding in such a traumatic experience couldn't have been good for their mind, they were fragile in that sense after all. When Weiss turned her cold eyes to him, it was only then that he realized he had been staring, he turned away from her only to hear the chair scrape across the floor again before silence once again filled the room.

Rubbing his eyes Rodric let out a long inaudible yawn as he shook his head slightly, exhaustion had finally caught up with him it seemed, but he knew he couldn't sleep yet. Turning his eye towards the clock it was now four in the morning and there had yet to be any change in Ruby, the steady beeping from the machine at least assured him that she was still alive. He ran his hands over his face in an attempt to ward off sleep, but in the moment he closed his eyes it seemed to have the opposite effect, he shook his head once again as he shifted his weight to his other leg. The others had rotated sleeping on the couch, they each slept for no longer than thirty minuets apiece before switching to the next person, Weiss was sleeping on the couch again with Blake sitting on the chair near her and Yang having moved the other chair closer to Ruby's bed. She rested her head on the mattress with her hand over Ruby's as she slept, ever few moments a twitch of Yang's hand caused her to squeeze her sisters hand, several times he had mistaken that for Ruby's movements. Giving a soft sigh he pushed himself from his spot on the wall and frowned as the muscles in his back tightened disagreeing with his movements, nevertheless he pushed himself towards the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face to keep him awake. The moment he turned away from the bed that's when he heard it, it was soft and almost inaudible even in the silence of the room, but he couldn't deny that soft groan coming from Ruby.

He quickly turned to see Ruby's face contorting in discomfort as she attempted to turn on her side but seemed to give up on it as her eyes slowly opened, his mouth slowly opened upon seeing those silver eyes once again but he found that he lost the ability to speak. Relief flooded over him once those silver eyes were open, all the strength faded from his body as he stumbled back, his back colliding with the wall behind him as a large smile crossed his face. His entire body began to shake as he watched the girl before him struggling to move, she was alive, he had brought her back, but seeing her like this after that terrible image was burned in his mind, it was still an unimaginable sight.

She stared up at the white tiled roof, she wasn't sure where she was, more importantly she wasn't exactly sure why her body hurt so much, she groaned softly as she tried to turn on her side but found that moving hurt even more. Her arms must have been numb, because for a moment she couldn't feel anything but only after a moment did the feeling come back although it was slowly. It was then she felt something resting in her hand, she would have sat up to see what it was but seeing as her body hurt too much to even move she squeezed it instead. When she got a gentle mumble in return she turned her head slightly to see the large messy mane of her sister spread out and obscuring her face, "Y-Yang?" It hurt to speak her throat felt so dry, just saying Yang's name came out in a scratchy and croaky noise, she hardly heard the words herself but it seemed enough to wake Yang surprisingly. She watched as Yang slowly sat up and turned her violet eyes towards her, the way she looked a her made it seem like she was in a daze, but after a quick yawn and several blinks she looked at her once again and this time it was much different. Her eyes widened in a mix of shock and surprise and for some reason tears began to build in her eyes as the hand in her own tightened around hers as if she were afraid to let go of her.

"Ruby...Ruby!" She threw herself onto her sister completely ignoring the condition her arm was in, over and over she cried her sisters name, each time the name being more unintelligible as the cries began to drown at the words. The noise roused the others as they quickly moved from their seats and were instantly at her side, Blake once again crying next to the young girl while Weiss simply smiled. It was then he began to feel strangely out of place, he watched as they all clamored around the confused Ruby as the others hugged and cried around her. The joy he felt once again faded from his body as a frown found its way to his lips, he pushed himself off the wall turned before making his way towards the door. As he pulled it open he stopped for a moment when he felt a pair of eyes on him, his frown deepened as he pulled the door open and quickly walked through, never turning back.

Ruby watched slightly confused and slightly upset as Rodric walked out of the room, "Rodric..." Once again her voice was nearly unintelligible, only more so with Yang crying against her, she couldn't take her eyes off the door even as Yang pulled her into a tight hug.

* * *

Rodric let out a slow breath as he clenched his fists, _this is all I wanted, nothing more...nothing more. _He grit his teeth as he willed his legs to move and carry him back towards the elevator that had brought him to this floor, once he entered the small space he pressed the button for the first floor and rested his back against the metal rail as the machine carried him down. Once the metal doors opened again he moved forward almost as if he was in a daze, several times he heard people speaking around him but he never acknowledged them, it was only when a soft breeze washed over him did he actually look up from the ground to see that he was now outside. He looked up to see the sky still dark but knew that it wouldn't last much longer, he ran his hand across his face as he sighed once again, only he stopped and pulled his hand away to see tears staining his hand, frowning his quickly wiped his eyes clean before walking forward. He didn't understand the reason for the tears, there was no longer any need to stay with the others, as he had told Yang he simply wished to be there to see her when she woke up, and he did. There was no longer any reason for him to be there, the others all wished to cry and fuss over Ruby now that she was awake but he had no reason, if he were to be honest with himself he had no reason to stay from the beginning. Something he would never admit was that Yang was indeed right, he was only there because he was responsible for everything that had happened, and only wished to see everything be made right. Ruby was alive and the others were all well off, their bones and bodies would heal there was no need for him to be there. _Then why..._

He pushed the thought from his mind as he lifted his head up to see the sun beginning to rise in the distance, _is it already that time? _He frowned slightly as he pushed himself to move quicker, he didn't wish to be in this town any longer than he already was. Retracing his steps he quickly moved through the area they had all fought in, the lingering scent of blood and fire was still in the air, he could feel bile rising in his throat as he forced it back as he all but ran through the area. Only when the scent of blood had faded from the air and his lungs all but burned did he finally stop running, he slowed to a steady walk as he breathed heavily. When the sound of a whirring engine reached his ears he looked up to see one of the large airships getting ready to take off, but there seemed to be a man standing in the door way frantically waving for him. Hesitating only for a moment Rodric broke off into a run as he sprinted past the man and into the large machine just as the doors closed and the engines roared to life, he quickly thanked the man before moving to the back of the airship. Even as the large machine shook as it took to the skies he didn't feel that sense of unease he usually would, it could have only been because he had witnessed so much worse just a few hours prior. He frowned as the thoughts began to surface once again, he forced them away as he turned his attention out the window as the large tower of Beacon loomed in the distance, _just one more thing._

Before the airship had even touched down he had made his way to the front and stood waiting by the door, he wanted to find that man as quickly as possible to do what he knew must be done. As the airship connected to the dock it jarred him slightly but he managed to keep his balance as the doors hissed open, once they were fully open he stepped out of the airship as a strong breeze pushed against him as he turned his attention to Beacon. From what he could see there were at least several students walking around as well as several teacher that were more than likely getting an early start on preparing for class, he could only hope he would find the one he was looking for as easily. He gave a heavy sigh as he quickly made his way for the main entrance of Beacon, as he crossed from the area from the docks he could feel the eyes of the students as well as the teachers on him, he had no doubt they found his appearance shocking. Whether it be from the blood or from the scales that now stood out against his body, he wasn't sure but neither did he care, he ignored their confused and shocked looks as he pushed open the main doors to the school. He quickly began to navigate through the winding halls looking for him, with how large the school was he knew that he could be anywhere he could only hope that luck was on his side for once.

His frustration began to mount once again as he ran through the maze like hallways of the school, each turn taking him into an identical looking hallway, and he had yet to find any sign of the one person he was looking for. He leaned against one of the walls of the hallway panting heavily, he took a moment to catch his breath before he would push himself into running again in search of him, but just as he pushed himself from the wall to begin again a familiar voice caught his attention. He pushed himself forward through the hall as the voices became much clearer, he rounded the corner to see the familiar green jacket and grey hair of the person he had been looking for, "Ozpin." The man stopped mid sentence as he turned towards him only for his eyes to widen a bit upon witnessing the state he was in, "I wish to have a word with you."

Ozpin couldn't help but be shocked at the state Rodric was in, he hadn't seen him this injured except when they had decided to test him in the VR Room, yet he didn't seemed harmed. His clothes were practically destroyed and covered in blood but he didn't seem to be suffering from any injuries, the other thing that caught his attention were the green scales that ran down his face, he was certain that he hadn't had those previously. "O-Of course, but perhaps it can wait until after you go to infirmary to be-"

"No this cannot wait Ozpin, this a very important matter that-"

"No matter how important it is Rodric I would rather you speak to me after you-"

"I wish to be removed from Team RWBY!"

Silence filled the air after his exclamation, the man that Ozpin had been talking to quickly and quietly took his leave as Ozpin continued to look at him in silent shock. Ozpin simply nodded and turned away from him, "Very well, we'll continue this in my office..." Rodric said nothing as he followed quietly behind Ozpin, he knew this was the best course of action to take, after everything that had happened he knew that things would be better if he simply separated himself for the others. It would be better for them, and better for him, he knew this was the best thing to do, yet even if he thought that he could feel his throat tightening. _This is the best thing to do, _he grit his teeth and clenched his fists as he throat and chest began to ache, _then why do I feel this way..._

* * *

**_The other thing that I have been trouble doing lately is finding places to actually use these line breaks, maybe I should start marking them as I write them so I can do it like that, that is if I remember anyway. I'll try to keep the spacing between chapters short, I just recently got a PS4 with Bloodborne and Inquisition, so I'll try not to be too distracted, but don't be too upset if I am. _**


	18. Forcing Distance

_**You guys I'm not dead :D anyway yes I am back and I am sorry i took so long to get this chapter out. First and foremost i do want to apologize for taking so long, I had just taken a vacation from work and needed a little space from the story. I had gotten to such a difficult part to write and it was literally a chore trying to write it. I didn't want my stories to become that so I took a break, but I'm back now and I hope this chapter is good for you guys. Secondly, thank you guys, for just being so patient with me, it made me so happy to see that despite how long it took to get out, people were still reading, favoriting, and following this story. You guys don't know how happy that made me, to see that people still read this even though I took over a month to finally get this thing out, thank you all so much. You really don't know how much that means to me, anyway sappy stuff out the way please enjoy the chapter and be sure to leave your reviews. **_

* * *

**Forcing Distance**

He breathed heavily as he pushed himself forward, his body ached and his lungs burned, but he never stopped running, the forest he found himself in seemed to stretch on forever. Every step he took felt as if he were moving through mud, his legs felt heavy and slow and made running nearly impossible, he was exerting nearly all of his stamina and didn't even seem to be making any progress. He stumbled forward as his foot caught on an exposed root nearly sending him crashing to the ground, he fought to keep himself upright fearing that if he fell he would never be able to get himself up again. He gasped out for a breath as he rushed through the foliage, he couldn't even stop to take a breath, he couldn't stop moving, he had already learned what happened if he stopped, he grit his teeth as his muscles burned and ached but continued to force himself forward. He kept his eyes skywards, relying on his muscle memory to carry him through the forest, as he watched the trees bend and sway in the strong gale that forced them to twist and bend. Yet even with the force of wind to bed a tree to its will he had yet to feel even the smallest of breezes against him despite his face being drenched in sweat from running so hard and so long. This was not uncommon he had faced this same strange occurrence multiple times yet it never ceased to leave him with a strange sense of unease roiling in his chest. With his attention focused on the trees he was startled when his foot caught on another exposed root, but rather than catch himself as he normally did he was instead thrown forward through a pair of bushes and onto sharp stone rather than the soft grass. He threw his arms out to catch himself and was rewarded with a series of painful shocks jolting up his arm as he flipped forward onto his back as he faced the dark sky.

He panted heavily as he looked up into the darkness that blanketed the sky, it was dotted with specks of light some shining brightly and others giving off a dull shine. He sucked in several deep breaths despite the pain that shot through his lungs, his legs ached and trembled slightly now that they had finally stopped moving. Soon his breathing slowed and returned to normal but his eyes never left the star filled sky, he could feel his mind drifting and his thoughts wandering as his eyes spotted vague shapes among the clusters of stars. As quickly as his mind lost focus it was quickly forced back as a series of gunshots rang out in the silent night, he quickly sat up and was face to face with a massive cave mouth just a few feet in front of him. The gunshots he heard only moments ago were now distant echos in the night as he slowly pushed himself to his feet, when he turned his attention back to the cave it seemed even more intimidating than it had been only a moment ago. The dark grey stone that stood out in the moonlight seemed to have grown darker causing the darkness from inside the cave to look as if it were slowly enveloping everything around it. Nevertheless he pushed himself forward, forcing his legs to move despite the weights that slowed them down, every step drew him closer to the entrance of the cave. As the large stone mouth of the cave slowly loomed over him the unease that grew in his chest quickly faded as his nose scrunched up from the stench that reached it, _blood. _Gritting his teeth he stepped into the darkness and stood still waiting for his eyes to adjust to the absence of light.

He looked around determining whether or not his eyes had adjusted fully to the darkness, but as another series of gunshots rang out he determined that it didn't matter and pressed on. The cave was much larger than he had initially imagined, large stalactites hung down from the roof of the cave some nearly as wide as he was, and others thin enough he could have broken them by simply walking into them. He carefully maneuvered his way around the large formations that would occasionally block his path, and squeeze between the massive stalagmites that rose from the ground and slowed his progress. The further into the cave he walked the stronger the stench became, he tried his hardest not to breathe in too deeply, for when he did he could taste the metallic tinge at the back of his throat. He struggled a bit as he tried to force his way through two stalagmites that were much to close together, but seeing as this was the only path to follow he had to force himself through the small space. With a bit of effort and a few choice words he finally pushed himself through the small opening, huffing slightly in annoyance he continued forward until he stepped in something that made a skin crawling squelching noise. Giving a slight shudder he looked down to see a dark colored puddle, it was hard to tell what exactly it was in the darkness, but giving the smell he had a fairly good idea of what it was. Seeing as there was no other way to go he continued down the path with the puddle of blood, several moments of the same squelching sound later he stopped once again, he forced back the bile that rose in his throat as he looked down at the dark mass that rested against the stone wall. He looked away as he sucked in a sharp breath before turning back towards the mass and slowly approaching it.

Dead. Though he hardly expected anything different seeing as it was more than likely the man's blood he was walking through, and with the large open gash in his stomach it was his blood after all. He turned the mans head in his direction but with the darkness of the cave and the blood covering most of his face it was impossible to distinguish any feature on the man. Slowly he stood up and turned away from the body and continued down the blood soaked path, with every twist he took in the path he found another body each one mangled differently but all of them dead just the same. After passing several more bodies of men and woman alike he soon came to a large opening in the otherwise narrow pathway he had taken, hesitantly he walked through the opening. He had entered into a large cavern much larger than he would have thought a cave to possess, the roof was nearly impossible to see, the only reason he even knew it was there were from the large stalactites that hung down. A bellowing roar echoed throughout the cavern, each second it only seemed to grow louder, he was forced to cover his ears as the roar only continued to grow in volume before finally beginning to fade out. Slowly he lowered his hands as a faint ringing still lingered in his ears, the unease that he had felt before was beginning to return although it was much stronger this time, he quickly looked around the cave as a strong sense of desperation quickly overcame him. He didn't even know where to begin the cavern was massive, he quickly looked around in the darkness hoping to spot...anything that would quell the growing desperation. He took a step forward and stumbled as his foot knocked against an unseen mass of rocks, he let out a soft string of curses and immediately after he heard a hushed voice calling out from the darkness.

"Is someone there?" His head shot up at the voice as he quickly looked around, he opened his mouth to call out but found that his voice wouldn't speak any louder than a hushed whisper, he grit his teeth in frustration as the voice spoke again fear and desperation lacing the words, "Please help me." Rather than try and call out he frantically moved through the cavern and crawled over larger rock formations as he followed the sound of the pleading voice, every few moments they would go silent only yo frantically call out once again. As he pulled himself over another large formation of stone his hands came into contact with a warm sticky liquid, feeling it only caused him to quickly pull himself over the stones, in doing so however he lost his footing and slid down the other side and crashed into the ground with a loud thud. "P-Please hurry." Ignoring the pain that radiated through his arm he forced himself to his feet and finally saw a white mass laying on the cold stone, his breath caught in his throat as the mass moved and looked towards him, dark raven hair spilled out from beneath the white cloak she wore, but the feature that caught his attention the most and caused his throat to tighten were the bright silver eyes that seemed to shine in darkness. Weakly she raised her arm and reached out for him, he reached out for her as he slowly made his way towards her, "P-Please I have a daughter, s-she needs me, please I can't-" Her words were swiftly cut off as she was pulled deeper into cave and deeper into the darkness, the screams that followed her disappearance made his blood run cold as he could only stand there, frozen as the screams continued on and on before finally being replaced with a horrible gurgling sound. Slowly, painfully slowly, the gurgling slowly faded before the cave returned to its silent state, he skin continued to crawl as the silence became oppressive. Gritting his teeth he slowly lowered his hand, as a distinctive dripping sound reached his ears, he slowly looked up to see a dark liquid dripping from above him, though it was hardly as noticeable as the pair of glowing green eyes in the darkness. He could feel a cold chill running up his spine as a large black mass slowly moved towards him, each step it took caused the ground to shake beneath him, a crackling sound drew his attention upwards as a bright blue light began to grow from the mouth of the black mass. He hadn't realized he had been walking back until his back came into contact with the large stones he had climbed over, the bright blue light turned towards him as blue flames began to lick at the mouth of the mass. He threw his hands up as the flames came rushing towards him, yet rather than feeling the cold he had expected he felt nothing as the flames danced around him.

Slowly, the flames began to fade away and he found that he was no longer in the cave, instead he was standing in an all to familiar area. His chest began to ache painfully as he looked at the scene before him, Blake lay on the ground arm thrown over her chest trying to ease the pain. Weiss writhed on the ground as her arm lay limp next to her, and Yang staring wide eyed, frozen from the spot she was in. He could also see...himself, standing and pleading with Narissa to let go of Ruby who she held up by the throat, he could feel his legs carrying him closer as he began to reach out towards Ruby as a cold sense of dread crawled over his body. The shouts were all to familiar to him as he watched himself pleading for the young girls life, the scene was all to painful when Narissa realized just how much he cared for Ruby. When he came within an arms reach of Ruby, everything changed, Narissa's head whipped around towards him as she glared at him with green eyes that seemed to shine, it was an odd sight with the sadistic smile she wore. The sigh alone shocked him and caused him to stumble back, but when a strong chill wove its way into his chest he slowly lowered his head to see an arm piercing his chest. He looked up once again to see Narissa smiling at him as she ripped her bloodied arm from his chest, he tried to form words, but his mind was in a state of shock as nothing aside from strange strangled noises escaped his lips. The cold that filled his chest slowly spread out to the rest of his body as his legs began to tremble, unable to hold his weight he collapsed to his knees, a dark shadow slowly began to creep along the edge of his vision. He looked up to see Narissa smirking down at him, her greens eyes seemingly brighter than before stared down at him, he collapsed forward as everything went dark.

* * *

He awoke gasping for breath as his hands instantly went to his chest, he looked down expecting to see a large bloody hole in his chest, except...there was nothing. Nothing except his own frantic heartbeats, he sighed heavily as his head fell back against the wall with a soft thud, he closed his eyes as he tried to slow his labored breathing and racing heart. He ran his hands over his face as he grit his teeth in frustration, _that damn dream again, _he had been having the same dream for several days and each time he awoke the same way despite knowing that it wasn't real. It made sense of course, after everything that happened several days ago it would only make sense that he would begin to have dreams like that, though he didn't understand why Summer had become a part of his dreams. He did see it all happen, technically, but never in such detail as he always saw in his dreams, he just assumed that it was his mind filling in the gaps of what _could _have happened. Though he wasn't sure, each time he found Summer in his dreams it was always the same, she would always reach out to him and beg him to help, but he never understood why. He dropped his hands to his side as he stared up at the white roof of his room, _my room_, even after several days of confining himself to the solitary space he still found the words so strange, _my room. _

He still didn't understand how this had even happened, he had spoken with Ozpin about being removed from Team RWBY in the sense that he would leave once it happened yet...yet he found himself with his own room still attending the school. He had protested against it and even went as far as to threaten with not attending classes anymore, Ozpin didn't seem to have a problem with it rather he found he threat amusing as he had given him a knowing smile, a smile that still irked him days later. _That old fool, what does he know? _Obviously he didn't understand anything if he was still allowing him to stay in his school, ignoring the fact he didn't exactly want to and the blatant threat to stop attending classes. He could never understand what went through Ozpin's head, his stoic face made it hard to determine just what he was thinking, somehow despite everything he had told him, even now he still didn't know what Ozpin had been thinking. He lowered his head and rested it in his hands as his elbows dug into his leg, sighing softly his mind began to wander back to several days prior.

* * *

"Have a seat." That was the first thing Ozpin had said to him since he had begun following him through the school, despite having said they would speak in his office following his demand to be removed from Team RWBY, Ozpin hadn't seemed in that much of a hurry. In fact he had followed the older man throughout the school as he checked in with the other teachers and spoke with them, albeit very briefly, he however never missed the strange looks the teachers gave him or the soft gasps from the students he passed. Even as they stood in the elevator watching the number slowly increase with each floor they passed, silence was all that was shared between them, Rodric had attempted to read the older mans face but it remained as unreadable as it usually was. Now that they had finally reached their destination he looked around, he had only been here once, technically twice but according to the girls he had been unconscious the first time. His second time in the older man's office he hadn't cared for looking around, but seeing as this would probably be the last time he ever entered it he felt he should at least admire the architecture.

The roof of the office was much higher than he had imagined, the roof possibly rested beyond the many gears that lazily moved above their heads. He watched them for a moment watching as each gear slowly moved into the other and moved along in a wide circle before returning to their original position only to begin once again. He lowered his eyes to see Ozpin walking ahead of him towards the lone desk in the large room, the table sat in front of several large windows giving him a perfect view of all of the Beacon grounds, and even a stunning view of Vale itself. If he had to be envious of anything it was the view and nothing else, as the headmaster took a seat behind his desk he gave a soft sigh and approached the desk. He pulled the lone chair away from it and took a seat in it, the two of them looked at each other for a moment, it was clear neither one knew what to say in this situation, but as Rodric opened his mouth to try and explain himself the distinctive sound of a door closing cut him off. He turned towards the sound only to see Goodwitch walking from an door that had gone unnoticed by him, she didn't seem to notice him as her eyes were kept down to the scroll in her hands, her gait was steady despite not seeing what lay before her.

"You're late Ozpin, you were suppose to be here ten minuets ago to discuss..." Her words trailed off as she finally looked up to see both Ozpin and Rodric looking towards her, she reeled back if only slightly, possibly not used to anyone staring at her as they were. She turned her attention towards Ozpin, "Am I interrupting..." Once again her words faltered as she turned her gaze back towards him and almost instantly her eyes widened in shock, "Rodric...what happened? Are you alright? Shouldn't you be in the infirmary? Ozpin, what's going on?" Ozpin instead said nothing but looked in his direction, he looked up to see Goodwitch's worried look, but he averted his gaze and stared towards the ground.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Quite." He looked up to Ozpin as he leaned forward resting his chin on the back of his raised hands, "Now, what is this about wishing to be removed from Team RWBY? Did something happen?" Rodric hesitated to answer, it was such a simple question yet it seemed almost comical considering that, yes in fact something did happen. He let out a slow breath before opening his mouth before he was once again cut off by Goodwitch.

"Removed from Team RWBY? Why would you want something like that?" Her footsteps quickly approached them as she continued to toss questions at Ozpin ranging from curious to demanding about the situation she had wandered in on. Of course, Ozpin still said nothing, his eyes remained on him as if he were waiting for him to explain himself, and as Goodwitched continued to question Ozpin he gave a soft indignant huff before speaking.

"Professor Goodwitch." She stopped in mid-sentence a look of mild surprise on her face, he had never called her by her title, it only made sense that she was surprised by it.

"Y-Yes."

Once again he stayed silent for a moment, he looked towards her before returning his eyes to the ground, "I...I'm sorry, this is a private matter..." She was silent for a long while, no doubt she had trouble responding to something of that nature, she was a teacher at this school after all, she was used to her students being upfront about things. Sadly this was one thing he would rather disclose to as few people as possible.

"Rodric," She began after being silent for a few moments, "I can assure you that whatever you plan to discuss with Professor Ozpin, especially on a matter such as this, then you can discuss it with me as-"

"Professor, I respect you, I truly do, but this is a private matter as I said. I had planned on discussing it with Ozpin and only Ozpin and...I would like to keep it that way, please." Once again he seemed to have struck Goodwitch speechless, they once again sat in silence as Goodwitch looked to Ozpin for assurance, it was only after Ozpin gave a slight nod did she sigh heavily in defeat.

"Very well, professor..." He could feel her gaze on him but he kept his eyes on the ground, "Rodric." With those few words she turned and walked towards the elevator, the only sound in the room at that point was the soft clicking of her heels against the floor. Only when the sound of the elevator doors opening and closing pass did he actually look up towards Ozpin who had now lowered his hands and looked towards him.

"Alright Rodric, what is this all about." Rodric leaned back in the chair before running his fingers through his hair, for the first time since he arrived back at Beacon, no for the first time in the last several hours he finally cracked a smile.

"Where do I even begin?"

"How about from the beginning?"

Almost immediately the smile faded from his lips as he gave a cut nod, "Right...the beginning." He took a deep breath before exhaling sharply, once he did he began. The words flowed from his lips, he found that once he began he couldn't stop, the words continued to come in an endless flow, yet despite some of the things that left his lips Ozpin never interrupted. He simply sat and listened, even as he stood from his seat back began to pace as he told his tale he followed him with his eyes, but remained silent all the same. He told him everything, almost everything, he withheld details about his past that he had only told one other person about and twisted the truth regarding what had occurred moments before the incident. The girls were already in enough trouble and were busy licking their wounds, he wouldn't leave them to face even more trouble, this could be his parting gift to them. He told Ozpin exactly what he was, what the scales were, and the reason he had been able to breathe fire, yet for some strange reason Ozpin didn't question his confession he simply nodded with every word he spoke letting him know he was listening and urging him to continue. He had wished that Ozpin stopped him, however, when his ramblings fell onto the what occurred the previous night he found it very difficult to speak the words out loud. To say that his own sibling had cut down a young girl before them all for simply being a human, and in the same breath to confess in performing a macabre ritual to bring back the once dead girl. He even told him of the events that transpired at the hospital between him and Yang, once he was done speaking he leaned against the chair feeling both physically and mentally exhausted from everything he had revealed.

"That is...quite the series of events, I'll admit." Rodric's fingers dug into polished wood of the chair he had sat in previously, "Though I am not sure what made you ask to be removed from Team RWBY." Rodric's jaw fell open as he looked at Ozpin, he tried to form words but the sheer confusion left him baffled by his words.

"S-Surely you jest Ozpin, you heard my tale I am nothing but a danger to these girls. If I remain with them there is no telling what danger I will bring down on them, they have already suffered enough I cannot allow them to suffer anymore."

"I understand that Rodric, your sister is indeed a danger, but I fail to see how you have also labeled yourself a danger, you have done nothing to prove yourself as a danger."

Rodric grit his teeth as he began to grow frustrated with Ozpin, surely he couldn't be so dense to understand what he meant, "My mere existence poses a danger! Me simply being what I am caused all of this, me being a dragon caused my sister to lash out at the nearest humans and because of me a young girl died and-"

"And because of you a young girls life was also saved. I find situations such as these so odd, humans and faunus always seem to focus on the negatives while simply ignoring the more blatantly obvious positives, such as the previously mentioned saving of a young girl."

Rodric shook his head, it didn't matter, he could have saved a thousand people, but it didn't mean anything if he was the reason they needed to be saved in the first place. "That's-"

"The way I see it, yes your heritage may have sparked some sort of resentment for us humans in your sister, but rather than simply letting things be what they were, you risked a great deal to save her."

"My life means nothing compared to you humans, me and my ilk don't have as fragile existence as you do. I would have given much more if it meant restoring a young life."

"I see..." Ozpin looked over the man that stood before him before slowly leaning back in his chair and locking eyes with Rodric, "In that case I must refuse your request-"

"What?! Have you listened to nothing that I've said?! I am a danger to these children, I am a danger to everyone at this school, those girls know just how dangerous my kind is now, do you expect them to be here constantly looking over their shoulders expecting an attack from my sister again?!"

"I understand your concerns Rodric but I-"

"You understand nothing!" The chair finally gave way beneath his grip, the wood shattered and crumbled to the floor with fragments digging into his skin causing the blood to flow from his hands. Ozpin didn't seemed fazed by the outburst or the destruction of the chair, he simply continued to sit and stare at him, Rodric grit his teeth breathing heavily between clenched teeth. He willed himself to relax, he breathing came in short breaths before finally managing to take a deeper breath and let it out slowly. "I...I will not have any more blood on my hands Ozpin, I have made enough mistakes to last my long existence. I managed to undo this one, but I can guarantee that it will not happen again, I-" He clenched his fists tightly wincing only slightly when the wooden fragments dug deeper into his hands, "I cannot let another life be cut short because of what I am..."

Ozpin studied Rodric's face, this was perhaps the only time since he had arrived her that he had seen such a wide array of emotions play across his face. Anger was, of course, the main one that remained, but now there was a look of Fear and Sorrow that briefly played across his face. He knew those emotions well, but the pain hidden behind his eyes resonated deep within himself the most, he knew that look anywhere. It was the pain that looked back at him when he stared at himself in the mirror for many, many years, and now looking at Rodric he could still see the same pain reflected back at him. It brought a question to his mind, but he kept it to himself, as curious as he was he knew better than to ask such a careless question, instead, "And you believe that simply leaving them to their own devices will improve their chances of living?"

Rodric immediately opened his mouth to respond with an obvious answer but was unable when Ozpin spoke immediately after asking his question, "From what you have told me, had you not been there as you told Yang, that this would have still come to pass, correct?" He had indeed told him that, but it didn't make any difference to the situation, "Your sister it seems hates humans with as much passion as you did when you first arrived here, as you said she...or another sharing her ideals could have easily run into my students last night and I would be informing her father rather than having this conversation with you." Rodric once again opened his mouth to protest, but found himself slowly closing it when his words seemed to fail him, Ozpin wasn't wrong after all. "Rodric, I care for every student that attends this school, I would rather they not travel down such a dangerous path but sadly this world needs people who will protect it. They have chosen this path, and I can do nothing but provide them with the knowledge to protect themselves, but they know the perils of being a hunter. Getting injured is something they have no doubt become accustomed to in their days of training, sadly death is also a part of this path." Ozpin took a moment to clear his throat, finding that it had suddenly gone dry and began to ache, "Team RWBY has had the misfortune of learning such a lesson much earlier than I would have liked them to, but they, as well as all my students, know this is what lies along this path."

Rodric grit his teeth as his frustration began to mount, he understood what the older man was telling him, but that didn't change the fact that those girls would have a much _better _chance at living if he left. He didn't understand why that was so hard to see, "Ozpin I understand what you mean, but _you _don't seem to understand that their chances would be so much better if I wasn't around!" Ozpin opened his mouth to argue and this caused Rodric to let out a low growl and quickly close the distance as he slammed his hands down on the desk before him leaning towards Ozpin, "Fighting Grimm is much different than trying to combat my kind! One is a mindless monster that must be sought out and killed, and the other is a vengeful creature that will instead seek out the one who has sired its rage. My sister knows that I care for these girls, that's why she killed Ruby, and if she finds that I still live she will seek out the others in an attempt to end them to break me. The longer I remain at Beacon the more danger they, as well as everyone will be put in, and nothing will stop her Ozpin, this is what I am trying to tell you. Why will you not listen to me?!" He was met with silence as Ozpin seemed to study him looking over him as if he would find an answer to some question he had yet to answer, Rodric grit his teeth and clenched his fists as his anger began to mount, "Answer me!" he slammed his fists into the table leaving large cracks across the glass top.

Ozpin glanced down at the large cracks that now adorned his desk before looking back up to the enraged man before him, rather than acting on the anger he felt rising within him, he simply leaned forward closing the distance between the two of them as he locked eyes with Rodric. "First," He voice was calm, but there was no missing the anger that hid among the even words he spoke, "you are still a student here and you will not, I repeat, _will not _speak to me in such a tone." Rodric clenched his teeth as he could feel those words weighing heavily on his shoulders as he felt compelled to listen to the older man, slowly he pushed himself from the desk and stood before it looking down at Ozpin. "Secondly, I am still refusing your removal from Team RWBY-"

"Ozpin..."

"Instead, you will be placed in your own dorm. It seems that the repairs are complete and it has been completely furnished and is ready to be inhabited. I will not tell the girls of what we have discussed here, you are free to tell them whatever will ease your mind, however you will still be part of their team. Will that suffice?" Rodric opened and closed his mouth several times before finally closing and huffing in annoyance, this hadn't been the outcome he had planned, he had intended to simply be allowed to leave, then he had to remember when anything was 'simple' in Beacon. He turned away from the desk and began to pace as he ran his hands over his face and through his hair as he let a slow breath escape his lips, he stopped and looked towards Ozpin glaring at him as he simply looked towards him.

"I had expected that you would simply allow me to leave in regard of your students safety, however I can see that you will not allow me to. In that case I can do nothing else, except say that from this moment I will no longer be attending classes." No reaction, not even a tick of the jaw or a twitch of the lips, "I assume that if my grades fall to a certain level I will be forced to either bring them up or I will be forced to leave, so in the end I will still get what I want no matter what." Nothing, he would have imagined making threats such as these to the headmaster of a school would have garnered some sort of reaction from him, rather than becoming angry as his threat Ozpin instead let a small smile cross his face. Rodric fought back the growl that began to grow in his chest, instead he crossed his arms and glared at Ozpin, "Then there is to be no problem?" Once again Ozpin said nothing but kept that knowing smile on his face, what could he possibly know that would cause him to smile like that, Rodric wondered. He narrowed his eyes at Ozpin who still refused to react causing Rodric to huff indignantly.

"Will that be all?" Rodric couldn't keep in the growl this time when Ozpin finally spoke, nevertheless he simply sighed in annoyance and turned away from Ozpin and towards the elevator.

"I suppose.

