RWBY 1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own ruby or anything associated with it. That's all property of Monty Oum and Roosterteeth. I also don't own the cover art. Credit goes to Einlee on deviantart for that. **

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The impressive path that separated Beacon from the rest of the world loomed before Ruby, the point in her journey where the summer ended and the next year started. Behind her, Yang fiddled around with the keys to bumblebee, struggling to remove them. Ruby's red helmet rested on the handlebar, her sisters on the other side.

"Hey sis, can you hurry up? We've got to get to our new dorm!" Ruby shouted in excitement. It had been several long months since she had seen the other members of team RWBY, and she was sure they had a lot of catching up to do.

"Calm down little sis. The dorm isn't going to just get up and fly away if we aren't there in the next few minutes. Besides, having the keys to bumblebee seems pretty important too." She defended, her hand still twisting and yanking at the keys, trying to pry them loose.

"Yeah, but the longer you take trying to get your keys out, the longer we have to wait to see our partners!"

"They aren't going to fly away either Ruby."

Ruby let out a quick, defeated sigh before looking down the path that led down to the school.

Several minutes later with keys, luggage and helmets in hand, Ruby and Yang preceded down to the new, year two dorms. They were supposedly more spacious to acquaint the older members of the school, and they were looking forward to seeing it. Their room was once again, next to team JNPR, which would certainly account for an exciting year. Once they arrived, they tested the door, which turned out to be open, and invited themselves in. Inside they found both of their partners sprawled out on their beds, books open. The room itself was certainly more spacious, but it certainly wasn't massive.

"Hello Weiss! Hello Blake!" Ruby yelled, excitement lining her voice

"Hello Ruby" the duo returned in monotone voices, not even bothering to look up.

"Aren't you guys excited that the gang is back together?"

"Simply ecstatic" replied Weiss, her face still buried in her book

"I'm so excited that you can't even tell" groaned Blake

"How was your guy's summers?" Ruby asked, trying to spark a conversation.

"Great" they replied in unison.

"Come on guys, brighten up. We haven't seen each other for a few months and that's all you have to say?"

"Well, what else are we supposed to say Yang? It's so nice to see you all again?"

"Well, at least that's something."

After taking a quick look around the room, it was clear that if they were going to fit all of their necessities.

"Hey Weiss, even though we have a bigger room, I'm still really not sure that we have enough room to fit all of our beds. Do you have any idea where we could get that room from?"

"Get that idea out of your head you dunce. That almost killed me last year, and I am NOT, I repeat NOT doing that again this year."

"Please Weissy?"

"No. I stand by my words. I do not agree to bunk beds. That is my final word."

"What about you Blake? What do you think about bunk beds?"

"If I agree, will you promise to leave me alone?"

"Of course I will."

"Then I agree wholeheartedly." She replied, her eyes never leaving the pages.

"What about you Yang? What do you think about them?"

"Well, it's either those or one of us is sleeping in the hallway."

"I live in a house full of dunces!'

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Several hours, and one furious Weiss later, the bunk beds had been assembled and were now ready for use. Ruby made sure that she had used enough ropes to prevent the bed from falling on Weiss.

"Well, now that that's all over, what do you say we do now Blake?" Asked Ruby who was still panting.

"We have that speech in a couple of hours we have to attend to. Other than that, I'd say that we just relax and settle in."

"I say that we study for our upcoming tests. And you guys clearly need the training. Have you guys even used your weapons since we left last year?" Replied Weiss

"Of course we have… Right Yang?"

Her sister, shook her head and returned to reality after clearly zoning out

"What was that Ruby? I didn't hear you."

"We've used our weapons since we left last year haven't we?"

"I really don't think that…"

"See Weiss? Of course we did." Ruby replied with her signature smile, hiding her embarrassment.

"Sometimes, I think about how you even managed to make it into beacon, let alone several years early." She said as she walked over and slouched onto her bed, opening one of her many textbooks.

"It's nice to see that Weiss didn't change on us over the summer. I was afraid that she'd become a kind and likeable person."

"You're a comedian Yang."

"It's only been a few hours and we're already back to bantering. I don't think that any of you have really changed that much over the summer." Noted Blake as she too trudged over to her bed and collapsed, shutting her eyes.

"Well, at least you're talking now Blake. I guess you've changed."

Blake gave a chuckle, but didn't add to it.

"So what did you guys do over your vacations anyways?" Ruby asked as she walked over to her bunk and jumped up, nearly slipping as she did so.

"I studied and kept my head in my studies. Something that I'm sure none of you guys did."

"Have you ever heard of being kind Weiss? It's a nice trait to have sometimes you know."

"Tell me, did you study over the vacation?"

"Well, no. Not really."

"I rest my case."

"So what did you do this summer Blake? Anything interesting?"

"No, not really."

"What about that monkey guy? Did you guys talk at all?"

"Nope."

"Not really in the mood for talking?"

"Nope."

"Well then. Anyone else have anything that they want to share?"

"How about some silence? I feel like some silence would be really nice. It's hard to study when your voice is crowding my thoughts."

"Sorry Weiss."

A small grunt came from the bed below her as she laid her head back against her pillow and shut her eyes, her dreams coming peacefully.

_**Several hours later**_

Ruby, in common fashion, was the first one to awake. She stretched herself out and took a deep breath, ready for the rest of the day. She slid off her bed, connecting to the ground with a quiet _thunk. _Weiss was passed out, her face resting on a textbook. Blake and Yang rested normally, quietly resting on their sides. She grabbed the whistle that she had gotten last year and pressed it against her lips. She took a deep breath and blew into the whistle. Everyone in the room got up and looked around, trying to find out what the noise was.

"Ruby! What was that for? You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Shouted her sister from the remaining top bunk.

"It's time for everyone to get up. We have to go to the opening ceremony in an hour, and you wouldn't wake up unless I used it. Sorry Blake, sorry Weiss."

"Let's agree that you don't use that whistle unless it's for emergencies. Because I think that if you use that thing again, no one will be able to find your body" threatened the heiress.

"I'm sorry Weiss. Anyways, who's using the shower first? There's only one, so first come first serve."

"I'm going first. I don't trust Yang to take less than an hour in the shower anyways." Weiss proclaimed as she stood up and headed to the bathroom, her right cheek bright red from falling asleep on the book.

"I'm next" proclaimed Yang as she dropped down from her bunk, grabbing a towel and waiting next to the door.

"You want to go next Blake? I can be ready pretty quickly." Asked Ruby, trying to be as kind as she could.

"Sure" replied Blake in her normal one word sentences.

_Fifty-five minutes later_

_Beacon auditorium_

RWBY had arrived at the auditorium several minutes early, which was rather out of character for them. Professor Ozpin was already at the pedestal, testing to make sure that the equipment was ready and working. This was the presentation for the second year students. Those who had already completed their first tests, but still had years to go. Slowly, people began to funnel in slowly, but quickly increased as the timer got closer to zero. They watched as team JNPR walked in and approached them.

"Hello Ruby. It's nice to see that you have come back to beacon this year." Pyrrha greeted as the other members of the team greeted each other.

A quick burst of static brought their attentions to the front as professor Ozpin cleared his throat. Every pair of eyes in the auditorium was trained on him.

"First off, I would like to thank all of you for being here today. I am aware that this school can be harsh and difficult at times, and I'm proud of each and every one of you. Now for the reason that I have gathered you all here today. As you know, you were all forced to pass a beginning test in order to make it into the school. And although this series of tests will not be the same as the one you passed to make your way into Beacon, they will be as difficult, if not harder. The tests begin tomorrow just after noon, and I expect you all to be present. Once again, welcome back to Beacon, and may this year be better than the last."