* * *

Rodric stepped out of the bathroom as he pulled a clean shirt on, he had elected to shower as his mind replayed the events that lead him to still being here. He still found it odd that he agreed so easily to Ozpin's simple solution, he could have easily left the school on his own, but there was always the chance that Ozpin would fight him on this. There was no one at this school that could stop him if he truly wished to fight his way out, it didn't matter however, he had a bed and all the food he could wish for, so long as he stayed docile and left the others alone. He gave a weary sigh as he slumped back onto the bed staring at the floor, he began to bounce his leg almost unconsciously, it had become a very bad habit of his recently, whenever he sat for too long he began to grow restless. His daily trips to the gym to work off the growing amount of energy he possessed had begun to help less and less, he found himself staying in the gym later and training longer than necessary simply trying to work off the energy. He looked down at his bouncing leg as his arm began to shake, he quickly jumped from the bed and began to pace back and forth from the bed towards the door and back, there was only one other place that could possibly ease the restlessness he was feeling, but with the classes going on he didn't wish to be bothered by any wandering students or teachers. Although the feeling was beginning to gnaw at his nerves, he glanced towards the clock hanging on his wall wondering just how much longer the current classes would last, he groaned in annoyance and began to pace faster.

As he glanced at the clock again, he swore that it was taking much too long for time to pass, he huffed and ran his hands through his hair in frustration as he quickly turned towards the door. He had just grabbed a hold of the handle when a loud ringing echoed through his room, he sighed heavily and pressed his head against the door, _finally. _Almost instantly he felt himself calm as the ringing from the bell slowly faded away, he stayed with his head pressed against the door listening as the footsteps of the students echoed around him as they walked up and down the hallway. He could hear several doors opening and closing in the hallway, he tightened his grip on the handle and waited until the footsteps faded away and waited a bit longer to make sure everyone was gone. He kept his eyes closed and his head against the door, listening for any noise to indicate that others were still walking around, the silence that filled the room grew heavy and the restlessness began to grow once again, but before it could become overwhelming he pulled the door open and stepped into the hallway. Outside in the hallway he could hear the students muffled sounds coming from their respective rooms, he glanced down the hallway and frowned as one of the rooms was much louder than the others, there was a bit of laughing and a bit of shouting but it was very clear what room it was coming from. This was another reason he disliked Ozpin's decision, he allowed him to leave Team RWBY only to have him take up a dorm just down the hall from Team RWBY. They had been one of the reasons he had actually stopped attending classes, while they didn't do anything to him, simply being around them made him feel...wrong. He didn't quite understand what it was he was feeling from being around them, but simply being in the same room as them made him feel uncomfortable, and after a few days of that oppressing feeling he simply stopped going. He still didn't quite understand what it was that he was feeling, but even now as he looked at their door he could feel that uncomfortable feeling begin to fill his chest, shaking his head he quickly turned away from them and proceeded down the hall. As he turned the corner into another hallway that had windows down one of the sides he took a slow breath before releasing it, and with it that uncomfortable feeling slowly faded. He knew what it was he was feeling, he had enough time on his hands to read more than a few books as of late, and if those novels he found were any indication into the human mind, then he was feeling guilt. Though he didn't understand for what, leaving Team RWBY? That was for the best and he knew it, he would have felt much better if he had been further than simply down the hall but creating distance between him and them was a start.

He gave a heavy sigh as he soon reach a pair of double glass doors, he walked through them and sighed once again as the wind rushed against him, lately it seemed he had only been able to find comfort outdoors. He had assumed it must have been his instincts urging him to be in his element, there was hardly any other explanation for it, after having his scales returned to him he wondered just how much more was given back to him after their encounter with Narissa. He tried not to linger on those thoughts as he turned and began to walk along the stone pathway that would lead him to his destination, he found it slightly amusing how he had actually found the area he now walked to. After noticing that going to the gym was still leaving him with too much energy for his liking, he had ventured out of the school in hopes of finding something to ease his mind and calm his body. It was on the same stone path he now walked that he found an old and hardly noticeable dirt path that veered off away from the rest of the school, the dirt path he now walked took him away from the rest of the buildings and into an area more packed with trees and overgrown with bramble. Once he forced his way through the thicket that's when he saw it, an old building falling into disrepair from being neglected for...many years it seemed, it hadn't looked like the other buildings that littered the grounds of Beacon in fact this one seemed much more modest than the others. The path led him towards the smaller buildings, it took him through a broken wooden gate that surrounded a large portion of the area before connecting with the small building. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, he moved closer to the building, and as he did he noticed just how much damage there was, the wood that the building was made of was beginning to rot away leaving large gaping holes in the walls. The windows were cracked and broken, no doubt from the stress that was being put on them from the foundation literally crumbling beneath it, aside from that there was a strange scent that emanated from the holes and broken windows. As he reached the wooden door he gently pushed it and it fell open, literally as one of the hinges gave way and clattered to the floor as the door swung back now hanging at an angle. The room was dark, but with the many holes in the windows and in the room he could see clearly , and beneath the thick layers of dust he found what was giving off the strange scent. Littering the room were several large bags that had ripped open, over the years no doubt, the contents spilled across the ground, manure...he disliked the scent but it did help him realize what this area was. He turned away from the door and looked into the large barren lot that lay before him, this was...or had at least been a garden, and considering that it was off the beaten path it was more than likely for the students to take care of, sadly it now laid bare.

However, now that he stood back in it several days later, it looked much better than it had previously, though he hardly did much to it. He didn't have the means to repair the small building, so he instead integrated it with what he had been doing, he looked around at all the strange plants that now grew in the garden. None of them were from Vale, at least he wasn't sure, many of the plants that now grew he had grown them from memory and from what he had read from the books in the library. It surprised him to know he was able to control nature again, though he knew it probably shouldn't have, so many things had happened that he shouldn't have been able to do, such as bringing Ruby back, yet he had so something like this should have made sense. It still shocked him that day when he reached out to touch the bramble that grew over the fence only to see it reaching towards him as well, he didn't know what it meant at the time, but he continued to come back and practice his newly acquired abilities, well...not _newly _acquired. It wasn't new, it was something he always knew how to do, it just seemed he had finally recalled how it worked apparently, but whatever the case may be he felt much more relaxed and at ease surrounded by all the plants that now grew around him. He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, and in doing so he felt the last dregs of unease slip away from him as he felt a small smirk cross his face. He looked around the lot and spotted a small area that still laid barren, he was curious how he had neglected such an oversight, nevertheless he moved over to it before kneeling down and placing his hand on the dirt. He felt a small thrum of power rush through him as he looked down at the dirt, and slightly, ever so slightly he could feel a small vibration through the dirt, and slowly grass pushed up through the dried dirt. It pushed against his hand and slipped through his fingers as small roots rose up followed by small buds of flowers that had yet to blood, another smile crossed his face as he looked at the buds growing higher as they began to quickly mature. _Ruby would like this place, _the flowers began to bloom opening into a deep crimson colored rose as thorns grew across their stems, seeing the flowers caused him to frown as he dug his fingers into the grass and the roses quickly wilted and withered away as he shut his eyes forcing that thought away.

Instead he focused on growing something else, anything else, as he slowly opened his eyes he could see thick leaves reaching up through the dirt, their dark green leaves dotted with dark almost red colored spots. Through the thick leaves several stems stretched high about the leaves and unfurled in strange blossoms, the flowers were small but seemed to exude a rather strong smell, while it wasn't unpleasant it was surprising. He stood and dusted the dirt from his knees as the wind began to blow through the small garden he had created, all the different smells from the variety of flowers he had grown, melded together into a strong and nearly overpowering smell. Despite the small distraction he gave himself he could feel his mind beginning to wander, he forced the thoughts away and turned to maintaining the garden he had created, he made sure his creations were well taken care of and healthy, he would be disgracing his element if he couldn't even maintain a plant properly. Not several minutes after he began to busy himself he heard the soft shuffle of footsteps behind him, he ignored them for the time being, it wouldn't have been the first time a student had come wandering the forgotten path and stumbling upon his work. Usually they would simply come and marvel at the plants he had grown, sometimes they would ask if they could take one, to which he would simply nod and then they would be on their way. Other times they would simply watch from a distance before leaving, he was content to let them be so long as they didn't bother him, though sometimes he wished they would simply just-

"Well, hey there stranger." He looked over his shoulder when the voice spoke up, he was confused at first at who would have addressed him in such a way, but when he saw the long sandy blonde hair he couldn't help but letting a small smile come across his face. She was wearing her uniform, something he had only seen her in once, and the smile that graced her face was a welcome sight from the solitude he had placed himself in. She tilted her head slightly, he smile becoming wider as she strode through the broken fence, something he had yet to figure out how to fix, he watched as she eagerly looked around at the plants he had grown. She would occasionally lean down and inhale the scent of one of the flowers, she rubbed her nose before turning to him, "So, I didn't know you had a green thumb."

"I don't have...Oh, you mean the flowers. Yes, well I suppose it comes with the territory." She turned and gave him a confused look as he shrugged slightly, "Dragon territory." She nodded slowly before turning back to the mess of flowers that were growing along the vines that covered the furthest fence, he turned his attention towards the path she had traveled down before turning back towards Nyx, a gnawing curiosity had begun to grow in his mind. "Nyx..." She gave a soft hum as she stared up at the large tree that he had grown through the remnants of the building that rested with the forgotten lot, its roots grew through the holes in the walls and its trunk nearly filled the inside of the building before breaking through the roof growing high before spreading out into thick branches filled with deep green leaves. "...how did you find this place?" Though now that he asked that, he began to wonder just how anyone had managed to find this place, it took him at least several minutes to walk the forgotten trail to reach the garden, and that was with him knowing the path. Those who have never walked that path since they came to Beacon would have had a much more difficult time walking it, let alone finding it, he looked to Nyx for her answer but instead found her pointing to the plant he had grown moments ago.

"I thought I had smelled Silver Leopard, so I just kinda followed the smell, ya' know?" She turned to give a smile to Rodric but when she saw the look of confusion on his face, she still couldn't keep the smile from her face. She moved over to the small batch of leaves and knelt down beside them as she ran her fingers against the rigid green and burgundy colored leaves she gave a small sigh, "These, they used to grow all over in Vacuo so I kind of gotten used to their smell. I mean I was a little surprised when I smelled them because I didn't think they grew here in Vale, but its nice...reminds me of home." She ran her fingers along the long stem giving another soft sight, _it might not have been the best but- _she gave a small gasp as several more large stems sprang up from the ground. She turned around to see Rodric kneeling on the ground with his hand pressed flat against the ground, "Did...did you do that?"

He looked up towards Nyx who gaped at him in surprise, he gave her a small smirk before slowly standing again, "Yes, it seems I have come into my abilities again, I've been coming here to get a better handle on them. While it may have been something I could naturally do in the past, it seems I need to 'remember' just how to do it."

Nyx turned back towards the flowers that grew and bloomed before her eyes before slowly standing and turning towards Rodric, "So this is what you have been up to?" She had been worried and curious at his absence lately, when he suddenly stopped showing up for classes she had thought he had gotten sick, but when several days passed she began to grow worried. She had gone by the infirmary to see if he was there, but when her search turned up nothing she didn't know where to go, even his team didn't seem to know anything about his strange disappearance. So, stumbling upon him had been a huge relief for her, "I had been wondering what you were up too lately, still don't you think you should come to class once in a while at least?" The moment the words left her lips she noticed the pain that filled his eyes, it made her heart clench up to see that look in his eyes. The last time she had spoken to him, he had been much more happy and that was something she had begun to associate with him, she still never forgot the words he had told her that night. He was so confident and so sure of himself, to see him like this now was nearly impossible to comprehend, this wasn't how he was suppose to be, he was suppose to be strong and confident he was suppose to be someone who could go against Yang without any hesitation. She took a step towards him only for him to turn away from her and move away to tend to one of the flowers furthest from her, she bit her lip as she watched him kneel to tend to the flowers. "R-Rodric is...is something wrong?"

He bit his tongue and said nothing as he ran his fingers through the leaves of the flowers he knelt down next too, he knew something like this would have come up eventually if someone were to ask about his absence. He had initially thought to tell them to simply leave it alone, but considering that it was Nyx and she had been nothing but kind to him, he felt like it wouldn't have been an appropriate answer to give her. That and she would have possibly pestered him until he gave her a proper answer, he didn't put something like that past her, he took a deep breath before slowly exhaling, he pushed himself to his feet and turned towards her. "I suppose I can trust you to keep this between us." He moved past her towards the broken fence before turning towards her, "Come, I'll tell you on the way back to my dorm." She gave a small nod before quickly falling in next to him, he walked slowly along the path, while it was wide enough for the both of them he trailed slightly behind her, she didn't seem to mind but kept a slow pace so she wouldn't wander so far ahead of him. He opened his mouth to speak, only to find his words failing him, he clenched his teeth before attempting to speak once again but found that he could say nothing. "I...I can't-"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to you know." He looked up towards Nyx but she kept her eyes forward, her arms behind her back as he followed her.

"No I have to-"

"You don't have to do anything, Rodric it's obvious this is bothering you a lot, if your not ready to talk about it, I'm not going to force you." Even as she said it she bit her lip fearing what could have been so terrible that he couldn't speak of it. It was only then did she remember that Ruby had been gone for several days as well, Yang seemed to be okay so it couldn't have been anything to bad. "Let me just ask one thing..." Rodric didn't say anything but she could feel that he wasn't going to stop her from asking, she took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, "...does...does it have to do with Ruby?" The silence that lingered after her question caused fear to well up in her chest, she didn't know why she had expected Rodric to answer right away, but now she wished she didn't ask. It was so obvious it had to do with Ruby, he was always so close to her and always around her, to see him like this it had to be about her, but it wasn't like she was-

"...Yes." Nyx bit down on her lip to calm herself down, she knew something had happened to Ruby but she hadn't been sure as to what it was exactly, all she knew was that she was in the hospital for the time being. It must not have been too serious seeing as Yang and the others were still coming to class. Even she had managed to go see her and she looked well enough, though now that she thought about it, no one had told her what had happened, Ruby always changed the subject and no one else from her team seemed all that eager to talk about it, and if it was really something to worry about she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up with Yang. Rodric wasn't going to talking about it, that was for sure, just from the way he sounded it must have been painful to just think about it, but that made her worry even more. What could have happened that put Ruby in the hospital, it must have been something bad enough that no one wanted to talk about it and that it left Rodric like this, but she was fine so it must not have been that bad...right?

"Oh..." That was all she could manage, if she tried to say anything else aside from that it wouldn't have felt natural to her and no doubt Rodric would be able to tell she was forcing herself to talk. She didn't want to leave it as it was however, leaving it at that would have seemed much worse had she actually tried to force a conversation, "Well...whatever the case, you can always tell me when your ready, okay?" She turned and gave him a large smile before facing forward again.

Rodric was a bit surprised that she didn't ask him to elaborate on what he meant, but he was more than thankful she had let the subject drop, while it had been several days he still wasn't ready to begin talking about what happened. He had only told Ozpin for obvious reason, but he wasn't ready to disclose that sort of information to anyone else, sadly for Nyx he wasn't sure if he would ever be ready to tell her what happened. "Okay." With that they both walked together in relative silence, rather it was in occasional silence, Nyx chose to speak rather than let the silence grow too uncomfortable. He was okay with it, honestly it took his mind off a lot of things to just hear her ramble on about the things that had happened in class and whatever mischief the others were getting into every day. He never said anything and she seemed fine with just talking to fill the silence, it didn't seem like she was going to run out of things to say anytime soon, not that he minded either way. It was a nice change after all to just listen to her talk, after locking himself away for days at a time and refusing to speak with anyone, it was nice change and for just a little while it felt like nothing had changed. It felt like he was talking with- he cut the thought off before it could continue, sighing softly he looked up and saw that they had entered Beacon again, he hadn't even noticed. As they walked through the halls he tried to focus on the story that Nyx was telling him about, but considering he had lost focus he was now confused about what she was telling him, all he knew was that it had something to do with Jaune. Once they entered the hall where his dorm was he sadly had to stop Nyx in the middle of her story, "Nyx."

"Then Jaune...huh, oh is this your stop?" She looked towards his door then turned to look down the hall a bit curious, "Huh, RWBY's dorm is just down the hall, did something..." her words trailed off as she looked up towards Rodric and she saw the look of hurt return to his eyes, her chest tightened up when she saw it and she simply shook her head, "Never mind..." She looked down the hall before turning back to Rodric as she leaned back on her heels slightly, "So...see you around yeah?"

Rodric looked to Nyx before scoffing slightly as he shook his head, "Yeah, we'll see each other again." He gave her a smirk before unlocking his door and stepping inside, "Oh, and Nyx..." She gave a light hum as he turned to look at her, "Thank you." When she gave him a confused look he simply shook his head and closed his door, Nyx stood there for a moment confused about what he meant, she didn't understand why he was thanking her, she didn't do anything...did she? While it left her confused, she was more happy that Rodric seemed to be doing at least slightly better than when she found him, whatever happened between Team RWBY and him was better left unsaid for now, like she said he could tell her when he was ready. Shrugging slightly she turned away from the door and continued down the hall, she wondered if she would be able to get a nap in before her next class started.

"So what was that all about?" Nyx jumped several inches off the ground before stumbling back into the wall, she turned to see a large mess of blonde hair and shining violet eyes. The only thing she managed to catch was that large smirk she had on her face, she couldn't hear anything over her heart beating wildly in her chest, she didn't even know how she managed to get scared after telling Rodric that RWBY's dorm was right down the hall. Taking several deep breaths she eventually managed to calm down her frantic heart beats, she didn't know what Yang had said after scaring the crap out of her.

"What?"

Yang jerked her thumb towards the dorm Rodric walked into, "That back there with you two. To the untrained eye it might not have looked like much, but to me it looked like something was clearly going on, so what was it?"The smile on Yang's face left her speechless, but she was sure that with her cheeks burning up Yang didn't need her to say anything, "Oh, I was right huh?" She gave a light laugh before pushing away from her door and moving over to Nyx throwing her arm over her shoulder as she pulled her close, "So tell me, how long have you two been a secret thing, I promise I won't tell anyone."

Nyx wasn't sure if her cheeks could get any redder, she pushed against Yang but it didn't deter her from keeping her grip on her, "Yeah right, like I would trust you with information like that." She quickly bit her tongue when she realized exactly what that would sound like to Yang, she pushed against Yang once again trying to free herself while trying to make sure she was clear in what she meant. "N-Not that anything is going on between us, w-we were just talking that's it." Yang gave a curious hum but said nothing else, which left Nyx to struggle against her hold, she wasn't even trying to hold on to her which just made it worse since she was still having trouble breaking her hold. "Yang will you let me-" She yelped softly before finally stumbling from her grip, she turned to glare at Yang as she covered the ears on her head, she couldn't help but pout slightly, "You know I don't like it when you blow on my ears..."

"Sorry, I couldn't help it, they were right there and-"

"That's cause you wouldn't let me go."

"I wasn't holding on that hard." Nyx huffed and turned away as she rubbed her ears slowly, Yang turned to look at the room that Rodric had walked into. She would be lying if she said she wasn't curious, the last thing he had told them was that he was leaving their team, she had imagined that meant he was leaving Beacon, but when she saw him in class the next day she was confused. She was even more confused when she saw the way he would look at them for the days that followed, and then when he suddenly stopped coming she had assumed he finally decided to leave Beacon. Now she was even more confused seeing Nyx talking with Rodric, it made her wonder what exactly was going on with him more than ever, but she wasn't about to just ask him, not after everything he did. "So uh, what were you two talking about?"

Nyx turned back to Yang as she slowly lowered her hands now that she felt that her ears were safe, though that was subject to change since she was still so close to Yang. "Well...nothing really, I mostly talked and told him about some stuff that was going on in class. He just kinda listened, but it looked like something was on his mind, like he wanted to say something but couldn't." Nyx frowned a little when she thought of the way he had looked earlier, "I never seen him like that, you know, it looked like something was really bothering him, I wish he would have-" A loud ringing caused her ears to twitch as she looked around, "Oh, sorry." She fished out her scroll and opened it as she read the message she had just received, "Man...sorry I have to go Rayvn wants me back at the dorm." She sighed heavily, a bit upset that her plans to sleep were now ruined, either way she waved goodbye to Yang before slowly making her way to her dorm.

Yang waved to Nyx as she walked back towards her dorm, she slowly lowered her hand before turning back towards the dorm that Rodric had entered, she didn't get what was going on with him, but something didn't sit right with her. Mostly it was the fact that he was still here even after ditching classes for a week, had it been her that did something like that she would have been in so much trouble, yet Rodric was walking around the school like nothing was wrong. She didn't understand why the other teachers or Ozpin for that matter were giving Rodric a pass, when she knew for a fact that Professor Goodwitch didn't like that Rodric was bailing out on her classes. She saw the face that she would make when she would call on Rodric only to remember that he wasn't there, but she would always just continue on as if nothing happened. Whatever this was she didn't like it, she didn't know what he was planning with skipping so much class but it was going to eventually come back and bite him, sooner or later the teachers were going to get fed up and he was either going to get in big trouble or get kicked out of Beacon. Shaking her head she sighed heavily, "I need to relax..." She turned back to her own dorm and pulled the door open, she just needed to grab a couple of things then she would head to the gym to burn off some energy.

* * *

Rodric ran his fingers through his hair as he stood in the middle of his room, after his brief interaction with Nyx he suddenly found himself at a loss of what to do. He hadn't wanted to follow her around for much longer, more so he wouldn't have to see certain people he rather keep a distance from, but now that he was back in his room, he didn't know what to do. He turned his attention to the books that lay scattered across the room, some of them lay atop the bookshelf he had taken them from and others either rested on the nightstand or just strewn across the floor. He had lost interest in each book one after another when they failed to keep his attention, the words would start to blur together and he wouldn't be able to remember what he read, several books he started but never finished before simply giving up on them. There was a small television resting on a table in the corner of his room that was slowly gathering dust from not being used, he watched it once and then never turned it on again, the things he had saw on that device made him feel dumber after he finally turned it off. He sighed heavily as he looked around the room for something to keep his attention until sleep eventually took him, but he knew there was nothing that was going to keep his mind from wandering, and that was the one thing he needed to remain occupied. Sighing heavily he looked down towards his arms, he clenched his fists watching the muscles beneath the skin contract, that was it, if he couldn't keep his mind occupied then he would wear himself out so that he would sleep regardless of what his mind wanted.

Nodding to himself he glanced towards the clock to check the time, classes would begin again soon, meaning the gym would be unoccupied...at least for the most part. He would train and wear himself out until he could hardly stand, then when he returned he would be able to sleep, although it remained to be seen whether or not the sleep would be peaceful. Shaking his head he turned back towards the door before pulling it open and stepping into the hallway, as he pulled his door closed he heard another door closing from down the hall, when he turned his attention to the sound it was hard to tell what door it had been. Shrugging slightly he turned and proceeded down the hall towards the gym, he tried to think about what he could do to wear himself out, but he had done everything within the last few days. The treadmills of course tired him out, but with how much he had been using them it took much too long before they could begin to tire him out. Any of the weights failed to serve their purpose, after the events of that night he noticed that his strength had steadily increased over the following days, each day the weights would get lighter and lighter despite the amount he lifted. When he started to have crowds of students gathering around him as lifted hundreds of pounds worth of weight he stopped attempting them, there was no point if they only continued to grow lighter. There was always students willing to spar with him, but then again with how much his strength had increased he didn't wish to unintentionally hurt one of them, he still hadn't completely grasped control over his new found abilities and didn't wish to face anyone until he was sure he wouldn't hurt them. He sighed heavily as the gym began to sound more and more like a bad idea, but as he stood at the double doors, he saw no point in turning around and returning to his room, pushing the doors open he was surprised when he saw that the gym was nearly empty.

"Strange..." While he was surprised he did feel a bit relieved that he would be able to have the gym to himself for awhile, it was quite the rare treat. He walked through the doors leaving them to swing shut behind him as he looked around the gym, his eyes passed over a door off to the side before he was forced to do a double take. He had always noticed that door when he visited the gym, but it was usually locked, now however it was propped wide open, _curious. _Seeing as there was no one else around he shrugged to himself and moved over to the door, there was no noise coming from the open door which begged the question as to why it was open if there wasn't even anyone in there. From the threshold he could see small mountain of wires spread across the floor all moving towards the opposite end of the room that he couldn't see from the door, giving a curious hum he cross through the door and moved around the small corner as he entered a rather large room. While it wasn't as large as the gym itself it was at least large enough to hold at least an entire class's worth of students comfortable while leaving plenty of room to move around. There weren't any windows in the room leaving the only source of light to come from the lights in the ceiling, but his attention was drawn to the large device that lay in the center of the room. It was large rectangular platform that took up rest of the back half of the room, it was covered in white plating surround the bottom portion of the platform, from where he was he could see that the top of the platform was covered in small square sections. Each corner had large posts that curved over the platform near the top, they were covered in the white plating as well except for several spots along the inside of the posts that were covered in a smooth black material that almost seemed like glass. As he looked over the platform he noticed that the mess of wires he had seen ran towards the platform and disappeared behind it, though a large portion of them split off to a large console that sat against the wall near the large platform. Although it had been quite awhile the console reminded him of the one Glynda had used during his test when he had first arrived here, curiosity gnawed at him as he cautiously approached the device. As he stood in front of the console he looked at all the buttons and switches and knobs that covered it, he had no idea what any of them did, his curiosity still plagued him as he managed to find the button that resembled the power icon that was on his scroll.

As he pressed it the console came to life in a bright light as all the buttons began to glow as several small screens flickered to life, as the did that a loud humming noise caused him to turn around. The large platform was brought to life as well, a bright light shined through the spaces of the sectioned floor atop the platform, small beams of light shone through the black glass along the posts before vanishing. The lights still continued to shine through the spaces and almost seemed to pulsate, he turned back towards the console and looked it over trying to understand how it worked. _Voice control, _he flipped the switch on but nothing happened, frowning slightly he continued to look over the console attempting to figure it out. He soon found a dial labeled weapons, he turned the dial watching the names of different variety of weapons appear on the screen, _sword and shield, _he hesitated slightly before nodding and leaving it on that one, he turned towards the platform but saw that nothing had changed. Huffing in frustration he turned back towards the console and looked it over making sure he read all the labels so that he wasn't missing anything, as he carefully looked over he noticed another series of labels that fell under another label stating 'combat practice.' A small smirk appeared on his face as he nodded to himself, there were different switches for different varieties of combat it seemed from the use of Dust and ranged combat to simple close quarters combat. He flipped the switch for close quarters as he turned back towards the platform in anticipation, only...nothing happened. A growl rumbled in his chest as he turned back towards the console, "How do you work this damned thing?" he ran his eyes once again over the console before finding another label, 'projections', he arched a brow at the only two buttons beneath the label. _Hologram or Hard light_, he didn't understand the difference between the two and simply shrugged as he pushed the button labeled hard light, within a moment of pressing the button the machine behind him began to hum loudly.

He turned once it began to hum and saw the beams of light once again come from the behind the black glass, only this time they didn't simply disappear, they instead began to quickly jump back and forth across the floor of the machine. Rodric moved away from the console and stood in front of the machine as he watched the lights move quickly along the floor, and that's when he realized that they weren't simply moving, they seemed to be building something. He watched as the lights slowly moved up from the ground leaving their construct in their place, within moments a young faceless man stood on the machine before Rodric, he tilted his head curiously as he looked at the man that was bathed in the green light that began to shine between the spaces of the floor. However the man simply stood there facing forward, Rodric wondered why the projection had yet to move, frowning once again Rodric looked down to see steps up to the platform that had blended in with the rest of the machine. He looked up towards the man that remained motionless on the platform, sighing heavily Rodric rolled his neck and started up the steps, the moment his foot pressed down onto floor the lights beneath his feet began to shine brighter. Once both feet were on the platform the light beneath him shone even brighter as the beams of light shot forth from the the metal posts and quickly flitted over him before vanishing once again. He turned to the faceless man only to see that he now possessed a sword and shield, _just like the console said, _only it remained motionless. Sighing in annoyance Rodric moved towards the faceless figure and looked it over, it shone just like the lights beneath him but it seemed to be solid, he pressed his fingers against the shield and felt as his fingers pressed against the curve of it. It was real enough for combat training though there was still one problem, "How am I suppose to start this-" Rodric leaned back as the figure suddenly turned and swung its sword up towards his neck. Having barely ducked out of the way Rodric jumped back away from the figure as he watched it fix its stance raising it's shield with its sword at the ready.

"Okay..." Rodric frowned at the faceless figure before him, it had caught him off guard by its sudden attack, and if that sword was as real as that shield seemed to be, he would rather not get caught off guard again. He clenched his fists as the muscles in his arms began to tighten, since the figure wasn't human he knew he wouldn't need to hold back as he normally would. A smirk crossed his face as the projection rushed towards him, he pulled his arm back but was forced to jump back once again as the figure swung the sword towards his stomach. A growl rumbled in his chest but the smirk never left his face as he continued to jump back and away from the figures attacks, trying to get a sense of its rhythm, but the figure seemed to know his game as it continued to rush towards him giving him little to no time to analyze it. As the figure rushed towards him once again he watched as it raised its arm to attack once again, and that's when he made his move, as the projection brought its arm down for a strike he threw his own arm forward grabbing hold of the figures as he spun on his heel and used the figures own momentum to throw him over his shoulder and into the ground. Tightening his grip on the figures arm he pulled his own back and threw his fist forward, the figure brought its shield up, but it was no help as his fist collided with the shield punching clean through it and shattering the projection. He could imagine the look of shock and surprise that would have crossed the figures face, had it had one to begin with, he could feel it struggling against him as he pulled his arm back once again before bringing it down on the projection and shattering it with a single strike. Rodric stood as the remains of the light based figure flickered away, "That was interesting...I would love to do that again if I..." once again his words faded away as the machine began to come to life humming loudly as the lights shot forth from the posts once again. He turned to where they all met and was slightly surprised to see another figure being constructed by the lights, his smile quickly returned as the figure turned towards him once it was completed, and raised its shield and readied its weapon. "Wonderful," the figure rushed towards him as he ducked back barely dodging the swipe of its sword, as the figure stumbled forward he pulled his arm back and threw it forward full force. Only this time the figure quickly gained its footing and thrust its shield forward meeting his fist only for it to knock it away and thrust its sword forward, his eyes widened in surprise as he threw his hand forward and wrapped his hand around the blade. He winced as the edges sliced into his skin causing blood to spill around the shining blade, gritting his teeth he pulled the sword from the figures grip and just as quickly turned the blade and thrust it through the figures chest. He watched as it stumbled back before collapsing to the ground and flickering away, frowning slightly he looked down at his hand just as the wound began to close, "Interesting."

* * *

"Again." Even as the constructs rushed him at the same time he managed to power through them lifting one of them by their throat before slamming it into the ground shattering the figure as he turned to the remaining too. His breathing was ragged as his eyes jumped between the two remaining constructs, after fighting off the single figure a few more times he had stepped from the machine and, with some luck, had managed to find a way to increase their numbers. He started with two, but once that grew easy he went to three, what he failed to notice the first two times he fought these constructs was that it was getting difficult to destroy them as time passed. The longer he took to destroy them, the next three would take longer, and the next even longer, he was either getting sloppy as time went on, or these figures were learning and adapting. As the two figures rushed towards him he lept back and pulled his arm back ready to strike at the closest, but the second figure pushed forward and slammed its shield into his stomach forcing him to stumble back. As he lost his balance the other figure rushed from around the first closing the distance as it thrust its sword forward, gritting his teeth he stumbled back before managing to find his footing, as the sword closed in on his chest he quickly spun on his heel and grabbed the figures arm pulling it forward. He dragged the figure with him as he quickly turned and forced the figure to impale the other on its sword, he ripped the sword from the figures chest as it collapsed and jerked the other forward snatching the sword from its hands, as it stumbled forward he kicked its legs from beneath him and drove the sword into its back as it fell to the ground. The two figures flickered before disappearing, he stood up breathing heavily as he wiped the sweat from his brow, no matter the difficulty he couldn't help but admit that he was enjoying himself. With all the blood he spilled and all the wounds he had received he couldn't help but feel fortunate that he had managed to find such an amazing machine.

"Look at you, thinking you're all cool and junk." Instantly the smile faded from his face, he turned towards the voice and locked eyes with the violet eyes that looked into his. The smile plastered on her face only grew wider, the normally messy mane of golden hair was tied back into an equally messy ponytail. "So this is where you've been wandering off to huh?" A low growl rumbled in his chest as he turned away from her, he clenched his fists as he quickly shook his head trying to ignore her presence.

"Again." Yang's smile vanished when he turned away from her trying to ignore her, she crossed her arms as she watched three figures made of green light appear before Rodric. She shifted her weight as she watched as Rodric went against the three glowing figures, several times he should have been stuck by their swords and several times he was struck judging by the blood that would splatter against the floor. Yet even after getting hit he would keep going, ignoring his pain and using it to his advantage, she watched as he forced the arm of one of the figures back to drive the blade into its own chest, the figure collapsed to the ground flickering slightly before fading away, she turned her attention back to the two remaining constructs watching as they strafed around Rodric, when they met one would always be behind the other before circling around him again. She watched as one of the figures rushed towards Rodric with its shield acting as a battering ram, her eyes widened slightly when Rodric dropped down to his knees as the figure rushed towards him, only to quickly stand up again throwing the figure across the floor the the far end of the floor. She couldn't help the smile the grew across her face, despite it being Rodric she couldn't help but admit to herself that this was pretty interesting to watch. Movement caught her eye, she turned towards it to see the other figure rushing towards him, sword pointed towards his back, she opened her mouth as he voice caught in her throat. She gave a soft gasp as Rodric quickly turned to face the figure grabbing the sword in his hand as his blood once again spilled on the floor, his other hand held tightly to the figures throat. With some effort she watched as he forced the figure to turn the blade on himself, while it was completely made of light she couldn't help but imagine the blade being forced through flesh and bone, imagining the blood running down the front of the figures body. She shook her head as Rodric pulled the blade from the figure and dropping its body as he quickly turned and threw the sword behind him, she quickly turned her head just in time to see the blade pierce through the final figures chest.

Yang let out a breath she hadn't even realized she had been holding, "Wow that was..." _crazy, awesome, bad ass, intense, _"...interesting." It hadn't been the word she would have used to describe what she had just seen, but considering it was still Rodric she was talking too, she wasn't about to admit a thing to him. "So this is what you've been doing, training?" He turned towards her a fierce look in his eyes before he turned away from her again and rolled his shoulders.

"Again." Yang crossed her arms as she gripped her arm tightly, once again she watched as the figures of light appear before Rodric, but rather than waiting for the figures to move Rodric rushed towards the one standing directly in front of him. Before the figure could even raise it's shield Rodric swung his fist towards its head, as the blow connected with the figure it completely shattered the figure tossing the pieces of light across the floor. She watched as the fragments of the figure flickered before vanishing, she looked back up towards Rodric as he turned towards the two remaining figures, they kept their shields raised in case he attempted to rush them. As she watched Rodric open his mouth, she knew that wasn't what he planned on doing, a stream of white flames rushed from his open mouth and slammed into the shield of the one furthest from him. He kept his focus on that single figure as it used its shield to protect itself, but while he focused on one figure the other quickly rushed towards him. With the distance between the two gone it quickly swung its sword, causing Rodric to cease his attack and duck away from the blade. The figure pressed its advantage, but as it pulled its arm back to swing its blade again, Rodric quickly rushed towards it and grabbed it by its shoulders, turning he forced the figure against the far end of the floor, pressing it against the edge of the machine seemed to force it against some invisible wall seeing as it stayed perfectly upright rather than falling off the edge. Within moments the glowing figure was obscured by the light from Rodric's flames, he was using his fire at such a close distance, she gripped her arm tighter as she watched him continue his assault for much longer than deemed necessary. When he finally moved away from the edge of the machine there was now a scorch mark on the far wall, as he turned around to face the last figure that was closest to her she could see the scales that marked his face seemed to stand out much more, their color seemed darker and they seemed to have spread a bit more across his face. She shook her head as he quickly closed the distance between him and the last construct as he attacked it as viciously as a hunter would attack a grimm, when he finished off the last construct he stood and turned towards her and simply spoke one word. "Again."

* * *

This treatment of the projections created by the machine she had stumbled upon simply continued, each instance growing more vicious until the figures could barely finish being created before Rodric fell on them like some rabid animal. Well, he was a dragon after all, she couldn't really say she was surprised by his actions, this was how they were after all. Despite the amount of effort it took to even speak to him, it didn't seem to be worth all the trouble seeing as the only word he would say after her questions would be 'again' it was like that was all he could say. Which was a surprise seeing as he had so much to say after everything that happened that night, the way he spoke to her and threatened her and now he was just acting like nothing happened. She even brought up Nyx at one point and the only thing he did was look at her with that all too familiar death glare, and despite herself she didn't say anything after that, she knew too well how he acted when she failed to ignore his warning. She ran her fingers across her neck, while the bruise he had given her that night had long since faded, at least enough to where a bit of makeup would hide it, the pain was burned into every nerve and muscle around her neck. That was something that wasn't going to be easily forgotten, at least for a long time, shaking her head she looked up to see another figure scatter across the floor before flickering away. Maybe she was going about this all wrong, if she wanted to get something out of him, maybe she had to talk about something he would actually be interested in. Gritting her teeth she looked up towards Rodric as the final figure shattered along the ground, "So," he glared at her over his shoulder but she ignored the murderous look, "thought you'd be interest to know that Rubes is finally going to be released. She's been dying from boredom, so she's glad to finally be out."

She watched as he had turned away from her, his shoulders fell slightly before they raised again and he growled out those words she had grown sick of hearing, "Again." This time she could feel her anger rising as those figures of light appeared once again, she could handle him ignoring her other questions, those didn't matter at all to her. She could even handle that look he gave her when she brought Nyx up, but she could not handle the fact that he ignored the news about Ruby. Aside from the fact that the two of them hung out way to much for her liking, he was the one he put her in the hospital in the first place, if he should care about anything he should care about Ruby's well being. She dug her fingers into her arm to keep them from shaking, it took everything in her to keep from running up those steps and taking a swing at him, but while she was reckless she wasn't stupid, she saw the way he was tearing those projections apart, no way she would survive that.

"So, what you don't care now?" While she could keep her head on straight, there was no way to keep the anger from lacing her words, she had been so scared for Ruby. Then to have the person who landed her in the hospital brush off any news of her, like it wasn't even a big deal, pissed her off worse than anything she could imagine.

"According to you I never cared, so what difference does it make?"

Yang bit down on her tongue to keep the vile string of curses she had ready for him contained, "The point being," her words came strained through clenched teeth as she tried her best to control her mounting anger, "that you two were practically attached at the hip and now-"

"And now we're not, it's as simple as that." He shook head head, pushing her voice from his mind as he let out a slow breath, he clenched his fists to stop his hands from shaking. "Again."

"Simple as..." The words died on her lips as she watched the figures appear before him once again, she couldn't believe what she was hearing. The two of them had been so close, close enough that it sickened and angered her, and now he was just dropping her like old news because of what he did. She grit her teeth as her body began to shake from rage, "So what, this was just some game to you?! This is how you get your kicks, just messing with some poor girl and then dropping her like yesterdays garbage after you land her in the hospital!" She moved towards the steps, her body was completely fueled by anger at this point, she didn't care what her body did so long as she did it now, "What gives you the right to-" The words were cut off as one of the figures came flying towards her causing her to gasp in surprise, she stumbled back only for the figure to shatter against the invisible barrier between her and the machine.

"Once again the most idiotic member of Team RWBY claims to know what went through my head in the moments leading up to Ruby's demise. How said idiot can possible fathom the thoughts that go through a mind that is hundreds of years older than her own, when she fails to grasps a concept as simple as a damned alarm clock, is truly astounding." He turned towards her watching as her irises slowly turned red, a growl worked its way up from his chest as he began to descend the steps towards her, "You have made it very clear, you and the rest of _your _team have made it clear that you want nothing to do with such a dangerous monster. With a monster who is so dangerous he risked much more than you could possible fathom with that waste of an organ you call a brain, to save the life of a girl. Who, need I remind you, is alive and well, and this monster had yet to receive any sort of thanks from the sister of said girl."

Yang scoffed and shook her head as she looked towards Rodric, "What, you want me to-"

"I want you to tell me exactly what the hell it is you want from me Yang." He stood at the bottom of the steps a scarce few inches away from Yang as he glared at her, "You are the only one who has made it so clear you wish I had died in Ruby's stead, you are the only one who hates me with such a burning passion for simply existing, and yet you are the one who sought me out and made the effort to speak to me. So please Yang, I am begging you, tell me exactly what it is you want from me."

Yang opened her mouth to speak but slowly closed it, she could feel herself shaking once again but this time it wasn't from anger, she opened her mouth once again but closed it as her the back of her throat began to ache. Letting out a slow sigh she looked up towards Rodric, the red all but gone from her eyes, "I wanted to see if you felt any remorse for what happened that night, you acted so cold and distance when that happened. I remember the way Ruby used to talk about you, how she acted like you were some big star who gave her the time of day. After that incident with our sparring match I felt so stupid for the way I acted towards you, and tried to look at you through Ruby's eyes, but I can see that she was wrong about you. You're nothing but a cold heartless bastard, a monster."

Rodric clenched his jaw as Yang spoke, each word cutting into his very being leaving wounds that would only fester over time, once she finished he took a moment to calm himself before finally speaking. "Are you finished?" Yang looked at him in sheer disbelief as she scoffed shaking her head, "Then there is nothing left to say." He walked passed her, he shook his head as he walked out the secluded room, there was no getting through someone like that. Anything short of getting down on his knees and begging for forgiveness would fall on deaf ears, she didn't understand, _they _never understood, even when he did something so dangerous for the sake of saving Ruby, he was still deemed a monster. _Cold, heartless..._to any human it would seem that way, and perhaps he truly was, but they would never understand his reasons for acting in such a way. He made a mistake, he got too close, she got hurt, and he was paying the price...again, the only difference was that he had actually managed to save her this time, and even then the consequences were still the same. As he reached the large double doors of the gym he heard Yang shout towards him.

"Stay away from my sister from now on!" He clenched his teeth as the large door swung shut behind him.

* * *

He slammed the door to his room as he instantly began to pace back and forth, from the door to his bed, rather than helping him calm down, his trek to the gym had only served to further agitate him. _Stupid girl, _he growled several times in an effort to stave off his ever increasing anger, but as a buzzing noise reached his ears his anger and aggitation only grew more. "What is that infernal..." His words faded as he turned towards the noise, only to see his scroll moving along his nightstand letting off a loud buzzing noise. Huffing slightly he moved over towards his nightstand and grabbed his scroll before sitting down on the bed, in those few moments all his anger quickly faded, he hesitated slightly before finally opening the scroll.

_"Good news, I'm finally getting out of this dump." _Rodric sighed heavily as he looked down at the message, it was just as Yang had said, Ruby was finally returning. Even when he should have felt joy upon reading the message, all he could feel was a heavy weight pulling on his heart, slowly he scrolled back up through the messages Ruby had sent him since the moment she had awakened. _"You alright?"_

_ "Its boring here."_

_ "The others came by, but Weiss brought school work."_

_ "Nyx brought me some chocolate, she is officially my bestest friend." _

_ "This may come as a surprise, but I actually miss going to class."_

_ "You should...come by and see me, I mean it's boring here, you could keep me company for awhile."_

_ "Is something wrong?"_

The scroll buzzed once again in his hand startling him, the messages scrolled back down to show the new message he had just received, _"Are you mad with me..." _Rodric shut the scroll after reading it, his already heavy heart fell into the pit of his stomach as he buried his head in his hands with the cold scroll pressing against his head. This was for the best, he told himself, it had become damn near a chant with how often he forced those words through his mind, but it was for the best. While the others thought he was some sort of cold hearted monster for cutting himself off from them, he knew this was simply for their protection, nothing good would come from being to close to humans, he had suffered through that lesson multiple times and yet he always found himself in this position.

He clenched the scroll tightly in his hand, hard enough that the small device began to creak and groan beneath his grasp, he clenched his teeth as his hands began to shake. _"Stay away from my sister..." _He dropped his hands from his head as he lifted his head to stare at the ceiling, he took several deep breaths, he closed his eyes and slowly tightened his grip on the scroll. A loud snapping sound filled the room, followed by two muffled thuds as the broken halves of his scroll fell to the ground.

* * *

_**Also guys give me some advice, the next chapter I had planned on writing from Ruby's perspective in the hospital, do you think I should or should I just skip to her coming back to beacon?**_

Also guest that left their view so long ago, here's my reply. Its not realistic, while I know the story itself isn't realistic I like to at least have some portions that are realistic. Rodric winning a fight, is do-able but from the way you sound, you want him to be this unstoppable badass, and that's just not how he is. Yes, Rodric is a dragon, but what is he right now...say it with me. Human, yes while he might be able to breathe fire and have scales, in all honestly at this part in the story he is an over glorified Faunus. If he takes enough damage he will die, hence why he almost died during his test, as for the other fights. Let's see, he's a dragon in a human body, from an entirely different time period, is a DRAGON and see's everyone else as children, which leads him to underestimating them. Said children are actually huntsmen who train...TRAIN to fight all kinds of monsters...you see where I'm going with this. Also if you don't know why Yang was a "total bitch" to Rodric, you either a) didn't really read the story or b) have no reading comprehension skills.

If the answer is B, let me spell it out. Rodric, older guy who suddenly appears out of no where and attacks the girls. Ruby, the youngest girl starts to hang out with said older guy, he's all she talks about, and is always spending time with him. OLDER SISTER doesn't like it that fact and in turn does not like the guy. If you've seen any tv show EVER, where there is a protective older brother/sister then you should know exactly why Yang was being a "total bitch"


	19. Discoveries

_**Heyo~ So yes, it's been a long time since i last updated and I really apologize for that reason one is that i've been distracted with Destiny, of all things (btw if anyone has a ps4 and Destiny feel free to leave your names in a message and I'll add you and we'll do stuff) and the second reason was just this chapter. Believe it or not it is very hard to write for the opposite gender especially when they are much younger than you. So I had to to write a lot of the chapter over and over until it seemed right, which I feel like it still honestly wasn't because...well just because I guess. I'll try not to make a habit of taking so long to update, oh by the way if anyone follows my deviant art I just posted some commissions awhile back feel free to check those out, and be sure to fave and review. **_

* * *

**Discoveries**

A sharp cry cut through the silence of the room, it was followed by the frantic rustling of sheets and the loud creaking of a bed. Panting heavily Ruby stared into the darkness that surrounded her, she placed a hand against her chest as a strong pain began to grow. She could feel her heart pounding against her hand, but it was nearly obscured by the throbbing pain that radiated from the dead center of her chest. As the pain only continued to grow she curled in on herself whimpering softly as she gripped tightly at her shirt, as the throbbing pain continued she could feel her eyes stinging with growing tears. Sucking in sharp breaths through clenched teeth seemed to help, slowly the pain faded away into a dull ache, taking several breaths she soon sat back up gently rubbing her chest to ease away the remaining pain. It wasn't the first time she felt this kind of pain after waking up in the hospital, but she figured that it would go away with time, she wasn't so sure that it would but she could only hope that it would. "Ruby, are you alright?" She jumped slightly at the hushed voice, opening the makeshift curtains that hung around her bed she peeked over the edge to see amber eyes looking up at her from their spot below Yang.

"Y-Yeah," When she spoke she noticed how her voice sounded strained, as if she had been crying, given what had happened she was very nearly brought to tears. Letting the curtain fall back around her she quickly cleared her throat and wiped her eyes from the unshed tears before opening the curtain again, "Yeah I'm fine. I just...had a nightmare, I'm sorry if I woke you." With the shattered moon shining through the window she could see perfectly well how Blake was frowning at her, she didn't have a doubt in her mind that Blake heard how much pain she was in moments ago, thankfully she didn't push the issue.

"Are_ sure _you're okay? Do you need anything or-"

"Really Blake, I'm fine. Despite what Yang says, I'm not some defenseless kid because of what happened, I'm fine." Again she could see the doubt on Blake's face, she obviously wanted to say something, but once again kept herself from doing so.

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure, get some sleep Blake." Blake kept eye contact with her for a moment before finally nodding and lying back in her bed, she was happy to know that her team was worried about her, except for the fact she had been back for nearly a week already. If she hadn't passed out or lost consciousness yet, there was a pretty good chance that she wouldn't, the doctors had even told them that she was one hundred percent healthy. Despite _doctors _saying that, Yang was still convinced that a strong breeze would have been enough to make her keel over, she had managed to survive a run in with a psycho ice dragon, she was sure she could take on just about anything at this point. Though she wasn't sure how much of a win she could actually count that as, considering that Narissa left her both mentally and physically scarred, if anything that would count as a win for Narissa rather than for her. The physical scar wasn't anything to bad, it was a pretty big scar in the center of her chest but if she didn't know any better she would swear she got it when she was younger from how faded it looked. It was still noticeable when she got out of the shower, and now that she thought of it, she realized just how noticeable it actually was once she would get out of a hot shower.

She gave a light sigh as she ran her fingers through her hair before quickly pulling them away and wiping them on her shirt, "Gross." She was sweating, the only time she remembered sweating this bad was during one summer in Patch when the central air for their house was busted, she remembered how much she hated that summer. Sadly this wasn't from extreme heat, this was actually the effect of the mental scarring she was suffering from. It started after her first night in the hospital, she woke up screaming her lungs out, it had been so bad several nurses had rushed in to see what was wrong. Night terrors they said, and after a traumatic experience like that she wasn't exactly surprised to find out she was having nightmares due to it. They never got better, in fact they had only seemed to get worse, each night she would wake up screaming and in tears clutching her chest as pain tore through her body. The only thing that got better was her ability to hide it, there was no way she wanted anyone let alone Yang finding out that she was having night terrors, if Yang knew...she would probably find a way to send her back home, it was either that or she would find a way to blame it on Rodric.

_Rodric, _she gave a small sigh as she pulled the curtain open once again and slowly climbed out of bed, she made sure to be careful and not step on Weiss this time. Once she reached the floor she slowly looked around to make sure she hadn't managed to wake anyone up, once she was sure she was safe she moved over to the window and carefully unlocked it before pushing it open. She closed her eyes and smiled as a gentle breeze rushed against her skin, she shivered slightly but pushed the window open further before climbing up and sitting on the windowsill with her legs hanging over the edge. It would be going on two weeks since she last saw Rodric, she didn't know what happened with him or if he was even alright, the only time she had saw him was when she only caught a glimpse of him before he left her room that night at the hospital. After that he just seemed to disappear, she had sent him a bunch of messages from her scroll while she was cooped up in there, but he never answered her back, and he never came to visit her once. She had spent a lot of time thinking while she was there, wondering if she had done something to make him mad, but she couldn't think of anything that she could have done that would have upset him. She had shot Narissa that night, was that why he was mad? No, she had saved him, she was choking him to death, she had to save him otherwise he would have died.

She wished she knew what she had did wrong, that way she could apologize to him and things could go back to the way they were, but he wasn't speaking to her and she didn't even know where he was. Yang had told her he left their team, that had been a lot to take in after having just come back from the hospital, she managed to keep it together at least until that night and she cried herself to sleep. She didn't know what that meant, did that mean he was still in Beacon and just not with them, or was he gone as in, never-coming-back-gone-forever gone. She hardly had time to look around Beacon for him herself, seeing as Weiss was practically a warden since she had missed so much school work and was starting to fall behind in her classes. Not to mention Yang had taken to babying her and wouldn't let her out of her sight for more than a few minutes at a time, she was thankful that Yang didn't try to go into the bathroom with her, or try to bathe her for that matter. It was already bad enough that she was put in the hospital over a week, she didn't need to die of embarrassment because of her overprotective sister. She had asked Nyx to keep an eye out for him, in case he showed up out of no where, like the first time they had found him, sadly she had already been back for nearly a week and Nyx had yet to give her any good news.

She gave a weary sigh as she leaned against the window frame and rested her head against the cool wood, she closed her eyes as another soft breeze blew against her, she could feel the wind against her skin but this time she could hardly feel the chill at all. This was something she had noticed during her time in the hospital, every time Blake or Nyx came to visit her they always mentioned how cold it was in her room, she had always assumed she had gotten used to it because of how long she had to stay. Now that she was back at Beacon she realized that might not have been completely accurate, she noticed that she got hot a lot easier than she used to, most times during training she could train for hours before breaking a sweat. Recently though she would train for less than an hour and have to stop to take a break, she would be so thirsty and so hot that she would actually feel lightheaded. The only other time she had ever felt like that was back in Signal when she would train everyday nonstop until she could hardly stand, now she knew that doing something like that wasn't healthy, but she couldn't understand why it was happening again. She had assumed that it was because she hadn't been able to train for nearly a week, and had it been only that she could understand, but Yang and the others had been acting...weird and were honestly starting to bug her.

She understood that they were worried for her, and she could understand that given everything that had happened, but she was fine. It was just annoying to hear Yang and the others constantly telling her to not push herself so hard, to take a break, and always forcing her to drink so much water, it felt just like being in Signal again. Except back then it was her dad that was telling her all this, and even then she could understand why, but she was in Beacon now and not some kid, she knew exactly what she was doing and she knew how to take care of herself, she just wished they would give her some space every once in awhile. Her eyes slowly opened as she looked down at the ground far below her, she knew she shouldn't be so hard on all of them, had any of them been in her position she was sure she would be treating them the same way, but she was really okay, she just wished they would see that. It was probably just the stress of them constantly babying her and not knowing what was going on with Rodric that was getting to her, she just wanted to find out what was going on with him, but she could never get a chance with school work, and the others practically following her around. Wherever he was and whatever he was doing, she could only hope he was alright, a chill crawled over her skin when a thought entered her mind, _I hope he didn't go after Narissa. _

She knew Rodric could be...difficult at times, she just hoped that with everything that had happened he didn't go on a one man crusade against the White Fang and Narissa. He was strong she knew that but going against the entire White Fang including against his sister would no doubt be a near impossible task even for him, especially if they had any more of those machines Torchwick had been inside of. It made her uncomfortable to think that he could possibly be doing something so dangerous without anyone's knowledge and without anyone's help, she quickly shook the thoughts away, she couldn't be sure that he wouldn't do something like that, she could only hope he wasn't. She frowned and began to rub her stomach, it had started to give her that weird feeling again, like her insides were squirming around, she noticed it in the hospital that her stomach tended to do that whenever she thought about Rodric. She didn't really know why, she had had only assumed it was because she was worried about him, which she was since she hadn't heard from him in nearly two weeks, and Nyx hadn't seen him at all. It had been so hard to get used to him not being around, she never really noticed how much time she actually spent with him until she wasn't there anymore. Classes seemed to drag on a lot more since she didn't have him to talk to or him to explain things too, not to mention the dorm actually seemed a lot quieter without him, despite the arguments that Weiss and Yang would get into. It was strange to say but she...actually missed Rodric arguing with the others, it had been something she had gotten used to much like how she got used to Weiss and Yang arguing, it had just become a daily thing. It was weird not being able to talk with him anymore, granted most of the time it was mostly her just talking, when he did talk to her she loved listening to the things he would tell her. Usually it was about the time he had come from and of course about dragons, of course that was usually because she would ask him about them, she loved hearing about his kind.

She frowned again when the squirming feeling started in her stomach again, she gently pushed her fingers against her stomach hoping to ease the strange feeling. Instead she quickly pulled her hand away when a sharp pain shot up her hand, hissing slightly she looked down at her hand only to see the bright red cuts that were still on her fingers. _Of course, _she lightly traced the cuts on her hands and fingers being careful not to irritate them, the bandages were no where to be found, more than likely they had fallen off and were now somewhere in her bed. She had gotten the cuts from working on everyone's weapons, while they had been a bit hesitant to let her go down to the forge to work on their weapons only having just come out of the hospital, she insisted. After being trapped in the hospital for an entire week she wanted to start being productive again, sitting in there had been torture for her, and being back in the heat of the forge was a strangely welcome feeling. The only thing she had found odd about being in the forge was that she had nearly finished off the supply of water that was stored in a small cooler down there, it was mostly for students who needed to make large repairs to their armor or to their weapons, mostly for those that took hours to finish their repairs to keep them from fainting in the heat. She had hardly noticed how much water she had actually drank until she had knocked over a small pile of plastic bottles when she reached for one of the tools she needed. When she finally noticed she decided to take it easy on the water, but only a few minutes had passed before she was back at the cooler grabbing more water, she was pretty sure the supply was gone now thanks to her. Despite that she was happy to see that her friends had their weapons back, especially Blake seeing as her weapon was much more damaged than the others, she spent a lot of extra time on Gambol Shroud, she hoped Blake liked the little modifications she added to it.

Not just hers either, both to Weiss and Yang's weapons, it wasn't anything major the modifications just allowed the transitions to be much smoother and a bit faster. Blake would definitely notice that, Yang might though she would probably have to tell her since she didn't have the eye for small details like that, but for both her and Weiss they would notice how much faster their weapons would reload, something they would both enjoy. She couldn't help but smile slightly, soon they would all be able to train as a team again, since everyone had been injured they hadn't been able to train as much as they had been able to, well aside from Yang. Even though her arm was still healing she was constantly straining it, they all warned her that she was going to end up hurting herself but she never seemed to care, both Weiss and Blake had been trying to use their arms but they didn't strain it as much as Yang did. If Yang was in pain, she never showed it, more than likely she was hiding the fact she was in pain, which wouldn't be a surprise but she was going to have to make sure she at least took it easy once in awhile. Their casts had came off a few days ago but soon they were finally going to train with their weapons and Ruby couldn't be more excited, admittedly she was probably the most excited out of the four of them. Though her smile slowly faded, _four, _in her excitement she had briefly forgot hat Rodric wouldn't be joining them, they had been training in secret for a while before Yang had interrupted them and she had actually been excited to train normally with him, but it seemed that wouldn't happen.

She frowned again when her stomach started to squirm around, shaking her head she yawned softly, she had been awake long enough and felt a bit better after having that nightmare, it was safe enough to get back to sleep. Which she needed since three of her classes had big tests that she needed to get through, it wouldn't do her grades any good if she fell asleep during them, though she doubt it could hurt them any worse at this point. Nevertheless she turned around and set her feet onto the carpet before turning and closing the window, but she left it open slightly to allow the cool breeze to flow through the room. She smiled when a small breeze flowed through her hair, she turned away from the window and slowly and carefully climbed back up to her bed, rather than closing the curtains she tied them open so she could feel the breeze. Climbing back beneath the sheets she rested her head on the pillow as a thought came to her mind, the weekend was a few days away, she would use that time to actually search for Rodric. While she was worried that she wouldn't find him anywhere in Beacon she had to stay positive, he wouldn't just leave without saying anything...except he left their team without telling her anything. She frowned a bit but shook her head, no she would search all weekend if she had to, she would find some sign of him and then...hopefully things would go back to normal. She nodded to herself before yawning again, yes she was going to find Rodric, with a smile on her face she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to take her as her stomach started to squirm again.

* * *

_Ugh..._her head hurt, the test in front of her had been much harder than the other two, and while the other two weren't easy by a long shot, this one was way harder than it should have been. The words blurred together and all the numbers and symbols it threw at her made no sense whatsoever, she turned towards Weiss who was sitting next to her only to see her hastily scribbling down her answers, _of course she knows the answers. _She turned to her other side to see Blake doing the same thing, and past her Yang lay with her head on her paper, though that fact wasn't very surprising. "Ahem." She quickly turned to the sound only to see Professor Oobleck staring at her and tapping the table in front of him, she flushed a bit and turned her eyes back to her own paper, before he thought she was cheating. She had considered it honestly, considering she didn't have a single clue what any of these questions were asking her, sighing heavily she started to color in all the holes in the questions. _If Rodric were here I bet I could copy him, _she frowned when her stomach started to squirm again, but when she thought about it he probably wouldn't let her. Either that or he would be just as confused as her, she smiled at that thought, she could imagine him just glaring at the paper, he would probably be growling too making the teacher- "Ahem." She looked up to see Oobleck pointing at the paper in front of her, she flushed slightly and nodded slightly before focusing on the words on the page, trying to make some sense of the words before her.

"Time's up." Ruby groaned loudly as Oobleck zoomed around collecting their tests, her head thumped against the desk just as the professor snatched the test from in front of her. There was no way she passed that, there were so many questions and for some reason she actually started to remember the answers...ten minutes before the test finished. She didn't even know how many answers she had managed to give before Oobleck announced the test was over, either way it was no where near enough to pass. She turned her head to look in Yang's direction...only to see that she was still asleep, she didn't understand how Yang could stand to sleep that much when she slept through the night. That much sleep couldn't be good for someone, even if that someone was Yang, though if too much sleep were actually bad then it should have caught up with Yang since she had the habit of sleeping all day almost everyday during the summer. She huffed slightly before turning back around, although as she did she noticed amber eyes looking at her, she looked up to see Blake staring down at her, she opened her mouth to say something but Blake beat her to it.

"Are you alright?" She was a bit caught off guard by the sudden question that she actually didn't know how to answer, "Is something bothering you?" _Oh, _she must have noticed how much she was worrying about the test, though how could she not be when it was a total flop.

"Oh, yeah I'm fine the test was just-"

"No its not that..." Blake placed a hand on her forehead much to Ruby's surprise, she looked up to see Blake frowning softly, "Your warm." The way she had said it was rather firm, but her voice was still laced with concern, which was followed by a snort and a few fumbled words from her now awake sister.

"W-Wha happened?"

Blake turned to look at Yang before turning to Ruby placing her hand against her cheek and again on her forehead, "Ruby's warm I think-" She was cut off when Yang pushed her against the chair to reach over and feel Ruby's forehead for herself. She frowned slightly but was more surprised when she found that she wasn't as annoyed as she should have been, "I was saying I think she might have a bit of a fever."

"Yeah I feel that..." She continued to press her hand against Ruby's face even as her sister swatted at her and started to lean away from her and in the process leaned back into a not so pleased Weiss. "Ruby I'm just trying to-"

"I'm fine." Ruby said as she protected her forehead from her sisters hands, "I feel fine, I'm not sick or anything the test was just really hard. That's all, honestly." She had thought about telling her about the weird thing her stomach had been doing lately, but seeing the fearful look in Yang's eyes just at the thought of a simple fever. She feared what Yang would act like at the idea that something _might _actually be wrong with her, so she kept it to herself for now, if it got any worse she would probably go to the nurse before she said anything to Yang. Before she could say anything else she felt herself being pushed forward by Weiss who gave an irritated huff.

"If your quite done using me for a pillow, class is over and I would like to not be late for my next class." Ruby was confused for a moment seeing as she didn't actually hear the bell ring, but when she looked around and saw everyone else getting up and making their way to the door, she could only assume with Yang harassing her she had missed it. She gave a nod and stood as the others followed suit, she followed behind Weiss from the desks and up the stairs and out into the hallway where they all finally spread out. She stretched her arms up above her head groaning softly, her back was sore from being slumped over staring at her test for that long. She yelped suddenly stumbling to the side only to turn and see Yang giving her a wide smile, she frowned slightly wrapping her arms around herself to protect her sides.

"Well now that were finally free, whaddya say we go hit the gym sis? I've been dying to use my weapons again since I finally got that cast off, and I'm sure my girls missed me too." Ruby instantly smiled when Yang brought up the mention of training, she had actually been itching to train too, with all the tests she had to take recently and all the other schoolwork she wanted to do something fun.

"Yeah that sounds like a great-" She stopped mid-sentence as her smile quickly faded away causing her shoulders to slump, "Wait, I can't..." This caused Yang to stop in her tracks resulting in her falling behind the group, once she shook herself from her shock she quickly caught up with them.

"Wait, you, _you_ don't want to go train?" She gave her a suspicious look as she looked her up and down, "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?"

Ruby couldn't help but smile a bit at that but shook her head, "Trust me I would love to actually train, but I can't."

"Well why not?"

Ruby sighed softly before jerking her head in Weiss' direction, "Ask Weiss." Instantly Yang twisted her head around to glare at Weiss who was staring back in sightly surprise and disbelief that she had outed her like that.

"What, her grades are abysmal, she should be focusing more on getting her grades up before she can focus on anything else."

"This is _Beacon _Weiss, training and being good in a fight is just as important as having good grades, what good will her studying all the time do if it just makes her terrible in combat."

"Please you can't be 'terrible' in combat just from missing a few training sessions."

"No, but you can miss out on some vital information-"

"Information which can easily be shared by simply speaking with her."

"That doesn't help when she doesn't know how to move in sync because she has missed so many training sessions, just because she knows the information doesn't mean she would be able to use it if her body doesn't know what to do."

"What is that even suppose to mean?"

"Muscle memory ice queen, just knowing the information won't help if her muscles don't know how to use it." Yang crossed her arms giving Weiss a victorious smirk, "Guess you don't know everything princess."

"Why you-"

"Guys!" Both of them turned to look at her though Weiss threw a nasty glance at Yang before turning to look back at her, Ruby sighed as she shook her head, "It's fine the weekend is coming up anyway, I can use that time to catch up on any training I miss, yeah?" Weiss said nothing as she turned her head forward, Yang huffed in annoyance and mumbled out a low 'yeah'. Ruby smiled a bit to herself, happy that she managed to diffuse a possibly really bad argument, she knew how much Weiss didn't like to be reminded that she didn't in fact know everything, and she always knew how much her sister liked to mess with people when that is probably not the best idea. She was pulled from her thoughts when Yang suddenly wrapped an arm around her neck and leaned in close to whisper to her.

"We'll still squeeze in some training before dinner alright?" Ruby couldn't help but laugh softly and nod, with that Yang gave her a wide smile and released her, but not before she roughly rubbed her head and messing up her hair. Groaning in annoyance Ruby tried to fix her hair as she said bye to the rest of the group and going down a separate hallway towards the library where her 'important' studying awaited.

* * *

Groaning loudly she let her head fall into the open book that lay before her, she took a deep breath getting a large whiff of aged paper and ink before she slowly pushed herself up. Weiss should have known that she would never have been able to study on her own, she hated it, but then again this was probably better than having Weiss standing over her and forcing her to read in a half asleep state. Though she wasn't falling asleep, mostly because she had begun people watching, she would sit with her head laid on the book watching the different human and faunus students walking through the shelves or sitting at the computer terminals. It was just so boring, sitting and trying to read about things she honestly didn't care about, had Rodric been here it might have been a little fun. Her stomach started to squirm around again causing her to groan and wrap her arms around her stomach and return to burying her face in her book.

"Hey little red you doing alright?" She instantly sat up at the sound of her nickname, only one person ever called her that, she turned with a smile on her face to see both Victoria and Rayvn walking towards her. She never understood why Victoria started to call her after the character from a story, she could kind of see the resemblance from the red hood but other than that...only Victoria knew. She turned her eye to Rayvn and instantly noticed something different about her, her normally loose hair was tied into a long braid and pulled around her shoulder.

"Wow, you look really pretty Rayvn." Right away Rayvn began blushing as she looked away and adjusted the glasses on her face.

"R-Really? Victoria talked me into it and I wasn't so sure..."

"See, I knew you would _look _good I got an _eye _for things like this." Ruby gave a nervous chuckle as she looked to Rayvn who was rolling her eyes, and then to Victoria who was just smiling.

"Victoria..."

"What?"

"You're doing it again."

"Oh that, I just don't _see _what the big deal is, I've learned to _look _past it so its-" Victoria gave a soft 'oomph' when Rayvn elbowed her in the side, Ruby had to bite her lip to actually keep from laughing at that, "Hey what was that for?" Victoria turned to Rayvn as she gently rubbed her side. Rayvn instead rolled her eyes as she sighed heavily.