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**A/N: First off, I'd like to thank everyone who read this. This is the first chapter in my hopefully long fanfiction. **

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I wrote this on the same day that I wrote the first chapter, and boy don't I feel like I wrote this one way better than I wrote the last one. Intros are the second hardest part of writing a story, the first being the summary. Anyways, I'll try to keep this author's note short and let you read.**

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The ceremony ended quickly allowing team RWBY to return back to their dorm in time to go to sleep. While they were newly rested after having slept for a good portion of time during the day, travelling still bore down hard on them. Fresh air mixed with the changing of time zones drilled onto them, despite the rest they had taken a simple fifteen minutes ago. Once they arrived, all of them took turns in the washroom getting dressed, even though Yang took longer than the rest. They all jumped into their respective beds, sleep clearly on their minds. The thought of beginning a conversation floated through Ruby's mind, but the thought was dismissed as her conscience faded away, dreams of weapons wafting through her mind. Below her, the heiress lay on her side, thoughts filling her mind. Thoughts of studying, the test tomorrow and the life she left behind merely scraped the surface. Her stomach growled at her, reminding her of the meal she had failed to obtain today. Her hands made their way towards it, the pain pulling her legs towards her head. In the sheer panic and disorder that came along with moving, she had forgotten to tell her chauffer to stop somewhere to eat. And the thoughts of eating didn't even cross her mind during the travel.

"Ruby, are you still awake up there?" she asked, seeing if the girl was awake. After a minute of silence, she deduced that her leader was sound asleep. "You dolt" she said to the wall. "You're our team leader. You only go to sleep once everyone else is. Why did they pick you as the team lead? I could've done so much better."

She picked herself up and lurched towards the fridge. Midway, her knees began to buckle, the pain in her chest once again returning. She slouched towards the fridge, but didn't make it before collapsing against the ground, curled into a ball in pain. She let out moans of agony as her stomach began to retaliate, jolting her mind with thoughts of uneasiness. The feeling of nausea began to make its way up her throat as she attempted to stand. Her knees refused to cooperate, leaving her stranded on the floor mere feet from the sink. She could do nothing but turn her head away, hoping to spew away from her clothes. A sudden jolt startled her as she fought to keep the nausea down, struggling to save her dignity. Small arms wrapped themselves around Weiss's own, dragging her to the washroom. She arrived on time, spewing away into the toilet. She collapsed against the wall, her stomach cooperating for now. The aftertaste filled her senses, threatening to return the nausea she had just experienced. Her eyes fought against the sudden burst of light as Ruby flicked the switch, her senses disoriented.

"Here Weiss" Ruby whispered, extending a hand with medication and another with water. "They'll make you feel a lot better."

Weiss's pride fought against her, telling her to refuse the help. "I don't need the help you dunce. I'm fine on my own. Now just leave me alone and go back to bed."

"Weiss, just please take the pills. You know that you want them. I don't want to see my partner like this." Ruby begged, her silver eyes locked on her own forcing her hand.

"Fine, fine, I'll take the pills. But don't you tell anyone that you helped me. The heiress would never take help from anyone."

"It's fine Weiss. I just want to see you get better. Besides, we have that test tomorrow. You don't want to be sick for it do you?"

"Just hand me the pills and stop talking. Your voice is hurting my ears more than normal right now."

Ruby let off a small frown, but quickly removed it. "Do you want something for the after taste? I think we have a small thing of breath mints on the counter somewhere."

"I've already said it Ruby, I don't need your help!" Barked Weiss, her thick and cold shell refusing the compatriotic help from well of innocence before her.

"Are you sure Weiss? I really don't like the after taste after I get sick. It won't take me more than a second to get you them. I just want to help you."

"If you want to help me, you can leave me alone and silence that annoying voice of yours before you drive me up this wall!" She ordered angrily. Too angrily. Her cold shell spoke for her, the inner Weiss engaged in a war with her stomach. The face of destroyed hope washed over Ruby, her mouth dropping to a pout. Guilt hit her in the chest, causing her uneasiness to swell.

"I'm sorry Weiss. I really just wanted to make you feel better. I thought that maybe we could work out the kinks we had from last year. I really didn't know that I made you that mad. I should've stayed in bed. I probably only made your illness worse. I really wasn't made to be a leader was I? I can't even help my teammate with a small sickness without angering her. I'm really sorry Weiss. I really only wanted to make you feel better, that's all I wanted. I wanted you to feel better, I wanted to help. I'll just go back to bed and let you take care of yourself." Ruby pouted as she left the bathroom, jumping back on her bunk.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I didn't mean to be that rude. I really did want your help too." But she was far out of earshot of her, her words meeting yet again only the wall. The sound of Ruby crying echoed off the walls, fuelling Weiss's self imposed guilt. And it was only made worse by the terrible after taste.

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Weiss awoke still in the bathroom, the stench of last night now merely a memory. She awoke to seeing herself cleaned up and feeling much better. As she lifted her head from its crooked position on the wall, she awoke to see a plate of toast and a glass of water next to it. It bore no note, but she knew who it was from. She picked up a slice and felt its warmth. Toast was not known for its ability to maintain heat, which meant that Ruby had just made it for her. She looked inside of the glass and saw two small pills in the bottom, currently dissolving into the liquid. Their size, shape and color all bore evidence to rubinal, a headache soothing medicine. From outside the door, she heard the whistling of Ruby, her tune filling the dorm. Weiss downed the water and toast as fast as she could, despite the fighting of her inner heiress. She commanded her legs to stand, to which they complied. The pain in her stomach was gone, and easiness was a feeling that she accepted with open arms. She slid herself against the wall, looking into the small kitchen that the dorm possessed. Ruby stood poised above the sink, a pile of soapy, but clean dishes stood piled neatly beside her. The girl wasn't doing it properly, but at least she possessed the thought to do so. Why they had so many dishes on their second day surprised her, but the appetite of Yang placed it easily in the realm of possibility.

"Ruby" coughed Weiss, the illness still somewhat apparent in her system.

"Oh, I'm sorry Weiss. I didn't know you'd be up so early." Replied Ruby, fear lining her voice. "I'm really, really sorry. I'll leave right away. Don't yell at me please! You're scary when you yell!"

"Ruby, can you please wait?" But before the words could leave her mouth, the girl had vanished into a wave of rose petals, leaving Weiss alone in the room as they floated gently down to the floor.

"Nice going Weiss. You've really made a mess this time, haven't you?" She spoke to the wall, the only friend she really had right now.

Several minutes later, Yang and Blake returned to the dorm to find the damaged Weiss lying on her bed, a book in her face. Their primary assumption was that Weiss hadn't slept well and was hoping to find a couple more minutes to ease her into the day they had ahead.

"Hey Weiss, are you awake over there? It's not like you to be sleeping in this late, even if you are sick." Yang asked across the room, placing her newly found groceries against the floor before walking over towards the heiress.

"No, I'm perfectly awake. I'm just not feeling too good, and the light is hurting my eyes. What do you need?" She moaned out, holding the disguise of illness as well as she could. She had cut Ruby really deep, and she was going to have a hard time finding her way out of this one if Yang was to find out.

"I'm just wondering where Ruby went. It's not like her to leave her room, let alone completely by herself. It just seems kind of strange on her part. Do you know where she went by any chance?" Questioned Yang, signs of worry planted deep within her words.

"I'm sorry Yang, but I don't even have a clue as to where she has gone. Maybe she went outside for a breath of fresh air?" Weiss replied through her gritted teeth. Her disguise was wearing thin, and she hoping that Yang didn't suspect that something was up. If she did, the cops would never be able to find Weiss's body with a microscope.

"I'm going to try and find Ruby, make sure she's ok. I'll let her know that you're still not feeling too good. She was really concerned over you this morning and she nearly knocked herself out trying to heal you up. But at least she'll be happy to know that you're still alive right?"

The newly parted wave of guilt returned, smashing the heiress back into a state of sadness. The girl had every intention of making rights with what she had done wrong, but it was hard to right them when there were none. Now she had literally scared the girl away, traumatized to even be in the same dorm as her. Weiss just replied with silence as the blonde haired girl fled the room in search of her sister.