"You know exactly what that was for, you might be okay with joking about something like that, but most people aren't. Not to mention you're making Ruby uncomfortable..." She reached up and pinched Victoria's cheek a bit roughly causing the other to groan in pain, "...plus you said you would stop doing that, because it's gotten old." She gave a gentle tug on her cheek before letting her got, and just to show there was no hard feelings she placed a soft kiss on the spot she had treated so roughly. Rather than complain Victoria sighed and rubbed the back of her head as she shifted on her feet slightly.

"Alright, I'll stop, for real this time. Its just a hard habit to break since I never really got to joke about it, back in Signal everyone was always afraid to say anything about it, but since I came here I feel more...I don't know at ease about it. Plus Yang has made some pretty original jokes about it so..."

Ruby's face fell instantly as Yang and joking about blindness were together in the same sentence, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry Victoria I apologize for anything my sister has said I can't believe she would ever do something like-"

"Hey, chill out little red it's fine, the things she says are more stupid than hurtful. Like...so stupid they're funny, you don't have to worry about it." She reached over and gave a gentle pat on Ruby's head even though it seemed to do little to calm the younger girl.

"Still I just...I thought you didn't like people talking about your...you know?"

"I don't care if they talk about me being blind, its just talk after all. It's when they start to think I'm weak for being blind is when I have a problem with it, and that's when I start punching faces and-"

"Yes yes, we know you're very strong." Rayvn reached out and began to gently pet Victoria's head, almost instantly Victoria seemed to calm down a small shudder running through her body as she huffed slightly turning her head away as a blush crawled up her neck. She crossed her arms as her ears folded back allowing Rayvn to run her fingers against them, Rayvn couldn't keep the smile from her face seeing that Victoria had actually calmed down, with a smile she turned to Ruby shaking her head slightly. "Sorry...but anyway it's pretty rare to see you in here, doing some studying?"

Ruby sighed heavily before nodding, "Yeah...Weiss pretty much forced me into studying because I missed so much school." Ruby frowned and crossed her arms as she pouted, "It's not even fair, I was in the hospital they shouldn't keep grading me like that it's like against the law...or should be anyway."

"Wait..." Victoria's ears literally perked up causing them to push Rayvn's hands away, before she turned back towards Ruby, "Nyx mentioned something about you being in the hospital but never said what you were in for. Did something happen, I mean, not to sound rude, but you seem alright for the most part."

"Uh well you see..." Ruby began to chuckle nervously, she never really thought of a cover story for explaining what happened, mostly because no one outside of Nyx had honestly asked what had happened. Even Team JNPR didn't say anything but they had told her how badly it had affected Yang and decided to leave it at that, while she didn't like lying to her friends, right now it seemed a better option than actually trying to explain. _Oh yeah I was just in the hospital cause some crazy lady who was actually a dragon killed me but I was brought back to life by Rodric who is also a dragon. _Yeah she could only imagine that would go over so well, "...it was just a training accident, I kinda took a hard hit to the head, and well you know Yang. She...heh she acted like I was dying and demanded that the doctors run tests to make sure I was all good. So I guess it was kind of her fault that I missed so much school, she should be doing this for me." She tried to laugh at her own horrible joke before it slowly faded away leaving her to nervously clear her throat.

Ravyn shared a look with Victoria before turning back to Ruby, "Right..." She should have figured that Ruby wouldn't have told her the truth, then again Victoria should have known not to ask such an insensitive question, while they were both worried when they found out she was in the hospital, they should have probably realized that if it was due to something bad that Ruby wasn't about to talk about it right after coming out of the hospital. "Well I mean how are you feeling, anything hurting?"

Ruby shook her head, "I feel fine honestly, I'm...just kind of worried and-"

"Wait worried? Why are you worried?"

Ruby looked up to Victoria before looking back towards the ground sighing sadly, "I just..." She bit her lip, it wouldn't hurt to tell them what was on her mind, and if anything it would probably help a little to sort out her thoughts. "..it's just ever since I went to the hospital Rodric just...I haven't seen Rodric in nearly two weeks, I've been messaging him nearly nonstop but I never got a response. I can't even find him it's like he just disappeared..." The mere thought of Rodric vanishing sent a pang of fear and hurt through her chest, and caused her stomach to twist almost painfully as she sucked in a sharp breath. "I don't know if I did something wrong or if he's mad with me, and if he was I can't even apologize because I don't know where he is or what I did wrong I just...I miss him." She bit her tongue as her stomach began to twist up once again, a soft whimper escaped her lips as she dug her fingers into her stomach trying to ease the discomfort.

Rayvn noticed Ruby rubbing her stomach and the look on her face made her thing something was bothering her, and after just coming back from the hospital made her worry, "Ruby are you alright?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked up to see Rayvn looking at her with a worried expression, she looked down to see that she was pressing her fingers into her stomach, and in an instant she dropped her hand. "Oh that...yeah I'm fine, my stomach just starts to do this weird thing where it feels like it's twisting up whenever I start worrying about him. It doesn't hurt it just, I don't know feels really weird...I might be sick or something."

Rayvn couldn't help but bite her lip as she looked down at Ruby, she couldn't believe how innocent she was that she didn't even know what that feeling was. She might have also believed that Ruby was sick, but that was before she even admitted that she only got that feeling when she thought about Rodric. She had to keep from laughing as she looked down at her, "Ruby...I don't think you're sick..."

Ruby was a bit confused as she looked back towards Rayvn, she didn't want to believe she was sick after coming out of the hospital but if her stomach was twisting up and feeling funny it really was the only explanation whether she wanted it to be or not. "Then why do I keep feeling like that?"

_Oh god, she's too innocent I never thought there was such a thing. _Rayvn could feel her cheeks warming up as she tried to think of a way to explain this to her, surely she must have felt like this before, even if it was a fleeting moment she had to have felt it at some point. She nervously cleared he throat, this was something her sister should be talking to her about, "W-well I-I think you might actually-"

Victoria bumped her shoulder into Rayvn's effectively cutting her off and causing her to yelp slightly in surprise making a wide grin spread over her face, " You gotta figure it out yourself little red." Her smile only grew wider when Rayvn nudged her shoulder trying to get her attention, she turned her head and whispered into her ear, "Come on it'll be more fun for her to figure it out herself, yeah?" Rayvn didn't say anything for a while but she could see that Rayvn was really contemplating it, eventually she gave a loud sigh and a firm nod. Chuckling slightly she pressed a quick kiss to Rayvn's cheek before turning back to Ruby, "Anyway we gotta bail little red, good luck with your studying and hopefully you can figure things out." Without waiting for much of a response Victoria threw her arm around Rayvn's shoulder and quickly turned and walked towards the exit.

"O-Oh okay..." Ruby could only watch as Victoria quickly left with a very red faced Rayvn, she frowned slightly as she watched them walk through the double doors, "What was she talking about..." She could only shake her head before turning back towards her still open book, but if she was having trouble concentrating before there was no way she was going to be able to concentrate now. She wondered what Rayvn was trying to explain and why Victoria had meant when she told her to 'figure it out herself,' there wasn't much to figure out, she was sick. At least she thought she was sick, she would have to be sick for her stomach to keep squirming like that, or worried which she was. She had been worried for Rodric since she was in the hospital and had only gotten more worried since she was back here, and once again her stomach started to squirm as she groaned loudly before dropping her head back into her book.

* * *

She couldn't take it anymore, ten minuets before the bell ran she had broken down and just went to the nurse to figure out what was wrong with her. Without giving to much detail she gave a basic explanation of what she was feeling and when it would happen, and for whatever reason the nurse gave her this amused smile. The whole time she was checking her over and taking her temperature and pressing down on her stomach she still had the smile on her face. By the time the bell for the end of class rang the nurse finally said that she couldn't find anything wrong with her, with a huff she reluctantly left all the while the nurse just kept smiling at her.

As she walked out of the infirmary she felt her scroll buzzing, fishing it out she quickly opened it and saw that it was Yang, despite knowing that it wouldn't be Rodric she felt disappointed all the while her stomach twisted up, that feeling was starting to get old fast. _"Still up for that practice?" _Instantly the smile returned to her face as she quickly sent back a reply and rushed towards the locker rooms, if there was anything that could get her mind off of whatever it was that was going on with her, she knew some combat practice with her sister would be it. They would only be able to practice for maybe a few hours tops before they had to get to dinner, but that was enough to get her mind off everything else, including her terrible attempt at studying. Shaking her head she used her semblance to rush through the crowd of students that had just left their classes, more than once she had nearly ran into some of them causing them to cry in surprise or curse. She should have probably slowed down after nearly crashing into someone more than once, it had crossed her mind after each near miss but she hadn't run into anyone yet. Only when ginger colored hair suddenly jumped in front of her leaving no time to change course, did she realize she probably should have slowed down. The air was completely knocked from her lungs as she hit the ground skidding along it before finally coming to a stop, she wrapped her arms around her stomach as she coughed violently trying to remember how to breathe.

A soft groan caused her to look towards the heap that lay next to her, "Ugh...where's the fire Ruby?" Nora placed a hand on her head groaning softly from how hard she hit the floor, while she was as used to rough treatment as Yang was, she at least liked to see it coming. She slowly sit up as a slight moment of lightheaded sensation passed over her, she sat there for a moment letting the feeling pass before looking up to see Ruby looking down at her with a more than mortified expression.

"Oh man I'm so sorry Nora I knew I shouldn't have been running through the halls like that but I really wanted to get to the gym to meet Yang so we could train I am so so sorry I ran into you like that I'm really-"

"Hey don't worry about it, it's not like you hurt me or anything." She flashed Ruby a large smile before holding her hand out for her, Ruby instantly took it and pulled her up from the floor. "Anyway it was nice _running into you_..." She lightly jabbed Ruby in the shoulder laughing at her own joke, "...but it sounds like we both got stuff to do, Ren wanted me to meet with him after class for...something or other, so I'll catch you later Ruby." She gave a quick pat on the head to Ruby before turning and skipping down the hall, Ruby could only watch as Nora disappeared into the crowd, she shook her head before making her way towards the locker room, albeit at a much slower pace. Only to be surprised that she wasn't that far from it, it made her feel bad for running into Nora like that whens he wasn't even that much farther from it, she was going to have to find a way to apoligize to her, even if Nora did kind of brush it off. Sighing softly she pushed the door to the locker rooms open to see that it was mostly empty save for a few students that were putting away their equipment. Giving a light hum she peeked around one of the corners looking for a sign of her sister, that messy hair was hard to miss anywhere, she was just about to turn around when someone pinched her side causing her to squeal in surprise. She quickly slapped a hand over her mouth and whirl around only to see her sister looking at her with a surprised look on her face.

"I didn't know you still did that..."

"Only when you surprise me like that!" Ruby's face was as red as her cloak as she glared at her sister, "You know I hate when you do that." As she glared at Yang she noticed that she wasn't in her normal combat gear, she was instead wearing her orange sports bra and a pair of shorts, "How long have you been here?"

"Hm?" Yang looked down before looking back at Ruby, "Oh, no I had this under my uniform, I had planned on coming to the gym since this morning, but I got here maybe a few minutes ago." She jerked her head and moved past Ruby and moved towards her locker where she had left her weapons, ever since she had gotten them back from Ruby she could only fantasize about using them once again. Now that the cast was finally off and she had full use of her arm, there was nothing left to fantasize about, she punched in her code as the locker door swung open revealing the inside that was rather messy even for her standards. Shrugging slightly she removed her weapons from the top shelf before stepping back and making her way towards one of the benches she took a seat as she held Ember Celica in her hands. It was such a strange feeling, ever since she made Ember Celica back in Signal she had never taken them off, other than to sleep and bathe that was, any other time she had always worn them, and now here she was with them in her hands. She was also slightly nervous for some reason, she didn't understand why but she quickly shook the feeling away as she slid one of her gauntlets over her hand, the cold metal was a wonderfully familiar sensation. With a smirk on her face she quickly slid her hand through the second one and clenched her fists loving the familiar sound of the metal shifting into its gauntlet form, she raised her arms to look at her weapons, loving that they were back where they belonged. She pulled back her arm listening as the belt moved chambering the next round, before throwing her fist forward as the weapon clicked seeing as there was no ammo to feed into the chamber. With a satisfied sigh she dropped her arms and turned to see her sister pulling on her boots again, she in her normal combat clothes causing Yang to chuckle as she stood and dug through the mess of her locker looking for the ammo for her weapon.

Ruby help Crescent Rose in her hands smiling before she pulled it tightly to her chest, it felt like so long since she last used her weapon, and it kind of was a long time, at least in her mind. She ran her fingers across the red metal before shifting it out of its travel form and into its rifle form, she looked it over making sure nothing was out of place, she would hope there wasn't anything out of place seeing as it was sitting in storage for this while time. Though now that she remembered that she kind of wished she performed a bit of maintenance on her own weapon, but there had been others in much more dire need of repairs. She turned her weapon over in her hands even pulling the bolt back and letting it snap forward, she gently squeezed the trigger listening as it clicked empty. She gave a satisfied nod seeing that it seemed to be in good shape, but for sure after this she was going to have to make sure her sweetheart was in working order. Looking towards the bottom of her locker she pulled out one of the large magazines and snapped it into her weapon, one felt like enough. "You ready Yang?"

"I'm waiting on you sis." Ruby rolled her eyes before closing her locker and turning towards her sister, she followed as Yang walked ahead of her and through the doors in the gym, she looked around and noticed that there were hardly any people in here aside from a few students at the far end doing their own thing.

"So what are we going to be doing, shooting range?"

"Hm, how about something a little better?" She stopped in her tracks and looked around making sure no one was looking at them, although the only students in the gym aside from them were already occupied. She motioned for Ruby to follow as she quickly darted across the gym towards the door that she had left partially open the other day, taking one final look around she ducked into the room before turning and motioning for Ruby to hurry.

Ruby sighed heavily, "What are you doing, I thought we were going to train."

"We are training just...come on, hurry up." She motioned again for Ruby to hurry, she watched as she rolled her eyes and walked through the door, and the moment she did she closed the door behind her and locked it. It seemed that while the room looked as average as any other room it was actually soundproofed, she had discovered that little fact when she returned to this room a few days after her run in with Rodric and decided to take the machine for a test drive. Despite all the noise she _knew _she was making, once she left no one seemed to have heard her and actually surprised a few of the students when she, as they said, appeared out of no where. All she really did was add a towel to the window to keep it dark, it had seemed like not a lot of the other students knew about this thing just a few feet away from them, and Yang wanted to keep it that way since she actually had fun with this thing.

"Can you turn the light on or something Yang?"

"Oh sorry about that Rubes." Yang frowned as she placed her hands on the wall slowly moving as she tried to fumble for the light switch, once she found it though she quickly turned it on effectively blinding the both of them. Ruby whined as she rubbed her eyes trying to get them back to normal but only managing to make them worse by rubbing at them, she forced her eyes open only to feel them aching as she blinked rapidly trying to force the spots away.

"Little warning would have been great you know..." Ruby manged to mumble out between rubbing her eyes and fumbling for a wall to lean against until her vision returned. It was slow going since her eyes had almost immediately adjusted to being in the dark, and the sudden burst of blinding light probably didn't help much either. Yang was busy going on about something or other but she was more focused on her still throbbing eyes, with a few more blinks, albeit much slower blinks everything slowly came into focus. She shook her head and looked up only to jump back slightly to see Yang so close to her with a large smile on her face, "Uhm..."

"So what do you think?"

"About what exactly?" Yang rolled her eyes before gesturing towards the large machine that had been in her peripheral though that had been when she had been blinded by her sister. Now that she was actually looking at it, she wasn't exactly sure what it was suppose to be, she have never really seen anything like it especially the large metal posts that curved near the top and sat at the corners of the machine. "Oh, it looks...great," She lied, she honestly had no idea what the heck she was looking at and she knew her sister of all people could tell she was lying, "What is it?" Yang huffed in annoyance beside her and was probably no doubt glaring at her, but rather than answer her she watched as Yang moved towards a console that was pressed up against the wall near the machine. She watched as Yang fiddled with the buttons and switches as she turned her attention back to the large machine, her eyes looked over the sleek outer design of it before looking towards the platform that was divided in small sections. Whatever Yang was doing to it, she could see lights shining through the spaces between each section in the platform, she looked up and noticed a strange black mark against the far wall. It looked like a burn mark, she had to bite her tongue to keep from groaning in discomfort as her stomach twisted up, for a brief moment she got her hopes up and thought that it might have been because of Rodric, but considering that it was Yang that was showing her this place...

She sighed softly before Yang rushed past her and up to the platform, she moved to the side to get a better look at what she was doing, and she could feel her mouth opening in silent awe. Standing in front of Yang were several Beowolves being constructed entirely out of light, she heard the sharp click of Yang loading her weapons and surprisingly it seemed like the figures of light heard it too as their heads all turned towards her. Yang turned her head towards her before giving her a playful wink and turning back towards the Grimm, "Begin." The moment she spoke those words the Grimm rushed towards her, and she was almost instantaneously forced off the machine, it seemed the time she spent with the cast on had taken a toll on her. She watched as Yang ducked and dodged the strikes that the Grimm threw at her, as one of the claws passed inches from her stomach the Grimm that swung at her suddenly was thrown back creating an opening in the group. There was another sharp click as Yang reloaded her weapon, she saw the smirk growing across her face and that all to familiar look in her eye, it seemed a quick scare was all that was needed to put her back into the mindset of a fighter.

Ruby could only look on in awe and excitement as she watched Yang fight through the hoard of Grimm that continued to appear from nowhere each time Yang shouted 'again.' Her grip had tightened on her weapon as she watched the Beowolves appearing from the edge of the machine and rushing towards Yang. Each one managed to get close to her before being thrown back with a shot from her weapon or shattering from the force of her punch, she wanted to enjoy what she was watching and she did...to an extent at least. As she watched each Grimm shatter on the ground and explode into shining fragments from the rounds Yang was using, she couldn't help but think how awesome this place would be if Rodric were here with them, she knew how much he would love something like this, a place where he could just let loose and go all out. She knew how frustrated he got when he couldn't fight with anyone, even when she would offer to spar with him he was always reluctant, making up excuses and the like. He was always so...careful around her she realized, he acted the same way Yang did when it came to her getting hurt, always fussing always worrying. It was always so strange to seem him worry over her when he usually acted so cold towards everyone else, but she couldn't forget the sound of pure fear in his voice that night. It was the second time she had heard the fear in his voice, the first being when she was almost hit by the truck only to be saved by Penny. He had hugged her too, but it was different than the way Yang would hug her, the way he held on to her felt like...he was scared to let her go...

"Ruby!" She jumped slightly as she was pulled from her thoughts only to look up and see Yang looking down at her with a frown on her face and her hands on her hips, "You did not just do that."

"D-Do what?"

She scoffed as she rolled her eyes before looking back at her, "I'm up here trying my hardest to put on a show and you go and space out on me..." She turned her head away and choked back fake sobs, "...am I that boring to you?"

"W-What no, no that's not it I-I was just..." She struggled to find the words to calm her sister down but being so suddenly pulled from her thoughts and have this happen left her speechless. "...so...amazed at how well you can still fight."

"Psh," Almost right away Yang recovered turning back towards Ruby with a large grin on her face, "I'm just that amazing is all." Ruby groaned as she stepped down from the machine, "So you want to take a go at it?"

"Heck yeah!" Without waiting for her to say anything Ruby quickly rushed up the steps to stand on the platform, she looked down towards Yang to see her walking towards the console. She was bouncing on her feet as she readied her weapon, "Come on give me something good!" Yang just waved her hand as she went to work on the console pressing buttons and flipping switches, Ruby turned around and eagerly bounced, waiting to see what her first opponent would be. As the lights began to shine in front of her she couldn't help but smiling as the light began to construct her opponent, but instantly her smile faded when she saw what it was, frowning she turned to her sister. "Seriously, an Ursa, come on Yang you took on a bunch of Beowolves."

"Sorry sis, you were a lot more banged up than I was, let's start out easy first."

"Come on," She whined, "This is _too _easy, seriously I'm not going to be able to get any decent practice against an Ursa."

"Ugh fine, but only because you look cute when you're angry." Ruby groaned in annoyance before turning around and waited for whatever Yang planned on doing, when the Ursa didn't immediately disappear she started to think she had been lied to, only when another Ursa appeared beside the first did she groan out again.

"Seriously?"

"That's the best your going to get until you get better."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "Geeze you like like I'm gonna die or something." She shook her head and sighed before raising her weapon, if this was going to be the best Yang was going to do for her, then she was going to have to come back later and mess around with this thing herself. As she opened her mouth to use the words the Yang had to start the figures, they vanished, she stared at the empty space for a moment before shaking her head and turning to look at Yang with a frown. Although Yang had her back towards her and was now facing the console again, "Hey what's the big idea I was just about to-"

"About to nothing, your done." Ruby could only stare at her sisters back unsure of what to say, or what to think about her sudden change in demeanor, even as her sister turned to face her she was unsure what to think. Yang however frowned seeing that she had yet to move, "Well?" She demanded her frown only deepening, "I'm not starting the machine, you might as well get down from there." Ruby was taken aback by her sudden authoritative tone, she had never seen Yang get upset like this, especially towards her, at least not seriously, so it was difficult to process while Yang simply glared at her. Not wishing to make her any angrier Ruby gave a forced chuckle as she slowly moved down the steps.

"O-kay, are you really upset with me or is this some kind of joke, I can never tell with you."

"I'm not laughing am I?"

Ruby had to bite her tongue to keep the snarky remark from slipping past her lips, "Okay, what are you mad about Yang, I didn't do anything."

"You know what you did."

Keeping a hold on her words and controlling her mounting frustration was becoming difficult as Yang answered her in short firm sentences, she had hardly said anything since they came into this room. She didn't even know what she had did, if she was seriously mad about her spacing out when she was up on the platform then she was being ridiculous, that was the only thing she had...then it clicked. "Wait, seriously? Yang it was a joke."

"It wasn't funny."

"That's not even fair, you can't be mad at me for making a joke like that, you make jokes like that all the time." She pointed a finger accusingly at her sister before continuing, "You made a joke like that when we first met up with JNPR during our initiation, so that's totally-"

"It was different!"

"No it wasn't, when you said it during the initiation we were in a position where we could have easily died, saying that is such a lame excuse."

"...You know I don't like when you joke about it."

"Since when?! You used to make jokes like that all the time, like..." She tried to recall one of the many times Yang had joked about death, but the frustration she felt welling up inside of her mind made it difficult. "...what about that time you got that really bad fever, the one you ended up having to go to the hospital for. You were lying there with tubes coming out of your arms and what was it that you told me and dad?" Yang frowned before looking away, she knew she had gotten her but Ruby wanted to hear her say it. "What was it Yang?"

Yang sighed softly as she shook her head, "I said...I said I would be embarrassed if this is what ended up killing me, but Ruby-"

"Exactly, _you _thought it was funny, but I didn't. I had just started to get over the fact that I lost mom, and then for you to make a joke like that, I was so scared I was going to lose you."

"Ruby..."

"I seriously thought I was going to lose you Yang, I cried ever night until you finally got released from the hospital, and even then I was so scared something was going to happen to you. I didn't want to lose you too, I don't know what I would have done if I lost you..."

"Well how do you think I feel!" After her outburst Yang tried to reign in her emotions, but the dam had been broken and everything she had been bottling up since that night was finally pouring out. "Ever since I heard you got into Beacon I've been so happy for you, and so scared, this isn't like Signal. This is all real, if you get hurt here you can be seriously hurt, and I've been so scared for you because I know you can be a bit reckless and a little clumsy, but I didn't want to baby you and look what happened!" She could feel tears burning at her eyes as she quickly tried to wipe them away, only for them to quickly return. "Everything...everything I was afraid of happening, happened that night, I knew that being a huntress was dangerous but...I didn't think..." She bit her lip to keep her sobs at bay, but she wasn't exactly sure how long she would be able to keep them silent.

"But, Yang I'm fine I-"

"No you're not! I watched you die...do you understand that Ruby, I watched you, my baby sister, die in front of me." She could feel the tears running down her face as a choked sob escaped her lips, "I've never felt so helpless before, I'm the strong one, I'm your big sister...and I couldn't do a thing to protect you. I'm never going to be able to forget that, seeing you lying on the ground, cold as ice..." She paused to wiped her eyes that had grown blurry from her tears and to take a shaky break as she tried to calm down, "I'm so scared, I'm so scared this is all just some horrible dream, and that I'm just going to wake up and you're not here anymore...if that happens I couldn't-" Another choked sob broke through her lips cutting off her words, which she was thankful for, she wasn't sure if she could even finish that sentence.

Ruby wasn't sure what to say, she knew what happened, Blake had been the one to tell her since Yang had absolutely refused to recall that night. It was stupid of her to think that it hadn't affected Yang, she should have know the smiles and laughs she was putting on was just a front to hide what she was really feeling, but she had genuinely thought Yang was fine. She shook her head, she could berate herself about it later right now she had to try and cheer Yang up, she hated seeing her like this, she forced the best smile she could before speaking. "That's not going to happen, I'm really here Yang. I mean I really am fine, Blake told me that Rodric had-"

"Rodric, he's the one that did this to you!" Once again Ruby was caught off guard by her sudden mood shift, and when her stomach decided to twist violently at the way she had said Rodric's name. "If it wasn't for him and...whatever his _kind _really are, none of this would have happened to us, or to you. If we never would have met him, we would be perfectly fine.

Ruby tried to hide the discomfort she was feeling as she bit her tongue to keep from groaning in pain, "That's...sorta true..." She didn't like agreeing with Yang on that, but she was kind of right, if they hadn't met Rodric she probably wouldn't have died like that. "He saved me though, Blake told me that he was able to bring me back to life."

"Rodric _killed _you, all because he was a little-" She cut herself off and took a deep breath to steady her nerves, "all because he was too scared to do anything. _We _were the ones that fought Narissa, _we _were the ones that protected him, _we _were the ones that got injured because of him. All he did was sit there and watch while we got thrown around like a bunch of rag dolls, all he did was watch as you died in front of him. You, the person who he spent so much time with, he didn't even try to help you."

"T-That's not...I-I'm sure he..." Ruby was having a hard time finding her words when her stomach was trying itself into painful knots, the pain was flooding her mind and washing away whatever words she tried to utter. It didn't help that the room had grown increasingly hot in the last few minuets, the heat had started as a minor annoyance but was slowly becoming nearly unbearable.

"Not to mention, when we got back to Beacon after making sure you were okay, he turns around and leaves, all he told us was that he was leaving and that was it." She wasn't about to tell Ruby that she had run into Rodric, not after everything she had told her, at this point it would just be better if she forgot about him. "I saw the way you looked when I told you he had left, he didn't even bother to tell you that did he?"

"Well-"

"Did he even bother to check up on you in the hospital?"

"No, but-"

"Has he even tried to speak to you once?"

"He probably-"

"Of course not." By now Ruby had balled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palm to relieve some of the pain she was feeling in her stomach, and to try and keep herself focused. The heat had only grown more and was starting to affect her, she could feel sweat dripping down her neck and her vision was starting to blur slightly, when they did she would dig her nails into her hand and they would focus again. It was hard to focus on what Yang was saying with how she was feeling, but she at least got the gist of it, she blames Rodric for everything that happened. She could understand where she was coming from, but she was wrong, Rodric tried to help them he just...he couldn't. "He claims to be a 'dragon' I never heard of a dragon acting the way he does, in the stories they're always so dangerous and fierce, hell he was the complete opposite. Zwei has more bite than he does, and Zwei is a teddy bear."

"He...he didn't...he said he..." Yang didn't hear what Rodric had told his sister, that he would die for them, she saw the look in his eye when he boldly accepted his own death. There was no fear in his eyes, the only fear she had seen was when Narissa turned on her and killed her it seemed, if only she could explain that to Yang, but she could hardly think with how unbearably hot it was. If she could only explain to her what Rodric had said that night, what he had told her when she had woke up for that brief moment, and the way he had been so worried when she almost got hit by that truck. If she could explain that to Yang, then she would see he wasn't as horrible as she was making him out, but her mouth was so dry and she was so thirsty it was nearly impossible to form a complete sentence. "Rodric...he isn't...he was just..."

"Ruby?" Yang saw the slightly glazed look in her sisters eye and worry instantly filled her chest as she closed the distance between them and placed her hand on Ruby's head only to quickly pull it away hissing slightly. "Oh my god, Ruby you're burning up." She ran her fingers through her sisters hair only to feel that it was damn with sweat, how long had she been like this?

"I'm...I'm fine I'm just-"

"Ruby!" That was the last thing she managed to hear before everything went black around her.

* * *

"_I'll protect you." _

_ Rodric, _slowly her eyes fluttered open before shutting again as light flooded through her barely opened eyes, she groaned softly and rubbed her eyes before trying to open them again. She looked around and could only groan out once again when she noticed the white walls surrounding her, she begun to fear that she was still back in the hospital and everything that happened in the last week was some fever induced delusion. That was until the faunus nurse from Beacon walked into her line of sight, before she could say anything the nurse pushed a thermometer between her lips. She looked up at the nurse as she placed a hand on her head, then on her cheeks before finally pulling the thermometer from her mouth. She gave a light hum as her face twisted in confusion before turning to someone off to the side and speaking to them.

"Well, it's not a fever." The nurse turned back to Ruby and pressed her finger against her forehead making Ruby squeak in slightly surprise, "It seems more like heat exhaustion to me, I would suggest to drink plenty of water and to stay out of the heat for awhile, alright?" She poke Ruby in the head until she finally swatted her hand away and agreed to what she was saying, with a final nod the nurse turned and left the room. Ruby grumbled slightly as she sat up in the bed rubbing the spot the nurse had been poking, she hated when people did that. She turned in the direction that the nurse had turned before and saw Yang sitting on one of the empty beds staring at the ground, she couldn't tell very well but she looked angry.

"What happened?"

"You passed out that's what happened." Yang grit her teeth and dug her fingers into the sheets of the bed she was on, once again there had been nothing she could do to help Ruby aside from bringing her to the nurse. There was no doubt in her mind though, that this was Rodric's fault, after he did that weird...ritual to Ruby...this was his fault. She should have tried harder to keep them apart, she didn't know why she didn't stop them, especially after that stunt he pulled when he attacked the both of them that night he was in their dorm. Attacking her was one thing, but hurting her sister was another, but because Ruby forgave him and got so chummy with him she couldn't do a thing to him. Then Blake talked her out of her anger towards him, but now she knew she was completely justified in what she was feeling, "This is all his fault."

Once again Ruby's stomach twisted uncomfortably, she knew exactly what Yang was talking about, but rather than feel upset about her misplaced anger, she felt...angry. "What are you talking about?"

"Rodric, who else would I be talking about, this is all his fault."

"You heard the nurse Yang, how is it Rodric's fault that I got heat exhaustion."

"You weren't even doing anything Ruby! I stopped you before you even started using that machine, how could you have gotten heat exhaustion from standing there?"

"It was hot in there Yang, I just didn't-"

"Then why didn't I get affected?! I was the one that was actually moving around and working up a sweat, if that was the case why wasn't I affected by it first."

"I...it was probably-"

"Face it Ruby, this guy is no good, he didn't even go to see you when he _put _you in the hospital, he's just-"

"He didn't put me in the hospital!" Ruby was shaking trying to contain her anger, she hated listening to Yang talk about Rodric that way and she hated it even more when she was blaming him for things that weren't even his fault. "He saved my life after his crazy sister killed me!"

"He wouldn't even need to save you life if he actually tried to help!" Yang roughly ran her fingers through her hair before jumping to her feet and began to pace in front of Ruby. "If he never came around his sister would have never showed up and-"

"You don't know that."

"Yes I actually do, she didn't seem concerned whatsoever about us, she was only focused on Rodric until we _made _ourselves involved in whatever is going on between them." She sighed heavily as she shook her head, "He didn't care about us, he didn't care that we were getting hurt for him, he didn't care that you were in danger. The only time he actually tried to do anything was when she said that name, I don't remember what she said, but it was probably just some dumb girl that fell for him." A powerful ache began in her chest as Yang continued her onslaught of words directed at Rodric, but as she began to turn the conversation towards the girl Rodric cared deeply about she grew angry once again. The ache she could feel in her chest resonated with the anger and seemed to fuel it, leaving her trembling in her spot on the bed, her fingers digging into the sheets trying to release the tiniest fragment of her rising anger.

"Don't talk about her like that." Was all she managed between clenched teeth, she feared if she said anything else she would end up saying something she regretted. Talking badly about Rodric was one thing and something she could deal with, but when she started to speak of Serana in such a way, it just twisted her stomach, but not in the way it had before. While Yang didn't like to remember what happened the first night with Rodric, she did, and in perfect clarity. She remembered how strained his words were and how torn he was about showing his emotions at that point, she remembered the tears that ran down his face as he recalled being unable to help her. The pain that shown on his face in that moment had mirrored her own pain when she found out her own mother would not be returning from her mission. A mix of confusion, fear, pain, and sorrow, she shook her head to clear her mind of the memories and to shake away the tears she felt building.

Yang just waved her off, "I wouldn't believe anything he says especially about whatever 'time' he came from. That girl was probably just too stupid to know what she was getting herself into and ended up-"

"Shut up!" Surprisingly she actually did, but Ruby was left shaking, from the anger she felt and from what she had just shouted out. She had never raised her voice to Yang in anger, she had did it only once when she was annoyed with her, but that felt like so long ago. She wrapped her arms around herself as she tried to calm herself down, to keep herself from shaking violently before managing to speak again, "Just stop Yang...you don't know anything about her...and you don't know anything about Rodric."

"I..." Yang was left speechless, having her sister telling her to shut up wasn't an uncommon thing especially with how she acted with her, but that had always been in a playful and joking way...never like this. The words she had began to speak died on her lips as she looked at Ruby, unsure of what to say now, she closed her mouth and turned her eyes towards the floor. She clenched her fists as she felt her own anger beginning to rise once again, not towards Ruby, because she knew Ruby would never have said anything like this, it was because of Rodric. Whatever he had told her, she actually believed everything he said and was now sitting her defending him after everything he's done to her, and everything he's put her through. She opened her mouth to speak but stopped and slowly closed her mouth, she did this several times before finally taking a deep breath and letting it out in a single breath. "Why...why are you defending him, after everything he's done, why are you still taking his side?"