**_Beacon courtyard,_**

**_Ruby_**

Steps of sadness traced their way behind Ruby as she walked around the open aired courtyard of Beacon. The events of last night played through her mind vividly, her own failures pulling and pushing her emotions, tossing them around in a hurricane of guilt. Weiss was a strong girl. And as Weiss had mentioned, she didn't need help from someone as annoying and frustrating as herself. Her eyes traced the grass, watching as small bugs skittered around, living on their normal lives.

"Why do I have to be such a bad leader?" Ruby moped to herself quietly, making sure not to distract anyone else. "Weiss is far stronger than I could ever hope of being. Ozpin made a mistake when he chose me. I wish he'd chosen her."

The thought of Weiss yelling at her replayed in her mind like a broken CD, pestering her inner conscience as she fought away the worse of her negative thoughts. A small tear formed on her eye, dripping its way down her face and splashing against the ground. Her hand made its way across her face, pulling away the rest of her tears as she regained her composure. Her train of self guilt was only ceased when she heard the familiar voice of her sister from behind her, forcing herself to calm down to avoid pulling any attention.

"Hey Ruby! What are you doing out here? It's not like you to just go randomly running around places, let alone by yourself. Is something wrong?" Her sister yelled from halfway across the courtyard, diverting the attention of other students who tried to live on their normal lives.

"No, I'm fine Yang. Thanks for coming to check on me though." Her sentence merely had time to finish before her sisters presence washed up beside her. Her sister could really move if you gave her reason to.

"Weiss is still sick. I guess she's really not feeling any better. But you really tried though, so I mean it's the thought that counts right? It doesn't really matter if it worked or not right? Your nursing must have done something positive for her at least, right?" Comforted Yang, trying to boost her sister's mood

But it doesn't matter if she intended the words to help her sister, or if they'd been meant to hurt. They both yielded the same results. Her sister's words were the drop of water that broke the damn. Her face connected into Yang's shoulder as her already cracked shell smashed into pieces and collapsed to the floor. Her sister took a step back, but quickly placed her hand against her sisters hair, pulling her closer. The unwanted moisture built up against her clothing as she tried to comfort her weeping sister. She had no idea as to what had set her off, but something cracked her. After several minutes and a lot of questioning looks, Ruby had regained the composure to speak to her sister.

"I tried to help out Weiss, and all I did was made it worse. I wanted to try and make her better, but all I did was anger her. Why did Ozpin pick me for this job Yang? Why did he think that I had the power to be a leader I don't even have the power to be a friend?" Choked Ruby, her throat still contracted due to her weeping. She quickly turned around, vanishing in a pile of rose petals.

Yang knew two things. She was never going to catch up to her sister. It was hard enough trying to catch someone who didn't want to be caught, especially when that person was Ruby. And second, it would take her less than a minute to get back to their dorm. The only thing that she had yet to find out was what Weiss's last chocked words would be as she strangled her to death.

**_Team RWBY's dorm,_**

**_Yang_**

Her shoes slid to a stop as she stopped in front of the door, having to concentrate just so that she didn't rip the door square off its hinges. As she entered, she noticed the terrified face of Weiss, and that expression had a good reason behind it. She knew the moment she saw her facial expression that she was not going to leave this room as pretty as she was, and that's if she left in one piece.

"You" Declared Yang, her voice booming with the power of thunder. "You really shouldn't have stayed Weiss. You knew I'd come back for you. You must be pretty confident if you didn't think that I'd come back to teach you a lesson.

Weiss's heart sunk down into her foot as she curled herself back into her bed, trying to keep herself away from the murderous sister that she had incurred the wrath of. She couldn't even wriggle herself back more than a few inches before Yang's powerful hand gripped her by the throat and pulled her out of her nest.

"You made my sister cry on my shoulder in the middle of a courtyard. She never cries in front of me. Whatever you did to her, you'll never get the chance to apologize for." Her free hand formed a fist and swung at the heiress's ribs. A hit to the face caused more upfront damage, but a few broken ribs made ones death far more painful. Small, dainty hands fought against her own, but to no avail. The only reason that her neck was still in once piece was her wish to inflict as much pain before she breathed her last. That would be giving her too much. Anyone who was willing to make her sister cry was someone who didn't value their life any higher than they value the ground they walk on. Weiss managed to force a small, choked gasp before her oppressor's hand connecting firmly into her side. The pain that she knew was coming seemed to arrive slower, and slower, and slower, until it never did. Her tensed muscles in her abdomen never absorbing the blunt of a hit.

"I don't think that'd be doing you good enough. You know what? I don't think these walls are really that sound. Would you be willing to test them out for me?"

Weiss managed to scream as her oppressor launched her towards the wall, her body once again tensing itself as she braced for the collision. What she was met with instead was a comforting _poof _as she was absorbed into, what felt like, the wall. Placing her hand against her lower back, the feeling of a pillow sunk softly into her hand, its presence strange.

"Yang, what are you doing!" Screamed the startled Ruby, whose petite form blocked all vision between Weiss and Yang. "Why are you trying to kill Weiss?"

"If she did something so bad that it caused to you break down in public, they don't deserve to live." Her red eyes flared with anger as she fought to restrain herself, her body sending mixed signals. Blake had managed to find her way to her feet, still in shock of the rapid chain of events. Her arms were now wrapped around the stomach of Yang, prepared to fight back in case her anger got the best of her again. She was immediately caught off guard again as Yang shot herself towards her sister. She tried to pull back and stop Yang, but her grip merely broke off, causing her to collapse to the ground.

"Move Ruby!" She screamed as she darted towards her sister, who she was certain would listen. And move she did. Only instead of moving away, she moved towards her sister, wrapping her arms around her sides, burying her face against her taller sisters chest.

"I don't care if Weiss made me cry. I don't care if Weiss hates me. I don't even care if you hate me after this. But Weiss is my partner, and she's your teammate. Whatever she has against me, that's between me and her." Her voice calmed down as she bargained with her enraged sister, trying desperately to save Weiss's life. "And if I need your help, I'll make sure to ask for it. But right now, I don't need your help. I need you to be my sister and back away. I'm not a kid anymore Yang. I don't need you to watch over me every minute of everyday. I can take care of myself sometimes. And this is one of those times. So please, for me, just let it go."

Reasoning returned itself back into the mind of Yang as her eyes returned to their normal colour. Her muscles eased out, her fists returning back to their less aggressive stance.

"If this doesn't prove to you that you're a leader sis, I don't think anyone can convince you. But don't think that just because you stood up for her means that I'll forget what she did. I'm going to get back at her. Now if you'd excuse me, I believe it's my turn to go for a quick walk."

Her quick footsteps shot out of the room, followed immediately after by an equally quick pair owned by the fauness. Ruby looked back to the startled Weiss, who was surprised that she wasn't glued to the wall right now. Ruby extended her hand, to which Weiss happily accepted.

"I'm sorry about what I did last night. I should've known that you were strong enough and just left you alone. Then none of this would have happened. Now you've got Yang all mad, and it's all my fault. I'm really sorry Weiss" quavered Ruby as she pulled the heiress to her feet.

"No, it's I who should be apologizing to you Ruby. You just wanted to help me out and do your job as a leader, and I shot you down. I didn't even give you a reason as to why I did it. I just lashed out at your for something you never did, and I hurt you because of it."

"So you don't actually hate me Weiss?" Asked Ruby with her innocent voice and matching eyes.

"No Ruby, in fact, it's quite the opposite. I'm proud to have you as our team leader. I see now that Ozpin made the right choice. I never would have the strength to do what you just did. That's what separates us Ruby. You're a natural born leader. I'm just a natural born ice queen."