"Because..." In a single moment all the anger vanished from her body and she was left feeling cold and empty, she looked up to Yang to see hurt and confusion in her eyes. "Because..." She stopped again as she turned her eyes back to the ground, she could feel herself shaking once again but it wasn't because of anger this time, she bit her lip as tears began to sting her eyes. "Because you're wrong about him Yang." She slid off the edge of the bed and slipped her boots on, she didn't bother tying them as she only tightened the laces before tucking them inside of her boots, "You didn't hear what I heard." She murmured out, she didn't exactly want Yang to hear her when she said that but she wanted to hear herself say it, shaking her head she tapped her boots against the floor to make sure they wouldn't slip off before walking towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"Somewhere, I just...I just want to be alone right now." She didn't wait for Yang to respond before pulling the door open and stepping through as it closed behind her. She felt completely different than she did earlier when she was arguing with Yang, everything she felt had simply vanished and left her exhausted...and confused. She didn't know why Yang was giving her that look like she had done something so terrible to her, she just...she just wanted her to stop talking about Rodric like that, he didn't do anything wrong. She groaned softly as her stomach twisted up again, she felt like crying from being so fed up with her stomach doing that, she probably would once she got to where she wanted to be.

* * *

She pulled her knees up to her chest sighing heavily as she wrapped her cloak tightly around herself, she was surprised with how chilly it actually was today, thankfully she had her cloak though. She buried her face into her knees as the wind began to blow against her, she was beginning to think that coming to the roof was a bad idea, but there wasn't anywhere else she could go to be alone. If she went to the library she would end up running into Blake who, by now no doubt, knew what happened between her and Yang and didn't really want to talk about it with anyone else. Not to mention she might even run into Weiss who would then start bugging her about studying or something else boring and she wasn't exactly in the mood to listen to the princess go on about studying. She couldn't go down to the forge, with what happened in the gym she didn't want a repeat of that to occur especially with no one else being around to help her if she did pass out.

The roof was her best spot at this point, as cold and as windy as it felt today, it was better than anything else, but even so it wasn't exactly the _perfect _place to be. All the roof really did was leave her colder than she already was, and it reminded her of Rodric, reminded her when he told her his secret, when he told her about being a dragon. She couldn't help but smile at the memory, but her smile quickly faded as her stomach twisted up again and tears began to well up in her eyes, she just wanted to go back to how things used to be. She hated how everything had changed over a single week that she had been in the hospital, she hated how Yang was acting and how she was blaming Rodric for everything, and she hated how she couldn't even talk to Rodric anymore. She groaned loudly when her stomach began to twist up once again, "Stop..." she whined, knowing it wouldn't help but she couldn't deal with whatever was going on with her stomach anymore, it was bugging her not knowing why it was doing that. She groaned loudly once again when she felt her scroll buzzing softly in her pocket, she figured it was probably Yang asking where she had run off too, even though she knew very well where her "secret" hiding spot was. She couldn't help but give a slight smile, at least this showed Yang wasn't that angry with her if she was actually asking where she was rather than storming through the door to see her.

Sighing softly she pulled her scroll from her pocket and pulled it open and instantly frowned, the message wasn't from Yang, and she didn't really know how to feel about that. It had been almost an hour since she left her standing in the infirmary by herself, and seeing that she had yet to message her upset her a little. On the upside though it was actually from Nyx, _"I heard about what happened with Yang, do you want to talk about it?" _She honestly didn't want to talk about it, but if it was Nyx she would probably end up talking about something else to take her mind off of it, and right now if she had to talk to anyone she'd rather talk to her than anyone else.

_"Sure." _A simple message, but she kind of hoped Nyx would realize the kind of mood she was in with that quick message. Not even a moment later and her scroll buzzed again with her reply.

_"Where are you?" _This time Ruby smile and rolled her eyes, she knew better than most where she would be, but it was nice to see that she didn't come rushing through the door the moment she sent the last message.

_"You know where." _She pocketed her scroll and wrapped her arms around her legs sighing softly as she stared out into the Emerald Forest in the distance, she couldn't deny the view from her was strangely peaceful. As her mind began to wander she could feel the chill slowly fading away, the sound of the wind rushing across the rooftop was such a soothing sound. She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes sighing softly, now that the cold chill was gone she stretched her legs out and smiled as the wind began to sound more and more like a gentle whisper. She could feel herself starting to drift off slightly which forced her to open her eyes despite really not wanting to at that point, even though she was sitting on a hard surface and against a hard wall she felt strangely comfortable in that position. She yawned loudly before shaking her head to try and ward off the tendrils of sleep threatening to ensnare her once again.

"Well hey there sleepyhead." Ruby's head shot up towards the voice and smiled slightly when she saw Nyx peeking from around the open door, without saying anything Ruby patted the spot next to her. Nyx only smiled in return and stepped away from the door letting it shut behind her, Nyx smoothed her skirt down before sliding down against the wall to sit next to Ruby. She shivered slightly and tried to use her tail to block the chilly air as best she could, "How could you be up here, it's so cold."

Ruby looked at Nyx and the way she was practically curled up shivering slightly, she then turned to look at her outstretched legs and hands that rested in her lap, she couldn't even feel the cold air anymore. She could only shrug slightly, "Dunno, guess I just got used to it." Nyx mumbled something about her being lucky before wrapping her arms around her legs using her arm warmers to try and warm her legs up, but nothing more was said between them. Despite that it was actually nice, even though Nyx would probably have been more comfortable if they were somewhere warmer, but she could only hope that she didn't get sick because of her. She scooted closer to Nyx before throwing her cloak around her shoulders, it wouldn't help much but she could only hope that it would help a little.

"Thanks." Nyx tugged on Ruby's cloak a bit pulling it more around herself, strangely for being somewhat thin it was actually pretty warm, it was probably just because of Ruby's body heat. Either way she soaked up the warmth sighing softly, she turned her head slightly only to see Ruby staring out into the forest, she knew she was going to have to bring up what happened sooner or later, but she wasn't even sure how to approach the situation. From what Yang had told her, it sounded more like a sisterly quarrel to her, something that she shouldn't even be involved in, but Yang had asked her to try and talk to Ruby. To "calm her down" as she said, from the looks of it, she seemed pretty calm if not a little upset, but that could be explained by what had happened earlier, still... "So..."

"Nyx..."

"I'm sorry, but you did say you wanted to talk about what happened."

"Nothing happened Nyx we just...we just fought." She dropped her head and stared into her lap, she could feel Nyx shifting next to her before feeling her slip an arm around her shoulders and giving it a light squeeze.

"About what Ruby?"

"...I don't know just...stuff." She sighed softly and leaned into Nyx as she felt her resting her head on her own, as much as it made her feel like a child to be cuddled up to Nyx like this, she couldn't help but admit to herself that it was kind of comfortable. It mostly reminded her of the way she used to sit like this with Yang when they would watch movies, mainly scary movies that would give her nightmares for weeks, but it was a nice feeling. She closed her eyes before sighing again, "Just...we fought about what happened when I was in the hospital...and about Rodric." She frowned slightly as she scooted closer to Nyx, "Mostly about Rodric..."

That wasn't a big shock to Nyx, she had a feeling it had something to do with Rodric, it was kind of obvious that Yang didn't like him for whatever reason, but for the two sisters to actually have a fight about him was...odd to say the least. Especially because it was Ruby who was actually fighting about him, Ruby wasn't one to get into many arguments unless it was something she was deeply passionate about, such as weapons or hunters, so it was strange for her to argue about Rodric. She dropped her hand from Ruby's shoulder and began to gently rub her back in slow circles, "What about Rodric?"

She was rubbing her back, if she kept that up she would end up making her fall asleep, she could already feel her eyelids getting heavier by the second. She just managed to keep herself from letting out a loud yawn as she sat up a bit straighter, "Just...I never did tell you about how I ended up in the hospital, did I?"

"You were...very vague about it." Nyx frowned slightly as she moved back to look down at Ruby, "I'm not going to like this, am I?"

"Probably not..." Ruby took a deep breath before finally telling Nyx...everything, from what they had been planning to do that day all the way to how it all fell apart. She spared her in the details of how Narissa had shown up and started to torture Rodric, she could barely stand those memories herself, she wasn't going to make Nyx visualize those moments. She told her how they severely underestimated just what a dragon was capable of, she even made a guess that Rodric might have actually been holding back in most of his sparring matches considering the damage Narissa caused to them. That of course she told Nyx, about the way Narissa just brushed them all aside as if they were nothing, just tossing them around with hardly any effort involved. She tried to lighten their obvious failure by telling her about how well everyone had worked together in trying to fight Narissa off, the way Blake Weiss and Yang all seemed to be in sync together. In truth, she was mostly stalling, she was of course going to tell her about what really happened to her, but she couldn't even begin to think how she would do it. Just being blunt about it probably wouldn't be a good idea, and not telling her was out of the question, since the whole point in telling her everything was so she could know why her and Yang fought, and that meant telling her about _that_. She took a deep breath before finally saying it, and strangely enough it was a lot easier to say that she realized, she turned her eyes up towards Nyx to gauge her reaction and could see that she wanted to laugh thinking she was joking, but the longer Ruby stared at Nyx the more it began to dawn on her...she wasn't joking.

"Oh my god, are you serious?!"

"Yeah...I kinda died for awhile." She was taking it...well, well enough for someone who just realized that her friend was literally dead for at least some time. "B-But it's alright, I-I mean I'm fine, Blake told me that Rodric...he brought me back...he saved me."

"Yeah...I mean...that's good and all but..." Nyx was struggling to form any sort of coherent sentence, her thoughts were a jumbled mess of all the information that she was just given. _White Fang, other dragons, Ruby died, Rodric saved her, _it was all to much to comprehend in a single moment, she would need time and possibly a lot of it. First of all just knowing that there were possibly other dragons out there, and ones that weren't as nice as Rodric was was a bit scary to think about, it was almost hard to imagine other dragons walking around and trying to hurt people. She had been so used to the way Rodric was, that it was a bit hard to imagine others like him actively trying to hurt people, but there were, and they did. She looked back to Ruby who was now staring back out into the forest and quickly looked her over, she didn't seem to be hurt in anyway, she looked fine, but it hardly mattered. Learning that she had died put a heavy strain on her emotions, she wanted to be angry and pissed that Rodric had kept something this important from her, and she wanted to be angry that he just let this happen, the two of them were always so close she never would have thought that he would just let something like this happen to her. She struggled to keep her emotions in check, rather than let the anger overwhelm her senses she took a deep breath to calm herself, she just didn't understand how Rodric could have kept this to himself. He cared about Ruby, that much was obvious by the way the would..._used_ to hang out, she shook her head before resting her back against the wall, "Why didn't he help you?" It was at least one of the many _many _questions she wanted to ask Ruby regarding everything she had just been told, but considering it regarded her...death, it seemed to be the more important one at this point.

Ruby looked up at Nyx and opened her mouth to answer but nothing came out, she slowly closed her mouth and turned her attention back to the forest in the distance as her face slowly turned into a frown. "I...I don't know..." She had tried to think of as many reasons as she could while she was in the hospital as to why Rodric wouldn't have helped her, one of the reasons being, that it was his sister. Though the more she thought about it, it sounded less and less like a viable answer considering the way he spoke to her and how he tried to attack her, the only other answer made just as little sense to her but it seemed more likely. "I don't...I don't think he could."

"...What do you mean?"

"I mean I don't think he was able to cause," Ruby groaned loudly at her inability to explain what was on her mind, it was difficult to even think about but now that she said it out loud it made a bit of sense to her. She slid down the wall until she was laying on the cold stone of the roof and sighed softly as she looked up at the sky that was beginning to turn colors with the setting of the sun. "I don't think he could. A while back Rodric had told me all these things about dragons, the different kinds and stuff like that but there was something else he told me." Ruby frowned slightly as she tried to recall the small detail that Rodric had told her, it felt like so long ago but somehow she managed to remember that night in the forge as they talked, she sighed softly as she rested her hands on her stomach. "He told me that there are very powerful dragons that they refer to as Elder dragons, that they were very old and very powerful. From what he said they were something that normal dragons were afraid of, and his sister...she's one of them."

"Wait a minute so you mean he didn't help...because he was scared?"

"No, no I don't think that's it. Nyx you know how animals like wolves and lions have leaders for their groups right?"

"Yeah..."

"And, you know how all the others have to listen to what the leader says otherwise they get hurt...or worse?"

"Yeah, but I don't really see where you're-"

"What if it's the same with dragons?" It sounded so weird to her to even think of comparing dragons to normal animals, but from what Rodric had told her and from what she had seen that night it made more sense than anything. "I mean it sounds so weird but, that night...Narissa was telling him to do things and Rodric...he looked like he was struggling to not do them. When he would start struggling Narissa would get mad and then tell him again in a much more...I don't know demanding voice and he would." She remembered how Narissa had forced Rodric to stay on his knees to watch as she threatened them, only twice did Rodric manage to overpower her control through sheer will, but even then it hadn't been enough. She forced him to stop as he rushed her, and even forced him to stand there as she broke his arm, it had to be the only explanation. "Nyx that's why he didn't help, it wasn't because he didn't want to, I know that I could see the look in his eyes when Narissa had me, he wanted to help so badly. The reason he didn't was because he couldn't, no matter how badly he wanted to help me Narissa would never have let him, she would have ordered him not to and he would have listened. Not because he wanted to, but because he had no choice but to listen to her." She had know Yang was wrong, she just wasn't sure how she was wrong, she knew Rodric never would have let them get her, he would have never sat there and let her die. He wanted to protect them, he would have protected them, but he couldn't and it made so much sense now, and it hurt much more knowing that he was _forced _to sit there and watch her die.

"That...I mean..." Nyx was at a loss for words, she wasn't an expert on dragons and didn't know what there customs were...if they even had any, but for Ruby to explain her thoughts as she did, it made a lot of sense to say the least. She should have never let her emotions get to her, she shouldn't have never even thought to doubt Rodric, he might act strange at times and even be a little cold, but he wouldn't ever sit by and watch someone die. _Thank goodness, _but her relief was cut short as a sudden realization washed over her, she finally realized why he kept himself locked away in his room and why he had distanced himself from everyone. _Oh Rodric, _a dull ache began to form in her chest at her realization, Rodric was...punishing himself for what had happened, he must have blamed himself for Ruby's death even though she was completely fine. Though she could only imagine the pain he felt in that moment, to be forced to sit there and watch as Ruby was killed right in front of him, she bit her lip as the ache began to grow. He must have felt an incredible amount of pain having to witness something like that happening right in front of him, and then rather than talking to someone about it he bottled it up and shut himself out from everyone. Even as she practically forced him to at least speak to her, he still kept the pain he was feeling to himself and refused to speak to her about it, he had refused to speak about anything having to do with that night, he refused to even talk about team RWBY. He was forcing himself to ignore them, to ignore Ruby and to just try and move on like nothing had happened, "I can't believe it."

"I know," Ruby started, "I knew dragons were powerful but I never really imagined they could be this powerful, you know so powerful that these Elder dragon's would have so much control over the other dragons." Ruby sighed softly as she closed her eyes, she honestly didn't care about any of that, it didn't really matter to her, she was fine despite whatever Yang would say. She was happy in the knowledge that Yang had infact been wrong about Rodric, other than that though she couldn't even stay happy about it, she still didn't know where Rodric was and she doubted she would ever be happy until she could at least know where he was at. Ruby clenched her eyes as she bit her lip softly, a low groan slipping past her lips as she wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Ruby are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, just...you know."

"Actually I don't, you said that Blake told you that Rodric had brought you back to life, do you think that maybe..."

"N-No this isn't because of that, I'm fine I'm just...I'm just sick is all."

"You are?"

"Yeah, I mean...you know...maybe?"

Nyx looked down at Ruby with a confused look, not exactly following what she was saying at this point, "What do you mean?"

"I mean it's nothing serious, I've kind of been like this since I was in the hospital." She looked up to see the look of worry in Nyx's eyes before quickly continuing, "I-It's nothing serious, it's just my stomach, it's been doing this really weird thing for awhile and I don't really know what's causing it. I went to the nurse to get checked out but she said I wasn't sick either, she just kept giving me this weird smile." She huffed in annoyance remembering the way the nurse would look at her when she described what was going on with her stomach.

Nyx wasn't exactly a medical expert but back when she was going to Signal she would watch a lot of medical shows at home, whether or not the stuff they talked about was real she did notice one recurring theme in most of them, _it's never lupus. _She wasn't sure how that was going to help exactly but she could at least try to figure it out, if anything the shows were extremely detailed so maybe she could figure it out, "Well, what's your stomach been doing?"

"Nothing serious, it just does this really weird thing where it feels like it's squirming around, and sometimes it feels like its tightening up, it never hurts but it just feels really weird."

_I got nothing, _"Well...when does it usually do that? When you get up? When you eat...after you exercise?"

"No I'm fine when I'm awake and it definitely doesn't do that after I eat, thank goodness." It couldn't have been from training either, since she was already feeling like this for some time and because she didn't even get to train because of Yang...and because she passed out. "No it does it a lot when...when I think of Rodric." Right on cue her stomach started to squirm around again, "I had thought it was because I was worried about him, but it's been doing it for awhile now, I'm probably just sick or something."

"Oh." It made sense to say the least, based on what Ruby had described it sounded like a common occurrence for people who were worried, in fact she knew what that feeling was like. To be so worried that her stomach would feel like it was just tying itself into knots, it would never hurt but it would make her feel so uncomfortable. It seemed to apply to Ruby as well seeing as she said that she felt it a lot when she was thinking of, _"Oh."_ A smile slowly began to grow on Nyx's face as she glanced down at the younger girl who was laying next to her, it seemed she _only _felt her stomach acting up when she would think of Rodric, _how interesting._

Ruby looked up at Nyx curiously, "What, oh?"

"Nothing. Tell me are you usually worried about Rodric when you think of him, or do you feel anything else when you think about him?"

"Huh, well I mean sometimes I worry about him, other times I just think about how we used to hang out and talk." A small chuckle escaped her lips as she shook her head, "Like today in Ooblecks class, we were taking a test, and I kind of imagined that if Rodric were there he would start to get frustrated with how hard it was, and you know that thing he does when he gets frustrated?"

Nyx couldn't help but smile and the way Ruby spoke about Rodric, "The way he growls?"

"Yeah, I kind of imagined that he would start doing that and like muttering something under his breath, and then Oobleck would get upset with him. T-Then in the library when Weiss made me go study, it was so boring, but I thought if Rodric had been there he could have at least kept me company and then maybe studying wouldn't have been as boring with him there." The smile she had been sporting slowly faded away, it would have been better if he was there, but he wasn't and once again her stomach started to twist and squirm around.

Nyx couldn't help but shake her head, it was really cute to hear Ruby talk like that about Rodric, she gave a soft sigh as she looked down at Ruby before running her fingers through her hair. "Ruby," The younger girl looked up curiously at her as her smile grew once again on her lips, "I don't think you're sick. Well, not the normal kind of sick anyway."

The look of curiosity Ruby had given Nyx now turned into one of confusion, "What, what does that even mean? If I'm not 'normal' sick, then what kind of sick am I?"

Nyx couldn't help but let her smile grow even wider at the younger girls innocent nature, she couldn't believe that Ruby didn't know what she was feeling, surely if anything she must have read about it in a book at some point. Though considering how Ruby tended to fixate more on books that were more...action and weapon oriented it did make some sense that she never came across these feelings. Sighing softly she gave a small pat to Ruby's head before looking down at her, "Well...you're love sick."

She was confused as to why Nyx was staring at her eagerly like she was waiting for something, but she was more confused about what she had just told her, "Uh...what?"

Nyx playfully rolled her eyes as she looked at Ruby, "Love sick? Come on I know your sister had to have watched those sappy romance movies, you have to know what that means."

"N-No I know what that means, but what does it have to do with me exactly?"

"Oh come on Ruby you can't be that naive, honestly, but I'll spell it out for you alright? You-"

"Uh-huh..."

"Love-"

"Kay?"

"...Rodric."

"Okay..." Even while Nyx was giving her that same knowing smile that the nurse had given her she wasn't sure what she was suppose to get out of it. Obviously she heard the words but it didn't really make any sense to her, she hated these kinds of games where she had to figure out what the other person was trying to say. She didn't understand why she couldn't just tell her rather than hinting at the answer with very vague clues, honestly what was she suppose to figure out from her saying that she loved... "Oh..." The gears in her mind started to turn with that small revelation and at the moment they did, she could feel a burning fire beginning at her neck and slowly creeping up her face. "Oh!" She sat up so quickly that she nearly slammed her head into Nyx's if she hadn't been able to move back as quickly as she did, she turned to look at her with a deep blush coloring her face, "N-No, I-I am not in l-love with Rodric, I-I mean I like him yeah h-he's really cool to talk to, b-but I am not in l-love."

Nyx couldn't help but let out a most pleased giggle as she clapped her hands together, "Oh you are, you got it bad Ruby. There's no denying it, you're totally in love with Rodric."

"N-No I'm not I mean-"

"Oh Ruby you so full of it, I can see it on your face, your...very red face." Nyx bit her lip to keep from laughing at the very red and now pouting face of Ruby, she choked back her laughter before playfully pushing Ruby, "Come on, why can't you just admit it?"

"Cause I'm not...I mean I can't be..." She turned her eyes towards the ground before scooting back against the wall and pulling her knees to her chest, the earlier warmth that she had felt was suddenly gone. "I shouldn't be..."

The sudden shift in tone threw Nyx off, one minuet she was teasing the younger girl about her obvious crush and the next Ruby looked like she was on the verge of tears. Scooting a bit closer Nyx gently placed her hand on Ruby's knee, "Hey...Ruby why are you saying that?"

"Because...it's not fair."

Nyx was slightly taken aback by the statement, "Not fair...Ruby what do you mean it's not fair?"

Ruby groaned softly as she buried her head into her knees as she shook her head before looking back up towards Nyx, "I mean it's not fair, look at me Nyx I can't be in love with someone like Rodric, he could probably pick anyone to be with, why would he pick me? I'm not like Weiss or Yang who have guys falling all over themselves to be with them, I'm not like Blake whose all cool and mysterious...I'm just a kid. Just a kid who happens to be the biggest geek when it comes to weapons, and a kid who just...somehow managed to luck their way into Beacon."

"Ruby..." Nyx frowned slightly as she listened to Ruby talking about herself like that, had Rodric been listening to her, she could only imagine the type of things he would be telling her to cheer her up. "Don't talk about yourself like that Ruby none of that is true and you-"

"Oh please Nyx, I am a kid that's all I'll ever be to him. Every time that we would talk it would always be 'little one' this and 'child' that, that's all he sees me as, I'll never be anything except a child to him." She sighed as she wrapped her arms around her legs and pulled them tighter to her chest, "That's why I said it's not fair, I've never had a crush on anyone before, and just my luck I go and fall in love with someone who just sees me as nothing but a kid."

A smile came to Nyx's face as she noticed an opportunity to lighten the mood, "I thought you said you weren't in love with Rodric." The look that Ruby shot towards her quickly wiped the smile from her face as she quickly averted her eyes and nervously cleared her throat, "W-Well anyway, why don't you tell me why you love Rodric."

Ruby frowned as she looked towards Nyx, "Why?"

"Well...I mean I don't know...I just thought maybe you'd want to talk about-"

"Talk about the reasons I love Rodric..." She gave Nyx a strange look before frowning again, "You're not going to tell my sister are you? She's already throwing a fit because she blames Rodric for what happened, I don't need her blowing a fuse over my crush for him."

"I'm not going to tell Yang." While it was true the look that Ruby gave to her made it very obvious that she didn't believe her, sighing softly she placed a hang over her heart, "I promise I won't tell Yang anything I hear."

Ruby was still unsure about telling her the exact reasons she had feelings for Rodric, nevertheless, "Okay." Ruby sighed softly as she tried to calm the now rapid beating of her heart as she turned to stare out into the forest, as a few moments of silence passed she could feel herself beginning to relax albeit only slightly. "He's just really nice, I mean he calls me things like child and stuff but he hasn't ever really treated me like a kid. I mean yeah sometimes but he's usually just messing with me, we've had some really long and drawn out conversations before, usually it was me talking about hunters and how they could make a difference in the world you know?" She smiled softly as she slowly began to relax letting her legs slide forward a bit but still keeping them up, "He's really sweet, I mean yeah some of the things he says can be a little...cold, but he usually has a reason for it. He's kind of like Yang and he's really protective of me, like the night before I...you know, I had almost got hit by a truck but my friend, Penny, saved me. Rodric, he must have been scared because he ended up giving me this really tight hug, like he was scared I would disappear if he let go." She could feel the blush beginning to warm her cheeks again, "It was so obvious that he was scared for me, just the way his voice had sounded, it made me feel...I don't know..."

"Special?"

Ruby looked at Nyx as she mulled the word over in her mind before nodding slightly, "I mean I've had Yang worry about me before and have been hugged nearly to death by her. This though...this felt so different, I-I couldn't even think straight with him holding me like that, Rodric isn't much of a hugger, but when he does hug you it just..." She bit her lip when her stomach began to flutter slightly, like a hundred butterflies were in there, it didn't help that her heart had also stared to beat a bit faster. She gave a soft sigh as she rested her head on her knees, she bit her lip as she felt tears beginning to prick at her eyes, "I guess I can't lie anymore...I do love Rodric..."

Nyx couldn't help but smile at Ruby's confessions, sure she might have been young but she could really tell she definitely felt something for Rodric, she couldn't be sure whether or not it was actually the love she teased her about, whatever it was she was definitely feeling it. Giving a soft giggle she moved closer to Ruby and threw her arm across her shoulder and pressed a soft kiss to her head, "There doesn't it feel better to be honest with yourself?" Ruby remained silent as she gave Nyx a sidelong glance before huffing and giving a small nod, Nyx couldn't help but smile as she gently rocked Ruby chuckling to herself. Even though this was special moment for Ruby, having finally admitted to her feelings and all that, however that didn't mean she couldn't tease her a little more about it. She gave another chuckle as she pulled Ruby closer to her, "Well I'm glad you're finally honest with yourself. I guess this means you won't mind if I tell Rodric?"

"What!" Ruby instantly shot up as her heart began to race, and rather than feeling her cheeks burn from such an insane suggestion she could instead feel a cold chill come over her, the color likely draining from her face. "No! You can't, you said you wouldn't..." Amidst her surprise and thundering heartbeat, she realized just what Nyx had said to her, a heavy sense of dread slowly came over her, she must have just misheard her. Yeah, that had to be it, Nyx had told her that she hadn't seen Rodric at all since she had asked her to look for him, even so that still didn't ease the way her stomach began to knot up, and not like how it had before. "W-What...what did you just say..."

"I was just messing with you Ruby I would never tell..." She gave a shocked gasp as she suddenly realized the gravity of the situation she put herself in, all the happiness she felt in the moments before were washed away as the cold realization dawned on her. She had completely forgotten that she hadn't told Ruby the truth about Rodric, and in the moment of forgetfulness she revealed something she had been so careful about hiding. The look of betrayal in Ruby's eyes broke her heart, "Ruby I-" She was cut off as Ruby pulled away from her embrace and moved away from her all the while giving her this look of pain and disappointment. "Please I-"

"You knew..."

"Ruby I-I...please let me-"

"This whole time..."

"Ruby I'm-"

"You knew how worried I was about him, a-and...you've been lying to me this whole time..."

"Ruby please..." Nyx could feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes with each pain filled utterance from Ruby, she never meant to hurt Ruby like this, she really didn't even know what was going to happen by keeping this from her. She always figured she would be able to tell her at some point and explain why she had done it, but it didn't work out that way and she wasn't sure if she could even explain herself now. "...I am so so sorry Ruby."

"You're sorry?! You lied to me, you-you kept this to yourself for nearly two weeks while I've been worrying to death about Rodric, and you're sorry!" A flurry of emotions ran through Ruby's head and she couldn't focus on a single one at this point, she was obviously upset that Nyx had kept this to herself instead of telling like she had so desperatly wanted, and angry that she thought a simple 'I'm sorry' would fix everything. "I thought you were my friend..."

"I am! Ruby please I'm sorry!" By now the tears were freely falling down her face forcing her to wipe her eyes just to be able to see.

"Really? Nyx you lied to me, I trusted that you would tell me if you saw Rodric but you lied to me. I mean...why would you do that, you knew I was worried about him a-and now..." She could feel her cheeks burning up once again at the thought of her spilling her guts to Nyx about her feelings for Rodric, "W-Was this just some game to get me to admit my feelings for Rodric?" She frowned as her eyes turned to the door a few feet from them as she felt fear and anger rising in her chest once again, "Is she here? Has Yang been listening to us this whole time?!

"N-No Ruby no I would never do something like that to you. I just...I knew how much Rodric meant to you and I thought you would feel better just admitting your feelings for him..."

"And the lying to me?"

"I...I can't..."

Once again Ruby could feel anger rising at her words, "What do you mean you can't?"

"I...I promised-"

"You promised me Nyx, you promised to tell me the moment you found Rodric and you lied about that. What makes this promise so much better than-"

"He asked me not too!"

The words hung in the air as Ruby could only stare at Nyx in shock and once again in betrayal, the words stung a lot more than she could have ever thought words could. As the words slowly sunk in she could feel her heart slowly dropping into her stomach, which was twisting and squirming around almost painfully. "W-What do you mean?" She watched as Nyx opened her mouth over and over trying to come up with some answer for her, and the longer she took the stronger the sense of unease grew, she wasn't stupid she knew exactly what Nyx had meant but she wanted to hear her say it.

"He..." Taking a deep breath Nyx swallowed the lump in her throat as she wiped the tears away once again, "...Rodric made me promise not to tell you when I found him. We talked a few times and-"

"A few times..." She repeated breathlessly, she wanted to say so much more from simply hearing those words but she kept those words buried away as she bit her lip.

"Y-Yeah...he's pretty observant, he realized why I kept checking up on him and he made me promise not to tell you." She opened her mouth but stopped when she heard the smallest of sniffles coming from Ruby, she shook her head before looking towards Ruby, "I really wanted to tell you because I know you were worried but he made me promise he...he said-"

"Stop...just stop." She didn't want to hear anymore, she didn't want to say that she didn't care because she obviously did she just...couldn't handle anymore emotional abuse at this point. The tears she had been holding back since the very beginning had finally began to fall down her cheeks and she didn't know when or if they would stop.

"Ruby I'm sorry, he said that it was for-"

"Nyx please just...just leave me alone." Ruby returned to the position she had been in when she first arrived on the roof, her back pressed against the wall and her knees pulled to her chest with her face buried in her legs. She wrapped her arms tightly around her legs, digging her fingers into them as she bit her lip trying to keep back the cries she felt building up for just a moment longer. As the silence began to drag on she finally heard shuffling around her and slow but steady footsteps back towards the door, it slowly creaked open but nothing more was heard for a moment.

"For the record Ruby, I really am sorry, I wish I could...I'm sorry." Another moment of silence before the door finally closed, the roof was silent, not even the breeze that had kept her company dared to make a sound now and she honestly didn't want it to. She bit her lip as her shoulders began to tremble, she dug her nails into her legs as the first choked sob escaped from her lips, the first was quickly followed by many. She couldn't handle anymore attacks to her emotions today, after her fight with Yang that caused her to pass out to learning that Nyx had been lying to her for days, it felt like she was coming apart at the seams. She never would have even imagined that her day would have ended up like this, crying her eyes out in the roof of the school, though no one could fault her for it considering the kind of day she had.

Through her flurry of emotions and raging thoughts she tried to piece together everything she had figured out and it was significantly harder with this new discovery weighing on her mind. Yang was angry with Rodric because she didn't understand the position he was in during that night, and she wasn't sure if she would be able to even explain what she had figured out without her sister trying to brush it off. Not to mention she wasn't even sure Yang would be willing to talk to her after what happened in the gym and subsequently in the infirmary, with her adamantly defending Rodric. Rodric, there was something else she couldn't even begin to fathom, she openly admitted to Nyx that she had feelings for him, and she did though she wasn't even sure to what extent and just thinking about those feelings caused more tears to rise and more sobs to push past her lips. She hated what Nyx did to her, hated that she gave her false hope that Rodric would be able to see her as anything more than a kid, and she hated that she had lied to her and kept Rodric a secret from her. Even after finding that out she still didn't know where Rodric was or why Nyx had lied to her, she said that Rodric had asked her not to, but that couldn't be right...no it couldn't be. Rodric, he would have been so worried about her after what had happened, there's no way he would have asked Nyx to not tell her about him. Nyx had lied to her for days, she could just as well be lying, about this but she didn't know why.

The more she thought about why Nyx would have kept this a secret a creeping fear began to make its way into her mind, she tried to ignore it but it would be the only explanation for why she would lie to her. Maybe...maybe she wasn't the only one who had feelings for Rodric, she grit her teeth and choked by the last of her sobs as she dug her nails into her leg, which if that was true she really was out of her league when it came to him. Why would he chose her when there would be someone much older than her and way more pretty than she was, it was just like she had told Nyx, it wasn't fair. To realize these feelings she had been feeling for so long and to subsequently have them crushed before she could even explore them, "I-It's not fair..." As she sat there and the cold breeze slowly picked up again, rather than keeping warm she could feel the cold air cutting through her skin and chilling her to the bone, she shuddered slightly and merely pulled her cloak tighter around her. She began to wish that none of this had ever happened and that things where the same as they used to be, she wished that she never begun to have these feelings for Rodric, she wished that she never began to see him as more than just a friend, and strangely enough she found herself wishing that she had never met Rodric.