Ruby walked up and wrapped her arms around Weiss's chest and tucked her head on the heiress's shoulder. Weiss merely gave her a pat on the back, trying to hide her true emotions. But in reality, every muscle told her to return it. To return the sign of friendship that Ruby desperately needed. But she lacked the strength to do it. Inside, she felt small pieces of ice begin to crack and break off her shell, her true self starting to show through.

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**A/N: Wow. I actually feel kind of impressed by this chapter. Its one of the view chapters that after having written it, I feel impressed by what I'm able to do. Also, thank you to NobleMETA for such a quick review. Also, thank you to those who have already followed. It's a pretty good feeling to know that some people look forward to your work. It really helps. Anyways, if you have any feedback or recommendations stated at the end of the last chapter, feel free to drop a comment or send me a PM. I'll be more than happy to reply. It's probably the most exciting part about being a writer I find. But eh, that's just me. Also, I'm still looking for a cover art, so if any of you are our there… ;)**

**Also, the speed that I put up these chapters can be affected by those who read it. If you guys follow it, favourite it, review it or even read it, it's motivation for me to keep putting them up. And don't worry about me feeling rushed to get new chapters up and the quality suffering for it. As long as I have people who want to read it, I will keep putting up the best chapters I can for you guys**

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm going to start to format these authors notes a bit better. Anything you need to read in regards to this story will be posted up at the top. Anything that is posted in the authors notes at the bottom is optional. I'll try this out and see how it ends up.**

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_**Team RWBY's dorm, **_

_**Weiss**_

Insecurity was a feeling that had long occupied her being. Ever since the constant attacks on her fathers company, never again had she slept a carefree night away, the constant threat of death looming in every shadow, around every corner. Before her fathers company came under constant attack, her life was different. She brought her hand up to her face, her middle and index finger tracing the scar whose memory still played vividly in her mind. Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the innocent and joyful voice of Ruby, who seemed rather unphased by the chain of events that she had just taken part in.

"Hey Weiss, are you feeling alright? I mean, I know that you can take care of yourself, but are you feeling alright?" She questioned cautiously, ensuring that her happy persona still shone through, but caution lay sprinkled in her question, afraid that she'd set Weiss off again.

"Yeah, I am Ruby. I don't always need your help. I appreciate that you are looking out for me, but as you told your sister, I don't need you looking over my shoulder every moment that I draw breath." She retaliated, her cold shell, while damaged, still held a dominant part of her personality hostage, the real Weiss forced to remain hidden.

"Yeah, but Yang would have killed you today. Are you really sure that you're fine. I'm your team captain, and hopefully your friend. I really don't want anything to be wrong with you. I want to make sure that you're ok." She whispered innocently, her intentions pure. While most people had a way of manipulating people with carefully placed words and lies, Ruby was not one. Her soul was clean and innocent, free of the dangers and cruelty the real world held.

"I'm fine Ruby. I've been fine, I am fine, and I'm going to be fine. You just worry about yourself, and I'll worry about myself. That's how it is, and that's how it should be." She replied sternly, forcing herself to remain the ice queen that she had been made out to be. That's who she was, and despite hating it, she had to keep it.

"Why do you keep pushing me away Weiss? I just want to be your friend. Why do you have to keep being so rude when all I want to do is help you?" She demanded, her innocent tone picking up integrity. Despite being kind and innocent, she was still the sister of Yang, and she could get answers when they were needed.

"You want to know why I keep pushing you away Ruby? It's because I don't need you. I appreciate the thought that you're putting in to it, but I really just don't need your help. I'm strong enough to defend myself." Weiss insisted, before whispering to herself. "It's how I've survived these last few years."

While Ruby didn't take kindly to the words, she understood what Weiss was getting to. She was a strong woman who was more than capable of defending herself. And despite being her team leader, there were times that she just needed to trust her teammates. That time was not always, but it was now.

"I know Weiss. But sometimes you just need a friend to talk to. Someone who you can trust." Ruby reasoned, trying to get Weiss to confess that she did indeed have to talk to her. "And Yang isn't here. It would just be me and you, right?"

"Ruby, I've already said this a dozen times, I'm fine. I don't need your help. Shouldn't you be getting ready for the tests in an hour instead of worrying about me?" Suggested Weiss, clearly wanting to leave the topic behind.

_Why do I keep pushing her away? Why do I keep declining her help when we both know I need it? Why do I need to keep being so cold towards her? Why can't I just learn to trust her?_

"Yeah, I guess." Replied Ruby, defeat weighing down her normally energetic voice. "I don't want to weigh you down when we get out there and get you a B or something."

"Good. You're learning more everyday."

_**One hour later,**_

_**Outside the emerald forest**_

The second year students lined up, all waiting on their pedestals for the test to begin. Ahead of them stood Ozpin, his figure unwavering. Everyone checked over their weapons again and again, ensuring that nothing would go wrong. Finally, after what felt like forever, Ozpin spoke.

"Welcome back, second year students, to where your journey at beacon first began. For those of you who are wondering as to why you are redoing your initiation, the answer is simple. You are not. And let me explain why. Last year, you passed this test mostly alone, as a testament to why you were at this school. This year, we must ensure that you and your partner can cooperate well enough to complete this test together. The test this year is as follows. You and your partner will be launched together, with the sole complication that you will be tied together at the ankles. Once you land, you are free to remove these chains, but not before then. Once you have landed, you are to grab a large bucket of water from the center of the forest and return it here. That is all you must do to pass. Do any of you have any questions or concerns?" After moments of silence, he continued. "We wish the best of luck to you all, and as always, you are being timed. The test begins once everyone has been connected to their partners."

Several teachers walked around, connecting the duos together at the ankles. Weiss released a grunt to signify her anger, but didn't speak a word. She looked over to she the smiling face of her partner, optimistic as always, her smile increasing Weiss's hopes that they'd land alive.

"Are you ready Weiss? I'll try to follow your lead and try not to mess you up." Assured Ruby, her self confidence having clearly not recovered. Stinging pains shot in Weiss's chest, knowing that she was the reason why Ruby was so afraid. Her leader merely bowed over and obeyed every word that Weiss said without so much as a second guess. Her body yearned for her to tell the girl that she should lead, but all she could manage was a nod.

"You launch in ten seconds. Once again, good luck, and I hope to see you all back here by sunset." Ozpin said as he walked away, leaving the students to themselves. They all prepared their stances, the platforms beginning the angling that would shoot them off into the forest, leaving them to fend for themselves.

Weiss continued the mental countdown in her head. _Five, four, three_. She shot a look over to her partner, whose face now bore a look of determination, her body tensed and ready. _Two, one, launch._

The platform launched them into the air and away from the cliff, propelling them off into the emerald forest. Wind threw their hair and clothing around, the distance between themselves and the ground shrinking with every second they flew, the canopies becoming more and more distinguishable. Weiss threw a glyph at their feet, bouncing them up and slowing their downwards momentum. The link between them tugged as they tried to separate from each other naturally, but to no avail. The chain held strong, refusing to snap no matter how hard they pulled. Ruby quickly drew crescent rose, preparing for the decent into the canopy. As soon as they neared, Weiss threw out another glyph, rapidly slowing down their speed. This gave Ruby the time she needed to connect her blade to a tree, pulling them in and allowing them to descend the rest of the way down in safety. As soon as they hit the ground, Weiss began to fiddle around with the chain, quickly removing it and granting them their freedom back.

"That could've gone worse huh Weiss?" Ruby chimed as she withdrew crescent rose to its smaller, portable version. "We could've hit a tree, we could've hit the ground, we could have…"

"I get it Ruby, we could have died. Now let's just keep on going and try to find these buckets of water that Ozpin was talking about earlier. I don't want to be in here anymore than you do, and I just want to get back to the school and be safe in my room."

"I really don't mind it out here actually. It gives us some time to talk."

"I don't want to talk Ruby. I want to concentrate and try to find my way home as soon as possible." Weiss retorted, shutting down Ruby's attempts at conversing.

"Please Weiss? We haven't had a friendly conversation since last summer. Can't we just try and get along?" She pleaded, trying to convince her partner to open up.

"No. We cannot. Let's just try and find these pails and get heading back. Us talking isn't going to help us accomplish that any faster. Now do you have any idea which way these pails are located at?" Weiss asked, having no idea whatsoever where they were supposed me be going.

"Well, Ozpin did say at the middle of the forest. So I'd say looking over there would probably be a good start." She suggested as she extended her arm towards the middle of the forest, trying not to smile at the embarrassment that her partner was experiencing.

_**An hour later,**_

_**Middle of the forest**_

The center of the forest was far more noticeable than they had anticipated. It was a large clearing, perhaps three hundred feet in diameter, with a large stone table placed directly in the middle. On it sat a dozen buckets, some clearly missed from their place. Around the table, freshly spilt blood was burying itself into the dirt, tattered fabric laying haphazardly around.

"It seems like some of our friends didn't really bear that well against the Grimm huh?" The thought crawled through ruby's mind as she envisioned what happened. Students overwhelmed by Grimm, limbs scattered as they tried to fight them off. Her body shuttered as she tried to push away the thoughts. Her partner, upon seeing her partner's grief tried her hardest to provide whatever comfort she could.

"Don't think of that Ruby. Let's just get ourselves a pail and get out before the Grimm even knows we're here." Proposed Weiss, the thought of their fellow student's demises grazing their way through her thoughts. She refused to show any signs of fear, her inner heiress refusing to do so.

"But what if they find us when we're bringing up the water? What are we supposed to do if one of us is carrying it? If we spill the water, we fail."

"Then you just put the water down you dunce. And once we're done, you just pick the water back up. It's not that hard to understand. Now hurry up, we've got a long ways to walk back." Asserted Weiss, the confined anger in her voice threatening to seep through.

Ruby picked up one of the buckets of water and begun to carry it back the way they came. Weiss led the way, muscles tensing at every movement the forest made, unsure of what secrets it held. The petite girl behind her carried the water silently, a trait very uncharacteristic for her. Hints of fear laced her mind, unsure of the nature of her partner's silence. Was she still afraid of her? Would they have a repeat of earlier today? She wanted to ask her partner if she was alright, if something was up. But her inner heiress and situation they were in forced her silence.

"Hey Weiss, this water is getting heavy. I'm not sure I can carry it all the way up the cliff. Can we take a fast rest?" Her breathing rapid and inconsistent, and with good reason. It had been at least an hour since they begun their trek, and they hadn't even stopped to let the girl take a breath. It was surprising that she could still stand under her own power.

"Of course, but try not to take too long" Weiss acknowledged, her eyes rising to the sky. The beautiful blue fading away as darkness consumed it. "We don't have a lot of sunshine left, and once it gets dark, we won't be going anywhere."

Ruby quickly collapsed to the ground, ensuring that the water didn't splash out of the nearly full bucket. Her lungs strained to meet their owners desperate need of energy. They were resting in a relatively open field, other than several collapsed trees and boulders with the occasional brush. Weiss whistled, pointing up the cliff.

"Once we get up there Ruby, we're safe. It's not much longer. Do you think that you can keep going?" Weiss asked, concerned for her partners well being. She had only been walking for the last hour, and she was feeling the strain of the forest. Her partner had been carrying a pail of water, with enough concentration to prevent it from spilling,

"I didn't know that you could care Weiss. Maybe it's you who's acting up today." She struggling out, her breathing still heavy. "But if it'll make you happy, I'm more than ready to get going." She proclaimed, a wide smiling appearing on her face.

"You're a dunce, but you're a tough dunce. Now let's get going before the rest of this light is gone." She proposed. "Are you sure that you can do it? You've been carrying that around for quite a while."

"I'm sure Weiss. You can trust me." She assured as she gave her trademark smirk.

"Alright, let's get going. I really don't want to sleep in the woods tonight. Especially THESE woods." She emphasized.

A quick noise from behind them took their attention, the field being occupied by yet another being. The Ursa looked at them through its Grimm mask, releasing a forest shaking roar. Myrtenastar was whipped from its sheath, its blade pointed at the now approaching Grimm.

"Um Weiss, are you sure that you can take it down by yourself?" Ruby asked with concern, unsure if her partner could take down the Ursa by herself.

"Jaune did it by himself. If he can do it, I'm certain that I can as well. Now just keep going, I'll catch up with you in a second." She said with a wave of her hand, signifying further for her partner to continue moving.

She placed her right foot in front of her left, straightening her shoulders. myrtenastar was held firmly in one hand, her other out to her side for balance. She held her ground against the charging Ursa, waiting for her time to strike. Its constant pace made it simple to predict. Her muscles tensed, her breath quickened.

"You can do this Weiss. You can beat a singular Ursa. Jaune did it, you can do it to." She told herself, prepping herself as much as she could.

The Ursa reached striking distance of Weiss, raising its right arm. Weiss took the opportunity to leap above it, her agility far outmatching her clumsy, brute opponent. myrtenastar quickly found its way into the Ursa's back, only stopping once the hilt hit its skin. The Ursa whipped its free hand back at the heiress, forcing her to withdraw her weapon and leap backwards. The Ursa turned around to face her, rage swirling in its eyes. It charged again, this time not raising an arm to attack. Weiss prepared for the charge, her right leg tensing. At the last possible second she rolled to the left, her foot scratching against its rough fur as she regained her stance. She charged back in, the blade going right into the Ursa's side, causing the brute to lose composure. With one more withdrawal and thrust, the monster collapsed to the ground, one last roar signifying its passing.

"That'll show them what happens when you pit brute force against training and complexity." She boasted to herself as myrtenastar made its way back into its sheath, its job accomplished for now. "It's just weird that there was only one. Ursa always seem to travel in…" She realized as she turned around, three more of the large creatures filling her view. "Packs" she whimpered weakly, turning to run. myrtenastar was immediately taken back from its sheath. Her legs tensed to run, but it proved no use. A brute force smashed into her right side, launched her over twenty feet, her body coming to a sliding stop seconds after. She raised her had to her ribs and felt nothing out of the ordinary. Her aura had absorbed the blow, but faltered after doing so. Their auras could absorb a beating and a half, but a pure, unfiltered hit from an Ursa wasn't something that it shrugged off lightly. She lifted Myrtenastar, forcing a glyph to appear between her and her attackers. The glyph, large and white as snow, halted the beast's charges, but could only slow them down. They sat between her and the cliff, between her and Ruby.

"Ruby!" Weiss screamed in terror, her composure weakening. There was only so much that her training could force her to do. Remain calm in the face of sheer terror was not one. Her body shook, unsure of what to do. The Ursa managed to make their way around the Glyph quickly, resuming their charges. She lifted myrtenastar weakly, her normally steady grip faltering, shaking in the face of her oppressors.

Their simultaneous charges were suddenly cut short as the middle one collapsed to the ground, sliding to a stop mere feet ahead. The other two turned around, trying to find the location of the shooter. A crack was heard in the distance, and a second later, all that was left of the one of the left's head was a pillar of roses. A streak of read flew from the beginning of the cliff, streaming past the remaining Ursa, leaving both pieces that remained of it against the ground. Ruby came to a sliding stop, crescent rose now bearing yet another shade of red.

"Are you alright Weiss? I heard you screaming and then I came back and then you were freaking out and then there were Ursa's and then…" She sputtered, her mind processing her thoughts faster than her mouth could get them out. "I thought that you said that you had it handled!" She announced, retracting crescent rose into its more compact state and placing it back against her hip.

"I'm sorry for scaring you Ruby. They just came out from nowhere and I was… I was too confident." She explained, her composure returning. She pulled out her scroll, and checked the level of her aura. The bar flashed with red, only inches from empty. Upon noticing this, Ruby freaked out.