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_**A few more chapters...**_

**_For what? Well I guess you'll just have to wait and find out. _**

**_PS guys if you want to leave me reviews at least take the extra step to make an actual account, that way it'll be easier for me to respond to them. _**


	20. Re-Forging the Bond

**_Oh my god you guys, it's serious been so freaking long since I updated this story, I know I usually do it every month at this point but holy fuck if each chapter doesn't feel like it's getting longer and longer. Anyway I know none of you care about that but this is probably my longest chapter at this point, also I wanted to say THANK YOU you guys this story is seriously (at the time of posting) one person away from having 100 followers...100 FOLLOWERS. That's crazy, I-I mean I should be doing something special for that, and honestly for the longest since I hot 90 followers I was thinking about maybe making a tumblr specifinally for my fanfic and art and stuff like that, but I wasn't so sure, so you guys tell me. Since it was all of you that got me to 100 followers what do you all think I should do to celebrate that and to thank all of you for getting me here? Just message me or leave reivews telling me but tell me you guys, tumblr? or something else? Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter please read and leave all of your reviews, and as always thank you for being so patient. _**

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**Re-forging the Bond**

It was silent, not an oppressing silence like she would have thought it would have been, but it was actually nice, a comfortable silence. Had it not been for the game on her scroll she probably would have fallen asleep by now with how quiet it was in the room, not to mention that it was a little bit warmer than she would have liked it, she had to take off her blazer but even then it didn't really seem to help. She gave a silent yawn as the desire to sleep only seemed to grow more as she thought about it, as her eyes opened and returned to the screen of her scroll she frowned when the bold red letters saying 'Failed' appeared on her screen. _I closed my eyes for like a second, _huffing in annoyance she quit out the game and set her scroll next to her as she finally stretched her legs out across the bed. It was only then did she feel the tingling sensation crawling up her legs as a slow ache slowly spread across her legs causing her to clench her teeth and whimper slightly as the numbness spread over her legs. "Ah, ah, how long have I been sitting here?"

"Quite some time actually." She rolled her eyes as she threw her legs over the bed and yelped softly as a shock went up her numb legs from the sudden contact with the floor. "Are you alright?" She whimpered softly as the shock slowly faded from her legs, but rather than try and get up she let herself fall back on the bed as she tilted her head up to look at Rodric sitting at the desk across from his bed with a concerned look on his face.

"I'm fine, my legs just fell asleep." She watched as the look of concern slowly faded from his face only to be replaced by an amused smirk as he turned his eyes back towards the book that was in his hands. She could feel a smile growing on her lips as well as she turned over to lay on her stomach as she looked at him, "What's that look for?" He glanced up towards her the smirk only growing wider as he looked back down towards his book before shaking his head.

"Nothing." The smile only grew wider when she huffed in annoyance, he glanced up towards her only to see her giving him a glare from her stop on the bed. She was sitting up on her elbows puffing her cheeks up at him, he only shook his head and turned his attention back to the book at hand.

"That wasn't a 'nothing' look, what are you thinking about?"

"This is a really good book," Rodric answered back almost absentmindedly, causing Nyx to flop down on the bed and groan out rather pathetically.

"Rodric..." She whined, "Tell me."

Rodric could only chuckle as he snapped the book shut before setting it on the table he leaned against, "Really Nyx it was nothing just seemed like something that would happen to you." Nyx looked up at him again and frowned causing him to chuckle once again, "I simply meant that you have been sitting there for nearly an hour so engrossed with your...game, it was bound to happen."

Nyx scoffed as she rolled her eyes, "If that was it then why did you give me that look like it was something more serious?"

"You never know," He gave a tap to the book that laid on the table, "With all the medical books I've been reading a number of things ran through my mind." He turned his attention to the book on the table and gave a light hum before pushing it away, "Perhaps I should stop reading those books, I can imagine always assuming someone has contracted some deadly disease isn't healthy for a person...in more than one way."

It was Nyx who chuckled this time, she pushed herself up and into a sitting position as she crossed her legs, "Yeah tell me about it, I used to drive my mom crazy when I was younger. I used to watch a lot of medical shows and I used to try and diagnose a lot of stuff for my mom." She bit her lip and shook her head, "It got to a point when I freaked my mom out a little, turns out I am pretty good at noticing small symptoms because of those shows, it freaked her out and she asked me to stop telling her otherwise she'd turn into a hypochondriac."

"Was it really that bad?"

"Yeah, she actually banned me from watching those medical shows because of it, but she ended up forgetting about it and I got to keep watching my shows." She gave a light chuckle as she looked towards the floor, now that she thought about it she really did miss sitting on the couch and just looking at those doctor shows with her mom. Sure she could watch them here and she was with her friends, surely they would have at least found it interesting if nothing else, but she knew it wouldn't have felt the same. She gave a soft sigh, she should probably give her mom a call at some point, if anything to just see her or hear her voice, but she wasn't sure if that would do any good or just do more damage seeing as she was already missing her a lot.

"Everything okay?"

Nyx looked up to see that same concerned look on Rodric's face, she gave a small smile before nodding, "Yeah, was just thinking about home." She shifted around on the bed before laying down and resting her head on his pillow, "I seemed to be doing that a lot lately, guess I've just started to get homesick. I guess with everything that has been going on with all the freaking tests and preparing for the Vytal Festival I've just been too busy, but now that everything's kind of called down again, I've just been thinking about it a lot more."

"Do you miss it?"

She thought about it before grinning, "Which one?" When he gave her a confused look she gave a soft giggle before turning over on her back, she shifted slightly so that she wasn't laying on her tail. "I mean Vale isn't my 'real' home I guess, I was born in Vacuo, but we moved to Vale because..." She let the words die on her lips as she frowned slightly, shaking her head she gave a soft shrug, "...well mom wanted a change of scene so now were here." She turned her head towards the ceiling and wound her fingers together as she rested them on her stomach, she hoped that he wouldn't have noticed the way she had paused as she spoke. She highly doubted that it went unnoticed, he had been so observant as of late, she didn't know what was up with that, but she really hoped that this was one of the times he failed to notice something. She would admit that it was kind of nice when he noticed when she did something with her hair, or when she tried on her teammates perfume, this however...she'd rather not get into specific details over that.

Rodric gave a curious hum as he watched Nyx slowly settle down into his bed, he didn't miss the way her words had faltered ever so slightly, he had begun to question why she had done so but stopped himself. _No need to force anyone else away, _instead he sighed softly and leaned against the table before turning to Nyx, "What was it like, Vacuo I mean."

"Hot, really hot." She giggled softly when she could practically feel Rodric giving her a disapproving look, "Well I mean it was, the Kingdom was located in the middle of a desert, sunshine all year round. You get used to the heat, kinda, I mean you don't really notice it after living there for several years, but you do notice when it feels hotter than normal. Here though, oh man I was freezing my butt off when I first moved here, I couldn't go anywhere without at least several layers of warm clothes." She chuckled softly as she began to pull at the blankets on the bed, "I used to think some of the kids that went to Signal were crazy, I was wearing at least three different sweaters while everyone else were going in shorts and t-shirts, I still get really cold which is why I wear arm warmers." She finally managed to pull the blankets from where they were tucked away and began to crawl underneath the sheets, "You can also forget about me even going out during the winter, I'm still not used to that god awful season, I mean honestly how can it possibly get _colder._" She proceeded to pull the sheets around her and curled up beneath the sheets, just thinking about that season caused a chill to crawl over her body, she shuddered and pulled her legs closer to her body to keep herself warm.

Rodric watched curiously as Nyx made herself comfortable in his bed, he shook his head as she crawled beneath the sheets and settled down by pulling the sheets up to her chin as he sighed softly. She was always a curious one, but doing this seemed strange even for her, "Is there a particular reason your attempting to sleep in my bed?" She looked at him before humming curiously as she turned onto her back before shaking her head as she giggled.

"Nope, its comfortable, actually its more comfy than the bed I have." A thought struck her as she turned to Rodric and gave him her sweetest smile, "Rodric, do you think you'd be willing to trade beds with me."

"Sure."

She was slightly taken aback, not entirely expecting him to just agree with her like that, "Wait, really?"

"Of course, that is if you are able to move both beds on your own, if you can do that then feel free to take the bed."

Nyx was left speechless by how casually he spoke, but more so stunned that he didn't even offer to help her, but with that cocky look on his face he knew exactly what he was doing. She might have been strong but she couldn't carry this bed back to her dorm on her own, maybe if she asked Yang...no, he said on her own. Frowning slightly an idea came to her as she placed the back of her hand on her head, "How dreadful, such a strong man refusing to help such a fragile woman."

"Oh please," He scoffed as he tilted his head back, "I can hardly believe that you, let alone any woman than attends this school is...'fragile'. Like I said, if you can move both beds on your own your free to take it." He could only smile at the scathing look Nyx cast his way before she gave an angry huff and turned with her back facing him.

"Fine, keep it." She would hope that he knew she wasn't exactly angry, but that didn't mean she wasn't upset, his bed really was comfortable and it was a shame that he hardly used it. She couldn't understand how he could settle for sleeping on the floor when he had such a heavily bed just inches from where he slept, something had to be wrong with him. As the silence began to grow thicker she could feel the remnants of sleep beginning to call to her, and laying down in such an amazing bed was not helping her situation. Though seeing as he had yet to say anything, surely he wouldn't mind if she caught up on a bit a sleep, nothing to drastic maybe a few hours worth, surely he wouldn't mind that. Finally agreeing on her own terms she snuggled into his pillow and closed her eyes, almost instantly she could begin to feel herself drifting off, she really wanted this bed now.

Rodric watched in silent amusement as Nyx relaxed in his bed, no doubt attempting to sleep in it, any other time he wouldn't have minded if she had, in fact he felt like sleeping for awhile as well. However seeing as it was still during the week, that meant that Nyx still had class, and while she might want to just sleep through it he couldn't allow that to happen. "Nyx." She groaned in response as he rolled his eyes, "Nyx as much as you would love to sleep, you can't." She mumbled out something that even he couldn't understand, she must already be in the grip of sleep if she was making incoherent sounds to answer him, "Nyx what about class?"

Huffing slightly she rolled over to look at him through barely half open eyes, "I got sick."

"Honestly..."

"Lunch isn't agreeing with me."

"Nyx."

"Come on, I can miss one day, it isn't like one day is going to affect me that much, sure I might miss a lesson or two but it's sleep we're talking about. Sleep is always good for you, plus it'll help me focus more in my classes when I've had some good sleep." Rodric gave her an incredulous look as she sighed heavily and decided to try one last thing, she turned on her side to face him as she attempted to give him the same look that Ruby was so famous for. Surely it would work on him, if it could work for Ruby when she did it to her sister then there was no way it could fail, she gave it her best try before pathetically asking, "Please?" Rodric gave her a strange look, but she never stopped using the look, eventually Rodric finally gave a heavy sigh and she could feel a smile growing on her face, she knew it would work.

"No."

"Aw, what?" She huffed in annoyance and crossed her arms as she glared holes in the ceiling, "So unfair, its just a little sleep honestly, you don't even use the bed."

"That's not the point Nyx, the point is that you still have classes and I can't have you missing any simply because you want to take a nap." Rather than responding she turned her glare towards him before grabbing the sheets and pulling them over her head, he sighed heavily as he shook his head, "Nyx you have another class soon I am not going to allow you to miss it." Rather than giving him a direct answer she blew a raspberry from beneath his sheets causing him to arch his brow at her childish reaction, "Nyx." Once again she blew another raspberry causing him to huff in annoyance, he hardly expected Nyx to act like this over not being able to take a nap. "Honestly Nyx you can't-" Another rasberry, "can't act in such a childish manner for not getting your way." Rather than another childish retort she stayed quiet this time, he gave a curious hum as he watched the lump beneath his sheets squirming around as he rolled his eyes. Rather than giving her childish reply she was attempting to sleep once again, sadly she didn't realize that hiding beneath the sheets didn't render her invisible, he stood from his seat and rolled his shoulders giving a heavy sigh. "Nyx get up."

"No."

A predictable response, though rather than replying he moved towards the bed and ripped the sheets from Nyx who looked up at him with a rather shocked expression, he couldn't help but smirk at her surprised look. "You have one last chance to remove yourself in a dignified manner before I remove you myself."

"Oh yeah, what are you going to do if I don't?" She gave a triumphant smirk too see him actually taken aback by her defiant question, but the smile didn't last long as a mischievous smirk crossed his face. She could feel her throat tighten and go dry at the way he looked at her, she could feel her heart begin to beat faster as she tightened her hands to keep them from shaking.

"Did you truly just ask me,_ me, _such a foolish question?"

"Uhm..." Her words failed her as she averted her eyes from his trying to look anywhere else except at him, "Y-Yeah?" She could feel her momentary confidence slowly slipping away, it was very clear to tell she was losing her nerve and Rodric picked up on it right away as he gave a low chuckle causing a shudder to travel through her body as her heart began to race. She felt the bed shift and her eyes quickly turned back to Rodric who was now leaning over her, she could feel a warmth crawling up her neck as he looked at her with such a predatory expression. She mentally cursed herself and vowed to never take another book recommendation from Blake, as he began to reach for her she bit her lip and was tempted to throw herself from the bed just to escape the situation she found herself in.

"Get back here!" Nyx jumped from the sudden shout, both sets of eyes turned towards the open window where the shout had come from, Rodric grumbled something beneath his breath before slowly moving off the bed. As she watched Rodric move away from her and the bed she let out a shaky sigh as she brought a shaking hand to her chest only to feel her heart pounding against her hand. She was definitely going to stop taking book recommendations from Blake, she took a few calming breaths before slowly sitting up and throwing her legs over the edge. She would have gotten to her feet, but with the shudders coursing through her body she doubted her legs would have even been stable enough to keep her upright. As she tried to gather her nerve to stand a low growl drew her attention towards the window, she saw Rodric glaring at something she couldn't see, teeth bared and everything, she couldn't believe how quickly his temperament changed in those few scarce seconds. She opened her mouth to speak but wasn't sure she could trust her voice enough to even ask a simple question, she took another deep breath and slowly let it out before clearing her throat.

"W-What's going on?" She cringed slightly when her voice faltered, it seemed after her little incident with Rodric on the bed, she had still yet to find her voice. It didn't help that Rodric's hate filled gaze turned towards her causing the slight tremor coursing through her body to be amplified and nearly knocking her back on the bed as her legs began to shake. Almost as if he realized the effect he was having on her he let out a sharp breath and his gaze instantly softened, he even cast a small smile towards her though it was a ghost of a smile compared to the way he had smiled at her earlier. He jerked his head in the direction of the window before turning his gaze back out towards it, taking that as an invitation she made her way towards his side to look out the window with him, and what she saw disgusted her. Three floors below them was a small gathering of students all in their uniform aside for two of them, the two that had been forced against the wall were wearing normal clothes, most likely the exchange students from Vacuo. Even as she strained her ears to hear what they were saying, they were speaking much too low for her to pick up on anything other than a few sneered words of "animal" and "freaks." Rodric on the other hand must have been able to pick up a lot more based on the way his growls only seemed to be growing in intensity, seeing as he was already angry she decided to keep the question of 'what did they say' to herself, it was probably better that way.

With a snarl Rodric pushed himself away from the window, "No better than wild animals," he growled out. Nyx probably had whiplash with how quickly she turned to look at Rodric in shock, she never would have imagined that him of all people would resort to calling people like her wild- "Are they truly that desperate for a confrontation, if so I will gladly go down there and show them what it feels like to be powerless." _Oh, _she quickly turned away feeling a deep blush creeping up her neck, of course he would never call her kind something as hurtful as that, though now that she looked at the students in Beacon uniforms she couldn't help but making the same comparison. "Are they so foolish to do something so barbaric in broad daylight?"

Nyx sighed softly as she leaned against the window sill and stared down at the group harassing the two Faunus, "They don't care," she breathed, "they would do it no matter the situation." A growl rumbled behind her as Rodric began to angrily speaking in a language she had heard only once before, more than likely he was cursing.

"Why, what purpose does their cruel actions serve?"

"Nothing." She could hear things falling and being thrown around behind her, she ignored it for the most part as she watched the Beacon students begin to get physical with the two Vacuo students. "They do it because they can, most of the time they do it to get a rise out of the Faunus and to try and force their hand."

"So they believe its some sort of game to those degenerates? Ha, what do they do when their foolish plan backfires then?"

Nyx sighed softly shaking her head, "Nothing, because nothing happens."

"What?!"

"Nothing happens, the Faunus know better than to retaliate against their tormentors, what a perfect excuse for a human to call assault than when a Faunus tries to defend themselves."

"That's...that's just-"

"Despicable?"

"Yes!"

She gave a faint smile, "Yeah it is," The smile slowly faded as she turned away from the scene before her and turned to see Rodric ripping the clock from his wall, "That's the game they play, they push a Faunus to the edge and then when they lash out they cry assault. All they have to do is make a claim about the Faunus and the White Fang and it doesn't matter what the Faunus says, they get put away for a long time." Nyx crossed her arms and looked off to the side, "Even though we've been given rights we still have to tread carefully around humans, any wrong move or wrong word, they cry White Fang and away we go. It's hard to plead your case when these bigots are usually backing each others claims up, not to mention that a lot of Faunus haters are police officers as well. It's not fair but...there isn't much we can do."

Rodric grit his teeth as he listened to everything Nyx told him, his anger slowly began to boil over, his fingers digging into the large clock he held in his hands causing small cracks to appear over the glass. "I take back what I said about them, they are much more despicable than wild animals, calling them as such is an insult to true wild animals." He growled as he stalked over to the window and glared down at the students, as he watched the assault taking place his anger flared to a fever pitch as pain tore through his body, "Hey! Unhand them this instant!" One of the students looked around before one of his partners pointed up towards him causing the boy to look up towards him, rather than retreat he gave him a smirk that caused his blood to boil.

"Stay out of this freak! Why don't you just turn around and mind your own damn-" A loud sound of breaking glass filled the air and caused the students to reel away from the ones they had been harassing. The students turned towards the sound that had startled them and saw the remains of a now completely destroyed clock, it's innards spread across the stone floor. He cast a hateful glance up towards Rodric as he shouted up at him, "What the hell is your problem freak you got some kind of death wish?"

A snarl tore through the now still air as Rodric kept his anger filled gaze upon the boy, "It is you who has a death wish if you lay another hand on those Faunus, and I promise I will fulfill your wish if you so choose." He rested his hands against the windowsill and dug his fingers into the wood causing it to creak and groan beneath his grip, a few sharp cracks filled the air as the wood began to break beneath his grip, "Leave. Them. Be. Or I will show you something more terrifying than you could ever hope to be." The other students that surrounded the one that continued to glare at him whispered something to him causing him to whisper harshly to the others, a few moments passed before the boys anger filled gaze returned to him.

"Fine, whatever, we'll see how tough you are when we run into each other again." Within moments the only students left were the two Faunus that had been harassed by the others, they checked over each others wounds before glancing up towards Rodric and gave him a heartfelt thank you, he simply nodded and watched as they vacated the area. Rodric let out a sharp breath and released the wood he still had in his grip, looking down at where his hands had rested he could clearly see the marks his fingers left, and the damage he had caused to the window.

"Rodric that was..." She bit her lip as she tried to find her words, she didn't even know what to say, she had seen humans stand up for their fellow Faunus before but the way Rodric handled it, it was amazing. She couldn't help admit that while she was amazed by what he had done, she also found it scary how easily he threatened the students, not that she didn't think they deserved it. Shaking her head she gave a heavy sigh, "Rodric I can't believe you-" She gave a soft gasp as he turned away from the window, dark crimson lines rolled down his face as he looked at her curiously, could he not feel that? She moved closer to him as he continued to look curiously at her, "Rodric, you're bleeding." As she said that he reached up and ran his hand over his cheek smearing his blood across his face, he looked down at his hand and frowned slightly.

"Damn." He frowned as he ran his hand across his face once again trying to clean away the blood but found that his hand only seemed to grow darker in color each time he did so. He couldn't have been bleeding that bad from having his scales rip through his flesh, if anything the wounds should already be healing unless...of course. He ran his hand across his face again except this time he pressed his fingers against his cheek and felt the rough edges of his scales still peeking through the skin, his scales weren't gone yet and he couldn't heal the wounds until they were. He sighed softly and shook his head, he looked towards Nyx to tell her that he was fine, but as he opened his mouth to do so he saw her reaching out towards him, "Nyx don't-" she quickly pulled her hand back hissing and whimpering in pain. She gripped her wrist as she cried out in pain, he could see several drops of blood staining her skin and he felt fear grip his heart and did the only thing that he could think of. He grabbed her hand and pulled it towards him as he placed his mouth over the palm of her hand to lick up the blood staining her hand. It might not have been the most appropriate of actions but it was the only thing he could think of, if he waited any longer to do something it could have ended with long term damage to her hand, or worse, losing her hand all together.

The pain she felt was gone instantly the moment his lips touched her hand, instead she felt a strong shudder crawl up her spine when she felt his tongue run across her skin. "W-What are you doing?!" She pulled her hand away from him a dark blush covering her cheeks, though the moment she did she felt the pain return as she whimpered as her hand began to feel like she just touched a hot iron, and once again he grabbed her hand and proceeded once again to lick her hand. She wasn't sure but she had a fairly clear idea just how red her face was at this point, she could only be glad that it was just the two of them, though she was sure that was exactly why she couldn't think straight anymore. "S-Seriously what are you doing?!" She started to complain but when his eyes met with hers she couldn't even manage to make a sound, keeping eye contact while he was busy...licking her hand just completely shut her brain down.

Slowly he moved her hand away from his mouth and kept his eyes on her in case she still felt any pain, though when she refused to look at him and didn't show any signs of pain he breathed a sigh of relief. "I apologize," he used the back of his hand to wipe her hand clean but frowned when he noticed bright red burn marks in the shape of streaks from his blood dripping down her hand. "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Nyx couldn't help but let out a strangled laugh as she slowly pulled her hand away from Rodric, "H-Hurt me?" She gave a nervous chuckle as she fidgeted slightly in the spot she stood, "I-I don't think that counts as hurting me, it was just u-uhmm..." She bit her lip as she nervously used her other hand to brush through her hair, she didn't even know what to say after what he had just did, him doing that is about the furthest she ever went with a guy. What made it worse was that he didn't seem to even be feeling the same way she was at this moment, _geeze this guy has no shame does he? _She cleared her throat a bit in an attempt to get a better hold on the situation, "A-Anyway, w-what happened with you...erm, y-you know?"

"Nyx? Are you alright?" Rodric took a step towards Nyx and the moment he did so she yelped softly in surprise and quickly stumbled back away from him, nearly tripping over her feet in her attempt to do so. "Nyx?"

"A-Actually I-I think I should go I...er-class! Y-Yeah I have to get to class soon." Before he could say anything else she quickly pulled her shoes back on and practically ran out of the door without even saying goodbye to him, as she rested her back against the wall near his door she took several quick deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. As her shaking body and scattered thoughts began to clear she realized just how stupid she made herself look, it wasn't like Rodric was trying to pounce on her he was just...licking her hand. She shook her head as the warmth began to crawl up her neck once again, as she ran her fingers through her hair to calm herself down to hissing pain and quickly pulled her hand away from her head, looking down she could see bright red marks staining her skin. Thinking it was smeared blood she tried to rub it away, only to bite on her lip to keep from crying out in pain, looking down at her now shaking hand she realized that it wasn't a blood stain but a burn mark. She gave a heavy sigh as she dropped her hand and rested her head against the wall, "So stupid..." She had completely forgotten about the small detail Ruby had shared with her...back when they actually talked, when she told her everything she had learned about dragon's she had been interested in the fact that Rodric's blood was boiling beneath his skin. Though there was no need to be curious about it since she got to experience it first hand, literally, she tried to close her hand moving slowly and stopping when her hand began to shake from the pain. It didn't hurt that badly but she knew she was going to have to go to the nurse to get it properly treated, no need to risk it getting infected from her being stupid, plus she was sure that having someone's mouth on her fresh burn wasn't the best thing, whether that someone was a dragon or not.

She shook her head once again when she felt that same familiar blush crawling up her neck, _stupid Rodric, _she wasn't going to be able to forget something like this anytime soon. "Well what's all this huh?" Nyx flinched slightly at the voice before slowly turning and seeing Yang standing not even a few feet away from her, and a giant smile plastered on her face. "I've seen enough movies to recognize that look, I've seen him fight I wouldn't have expected little you to handle him."

"Oh my god Yang..." She could feel her face burning up worse than it had been earlier when Rodric had...she quickly shook her head and turned away from Yang trying to hide her blush. There was no hiding it though, it was clear for anyone to see, how could she not be blushing when Yang suggested something as far-fetched as that, she started to walk away when Yang tossed her arm across her shoulder and pulled her close giving a low chuckle.

"Oh no you don't, you're not going anywhere till you tell me some details." Her smile widened when Nyx's already red face grew even redder nearly rivaling Ruby's when she got her embarrassed, she gave another chuckle when Nyx turned away from her and squirmed out of her grip. "Oh I see," She gave Nyx a large smile when she turned and gave her a cautious look, "No I do, can't reveal the kinky stuff yet, I get it."

"Oh my-Yang nothing happened okay? We didn't do anything, we will _never _do anything, alright?" That was the fact, no matter how much Yang hinted and teased and no matter how much her mind went to places it shouldn't be going there was no way anything would ever happen between the two of them. He didn't see her that way, and she would never do something like that to Ruby, speaking of the little red one, "Say how is Ruby?" The playful smile slowly faded from Yang's face as she turned away from her and gave a small shrug, she cleared her throat before turning back towards her with another smile though it didn't reach her cheeks as the other had.

"Oh, you know, same as always. Getting harassed by Weiss about classes and stuff like that, she's been..." _Quiet, distant..._she didn't know the word to describe Ruby because she hadn't spoken with her since their shouting match a few days ago. She would have thought that after spending some time by herself or with Nyx in this case since she had asked if she could speak to Ruby on her behalf, instead Ruby came back looking worse than she had left. She wanted to ask what was wrong and what had happened, but Ruby wouldn't even look at her when she walked through the doors to her dorm, the others were already asleep by the time she had returned and Ruby went straight to bed without saying anything. She only seemed to get worse as the days passed, she seemed to be forcing herself through the day, putting on this smile she knew wasn't real if only for Blake and Weiss. She swallowed the lump in her throat as it began to grow dry at the though of her sister, "well you know, just Ruby being Ruby." She gave a halfhearted chuckle that died off as quickly as it started, she cast a glance towards Rodric's dorm, while it might not have been something she wanted to talk about it was at least something to distract her from thoughts of her sister. "So, what's going on with him?"

Nyx was a bit caught off guard by her question, she was more than ready for another round of Yang teasing her mercilessly about something that didn't happen, but she wasn't ready for this. After having learned everything that happened, one side coming from Rodric and the other coming from Ruby, she knew very well that Yang did not like Rodric, so for her to be asking about him was a bit odd. "He's..." She bit her lip, she wasn't even sure what she was suppose to tell Yang because she didn't even know why she was asking in the first place. "He's doing alright." It wasn't a lie and she hadn't asked for any specific details so this was the best she could think of with nothing to go on, she sighed softly and looked down catching a glimpse of her hand which she quickly hid behind her back, "Why?" The words had left her mouth before she even noticed what she had said, when Yang glanced towards her she seized up, only to relax when she gave a nonchalant shrug.

"Just keeping tabs on him is all." Though that wasn't all she wanted to do to him considering that Ruby wasn't speaking to her because of him, but every time she thought about getting violent with him, she always remembered the way he acted with those projection. A chill crawled across her skin at the memory of him viciously attacking those projections, shaking her head she gave Nyx a playful smirk, "What about you huh? I bet you're keeping more than tabs on-" A loud ringing filled the hallway cutting off her teasing remark she turned to Nyx who was looking down the hallway before quickly turning back to her.

"Sorry Yang, I got to get to class and I need to head to the nurse I'll see you later." They said goodbye as Nyx turned away from her and quickly ran down the hallway to get to where she needed to go, Yang sighed softly as she crossed her arms, she was going to have to think of a better way to tease Nyx. She shrugged and followed in Nyx's footsteps, while she might not want to she had to get to class as well, it was the last ones for the day so she could probably sleep through them. She gave a nod and began to walk forward, but stopped almost instantly, she dropped her arms and chewed on her lip as she cast a glare at Rodric's door, she wanted to tell him something, she wanted to make him fix everything he had ruined but she didn't know how to make him do it. She clenched her fists as she opened her mouth before slowly closing it again as she clenched her teeth, it was frustrating not being able to do anything, she was so used to making people do what she wanted one way or another, and then there was Rodric. She couldn't flirt with him, she wasn't above doing it but she would never bring herself to do it to him, and she couldn't force him, thoughts of his sister and what his kind were capable of...it scared her. She hated that feeling, she trained to fight against deadly monsters and yet she was scared of someone like him just thinking about it pissed her off, she didn't understand why he-

"I can smell you Yang, what do you want?" She was struck speechless that Rodric even knew she was there, if that was the case then he must have heard her and Nyx when they were talking. She opened her mouth to respond but was stopped when he spoke up once again, "If you have nothing to say then leave." She grit her teeth and approached his door before giving it a sharp kick denting and cracking the wood before turning and stomping away towards her next class.

* * *

Nyx gave a heavy sigh as she looked down at the white gauze contrasting against her tan skin, she had wanted to _not _draw attention to the fact that she was injured but it seems like that wasn't going to happen. After having it looked at by the nurse it didn't hurt as much, it still did but it was enough to deal with for class, well she had to deal with it considering it was the hand she wrote with. She dropped her pencil and rolled her wrist as her hand began to ache, though in doing so she drew the concerned looks of her team, all except for Victoria though she had a feeling she was still looking at her despite not turning towards her. "You guys I'm fine," she whispered as to not get in trouble with Goodwitch as she paced back and forth slowly at the head of the class going about her lesson. When she had arrived to the class with her blazer and sleeve rolled up revealing the white gauze wrapped around her hand and fingers and stopping just below the wrist, her team had been in an uproar about what had happened, with Victoria going as far a threatening who ever had done it. She made sure to drill it into Victoria's head that no one had hurt her...intentionally at least, though she kept that part to herself lest she end up causing her to go on some sort of vigilante rampage through the school. Even as she was being fussed over by her team she managed to see past them to see Yang giving her a smirk and a knowing look that nearly caused a blush to burn at her cheeks, but more importantly she saw Ruby looking towards her.

Even if they weren't on speaking terms it was clear that Ruby still had at least some sort of concern for her seeing as she was injured, though the moment their eyes met Ruby quickly turned away from her. She was going to have to make up for what she had done to her and how she had hurt her, she had gone over many ideas on ways to apologize to Ruby even going so far as humoring the idea of trapping her somewhere and begging her for forgiveness. The longer they went without talking the more she was actually considering that option, it wouldn't be hard she would just need cookies...lots and lots of cookies. She huffed slightly before looking up and see that Rayvn and Avelyn were still looking at her with concerned expressions, rolling her eyes sightly she held her hand out towards them and wiggled her fingers. She ignored the pinching sting in her palm from doing so and did her best to keep the discomfort clear from her face, "See fine." They gave her a skeptical look but nodded anyway and turned back to their work, she sighed and turned back to her own work as she picked up her pencil and winced slightly as her palm pinched once again.

Once the class came to an end she couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh of relief, her hand was hurting a lot more than it had been at the start of the class, she chalked that up to having to copy so many notes. The dull throbbing ache radiated through her hand leaving it shaking, as she tried to rub away the pain she winced and cringed, because of all the writing her hand was sensitive now, she was going to have to be careful with it heading back to the dorm. All she wanted to do now was just sleep, well that and have something to eat, but sleep was outweighing the hunger she felt, but she also doubted she would get a peaceful lunch with her team and possibly her friends asking her what had happened. She also wanted to avoid Victoria putting the vigilante idea into Nora's head, if anyone would jump at the chance to hurt someone it was definitely Nora, she'd rather avoid that if she could. She informed everyone she was going to go to bed early, it was Saturday anyway tomorrow, so she wanted to get as much sleep as she could before the weekend. She didn't know what she wanted to do for the weekend but all she knew was that she wanted enough sleep to do whatever it was, she said goodbye to everyone and turned away from the classes to head back towards the dorms. Sleep quickly caught up to her as she began to yawn more and more the closer to got to her dorm, and to her bed, with another yawn she rubbed her eyes as she huffed slightly, she had been so tired lately if this kept up she was going to have to start drinking coffee.

As she tried to figure out the best way to make coffee not taste like the disgusting abomination of a beverage it was, she turned the corner towards the dorms only to see a familiar red cloak walking ahead of her. From the looks of it she was heading back to her own dorm, and even better she was alone, if she was going to apologize she was going to do it now. She bit her lip as she went around the corner and approached Ruby, she didn't even know what to say, she couldn't say she was sorry, she doubted it meant anything when she lied about something like this. It wasn't as if she had broken something of hers where an "I'm sorry" would have worked, she deliberately kept Rodric a secret from her, a guy she just came to terms with liking, she doubted an "I'm sorry" was going to make up for that. She didn't have any cookies on her either, she was going to hope she could at least get her to say anything to her, "Ruby." She had stopped almost mid stride when she called out to her, slowly, almost hesitantly she turned towards her, but even as she did she avoided looking at her directly.

"Yeah?" Nyx didn't like the way she sounded, she didn't seem angry that she was talking with her she just sounded really...distant, that wasn't the sound of the girl she had become friends with. She was used to hearing her sound much happier and full of life, but she had sounded like she had just given up, it hurt to know she had caused this.

"I..I just..uhm..." Now that she had Ruby's attention her mind compeltely blanked, she wasn't expecting Ruby to actually speak to her after giving her the silent treatment for the last few days. As she tried to stutter out her words the died in her mouth when her eyes met with Ruby only to see the hurt that still seemed so fresh in them, "U-Um, h-how are you?" She felt so stupid the moment those words left her mouth, and it only made her feel worse when Ruby frowned up at her before huffing slightly.

"Fine." She said nothing more as she turned away from Nyx and continued towards her dorm, fishing out her scroll as she neared the door.