"Are you sure you're alright Weiss? Your scroll says your aura is almost empty. Did you break anything, do you hurt anywhere?" She stammered, concerned over the situation of her partner.

"No Ruby, I can take care of…" She froze. Her encounter with the Ursa's proved that she wasn't able to take care of herself. If Ruby hadn't of returned, she'd be dead. There was no question. She thought too highly of herself, and she almost died for it. She ran up to Ruby and wrapped her arms around the girl's ribs, pulling her closer and placing her head on the girls shoulder. "If you tell anyone that I did this, I will hurt you." She threatened, her voice cracking.

Ruby returned the hug, happy to know that Weiss was alright. She didn't say anything, afraid that if she did, that might ruin the moment that they were having. She placed her right hand on the back of Weiss's head, gently stroking her hair. After a few minutes, Weiss let go began her trek towards the top of the cliff.

"Now don't you go thinking that doesn't make you a dunce anymore. But just know that I'm thankful for you coming back and saving me. I owe you one. But don't you go telling anyone else that either. Now let's get back to Beacon. I'm sleeping in my own bed tonight."

Ruby smiled as the heiress walked away. No wall was unbreakable, nothing impossible.

Weiss's legs carried her away from the petite figure that stood behind her. And no matter how hard that she tried to push them away, thoughts of her leader kept returning to her mind, thoughts of friendship, thoughts of… She pushed those thoughts away.

* * *

They reached the top of the hill well after the sun had set, the trek up the cliff threatening death if they so much as slipped up. Once they reached the top, they met the familiar face of Ozpin who happily sat next to a dust lantern, a small notepad and scroll in his hands.

"Welcome back girls. I take it by the fact that you are currently panting like we had sent you up a mountain, that the journey was not easy." He joked, looking at the two exhausted girls in front of him. The trek took its toll on everyone, even showing signs of strain on Pyrrha.

"Excuse me for my interruption, but you did send us up a mountain." Weiss coughed as she pointed behind her towards the cliff they had just climbed before collapsing her knees into the ground.

"No, that comes next week." Ozpin announced with a smirk after seeing the girls reactions. "Anyways, onto the task at hand, what of the pail that we sent you to retrieve?"

The thought never crossed Weiss's mind. She didn't have the strength to carry it back, and she hadn't noticed Ruby carrying it either. Defeat flared inside her mind as she looked back, expecting the fail.

"I'm so sorry professor Ozpin. I was carrying it, and then there was Ursa and then there was Weiss and then they…" She explained quickly before being abruptly interrupted by Ozpin.

"That's good. You two pass the challenge. If you'd like to head back to your dorms to rest, you deserve it. You still must attend classes tomorrow of course, but for this assignment, you two pass with flying colours. Congratulations." He addressed as he wrote down on his notepad and scroll. "If you'd like to stay and talk for a minute Mrs. Schnee, I'd be glad to have your company.

Ruby slumped back towards the dorms, her eyes drooping as she thought of the warmth of her bed.

"Good night professor Ozpin. Good night Weiss." She shot behind her droopily, continuing the slump towards her dorm. Once she was out of earshot, Ozpin spoke.

"You may be wondering why exactly you passed, am I correct Mrs. Schnee?" He spoke confidently, continuing after he received a nod from Weiss. "The point of this challenge was not to see if you were still battle ready. It was to see how much you trusted your partner, and how much they trusted you back. You were certain that you could handle the Ursa by yourself, but failed to acknowledge the simple facts that were taught to you. You knew that Ursa travelled in small packs, but your pride got in your way."

"No it didn't! I just wanted to get back home as fast as I could, and if she came and helped me, that would only slow us down." She defended, her voice weak and exhausted from the trek.

"Then why not send Mrs. Rose to handle it. She is far faster than you due to her semblance; she could have done it and caught up to you before your tenth pace hit the dirt. But instead, you denied her help and denied her strength and did it on your own. You are a strong and wise student. But you cannot see what lies beneath the surface. This is a lesson that you will learn harshly soon enough. But as of right now, I suggest you go to sleep. You deserve it. Good night Mrs. Schnee." He dismissed, Weiss returning to her feet.

"You're not leaving yet. You wouldn't just stay here and wait for no reason at all. You're a busy man. Who's still down there?" She asked, sure that he was waiting for someone.

"That is of my concern. Good night Mrs. Schnee" he dismissed again, looking back towards the cliff. Weiss began the journey back to her dorm, her legs filled with pain and her mind with questions.

* * *

**A/N: Alright. Now for the things that aren't necessary to the story, but just my thoughts. First off, these last two chapters have both been over four thousand words each. (The last one was actually exactly 4000, believe it or not) and I don't even know where the time went when I was done. I'm really hoping that you guys are enjoying the story. This stories follows are going up through the roof. It's already beaten my other story that's been up for three months now. Wow. Maybe this will hit 100 eventually. That's my goal. Might change eventually. Also, thank you for the reviews that have been coming in. I read them within ten minutes after they're posted. You guys are awesome. **

**In other news, I'd like to give you a little bit of information about me. Or rather, the way I write. I like to use word play to hide things out of the way that some of you might notice. I do this A LOT in my writing. Little hints or tidbits of information that might get you thinking about what they mean. There's one in what Ozpin says, one in what Weiss says to Ruby in the field, one in what Ruby says to Weiss in the field, and a few more. I love doing this. See if you can catch them. **

**Anyways, thank you for reading, and keep the feedback and follows coming. Really keeps me wanting to write. If it wasn't for you guys following, reviewing and favoriting, this chapter wouldn't been up tonight. So I guess this chapter is for you guys.**

**Also, got new cover art, which is completely amazing. The picture is so good. If you want to go check out some of his other work, you can check him out at einlee on deviantart. That's enough of a rant for tonight, and thanks you.**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I have added an OC team and I might be changing the rating to M in the next few chapters so that I can get away with more. If this concerns you, feel free to let me know.**

* * *

_**Team RWBY's dorm,**_

_**12 hours later,**_

_**Weiss**_

Yesterdays "hike" did its work to Weiss's legs. Although she had the training and motivation to continue moving, that did nothing when the slightest movement caused her muscles to immediately cramp to a point where the only solution was taking the pain and waiting for it to wear out. She had spent the last hour lying in bed, staring at the bunk above her. She could hear the sound of Ruby's music as she studied for the day, apparently unaffected by yesterdays death march. She could feel her legs bouncing against the bed, her never ending fountain of energy failing to die now. Across from them, Blake and Yang sat motionless as rocks as they too experienced the side effects. Classes were up in just over an hour and only one of the four of them had the mobility to live.

"Ruby" her sister moaned from across the room "how is it that you can go on a "walk" as Ozpin likes to call it, and you can still come back here and kick your legs against your bed? You scare me some times kiddo." She groaned, her body in the similar ball formation as the other two members of the team, the sole position where their legs wouldn't cramp to the point where their legs threatened to snap apart.

"If you think that yesterdays was bad, we're hiking up a mountain next week, and that's three times as long on the way up" she waited several seconds, before continuing "and three times as long on the way back down." She added, her voice still content as could be, though she could no longer hear her music.

"You've got to be kidding me. Where's the information that says that?" A moment of silence occurred before a small pamphlet flew through the air, ending somewhere on Yang's side of the bed. "Oh, you're really not kidding me. We are actually climbing a mountain."

"Sometimes, I like to think that Ozpin wants us to die, and us living is just an added benefit. It makes me understand this school ten times better." Blake groaned, the pain affecting her normally confident voice. "Take yesterdays hike for example. Doesn't that just make it much more believable?"

"Come on you guys, yesterdays walk could have been much worse. There could've been a landslide, a death stalker, a nevermore…" she listed, only adding to her teammate's grief.

"We get it Ruby. But there's no need for you to be so upbeat and happy while we moan away for hours here." Weiss added bitterly, yesterday's moment of kindness clearly not stopping her cold sides unrelentless assault on her happy partners never ending fountain of enjoyment.

"I get it Weiss. But there is no reason for you to be so down and gloomy while I sit up here enjoying myself" her partner mocked, and judging by the chuckles that were put up around the room, doing a good job at it. Weiss even cracked a smile at it. "Anyways, are you guys ready to go to class in an hour? I want to go have a shower, but I'm afraid if I do, you guys will get mad and I don't like it when you get mad and…"

"Just go Ruby." They groaned in unison, prompting her small leap to the ground. She disappeared into the washroom, only leaving once the tired and sore Yang managed to brave through the pain long enough to go and moan in the bathtub.

An hour and a LOT of coaxing later, Ruby had somehow managed to get her team to get up and leave their room and go to class. The first class of the two that they had to attend was Grimm studies, but it held a different purpose today. Instead of them getting up and training their self defence skills, everyone merely sat at their desks, save the few who either missed yesterday or whose minds failed to comprehend that they were in pain and dire need of rest. Lunch passed by, and RWBY and JNPR amassed at the lunch tables, their pain almost universal.

"I really don't know why I came to this school sometimes. I could be at home, being a farmer, or a plumber, or something other than a student. At least they don't spend an entire day legging it through the woods while carrying a pail of water with them" Jaune groaned, his face implanted on the table.

"It was not an easy task yesterday. But we have completed it, and that is all that really matters." Pyrrha announced, trying to make the best of a bad situation. She immediately ceased once she was handed the pamphlet that bore the information of the hike up the mountain, her face joining Jaune's on the table.

"So I guess the unanimous vote is that that was the worse thing they could've given us on our second day of school. Other than Ruby, of course. For some reason, she's completely unaffected by the plague that we've amassed and still bears the same happiness as a four year old getting a puppy for their birthday." Blake announced, her face joining the other two members of JNPR on the table, which with the combination of exhaustion and pain, felt rather relaxing.

"Come on guys, it couldn't be that bad. At least you all still have legs right now right?" She asked proudly, unaffected by the pain that crippled her friends.

The sole reply she got was a small snore from Yang down the table before she realized all seven others were out like lights. She merely glanced around to make sure no one saw her and snuck off away from the table, leaving everyone else unconscious on the lunch table.

Battle techniques and strategies was strangely quiet today, with only six of the normal twenty four students present for the day. Their teacher, Professor Chalva seemed unimpressed, but unsurprised for the attendance. He decided that giving them three hours of extra training on their own time would easily make up for the work they missed in class today.

"Good day, students. And welcome to battle techniques and strategies. As I am aware, this is your second class after returning back to school, and only one-quarter of you even bothered to attend. I am impressed with all of you, having managed to endure the hike yesterday and still managed to arrive to class today. So, as a reward for your attendance, there will be no homework for you tonight. However, relay to all of your team members and others who missed this class that they are to see me tomorrow before class starts, or they will double the amount of practice time that they must perform for EACH one who misses the class. Now, onto the lesson."

The lesson consisted of the basic first day class routines. Who they were, where they came from, the weapon they wielded, etc… The class was over shortly after it began, Chalva refusing to teach one quarter of a class, simply telling them to stay out of trouble until class was over. Ruby returned to the lunch room to see that all seven of them remained out, still sleeping happily on the table. Weiss and Ren were the only two who slept with dignity, the rest sleeping in strange forms, drooling, or in the case of Pyrrha, draping themselves over their partner. After tapping them all on the shoulder to see if they'd awake and yielding no results, she left the group to their rest, the sun still hovering overhead.

_**Beacon courtyard, **_

_**Ruby**_

Not wanting to return to her dorm, all of her teammates still sleeping on a table in the cafeteria and a beautiful sky free of all overcast, Ruby headed to the one place where she felt like she could go. The fountains worked perfectly, small streams of water flowing in perfect unison. The grass was a deep shade of green, unaffected by the other season's relentless bombardments of hail, rain and snow. There were a lot of other students in the courtyard of ranging purposes. Some were there to study, others to spend time with significant others, some just walking aimlessly, free to their thoughts without fear of interruption. Across the courtyard, two teams seemed to be engaged in an argument, which based on their body language, wasn't going to cool off. She got into earshot range and walked around, listening in on their conversation. Two men, both of around six feet in height were arguing, their voices flaring with anger. One had a hair full of red hair; the other had a small patch of black hair covering his skull.

"We've already gone over this a dozen times; you should know what I want by now Helion" the red haired one threatened, clearly on the offensive "you're going to stay away from the rest of my team, or I'm going to rip that smile off your face and feed it to the hounds."

"Seems like you think that you're really tough huh? Trying to stand up for your teammate" he mocked as he pointed to a small, blue haired human standing behind the red haired leader "but if you ask her, she'll tell you she enjoyed it just as much as I did, didn't you sunshine?" He bellowed, his self confidence threatened floated around him, his invincible mindset evident. "So how about you keep your head out of it Mark, before you 'accidently' go missing" he emphasized with air quotes.

"You think you're that tough that you can take advantage of someone and get away with it. How about you show me how tough of a guy you really are huh?" He threatened, his fists clenching.

"Oh Mark, you really didn't learn the last time did you? That one week in the medical ward wasn't enough for you huh?" He announced as he turned his head. "And who's this little beauty that we have here huh? Are you enjoying the scene?" He questioned as he looked Ruby in the eyes, noticing the company. In the heat of the moment, Ruby had forgotten to look away.

"Who… me?" She questioned, trying to act naïve. "No, I'm just passing by" she played off innocently, but out of all her traits, lying was by far at number one.

"How about I show you what happens when you get involved with team HEAT huh? We don't take easily to eavesdroppers, which means we don't take easily to you. But there's an upside to this. The doctors here are pretty nice people" he threatened as he trampled his way over to her, and she could feel her heart sinking into her leg.

"Just run kid! He's not kidding!" Mark screamed, before being silenced by a fist to the gut. Helion laughed as he withdrew his fist from the smaller man's gut. Continuing his march towards the eavesdropper. The rest of Mark's team grouped around him, shooting looks that could kill towards Helion, but not taking any action.

"We'll continue this in a minute Mark. But first, let's get this little scoundrel out of here shall we?" His figure approached, the size difference being at least a foot between them. "So, little girl, do you have a name?" He asked with fake kindness, which only scared her even more. Her body froze up despite ever nerve telling her to run.

"No… No I don't. Not for someone like you." She defended, the words scaring even herself. She couldn't fight him. Not when he was that much taller, stronger, and more built than she was by at least threefold.

"Oh, you have a lip. That'll make knocking out your teeth even more exciting. Speaking of, aren't you a little young to be at Beacon? I mean, you're tiny. Are you one of those stowaways?"

_Yang, where are you? I could really use your help right now_

She merely responded with silence as he approached, closing the last ten foot gap with four paces. The sudden burst of speed startled her, but her animalistic instincts were strong. She dodged out of the way, avoiding his massive hit that would've knocked her well across the courtyard.

"Oh, you're fast. It's a shame that I'm going to take no pleasure in this. You just got in the way." He charged with his words, trying to blunt force the small girl into submission. He connected with something, but when he realized what he had hit, his face was already connected to the dirt, lying on a pile of rose petals. He quickly stood up, wiping the blood from his lip. The agile student stood behind him, her face showing only content.

"Oh you're going to pay for that. Help me out you fools!" He screamed at his team, who kicked into action from the scream of their leader.

"Hey Helion, you know who that is right?" Mark coughed from the ground, having gotten enough air back in his lungs to manage a small sentence.

"Someone who is going to be in the hospital tomorrow morning. Now shut up Mark, before your squad is the next ones to join her." He threatened, anger filling his voice.