"No, dammit." She smacked her head with her good hand several times as she cursed under her breath, "T-That's not what I wanted to say, Ruby please wait." She quickly caught up to her since it seemed she was having trouble opening the door, "I'm sorry that's not what I wanted to say, I just...I wanted to talk with you I wanted to talk about what happened. I messed up I know but...please if we could just talk about it, I want to-"

"Well I don't want to talk about it Nyx." She huffed angrily as she tried to pass her scroll over the electronic lock that was currently refusing to scan her scroll. "You had your chance to talk and you lied to me, so you'll have to forgive me if I don't feel like talking with you." She grit her teeth as she passed her scroll over the electronic lock only for it to buzz as it refused to let her in, "Come on."

"I-I know you don't, but we have to talk about this Ruby, I don't want us to be like this. You were my first friend when I came to Beacon, I don't want that to be thrown away, so please I just-"

Ruby slammed her scroll against the lock as she turned to glare at Nyx, "That didn't seem to mean anything to you when you lied to me when I trusted you to tell me about Rodric. Then to make it worse you make me say all this...confusing stuff about him when you knew where he was, I thought he ran off without telling us anything, for all I knew he could have been dead Nyx! I just..." She huffed in frustration as tears began to sting her eyes, she wanted to forgive Nyx so they could be friends again, she missed talking to her but she couldn't forgive her for what she did. She turned away from her as she pressed her scroll against the lock, thankfully a soft click was her response.

"R-Ruby please I just-"

"Nyx...just go, I don't want to talk..." Ruby bit her lip as her words began to fail her, she could feel her throat beginning to ache as she fought back her tears. She hated that she was doing this to Nyx, she just wanted to forget about all this and just be her friend again, but this wasn't something that could be fixed with an "I'm sorry." Swallowing the pain in her throat away she pushed her door open, ready to cry herself to sleep before the rest of her team showed up.

Nyx shook her head, if she didn't apologize now she wasn't sure if she was ever going to be able to, if Ruby locked herself away from her she wasn't sure if they would ever be able to be friends again. She reached out for Ruby in an attempt to stop her, even if she had to hold her down she was going to apologize to her, "Ruby please don't just let me-"

"Leave me alone Nyx!" Ruby threw her arm out to push Nyx away, instead she smacked her hand away earning a pained cry from Nyx. She turned to see her cradling her injured hand against her chest, when Nyx looked at her she could see tears building in her eyes, "N-Nyx I...I..." She could feel herself shaking, she didn't mean to hurt her, she just wanted her to leave her alone, "I..." She hurried into her room and shut the door behind her, she didn't know what to say and she didn't trust herself enough to not break down in tears with the way Nyx was looking at her, she just wanted to be alone.

"Ruby..." Nyx winced as another sharp pain shot through her arm, even as she held it to her chest she could feel it trembling from the shock. While her hand was hurting now, she was more hurt knowing she wasn't able to apologize like she had hoped to do. With a defeated sigh she turned away from RWBY's dorm and moved over to her own, as she did she passed by Rodric's room, she thought about visiting but after what happened she wasn't exactly in the mood to see him. She pulled her scroll out and passed it over her electronic lock before pushing the door open, she kicked it closed with her foot as she made her way over to her bed. She barely managed to kick off her shoes and remove her blazer before she collapsed on the bed, she was much more tired than she had been earlier, though it probably had more to do with emotional exhaustion than anything. She pulled herself completely on the bed as she turned over to stare at the ceiling, she wasn't going to give up on apologizing to Ruby, but she would have to do it right, she needed a plan and a damn good one at that.

* * *

Groaning softly she slowly sat up bleary eyed as she rubbed at her eyes to clear them, only when she did she felt something rough rubbing against her face. Sighing softly she opened her eyes and saw a piece of white gauze wrapped around her hand, "Oh yeah..." in a daze she picked and pulled at the gauze that was tucked away beneath the folds before managing to pull out the end. She began to unwrap the bandages in somewhat of a daze, she felt terrible, she was still so tired it was almost like she hadn't slept at all, what made it worse was that she so badly wanted to sleep some more but she knew she couldn't.

"Should you be doing that?" Nyx blinked several times as she turned towards the voice only to see Rayvn giving her a concerned look, she looked back down at her hand to see that there was now a small pile of bandages sitting on her lap. "I mean shouldn't the nurse be doing that?" Nyx gave her a blank look before shrugging softly and continued with unwrapping the bandages from her hand.

"I'm sure it's fine, my aura would have healed it by now, besides I doubt she's there this early."

"Nyx, its ten in the morning." This caused her to pause as she looked up curiously at Rayvn.

"Seriously?"

"Pretty serious, when we came back from dinner you were passed out already, you've been asleep for nearly seventeen hours, are you alright?" She watched as Nyx tried to process everything, her eyes widened slightly but she never said anything, she just went back to unwrapping her bandages. "Nyx are you alright?"

"I guess?"

"Nyx..."

"I mean...maybe? I don't know I've never slept for so long before I feel...alright I guess." When the last of the bandages fell into her lap she flexed her hand and wiggled her fingers, she winced slightly when her hand stretched too far. "I have been really tired lately, guess it was just me catching up on my sleep." She picked up the pile of bandages in one hand and tossed the sheets off of herself with the other, the moment she did she frowned when she saw she was still in her uniform, she could have sworn she took it off. Shaking her head she got up from bed and wobbled slightly as she took a step forward, "Well my legs are numb so I can't deny I was asleep for that long," she slowly made her way to the garbage can and threw away the bandages before turning to Rayvn. When she did she noticed that neither Avelyn nor Victoria were in their beds, "Wait where's everyone else?"

"Avelyn went into Vale to do some shopping, though I doubt its for supplies like she said it was. Hmm...anyway Victoria is down in the dinning hall, she got up about an hour before you did and is catching up with breakfast."

Nyx nodded to herself before looking back towards Rayvn, "And you're..."

"Well I didn't feel like doing either so I decided to stay in and catch up with some reading I've been meaning to do." She leaned over and reached into her nightstands drawer and pulled out a small leather bound book, "Blake recommended it to me awhile back and I've been meaning to get into it."

Nyx could feel her a familiar warmth crawling up her neck as she looked away from her, "I wouldn't if I were you..."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, anyway I think I'm going to head out too..." She groaned softly as she looked down at herself, she began to unbutton the shirt she was wearing as she made her way to the bathroom, "Not before I have a shower though."

Once out of the shower Nyx dressed her normal attire of jeans, sneakers, a plain t-shirt and of course her arm warmers, the weather was getting chilly but not enough for a jacket so they'd do. She looked at herself in the mirror and ran her fingers through her hair to flatten some of the stray hairs before nodding and walking out of the bathroom. She saw Rayvn sitting on with her back against the headboard to her bed eyes flickering over the words in the book she was reading, she would have said something but thought better against distracting her. She made her way over to the door and pulled it open, she glanced over her shoulder to see a now red faced Rayvn staring wide eyed at the book, _I warned you, _she shook her head before stepping from the room and closed the door behind her. She looked down the hall and saw both the doors for Rodric and Ruby's dorm, she frowned slightly, despite sleeping for over seventeen hours as Rayvn had told her, she still hadn't come up with any plan to apologize to her. As she was thinking she heard the sound of a door closing, looking up she spied the familiar cloak of Ruby herself, her back was turned to her meaning she was probably heading down for breakfast or somewhere else. She opened her mouth to call out to her but quickly shut it fearing that she would end up taking off without waiting for her to tell her what was on her mind, she still needed to apologize to her. Instead of calling out for her attention she thought of something a little more...interesting, sure Ruby was much faster than her especially if she used her semblance, but if she caught her off guard then she had a chance.

Quickly settling on the idea she took a deep breath and ran full speed towards Ruby, and just as she expected she quickly caught up to her before Ruby even realized she was behind her. It was only when she was practically on top of her did Ruby notice something was amiss, but as she started to turn around she had already wrapped her arms around her waist and lifted her off the ground to keep her from breaking free with her semblance. Though also as she expected Ruby began flailing around in her arms throwing her legs back and forth in an attempt to kick her, "Ruby," She hissed quietly as to not alert anyone else as to what she was doing. She wasn't the best at public apologies and considering this had to do with Rodric who a certain blonde had some sort of beef with, she wanted to keep this between her and Ruby. "Will you please calm down!"

"Nyx! What the-"

"Sorry, but I knew this would be the only way I could talk to you, since you seem so keen on avoiding me as of late." As those words left her lips the younger girls flailing stopped almost instantly, "I mean, it's no wonder why you are but, Ruby please talk to me."

"Nyx..." She really didn't want to talk about what she knew Nyx was talking about, it was still too sore a subject for her, but she had been acting to much like a child with her avoiding and running from Nyx. Not to mention how she had hurt her yesterday in her fit of frustration, the least she could do would be to hear her out, sighing heavily she looked towards the ground before nodding. "Fine, but can you at least put me down?"

"Are you gonna run?"

"..."

"Ruby?"

She sighed heavily once again, "No, I promise not to run."

Nyx gave a suspicious look to the back of Ruby's head but eventually relented and set the younger girl down on the ground, when Ruby turned towards her she had been prepared to grab her in case she did run. However, the younger girl just looked up at her before looking away and moved over to the wall near them and leaned against it, "So...what did you want to talk about?" Nyx was a bit surprised that Ruby didn't just take off like she had imagined she would, what was more surprising was that she was actually giving her a chance to say what she had been trying to say for a long time. Though now that she had the chance, she couldn't seem to find the words she had thought about for days since she had hurt Ruby, she opened her mouth and closed it several times, and when Ruby looked up at her with sad but expecting eyes she swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.

"What?"

"I..I said, I-I'm sorry. Ruby you know you are my best friend, my first friend, I would never have done anything to hurt you but-"

"But you did..." Ruby replied sadly as she crossed her arms over her chest keeping her eyes trained to the floor.

"B-But I did..." Nyx repeated softly, "I did something I know I shouldn't have done, Ruby you have to believe me when I say I wanted to tell you, you trusted me with something important when you were in the hospital and...and I let you down." Nyx was trembling just from standing in front of Ruby, she could feel her voice beginning to fail her as it began to grow shaky as she spoke, "I care about you Ruby, a-and I care about Rodric, you two are my friends I didn't know what I was suppose to do. You asked me to tell you, he asked me not to tell you, what was I suppose to do Ruby? What would you have done if you were in my position?"

"I..." Ruby looked up to Nyx before looking away from her, she understood what she was saying but it still didn't get rid of the pain she felt, if anything it only eased it slightly. Nyx had been caught in between the both of them, either way she would have hurt one of them, she would have either betrayed her or Rodric and she probably would have been in the same situation still. Ruby sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair as she shook her head, "I don't know..."

"I'm sorry I lied to you Ruby, and...I'm sorry I put you through all that, that night. If I could just go back and fix everything that day you know I would Ruby, you're my friend I hate how we haven't spoken in nearly a week, I miss you." She choked back the faint sobs building in the back of her throat, "You're my best friend, i-if I ruined that by doing something so stupid I-I don't know-" Her words were cut off by a small sob that passed through her lips, "I-I'm sorry, I'm so sorry please just-" Once again she was cut off but it wasn't from another sob, but from Ruby throwing her arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug. "R-Ruby..."

"Don't cry Nyx..." She buried her face into Nyx's chest to hide the tears building in her own eyes, Nyx was such a good friend to her aside from what happened, and to see her crying like this broke her heart. She couldn't immediately forgive Nyx for what happened but she didn't want to see Nyx like this, "You're not going to lose me as your friend alright? So don't cry please?" She looked up to give Nyx a smile and pleading look, she watched as Nyx bit her lip and wrapped her arms around her and held her just as tightly. She couldn't help but smile as she held Nyx, after everything that had happened within the past few weeks she was glad to see that this was something that hadn't changed. The two of them slowly pulled away from each other as Nyx gave a shaky laugh and wiped her eyes clean of her tears, "You alright?"

"Y-Yeah just...I'm glad you're going to stay my friend."

"Hmm, I'm always going to be your friend Nyx. I might have been-I mean I still am angry and upset about you lying to me, but you're still going to be my friend Nyx."

"I know I know, I've been trying to think of something to do to get you two talking but I don't know what to do, I mean I can't-"

"You could just tell me where he is..."

Nyx chewed on her lip as she instantly dropped her gaze to the ground, this was the other thing she had been worried about when she brought this up, Ruby was going to want to know where Rodric was. She shut her eyes before slowly and hesitantly raising her arm to point towards the door just a few feet down the hall from her own dorm. When Ruby didn't immediately say anything she slowly opened her eyes to see Ruby looking at her absolutely wide eyed, "Nyx what the-" She pressed her hand over Ruby's mouth to keep her from shouting, but this only seemed to anger the girl as she instantly grabbed at her arm and tried to pull it away.

"Ruby, Ruby please listen to me please. I-I know I should have told you I know that but please calm down and listen to me please." Ruby glared at her as she grumbled against the palm of her hand and crossed her arms across her chest, "Can I move my hand without you yelling?" Ruby's glare deepened but gave a nod nevertheless, Nyx was still hesitant but slowly removed her hand from Ruby's mouth and the moment she did, she let her have it.

"He's been there the whole time?!" She loudly whispered putting as much as her anger she could into those faint words without resorting to yelling her head off, which she very much would have loved to do. "He's been right down the hall this whole time and you've never told me! Why didn't you tell me?!" If she kept whisper yelling like this she would end up straining her voice, but if she wasn't allowed to yell normally she would at least do this to convey how angry she was.

"Because you would have went right to him, and he would have known right away that I told you where he was and then what would have happened?"

Ruby grit her teeth, she was right though, if Nyx had just told her where Rodric was she would have went right up to his dorm and beg him to forgive her or apologize to him, whatever it was that made him stop talking to her. She still didn't know why he disappeared like that, and at this point she didn't really care any more she just wanted to talk to him. She glanced over to the door that Nyx had pointed at and sighed softly as she moved past Nyx and walked towards the door, though she barely made it two steps before Nyx grabbed her and held her back. She turned another angry glare to Nyx, "What are you doing?" She hissed out.

"Me, what are you doing? I just told you, you can't go waltzing up to his door like nothing, look I don't know what happened between you two but there is no guarantee he's just going to invite you in if he's going to these lengths to avoid you." Ruby opened her mouth to argue but slowly closed it, once again she was right, it was more likely that he would shut the door right in her face the moment he saw her. Huffing in frustration Ruby pulled her arm from Nyx's grasp and turned towards her frustration written clear on her face.

"Then what do I do huh? Just pretend I don't know he's like five feet from my door?"

"Look I don't know but going right up to him isn't going to really help anything, I've been trying to figure things out for the both of you but I don't really know what to do. He hardly leaves his room for anything, I have to pretty much force him to at least eat once a day, he wouldn't otherwise I'm guessing. The only time he really goes out for anything is when he..." She gasped as it suddenly dawned on her, he never went out of his dorm for anything except for one thing, and just like that a plan instantly formed in her mind. She looked at Ruby with a large grin on her face as she grabbed her shoulders and giggled happily as she gently shook Ruby, "I got it, I know exactly what to do!"

* * *

Rodric frowned slightly as he forced himself to slog through the book he currently found himself reading, rather than it being a medical book that he had found himself so engrossed in previously. This time it seemed to be some sort of horribly written romance novel, the setting was boring, the characters were boring and the plot...was there even a plot, he couldn't be sure as nothing has yet to happen and he was already several chapters in. _How does Blake read these, _the girl in question had suggested reading material for him some time ago, and seeing as he couldn't read medical literature anymore he decided it would be best to finally see what she had suggested for him. Only now he wished he hadn't, several quick knocks on his door thankfully pulled his attention away from the book in hand, he glanced down once more at it before grimacing and snapped it shut as he tossed it on his table to be forgotten about. As he approached the door he heard faint laughter coming from the otherside, curiously he pulled the door open and was surprised to see that it was Nyx standing there, even more surprising he found that she was alone. "Nyx."

"Hiya." She was so excited she could hardly keep it off her face and no doubt Rodric was curious about what she was smiling about, it took every ounce of strength inside of her to keep from laughing loudly, and too keep from dragging Rodric off to start her plan. She had to act normal, and laughing like a psycho probably wasn't the best way to do that, she cleared her throat and forced the smile from her face as she looked back up at him, "How are you."

"Uhm, I'm doing well." He leaned slightly out the door and looked down the hallway in both directions to make sure she truly was alone, when he found no one else he leaned back and looked down at Nyx curiously. "Uh, and yourself?"

"I'm alright, can I come in?"

"Uhm, of course." He moved out of the way to let her in, as she walked into his room he looked up and down the hallway once again but once again he found no one and sensed no one else. Giving a curious hum he entered his room and closed the door behind himself as he watched Nyx instantly make her way to his bed and collapse on it, he just couldn't understand her fascination with it. "I must say Nyx, it is a surprise to see you back here after...whatever it was that happened yesterday."

Nyx stopped in her attempt at sinking into the comfort that was his bed, slowly she sat up and looked at him curiously, "What do you mean?"

Dumbfounded Rodric simply stared at Nyx in confusion before finally managing to find his words, "You don't remember? You practically ran out of here as if I were chasing after you, did I do something to offend you?" Once again Nyx only stared back at him in the same state of confusion he felt at how quickly she forgot what had happened the previous day, only once the silence hung in the air for several minutes did Nyx finally seem to realize what he was speaking about. Curiously though, as her eyes widened in realization so to did her cheeks begin to turn a soft shade of pink as she quickly averted her eyes to the floor.

"O-Oh that, that as just me reacting to the situation was all..." She gave a nervous laugh as she rubbed the back of her neck, she probably could have handled the situation better than running out of the room like he as trying to hurt her.

"I see..." Rodric hummed softly as he leaned his back against the door to his room, "In that case I must apologize to you Nyx, I am deeply sorry if I hurt you. If there is anything I can do to make up for my action than please just-"

"W-What are you talking about? You didn't hurt me, where did you get that idea?"

"Are you positive? You said as much, you were simply reacting to the situation, I hurt you did I not?" He jerked his head in the direction of her hand which her eyes instantly went down too, she gasped softly before cradling her hand and shaking her head.

"Rodric, no Rodric you didn't hurt me, this was my fault. I should have known better than to touch your blood, I was just worried about you and forgot about that small detail."

"That small detail could have taken your hand Nyx, and I would never have been able to forgive myself if I had caused something like that to happen."

"Well it didn't so don't worry about it alright?" Rodric frowned slightly but relented nevertheless and nodded in agreement, sighing softly Nyx looked down at her hand and ran her fingers across the faint marks left from his blood. It looked like it scarred but other than that there didn't seem to be any major damage, though there was one thing she had been curious about since it had happened, "Rodric," he gave a curious hum as she looked up at him, "why did you like my hand that day?"

"What do you mean?"

She scoffed softly in surprise as she held her hand up to show him the faint burn marks left on her skin, "Don't tell me you don't remember, you had your m-mouth all over my hand after I touched your blood." He had to remember it, the memory was practically burned into her mind the same way his blood had burned her skin, she shuddered slightly recalling how it had felt.

"Oh yes, well I reacted on instinct, I had to help you and had I waited much longer the damage to your hand could have been much worse. In the medical books I read it recommends water for burns, or in much serious cases to find a doctor, or this case the nurse. However seeing as it was my blood had we waited even a moment longer it could have caused severe nerve damage and made your hand completely useless, in a sense I would have ruined your chance at becoming a huntress and I couldn't forgive myself if that were to happen."

She felt her cheeks warming up at how thoughtful he had been, he actually took all those possibilities into consideration and made a snap decision when it counted. He would have made a great team leader, aside from that it didn't quite answer her question, "Why lick my hand though?"

To that question he simply shrugged, "It was the only thing that I could think of in that moment, simply walking to the bathroom to clean it off would have taken too much time." While it wasn't exactly the best of answers she understood what he meant, from the moment she touched his blood it hurt more than anything she had ever felt and the pain only seemed to grow by the second. Just from that she could guess how much worse the damage would have been if he had dragged her to the bathroom instead of doing what he had done.

"W-Well in that case, I should be thanking you for...you know saving my hand and all. Though next time please warn me before you do something like that, please?"

He gave a firm nod, "Of course, but may I ask why, did I do something wrong?"

"I mean...not really but I guess it's not really...appropriate I guess?"

"What do you mean?"

She groaned softly and fell back on his bed, she really didn't know how to explain something like this too him, did he even have an romantic experience, would he even know what she was talking about. She suddenly shot up to look right at him, "Wait, you had said you're from the time of kings and stuff like that right?" He gave a questioning nod as she could only smile wider, "Okay well, what you did is kind of the same as kissing a lady's hand except...the way you did it would be considered much more...uh, you know...intimate." Rather than giving her the same confused look he had been giving her she was more pleasantly surprised to see his eyes widen in realization, _oh so he understood that._

"Gods Nyx I am deeply sorry for acting so boldly with you, truly it was not my intention to do something so...inappropriate with you. It was never my intention to do something like that with you, n-not that there would be anything wrong with doing something like that with you. N-No, what I mean is-"

Nyx gave a soft laugh as she shook her head, "Rodric it's fine, I know what you mean, geeze you act like it was some sort of dragon proposal or something." She gave another soft laugh before sighing softly, but as she looked up at him and noticed the look on his face she could feel her heart drop just a bit into her stomach, "Wait it wasn't a proposal was it?"

"N-No, of course not, a proposal for my kind is something much more grand than a simple kiss on the hand, not to mention for some of my kind a simple gesture wouldn't be enough to signify any sort of proposal. Honestly, if a proposal was a simple as that for my kind, many of my sisters would have quite a few mates to deal with."

Nyx couldn't help but let out a huge sigh of relief, for a moment she was sure she might have accidentally married him, not that it would have been the worse thing to happen to her, but considering what she was trying to accomplish wouldn't have helped her in any way. "Well geeze you could have said that without scaring me, honestly that look on your face actually made me thing that you had." She gave a nervous laugh before shaking her head as she looked back up at him, "But, you actually have me curious now, you said that a simple gesture wouldn't be enough for a proposal right? So, what qualifies for a dragon 'popping the question' huh?"

This time it was Rodric who let out a large sigh as he pressed his back against the door, "Well it differs for all of us really, mostly it would depend on where we were born or grew up. Much like the humans dragons have various customs that change with different regions, for some a simple gesture would be all it would take but for others it is...different. It's difficult to explain without actually showing you, and I can't show you for obvious reasons as I'm sure you understand?" She gave a small nod as he rubbed the back of his neck trying to think of how to explain it, "I suppose it is a dance that we would perform, and again the dance differs between my kind, for some it would be shows of power and trust. For others it would simply be a dance to show how close the pair is and their love for one another."

Nyx let a sly smile play over her lips as she giggled softly, "Speaking from experience?"

Rodric sighed softly trying to keep an old pain away from his eyes, "No." Shaking his head he raised his eyes to the ceiling of his room before continuing, "While I might not have experienced it myself, the ones who have performed this dance all experienced the same thing. A feeling of unity, they say that as they could feel their souls reaching out for the other, if they meant such a thing in a literal sense I couldn't be sure. However, they say that once their souls found each other they could see through their partners eyes, feel what their partner felt and things such as that. To always be united in mind and soul even when the body is separated by distance must be such a wonderful thing."

Nyx averted her eyes away from Rodric when she noticed the wistful look he had as he spoke of their marriage customs, she could feel her cheeks burning as she roughly cleared her throat to pull him from his thoughts. "A-Anyway I was thinking that you know, you've been stuck in this room for nearly a week...again. Don't you think you should, you know get some fresh air or something?"

"Hmm?" He looked towards her then towards the open window that had been letting in the small breeze that had been present for a better part of the day, "The window is open though."

"No, I mean you know go out and stretch your legs, even for you I'm sure you must be getting tired of seeing these four walls day in and day out, say why don't we head out to the garden again." While she was trying to reign in her eagerness she was sure that it had slipped out a little as she expressed her desire to return to the garden, surprisingly he didn't seem to notice it though.

"The garden? Well, I suppose I have been neglecting it." He stretched his arms forward before clenching his fists and sighing softly, "Not to mention I have not been using my abilities as much as I should, especially if I want to be able to use them as I once did." He turned his attention to his clock, only to see that it was missing, _right, _he had thrown it out the window the previous day in an attempt at stopping the assault that had happened below his window. "Nyx what time is it?"

Nyx gav him a curious look and looked over to where his clock was, only to find it gone, she quickly remembered what happened to it and nodded before fishing her scroll from her pocket. "It's just about to be 12, why?"

Rodric hummed slightly in consideration, from what he remembered the halls were usually empty around this time with either the students in the dinning hall for lunch of off doing something else. Meaning there would be less chance to running into certain people, "No reason, but you are correct it would be nice to get a little fresh air." He pushed himself off the door before turning and pulling it open and looking down the hallway to make sure there was no one else around.

Nyx couldn't help but smile at how easily he actually went along with the idea, usually he would have tried to think of some sort of excuse to get out of leaving the room, but he actually agreed for once. She fumbled with her scroll in her excitement as she quickly pulled up her contact list and quickly typed out a message, _"Go now." _She quickly jumped to her feet as she pushed her scroll back into her pocket, as Rodric turned to give her a curious look she couldn't help but smiling widely at him. He shook his head and walked into the hallway as she followed suit, she couldn't believe that her plan, the one she thought of in mere moments was actually working as she hoped it would.

* * *

The rapid squeaking started up again and instantly grated on Weiss' nerves, she cast a pointed glare at the culprit in question only to see Ruby staring down at her scroll...again. "Ruby," she whispered in a tone that instantly made the girl toss her scroll onto the table and then attempt to look busy. "I told you not to waste time on your scroll, now pay attention or I will extend this session for another hour." The look she got from Ruby was one of disbelief, as if she didn't think she would do such a thing, "Oh trust me Ruby, that isn't going to bother me one bit, I've already caught up on all the material I need. I can easily call Blake and have her watch you until you finish your work, because unlike you Blake actually enjoys spending time in the library." The only response she got was a squint from Ruby as if she was testing whether or not she actually would, sadly for her she wasn't bluffing as she pulled out her scroll with a huff, "Fine if that's the way you want it."

"No, no! I-I'll do my work I promise." She quickly flipped her textbook to the page she should have been on and quickly begin to take notes on whatever stood out to her. While the thought of having Blake pretty much baby sitting her didn't frighten her it was being stuck in the library for another hour doing work she really didn't care about. After having her run in with Nyx awhile ago she hadn't been able to concentrate after she told her the plan she had come up with, while she still had some doubts about it working she couldn't keep herself from being excited about it. She couldn't keep from bouncing her legs as she forced herself to write the notes Weiss had told her about and she knew the squeaking sound her chair made when she did so got on her nerves but she couldn't help it. Just as before her writing slowly came to a stop as her eyes wandered to her scroll, she could only hope that Nyx remembered to message her like she had said, otherwise this was going to be all for nothing. Not only that, she wasn't sure if her scroll was set to vibrate or silent if it was on silent she wasn't going to know if Nyx messaged her, what if she had already messaged her and she missed it. Biting her lip Ruby quickly glanced up to see Weiss going over her notes, as quickly as she could she snatched her scroll from the spot it rested and opened it up. Nothing. She couldn't help but sigh softly in relief that she hadn't actually-

"Am I really going to have to take that from you?" Yelping softly Ruby quickly threw her scroll back onto the table as it clattered loudly into place as she quickly went back to her notes. "Two seconds, that's all I ask, just do your work for literally two seconds without getting distracted and I will be happy. Do you think I like treating the leader of our team like a child?" She watched as Ruby frowned but said nothing as she continued to scribble down her notes, "I"m honestly asking Ruby, do you think I like treating you like this?"

"Well..."

"No, no is the answer Ruby." She sighed heavily and shook her head as she gathered her notes into a neat pile before placing her book on top of them to keep them from being blow away from any sudden movement. "What's so important that you keep looking at your scroll anyway? Yang isn't going to come and save you from studying, you agreed that the weekend was going to be used for catching up on your work, so don't expect any escape."

"I know..." Ruby whined in response, she knew full well that Yang wasn't going to come to her rescue, much like how she and Nyx had been previously, Yang had yet to say anything to her after what happened. They spoke...occasionally, usually during lunch or during classes when they needed to, but other than that they have yet to have speak to each other. She could see the way Yang was looking at her though, she really wanted to say something to her, whether it was an apology or something else, she clearly wanted to say it, but for whatever reason she hadn't yet. Sometimes she wondered if it had to do with Rodric, she had begun thinking that maybe Yang knew something about him as well, it hand't really stuck out to her until they stopped talking, but Yang always spoke about Rodric as if she had a run in with him. Though it didn't really surprise her, after everything that happened with her dying and everything Rodric had been a sore subject for Yang, it would make perfect sense that she would have hid something like this from her. She sighed softly and shook her head, she still couldn't really wrap her head around why Yang had such a problem with him, she clearly didn't understand the position he had been in that night otherwise he would have been fighting right by their side. She looked up to see Weiss flipping through a book that had been at their table when they arrived, from the looks of it she wasn't really reading it but just wished to do something, maybe now she might be able to get some perspective from her team about their opinion on their sort of missing member. "H-Hey Weiss, can I ask you something?"

Weiss gave a heavy sigh and answered back without even looking up from the book she had, "No you can't copy my notes, the whole point of this is for you to do it on your own."

"Man, w-wait no that's not what I was going to ask it was something else." This time Weiss actually looked up at her arching her brow in a questioning manner as she stared at her, "I-It was actually...uhm, well, what do you think about Rodric?"

"Rodric?" Weiss repeated in a questioning manner, "Why do you want to know what I think of him?"

"Well I mean Yang seems to have this sort of problem with him, a-and I'm just curious what your opinion is own him is all."

"You can't honestly be that clueless as to not know _why _Yang is angry with Rodric, it was only a few weeks ago Ruby, _we_ haven't forgotten. Out of the four of us, you should know very well why Yang is so angry with him."

"N-No, no I know why Yang is angry with him, and I can understand why she would feel like that, but I-I mean what do you think of him in general?"

"He's an idiot." Was her blunt response and by the look on Ruby's face she hadn't been expecting quite that blunt of an answer, "You asked for my opinion, didn't you?"

"Y-Yeah, but why do you say that?"

"Honestly, its just how arrogant he acts, those first few days he stayed with us he walked and talked like we were beneath him and not worth his time. You would think he actually believed the world owed him something with the way he acted, if I had to be honest I would say he's changed a lot since then and has become a little more...tolerable."

Ruby couldn't help but fight back small fits of giggles, "K-Kinda like you Weiss." She bit her lip to keep from laughing as she looked up towards Weiss only to see her glaring back at her with not even a faint hint of a smile on her face, she squeaked softly and lowered her head back to the table as Weiss huffed loudly across from her.

"Anyway, I don't really believe all that nonsense about him being a...a dragon or whatever it was he was called that night, I do know however that he was extremely brave. Whether that woman was his sister or not it was clear she was extremely dangerous and despite everything she did to him, he remained strong. Even elite hunters trained to withstand that sort of torture wouldn't have been able to withstand what she was doing to him, let alone actually surviving that."

"W-What about after I...you know?"

Weiss opened her mouth to answer but slowly closed it as she lowered her eyes to the table, beneath the table she tightly gripped the edges of her skirt as she took a deep breath. "Ruby you have to understand, I've only seen the aftermath of things such as this but to witness something that...gruesome first hand was a...it was something I'm never going to be able to forget. Mostly because I felt useless, I promised you to be the best teammate I could be and...I failed, I failed you and Blake, and Yang and because I did you..." She let the unfinished statement hang in the air as she forced herself to swallow those words so she wouldn't say them. "We were all devastated by what happened, most of all Yang as I'm sure you can imagine, though the thing I remember the most is how he acted. Even though he cried out as loudly if not louder than Yang had after what happened, he acted so cold and distant like he didn't even care. Though now that I think back on it, it was possibly his way of coping with what happened, if that truly was the case them I'm...ashamed at the way we treated him..."

It was strange to hear Weiss speaking so much about what had happened, Yang and Blake all but refused to talk about what happened, maybe it was because Weiss didn't try to treat her like a child. While she always used that word in a negative way, but she never really treated her like what she would call her, in fact she always pushed her to be the best she could. Was this why she was telling her all of this when no one else would, sure Blake had said that Rodric had saved her, but she never knew all of this. Ruby's mouth felt dry as she tried to find her voice to ask her next question, "W-What did you do to him?"

Once again Weiss gave a heavy sigh as she shook her head, "You have to understand Ruby we were all upset and were all devastated with what we had seen, you were lying in the hospital bed and none of us knew what was going to happen to you. After Rodric performed that...ritual or whatever it was on you, none of us knew what to think about him after that, we all just...turned on him. Accused him for being the cause of what happened, while Blake and I kept such thoughts to ourselves, Yang was the one to voice how we all felt, she said everything that was on her mind and neither of us even bothered to stop her. Even if he was partially responsible for what happened that night he shed more than enough blood and suffered much more than we had to bring you back. For that we are all grateful, though what became of him after leaving the team, we don't really know."

Ruby opened her mouth to speak but couldn't even find the words to say as she looked down at the table, _ritual? _Blake had said Rodric had brought her back, had saved her, but she never really explained how that happened and from the way Blake always looked after she said that, she clearly didn't want to talk about it. She looked back up to Weiss who seemed to quickly look away as their eyes met, she figured it would be best to ask her seeing as she was actually talking to her about that night. Taking a deep breath she sighed softly before finally speaking, "You said ritual, what do you mean? What did he do?"

Weiss kept her eyes from Ruby as she tried to find the words to explain it to her, while she agreed with Blake that it would be best to keep her from knowing, she couldn't agree with keeping her in the dark forever. She noticed how frustrated Ruby got when Blake refused to answer the question on how she was able to live through such a traumatic event, she wasn't a child, at least not anymore after that night. "He..." the words grew heavy on her tongue and seemed to muddle together as she tried to force herself to say them, but with every word she would say she relieved that night. "He..." The green fire burned brightly surrounding Ruby during the night, she had never seen anything shine as brightly and as eerily as those flames had. The haunting words he spoke in that unknown language were seared into her mind, they replayed in her mind every time she looked at Ruby, she was sure that she could repeat them at this point though she wouldn't know what the words meant. "He did...something to you that night Ruby, I can't even really describe what it was I saw that night." While she couldn't really believe that Rodric was truly a dragon, she could believe that he did something very powerful, very ancient, and very disturbing that night. Chills crawled over her skin as she remembered how the air had changed as he spoke those words into the still air, there are hardly any words she could think of to describe what she felt, the only thing that seemed to fit was...wrong. Everything that night was just wrong, the words he spoke, the feeling in the air as he performed that ritual to save Ruby, it all just felt so...wrong. The sight, the sounds, and the smell that night were all wrong, but they were all burned into her mind for the rest of her life, sighing heavily she shook her head, "Honestly, I don't know what he did that night, all I _do _know was that he saved you. He saved you at his own expense, whatever that ritual was that night, it seemed he was in a great deal of pain performing it. I suppose if it's any consolation, I do hope he isn't suffering any adverse affects from saving you, as much as he deserves it, he did save you so..." Weiss trailed off, leaving it at that, she didn't want to talk about the subject anymore, and hoped that it was enough information to at least satisfy Ruby's curiosity.

The information was a lot for Ruby to take in, she hadn't been told once that a ritual had been performed to save her, and she wondered what Weiss had meant when she said that he shed more than enough blood to bring her back. She had a lot of questions she wanted to ask but as she looked back up at Weiss and saw the uncomfortable look she had in her eyes she felt that it was best to save those questions for Rodric himself if she ever got the chance. Rather than leave the air feeling heavy she decided to at least try and lighten up the mood, "So...what you're saying is you're worried about him?" Almost as if she predicted it Weiss took the bait as she scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I'm as worried about him as I am about Jaune, at least he knows how to protect himself if it came down to it, in Jaune's case his attackers would just feel bad about him and leave him alone. Mainly because the only danger to Jaune is himself." Ruby couldn't help but giggle at that, while it was a mean thing to say about Jaune it was just to funny imagining men in black masks patting Jaune on the shoulder and leaving him alone. Ruby started to say something but was cut off when her scroll buzzed loudly against the table, her eyes widened in surprise as she quickly grabbed it and saw the words _"Go now." _Her heart began to race at the words and she quickly looked up at Weiss only to see her looking curiously at her, she opened her mouth to say something but Ruby cut her off by quickly blurting out the first thing she could think of.

"C-Can I go to the bathroom!" Weiss reeled back slightly in surprise, but more so embarrassment at how loudly Ruby had asked that question, shaking her head as she sighed heavily she reluctantly nodded as Ruby shot up from her seat.

"Just don't take too-" Ruby bolted off in a flurry of rose petals and scattered notes that slowly drifted back down to the table as Weiss huffed in annoyance, "long." As one of the papers landed in front of her she picked it up and turned it over as she groaned loudly at the sloppy print that was scrawled across the sheet of paper, "How can she even read this?"

* * *

Ruby pulled her scroll out when she stopped for a moment to catch her breath, running from the library to the courtyard using her semblance took a lot out of her, especially when she hasn't used it or her aura in awhile. As she tried to slow her breathing she opened her scroll and as quickly as she could she opened the message Nyx had sent to her and saw that five minuets had passed, she bit her lip a little worried that she was taking too long, but Nyx had assured her that she would do her best to slow Rodric down. Though she wasn't sure how long that actually gave her, not to mention the instruction that Nyx had given her didn't even really make sense and she left before she could even ask her what any of what she told her was suppose to mean. Sighing heavily she pocketed her scroll and looked up around trying to remember where Nyx had told her to go, _"Past the main building on the side of the dorms, follow that path as far as you can." _Turning around to face the main entrance of Beacon she looked in the direction that the first year dorms were in, she could at least hope that was the dorms she meant. Shaking her head she walked as quickly as she could keeping her eyes to the path to make sure she didn't miss...whatever it was Nyx had told her to keep an eye out for, it was hard to keep focused when her mind was a complete mess.

_What do I do, what do I say? _Its been nearly two and half weeks since she last saw Rodric, what was she suppose to say to him after so long, she _still _didn't really know why he was avoiding her. Though after talking to Weiss she had a small idea as to why he was doing it, but she couldn't exactly be completely sure until she actually talked to him, and that just brought her around full circle. She sighed heavily and shook her head, even though this was something she had been dying to do since she woke up in the hospital, now that she was actually going to meet with him face to face, she was nervous and unsure about the whole thing. She began to wring her hands together as her pace slowed all but to a crawl, she was having second thoughts, she felt like just heading back to the library and finishing her work so that she could do what she wanted later. She wanted to, but she knew nothing was going to get fixed if she avoided the problem after having Nyx come up with this plan _for _her, she didn't want her to go through all of that for nothing. Shaking her head she pushed herself forward and forced her feet to move forward, she was nervous and why wouldn't she be, she was finally going to speak with someone she cared about, a lot more than she had previous realized. She swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat as her heart began to beat quicker, she wondered if she would see him any differently after saying all of that stuff to Nyx awhile ago, she hoped not so that she wouldn't be a stuttering mess when she actually talked to him. After getting this out of the way though she didn't care how she acted, as long as it wasn't that embarrassing anyway, she liked Rodric, so she didn't want to make herself look like a complete idiot.

She stopped walking when the building stopped and gave way to a large wood filled area, it wasn't the same as the Emerald Forest, but it would get there if it wasn't maintained properly. _"Once you get passed the building keep your eye out for an old dirt path, it's easy to miss so keep an eye out." _Ruby frowned slightly as she looked down at the ground but didn't see anything that looked like an old dirt path, just a lot of grass and a couple of weeds here and there. _Just great_, if the path was overgrown with grass then she really wasn't going to find it, and while the woods here weren't thick she'd rather not wander around in them trying to find wherever this dirt path lead. Huffing in frustration she slowly paced up and down the stone path staring intently down at the ground trying to find something that looked like some sort of path, but even going so far as to walk a few feet into the grass covered area she still couldn't notice anything. She groaned loudly with frustration and moved back to the stone walkway, but as she did she felt her foot catch on something causing her to yelp softly as she fell forward into the grass below her. "Ow..." Ruby pushed herself up from the grass as she looked back to see a raised root that had caught her foot, as she pushed herself up from the ground she noticed something near the raised root. Moving over towards it she pushed down some of the grass and noticed a long patch of dirt hidden beneath the thick grass, following it slightly she realized it was the path she was looking for, "Alright!" She couldn't help but laugh softly to herself, all it took was a small tumble but she found what she was looking for, as her laughter faded away she heard more laughter off in the distance, curiously she moved back towards the stone walkway to see where it was coming from.

Though the moment she stepped onto the walkway she quickly backtracked back onto the grass and pushed herself against the wall of the building, _Oh man. _Hesitantly she slowly peeked around the corner and further down the path she saw Nyx rounding the corner of the building talking with someone around the corner, no doubt it was Rodric. Ruby bit her lip as she quickly his back behind the building, she hadn't realized she was taking so long, or were they just walking fast. She shook her head, it didn't really matter what the reason was all she knew was that she had to move, letting out a sharp breath she looked around the corner again only for her eyes to meet with a very surprised and worried looking Nyx. Upon seeing that she quickly ducked back into hiding before pushing herself away from the wall and quickly running down the path she found, it was difficult to run down a path she could hardly see while trying to keep ahead of Nyx and Rodric while making sure she didn't go running off into the forest. _"Now you want to be careful the path is really hard to see and it splits off halfway through and you're going to want to go-" _

"Right." Ruby nodded to herself as she quickly approached the fork in the path just as Nyx had said there would be, it was fairly easy to see as the trees had thankfully yet to grow over the path leaving a very obvious fork in the woods. She turned down the right path and quickly ran down it, pushing herself just a bit harder since it shouldn't have been much further, but much to her surprise the path ended much sooner than she had expected. Though it didn't look like anything Nyx had described to her, in fact this was just the unused and always locked rear entrance of the building, "W-What but that's..." She didn't understand she had went the right way, she chewed on her lip as she played back the quick and confusing directions Nyx had given her in her mind, _"...splits off halfway through and you're going to want to go down the _left _path." _Groaning loudly in frustration Ruby quickly turned on her heel and ran down the path she had came down trying to make up for lost time, and whether it was from her being exhausted from running down the path, that was much longer than Nyx had said it would be, or just from her frustration at having gone down the wrong path, but it seemed like it took her longer to get back to the fork in the path. Not soon enough for her taste she returned to the fork and leaned against one of the trees to catch her breath, she gave a light cough as she took a deep breath, she was definitely going to have to start training her stamina again if it was this bad. The only good thing was that she was at least further head of Rodric and Nyx, so she was at least safe for the most-

"See it's nice out huh?" Ruby quickly turned in the direction of the voice and yelped softly when she saw both Rodric and Nyx starting down the path towards her, she froze on the spot as panic began to set in. Once again Nyx turned towards her completely wide eyed, Rodric seemed to notice this and started to follow her gaze causing Ruby to yelp once more before quickly vanishing down the correct path with the use of her semblance.

Rodric's eyes followed Nyx's gaze but saw nothing, he gave a curious hum as he turned back towards Nyx, "Is something the matter?"

Nyx tried her best to keep the shock from her face as she quickly shook her head, "N-No j-just surprised to see that it isn't cloudy for once h-heh..." Rodric gave her a strange look as she stared down at the ground letting out a heavy sigh, if Ruby kept up at this rate her plan would end up going down the drain. Not that it was a good plan anyway, she just sort of threw it together within a few minutes, that it even got this far was a surprise, though she could only hope that Ruby picked up the pace a little, even if she did slow down Rodric even more they would still catch up with her soon. _Come on Ruby..._

* * *

Her breathing was ragged as she coughed loudly and roughly, she took several deep breaths as she tried to slow her racing heartbeat, she was pushing herself too hard, she was already exhausted from running down the wrong path, and then to add her semblance on top of it. She turned her head slightly to look back down the path she had run down, thankfully she didn't see either of them, which was good for her because she wasn't sure if she could run anymore. Coughing once again she pushed herself away from the tree she had been resting against before setting off once again on the path, she felt she had put enough space between them to at least go at a slower pace. Though even going slower than she had been previously still felt like she was going too fast after all the running she was doing, her legs wobbled with each step she took, she would probably have been better off crawling to the end of the path at this point. Though before she could drop to her hands and knees the trees began to thin out around her, they weren't as bunched together anymore and there was a strange scent hanging in the air, with the last dregs of her strength she jogged the remaining distance down the path before quickly stopping at the end of the path staring slack jawed at the sight before her.

Nyx hadn't told her what to expect once she reached the end of the path just that, that was where she would want to be when she brought Rodric, but what she saw was...breathtaking. Of all the things she expected to see hidden deep in the woods behind the school, a large garden completely bursting with different colored flowers was not one of those things. Letting out a surprised breath she slowly approached the aged fence that confined the small garden, though it didn't help as a large amount of the plants and flowers that grew here were spilling over the top of the fence or simply bursting through the aged wood. The gate hanging off the fence on broken hinges was the only thing that separated her from the contents on the other side, being as gently as she possibly could she pulled the gate open only enough for her to slip through as she was still scared of it falling apart on her. Once she squeezed through the small opening she couldn't hold back the gasp that escaped her lips, the inside was even more amazing that whatever she could see on the outside, flowers were literally growing from ever corner around her. Some of them she could easily recognize like Lilies, and Sunflowers, but a lot of them looked like nothing she had ever seen not to mention she had _never _seen so many flowers all in once place before, the ones that grew closer to the ground were nearly obscured by others that were practically growing on top of them.

Even with how amazed with what she was seeing around her, the sight that grabbed her attention was the strange, yet amazing sight in front of her. The small building in front of her was run down with large holes in the structure from either the elements or just from having rotted away, one of the windows was completely shattered while the other was still in place, but was covered in small cracks dotting the dirty glass. There were holes all along the bottom of the building and it all seemed to be leaning to one side slightly, from the looks of it, it would have completely fallen apart had it not been for the large tree growing through it. She took a few steps back and craned her neck up to look up at the large tree in front of her, it was larger than most of the others in the woods but couldn't compare to the ones in the Emerald Forest. The leaves swayed in the gentle breeze letting the sunlight almost sparkle between the leaves, the large trunk went straight down through the roof of the dilapidated building, and now that she looked at it, she could see some of the roots growing through the holes near the base of the building. _Did he do all this?_ She looked back at all the flowers around her only for her eyes to travel back to the tree growing through the building in front of her, now that she thought about it, if Rodric did in fact do all this, then it would only make sense for Nyx to tell her to come here for their meeting. At that realization she became a bit conflicted with how she was feeling, while she was amazed to know and to see that Rodric was capable of doing something like this she was slightly dejected with the knowledge that she hadn't been a part of this. She frowned slightly as she looked up at the tree with the strange mix of feelings fluttering in her chest, as she shook her head she suddenly froze to the spot as everything suddenly became silent around her. As she held her breath she could hear the soft shuffling of feet in the dirt slowly growing louder as it grew closer to where she was, her heart began to race once again as she quickly looked for somewhere to hide. While hiding in the large bunch of flowers around her would have been a good idea she didn't want to end up messing up Rodric's work, she turned her attention to the only other place she could hide and quickly approached it.

She had to be careful, the door was practically falling off the frame, if she even breathed on the door wrong she was worried that rather than falling off it would just disintegrate. She took a deep breath and slowly squeezed herself between the small opening the door had made as it hung from the frame, almost at the same time she did she could hear the creaking coming from the gate she had also squeezed through, as quickly as she could she forced herself into the darkened room and quickly pulled her cloak through the opening just as the footsteps entered the garden. She sighed quietly in relief, though once she did she quickly covered her mouth to keep from gagging, there was a horrible smell in the room with her, much worse than that day she hid in the garbage in Vale. While the room was somewhat illuminated with the sun shining down through the broken ceiling, though it was still hard to tell she could see several large bags strewn about the small building, the contents were spilling out either from damage or age. While she couldn't read what was written on the aged bags she had a faint idea of what was inside of them, she gagged slightly at the smell but kept her hands over her mouth to keep from making any noise. Which was a good thing to because she could hear the two of them talking, though it was hard to hear what they were saying as they were being kind of quite, though she understood that, it was a nice day no one would want to ruin that by talking to loud. So, as slowly and as quietly as she could she inched her way to the only remaining window that was covered in dirt and years of dust and peeked out, hoping to remain unseen.

* * *

Nyx looked around slowly, trying to not be so obvious in her search for the young leader, Ruby had already had too many close calls with being spotted she hoped she was hiding somewhere decent. As Rodric spoke about something she observed all the flowers around them, hoping and praying that Ruby hadn't thought that hiding in them would do her any good. Every time the breeze blew through the flowers she instantly locked her eyes on them, it didn't help with the large group of bright red flowers began to sway in the breeze. "Nyx?" She quickly turned to see Rodric staring curiously at her, she shifted slightly where she stood before clearing her throat.

"Y-Yeah, sorry did you say something?"

Rodric frowned at this as he crossed his arm over his chest, "Nyx you've been acting very strangely since we set out on this little journey, why is that?"

"W-what are you talking about I haven't-"

"Enough Nyx, clearly there is something on your mind, you took every opportunity to slow our progress _despite _knowing that I do not like to wander the halls so openly. You said next to nothing on our way here and that is not like you, you are such a talkative person that I have difficulty getting you to stop, you act so much like-" He choked back the words that nearly slipped from his mouth, gritting his teeth he looked back up towards her as he sighed softly, "never mind, but you will tell me why you are acting this way."

Nyx sighed heavily, she didn't even bother arguing with him because he was right, she hadn't acted like herself since they left his room earlier, she didn't know what to even say to him as they walked here. She had been mostly preoccupied with this very moment, thinking about every little thing that could happen in-between and everything that could go wrong up until this point. It hadn't been easy when Ruby was very nearly spotted more than a few times, it only served to put her more on edge that she already was, but now that they were finally here there was no point in worrying anymore. "You're right, I haven't been acting like myself but...but I have a very good reason for that, and for why I asked you to come out here." She sighed softly as she looked at Rodric, though as she did she noticed subtle movement behind him, it came from the broken down building from behind him, and even though the windows were dirty and hard to see through she knew there was only one person it could be. "The reason I asked you out here was to talk." Strangely enough as she said this Rodric seemed to visibly relax, but what surprised her was when he began to chuckle slightly.

"Of course." He let out a small laugh as he shook his head, "Of course you would make a simple talk seem so ominous Nyx, we could have easily talked about whatever is on your mind in my room." Sighing heavily he shrugged his shoulders and looked back towards her, "No matter, we are here now, and there is no sense in returning to the dorm to speak. So, tell me Nyx what is it you wish to speak of."

"Actually..." She sighed heavily as she looked past Rodric to the small shadow leaning against the window as she gave a small nod causing the small shadow to disappear. "It's not me who you will be talking to..." A low groaning sound came from the door to the building as it was slowly pulled open, the caused Rodric to turn towards the sound as Nyx chewed on her lip as she quietly finished, "...it's her."

Rodric turned towards the sound behind him and was surprised to the the dorm to the building opening up, his surprise slowly turned to shock as his eyes widened as Ruby stepped out from the darkened building. "You..." Was all he managed to whisper as he saw her standing there, she opened her mouth to say something to him but seemed to falter as she slowly lowered her eyes to the ground. He grit his teeth as he fought back a growl that was growing in his chest, both from anger and frustration, he had tried so hard to stay away from her did everything he could to avoid her and yet here she was. He turned away from her, not for any other reason than because he couldn't bare to look at her, even with how long he had stayed away from her, all he could see was the way she had looked that night. Cold, unmoving, covered in blood, dead...because of him. He looked up to Nyx as he only just managed to reign in his anger, "What is _she _doing here."

This reaction hadn't been what Nyx was expecting, and from the look on Ruby's face it clearly wasn't what she had been expecting either, she couldn't stand to see the two of them like this, especially after Ruby had told her how she really felt about him. "I-I...I told her to come here I just-"

"You told her! Why would you do such a-" He stopped himself as he let out a sharp breath through clenched teeth in an attempt to calm himself, "-why would you do such a thing when I _told _you the reason I did not wish to see her. I thought I could-"

"Why don't you tell me that reason then." Ruby kept herself from flinching as Rodric's clearly anger filled eyes turned towards her, she clenched her fists as Rodric looked her over before breathing sharply and turning away from her again. "Why are you avoiding me?!" She couldn't stop from rising, she had wanted to see him so badly only for him to treat her like this hurt more than him telling Nyx to lie to her, it only made it worse when he completely ignored her. She grit her teeth and said the only thing she could think that would get him to respond to her, "Weiss told me what you did to save me." She had been right, the moment she had said that he quickly turned to her eyes wide in shock.

"She told you?! What...what is the matter with her why would she tell you something like-"

"Because you weren't there to tell me!"

"Stop!" Both sets of eyes turned to Nyx who was trying to keep herself from shaking with how angry she was at the both of them, "This wasn't why I brought the both of you out here, I didn't set this up so you two could just stand and yell at each other!" She took a deep breath before letting it out slowly to calm herself down before looking at Rodric, "I know why you didn't want to see her but I think it's fair that you tell her why you were avoiding her, you saved her life, the least you can do is tell her that. Now, I'm going to go stand by the end of the path to let the both of you talk, I _expect_ the both of you two talk and neither of you better leave this garden until you've said what you've needed to say." She locked eyes with Rodric and frowned cutting off whatever it was he had attempted to say, she then turned to Ruby and softened her gaze a bit before giving a soft nod and walking back away from them, "Now. Talk." She pulled the gate open and stepped through as it swung closed with a loud groan, she could only hope that this would fix even a small percentage of what they used to be like. That's all she could do anyway, hope.

* * *

After the gate swung closed all that was left in the small garden was silence, not even the breeze dared to break the awkward air that hung between both Rodric and Ruby. Rodric grit his teeth and kept his back to the young girl behind him, he still couldn't believe Nyx had done this to him, after all the trouble he went through to cut off all contact with RWBY, she brought the main person he was trying to avoid right to him. Not only that, she had the gall to _demand _that he actually talk with her, she even went so far as to make some sort of vague threat towards the both of them. He cared for Nyx, but if she truly thought that she could do _anything_ to stop him from walking away from here she was deeply mistaken. Clenching his fists he gave a sharp scoff as he started to make his way towards the gate, he was going to show her that she couldn't stop him even if she truly tried to. "Rodric, please..." Those soft words slowed his pace but did not stop him, this was the last place he wished to be and there wasn't anything she could say to stop- "Don't go..." Hesitantly, he stopped walking but never turned to face her, he couldn't face her, not anymore.

She let out a shaky sigh to see that she had actually stopped him from leaving, she stopped him but keeping him from leaving would be a whole other matter. She bit her lip as she tried to sort out her thoughts, everything she wanted to tell him had suddenly turned into a jumbled mess, she had played out everything in her mind, what she would say and her responses to whatever he might say. Now that she was actually here and he was standing here, albeit with his back to her, she couldn't think straight, the only thing she wanted him to do at this point was to stay, if he left with her still here...she didn't know what she was going to do. "Please talk to me Rodric, please..."

He could hear the pain in her voice to simply utter those few words, there was a mix of sorrow and hurt in her voice and he hated it, all it did was serve to remind him that she was only like this because of him. His mouth opened with so many words all trying to escape from his lips at the same time, but none of the words were the ones he wanted to say to her, he wasn't even sure what it was he wanted to say to her, "I..." He clenched his teeth and sucked in a sharp breath, once again he attempted to say something but the words died on his tongue before he could even speak them, whatever he wanted to tell her would do little to nothing to ease whatever pain she was feeling, all he would end up doing was just making it worse. "I-I can't..." Was all he managed to say, and even doing so he felt a heavy weight place itself on his heart.

She didn't understand what he was trying to say, she could feel her heart racing in fear, she was so afraid that he would leave at any moment and neither her nor Nyx would be able to stop him. If he left right now, she feared he wouldn't stay in the school anymore, and if he left Beacon, she would never be able to find him. That thought alone nearly brought her to tears as she clenched tightly at the hem of her skirt, "D-Did I do something wrong?" was the only thing she managed to whimper out in her distress. The only thing she could do at this point was to try and get him to talk to keep him from walking away from her again, and to her surprise the question actually managed to get him to turn around and face her. Though when she saw the look of confusion she felt she needed to clarify, taking a small breath to steady her voice she spoke again, "I-Is that why you stopped talking to me, d-did I do something wrong that night, d-did...please tell me what I did."

_Everything,_ his mind screamed out, "Nothing..." was what he whispered out. "Child you...you did nothing wrong that night I just-"

"Then why did you leave that night in the hospital?! Why did you put so much effort into avoiding me and the others? Why did you ask Nyx to not tell me where you were to begin with? What did I do that was so bad that you resorted to avoiding me?" She could feel tears running down her cheeks from the sheer amount of frustration she was feeling, she had wondered night and day what she had done that was so wrong to have him do this and now that he was right here she wanted the answer. But, even as she looked at him through tear filled eyes he still wouldn't say anything, she choke back a sob as she clenched her fists, "Tell me! What did I do wrong so I can make up for it, I just want to know I can't stand being left in the dark like this! What did I do wrong!"

"Nothing!" He let out a sharp breath as he kept his eyes locked on the ground as he clenched his fists to keep his hands from shaking, "You did nothing wrong, I stayed away from you...because it was for the best."

"For the best?" She wiped her eyes as she looked at him more confused than she had been the last few days, "What are you talking about 'for the best', Rodric I _died, _I think I would need you more than anything after that, what are you-"

"You do not understand Ruby, you are...too innocent to be part of my world, you died because of me." Without even having to look at her he knew she was trying to argue with him, but he swiftly cut her off, "You can believe whatever you wish but that is the truth, you died because of me, and you will die again if you continue to stay around me. I...I can't watch you die again because of my own shortcomings, once was devastating enough, if I had to stand by and watch you die once again I..." The words stuck in his throat, but he let the unsaid words linger in the air, before he clenched his teeth, "I am not as strong as you believe I am Ruby, that night was proof of that, I failed to save someone I cared about so long ago that the failure is still fresh in my mind. I'm not strong enough to go through that again."

Ruby's mouth opened but slowly closed several times as she let the words sink into her mind, "So..." She tried to fight back the tears that were beginning to build once again behind her eyes as she clenched her skirt tighter as her eyes dropped to the ground, "T-That's it then huh? You're just going to leave because of what happened? Rodric I'm a huntress something like this is bound to happen in my line of work, whether you want it to or not, something like this is inevitable."

"It should have never happened to begin with! It shouldn't have happened to you..." He forced himself to look up at her and finally looked at her, really looked at her for the first time in nearly three weeks, she looked the same as she did before that tragic event. However the tear stained cheeks and bright red and puffy eyes did not belong on her face, "I should have been able to protect you, if I can't even do that then what purpose do I serve in staying here. My one purpose has always been to protect humans, my anger blinded me for many years following my first failure in doing so, but this is now the second time I have failed to protect someone I-" Once again the words died before the could be said, he took a steadying breath before starting once again, "I don't belong here Ruby, you would be much safer without me here, the only thing I will bring you is more pain and more death I-"

"You're wrong." Ruby wiped her eyes once again as she looked up to lock eyes with Rodric and she could sense the same pain she was feeling looking back at her through his own eyes. "You're sister killed me Rodric, not you. In fact you did quite the opposite from what Weiss told me, she said you went through a great deal of pain and shed more than enough blood to make up for what happened. You saved me Rodric, if you hadn't been there-"

"If I hadn't been there none of this would have happened in the first place."

Ignoring his words Ruby continued on almost as if she hadn't been interrupted by him, "if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't be alive right now. Blake, Weiss and even Yang wouldn't have been able to save me the way you did. I don't know exactly what it is you did or what that ritual really was, but the truth is I'm standing here because of you and no one else. You did protect me, if you want to keep on being stubborn go ahead, but the truth is you did protect me, you saved me, I'm alive because of you." There were so many words she wanted to tell him to convey just how much she appreciated what he did and to tell him exactly how she felt, but every time she worked up the nerve to even open her mouth her nerves got the better of her and nothing would come from her mouth.

Rodric could only stare at her in silence as he shook his head and moved away from her towards one of the flowers that grew along the aged wood that lay behind it. "You are always so kind, even when I don't deserve such a luxury. This will be the...second time you have forgiven me for my actions I believe." He looked over his shoulder at her, "Why are you so kind, a monster such as me deserves not the kindness you have shown me."

"Rodric...you're not a monster."

He scoffed at that as he turned back towards the flowers that grew before him as he ran his hands through the soft leaves and up the stem of one of the flowers, "You have seen what my kind are capable of, and you're friends have seen the kind of powers my kind possess. To take and give life on a whim..." He plucked the flower from the stem and held it gently in his hand as he turned towards her with his hand outstretched, "If not a monster, then what does that make me?" The flower in his hand slowly began to shrivel up as it's very essence was being drained away from it, the colors slowly faded from the once vibrant flower as it's thick petals curled and became fragile. He crushed the now dead flower letting the fragments it left behind fall to the dirt, "I may have not have had a hand in your death, but that doesn't make me any less responsible for it."

Ruby's eyes remined locked on the spot the remains of the dead flower had fallen, before she pulled them away to look at him as she took a deep breath, "You want to now why I am so nice to a 'monster' like you?" Rodric's eyes turned to hers and gave a small nod before she continued, "Because you aren't a monster, people only think you are because of what they've seen. They don't know the real you like I do I've-"

"What do you know of the real me?"

"Y-You like to have fun, I've seen you smile more than I think anyone else has a-and you're kind. You've never done anything to label you as a monster, what you did to save me is the real you too, because you said so yourself, you protect people. You saved me because that is what the real you would do, you can't blame yourself for what happened because I know why you did help that night."

He shut his eyes and shook his head, "You can't possibly know why I-"

"You couldn't...could you?" Rodric looked back at her surprise written clear on his face and for the first time since she started talking she actually managed to crack a smile. "You told me a while ago that not a single one of your kind can defy an Elder, I didn't know what you meant at the time, but...I understand now. She's kind of like the Alpha of Dragons, you can't defy her because it's instilled in your mind to obey, otherwise..." She bit her lip as she remembered exactly what happened when he tried to disobey her, "...otherwise she hurts you...tries to kill you like she did that night." Rodric was just looking at her, she was worried she might have said something wrong to him, she wasn't really sure about how to talk to him when it came to serious things, this was about as serious as they ever talked before. To her relief however a small smile came over his face as he gave a light scoff.

"Of course, I sometimes forget how intuitive you humans are, I should have know you of all people would have figured out the reasoning soon enough. I suppose I never thought of it because you're sister is just..." He couldn't even finish the thought because while he held strong feelings towards Yang that was still Ruby's sister, whatever ill thoughts he held would remain with him.

"Yeah...Yang...well she tends to act stubborn when she's upset, I mean yeah I know why she's upset now, I just wish she would let me explain..."

"Don't worry yourself over such a thing Ruby, I know why she is upset, I was upset as well after witnessing what I did. This is...only something that time will be able to fix, however I don't believe you being around me will do much to solve matters. If anything I believe it'll only serve to anger your sister more, perhaps it would be better to just forget about me."

The small smile that Ruby sported quickly faded at the mere suggestion of forgetting about him, "I can't...Rodric I can't forget about you, you've told me so many things that I can't just forget about. I've enjoyed every moment I've been able to spend with you a-and being away from you has been...hard. Mostly because I was so convinced that I had did something wrong and that you were angry with me and avoiding me because of it a-and I thought-"

"Ruby..." He sighed softly as he shook his head a smile smile appearing on his lips, "Child there is hardly anything you could do that would ever upset me, I...I created this rift between us for your own protection. If I continue to stay by you then you will constantly be in danger, and not just you everyone here at this school will be in danger because of me. I failed you once I cannot fail you again." He gave a heavy sigh as he looked into her eyes, "If that means I have to leave and venture off on my own then so be it it would be better for you if-"

"So you're still going to leave anyway, after everything I-"

"What would you have me do Ruby?!" He growled out in frustration, "I cannot stay because I will only bring harm to you and your friend, but...dammit I cannot bring myself to leave this place because of _you_. I fear failing you again, but I also fear leaving you alone to face my sister's wrath on your own. I do not know what I should do, leaving it the best option and the better chance for you to live, but if I stay and...and if I die to protect you I can at least die knowing I did everything I could." He took a deep breath as he raised his eyes to the sky and shook his head before looking back down at her, "What am I suppose to do Ruby, I am asking you and I want you to give me your honest answer, what am I suppose to do?"

Ruby could tell that this was something he struggled to figure out for sometime, it honestly surprised her that he hadn't just upped and forced himself to leave. She can see what a difficult problem it was, because if she honestly thought about it, if Narissa was truly after them because of Rodric, then him leaving would be better for all of them. On the other hand if she was doing this to torment Rodric rather than coming after them personally, then she would eventually come after them and she knew no one in the entire school would be able to stop her, not only that but she already knew what she wanted despite being given this question. "I...I want you to stay," She could feel her heart starting to race as she fidgeted slightly as she turned her eyes to the ground, "I-If she does come after us I'd rather you be here to fight with us than to leave us to deal with her on our own, I...I don't want you to leave w-we're friends aren't we?"

Despite knowing that this would be her response to his question he still couldn't help but feel slightly surprised at how easily she had answered him, he looked towards her and saw the hopeful look in her eyes. He knew he shouldn't stay, he knew it would be so much better if he left but...if he couldn't bring himself to do it before, then he knew he wouldn't be able to do it now. He sighed heavily as he shook his head, "Very well child, I will remain here, I give my word that I will not leave without giving word of my departure." He gave a slightly weary sigh as he scoffed slightly, even though he still believed leaving was the better option he couldn't help but feel slightly happy in knowing he would stay here, if only to watch over the child standing before him. He didn't understand how he could have formed such a bond with her in such a short amount of time, perhaps that's just how she was, despite how awkward she was sometimes she was able to form bonds of friendship through her awkwardness.

Ruby couldn't keep the smile from her face when he agreed to stay, even though he didn't sound to happy about it, he had given his word that he would just up and leave without saying something. Even though she wanted to just squeal with joy she contained herself as she just smiled at him, "So does that mean you'll-"

"Sadly no, I doubt I am welcomed in your dorm anymore after what transpired, I believe it'll be best if I remain in my own dorm."

"Oh..." Well she had expected that kind of answer but it didn't really exactly stop her from feeling slightly dejected in knowing she wouldn't be able to see him as often as she used to. "W-Well I mean, can we at least still talk in your dorm, y-you know during my off period o-or something."

"I...suppose that will be alright," He gave a heavy sigh as he looked towards the gate Nyx had left through some time ago before tuning to look back towards Ruby, "I suppose you already know where my dorm is as well?" She gave a small nod as he gave another sigh, "Then you are free to visit whenever it pleases you." It was beginning to get harder for Ruby to contain her squeal of joy, she was finally going to be able to start talking to him again, but before all of that there was still something she had to say. She took a deep breath as her heart began to race again and she began to tremble slightly, she chewed on her lip before slowly opening her mouth.

"R-Rodric..." He gave a small hum as he turned his attention towards her and that only served to make her chest tighten up as she had to tightly grip the hem of her skirt to try and keep her hands from shaking so badly. "I-I...I mean...well..." She swallowed the lump in her throat as she tried to force the words to come out, but the more she tried to force them the more they refused to come out, "C-Can I have a hug?" It wasn't close to what she had wanted to say, but at that moment it was good enough, she would have to figure out a way to eventually tell him how she felt. She watched as he scoffed before smiling and giving her a small nod, chewing on her lip she nervously approached him before slowly wrapping her arms around his waist. Her thundering heart only grew louder when she felt his arms wrap around her, despite not being what she had wanted to say she was more than happy to feel him so close to her. There would be enough time to eventually figure the words out when she finally told him, but for now she was just glad to know that she hadn't lost him because of any fault of her own, for now she was just glad to be hugging him like this. She tightened her hold on him as she turned to bury her face into his chest as a smile grew over her lips, she was just glad to finally have him back.


End file.