All the students in the courtyard were now looking at the fight going on, all of them keeping their distance. They knew what happened when you got in the way of Helion. He was a senseless brute, but his tactics were effective and most of his opponents woke up in a hospital bed with no memory of yesterday.

The whole squad now charged at her, her fight instincts primed and ready. Crescent rose still holstered behind her back. She'd beat them without her weapon. They all charged side by side, throwing intelligence to the wind. She merely had to leap into the air to avoid all of them before dropping quietly to the ground.

"You guys can leave before you get embarrassed by a girl. Wouldn't that just hurt Helion?" Mark taunted, clearly not fearing the man anymore.

Helion drew his weapon, a large battle axe that doubled as a shotgun. The two sides of the battle axe folded and inwards, providing the grip and the handle doubled as the barrel, provided a brutal punch for anyone who was dumb enough to get in the way.

"Alright Mark, that's enough of you. You're really just pissing me off at this point." His shotgun reared into his shoulder, the bullets released into flight. They were suddenly suspended in the air as though time had frozen. He looked around to see a woman with red hair, her arm outstretched, a black shade surrounding it. The shells fell to the ground, clunking as they did so. He fired a round off at her, but her shield rose to block them, harmlessly ricocheting off.

"Who are you? This isn't your fight!" He wailed, the girl held her ground, unaffected.

"If you're concerned about me, you clearly haven't realized your priorities yet." She returned, holding her ground, shield raised.

"Get her boys. I'll deal with the girl."

The trio charged at Pyrrha, who backed away towards the doors to Beacon. Feeling as though they had scared her off, they charged, fists clenched. They were immediately met with company from the doors. Six more students exited the doors in a group, sprinting at the sound of gunshots. Realizing the danger, they rushed to their allies side before the would be attackers stopped their charge, revealing their leader and Ruby behind them. Weiss didn't even need a signal before a glyph appeared beneath Yang's feet, throwing her into the air. Another one appeared behind her in flight, and she was launched towards her sister's attacker, ember celica already locked around her fists. She collided with the man with the force of a truck, her fist connecting right into his ribs. She rolled upon contact to the ground, watching as Helion's body slid across the ground, flipping to a stop. His squad members had already abandoned the scene, leaving their unconscious leader alone on the ground.

"Are you alright Ruby? Did he hurt you?" Her sister questioned, her defensive side showing. "What did you do?"

"She stood up for us, stood up for her actually" Mark pointed to the blue haired girl from earlier as he rose to his feet. "Your sister is really something else. It takes guts and a pint of stupidity to stand up to Helion, and your sister did it instantly. She did us a favour we will not forget today. You should be proud."

"I should be proud huh? She could've been killed defending her! I don't even know who she is!" She flared, still defensive of her sister.

"It's ok Yang. I'm ok. I'm sorry, it's just that they needed help, and no one else was going to help and she was in danger and…" She stammered in her usual Ruby way of trying to get an entire mind worth of ideas out in an instant.

"It's not that that I'm mad about sis, it's that they just sat there and did nothing while you fought their battle. What do you guys have to say about that?"

"We were only going to get in her way. We just stayed out of it." The small blue haired human whispered, clearly ashamed. "Also, Mark was winded, and we are nothing without him."

"So you just sat back and watched? What would you have done if she'd been killed? What do you guys have to say to that, huh?" She flared again, still frustrated. A hand was placed against her shoulder, and she cooled down slightly. "You guys are lucky my sister is better than all of you, or you'd be in a far worse situation right now. Let's go Blake. I don't want to talk to them anymore." She dismissed as she turned and walked away, leaving her sister behind. She was safe now, but she'd have to give her a talk about not charging into fights that weren't her own.

"Oh, pardon my manners Ruby Rose, I believe that we haven't formally introduced ourselves yet." He began as Weiss approached, walking to Ruby's side. JNPR had Helion down on the ground and restrained, waiting for the professors to arrive. "As you are already aware, my name is Mark, and I am the leader of this squad." He motioned to a black haired man beside him. "This is Adrian" he motioned with a quick wave of his hand. "To the left of him is Selanian, the girl that you defended just now." She gave a quick wave and a small smile before returning to her shy stance. "She's far more talkative once you learn to know her. And the last member of our team is Kaitlyn." She gave a quick nod of her head, to which Ruby responded with a smile. "The four of us are team MASK, a third year team here at Beacon."

"It's nice to meet all of you. I'm Ruby Rose, and the girl to my left is Weiss Schnee." She proposed happily, catching Mark's attention.

"Mrs. Schnee, it's an honour to meet you. I've only heard positive things about you. I'm gracious to be in your presence."

"Thank you Mark" Weiss responded flattered, her stomach tingling. "Now Ruby, we must get back to our dorms in case someone wants to find us, as well as check over you to make sure that you're indeed alright."

"Hopefully I'll see more of you Mrs. Schnee. I'd like to learn more about the heiress to the Schnee dust company." He added, clearly trying to fluster her.

And it was working.

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**A/N: Yeah, I know I just did that. And I'm sorry to anyone that angers. And as a warning, it's only going to get worse before it gets better. White rose WILL happen, eventually, just not rushing it. I have a plot in my head, and it is going to happen. Just be patient. It'll bring the feels when it does happen, I guarantee you. Also, this should be the last day of non stop uploading. I might change it to a two or three day gap between chapters. If you want me to post more often, feel free to leave reviews. Getting reviews is honestly the best feeling as a writer. **

**A****nyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: This chapter is mostly character development, so don't expect there to be any huge reveals this chapter**

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_**Team RWBY's dorm,**_

_**Weiss**_

The dorm was silent after Weiss and Ruby had returned. Ruby seemed tired, and with good reason. Taking on someone who was even slightly bigger than you was difficult. Taking on four people who were all larger than you? That required a lot of courage or a lot of stupidity. Weiss couldn't help but feel like it was a mixture of both. The small girl jumped onto the top bunk, collapsing beneath the sheets instantly. While there was still light out, she decided that it was a good a time as any to catch up on some shut eye. Weiss returned to her bed, reading through the textbook for battle techniques and strategies. She had missed the class today, but she expected that nearly everyone else in the class had missed it as well. That wasn't an excuse for her to miss any more days this year, but after what they had gone through yesterday, it was well warranted. She was lucky that she had even managed to get up and make it over to the cafeteria.

"Hey Weiss, what do you think about that new guy we met today? Was his name Mark? I can't really remember. I was too busy being happy that I wasn't a stain on the grass to really pay attention." She asked, her voice clearly tired.

"He was nice, I suppose. He had good manners, good etiquette, knew who I was, spoke politely, had a good sense of professionalism, was the leader of a squad" she remarked, clearly showing interest in him.

"You like him huh? I can almost see you drooling under there right now" she teased, which aggravated her silver haired partner.

"No I don't you dunce! I'm just impressed by his knowledge and figure. That's all."

"That doesn't explain why your cheeks were as red as my combat skirt when we were walking away. I'm kind, Weiss, but I'm not blind. Those are two completely different things you know."

"So what, maybe I do have a slight interest in him. What about it? Why should you care?" She spat, wanting to get off the topic.

"Because I care about you Weiss. You're my partner. And partners are supposed to look out for each other. I want to know how you're feeling, what you're feeling. It's my job. I'm your squad leader as well you know." Replied Ruby, happiness accompanying drowsiness in her voice.

"Thank you. Now aren't you supposed to be going to sleep right now?" Weiss replied quickly, the conversation coming to an end.

Weiss didn't really know how she felt about her silver eyed leader. Sometimes she felt like she was an absolute dunce, sometimes she felt like she was incapable of doing her job properly. Sometimes she felt like she was someone who she could trust, sometimes she felt like she was just a squad leader. Sometimes she felt like a shield, blocking Weiss from harm like she had in the field. Someone who would go out of their way to make sure that she was fine, even if it meant causing themselves suffering. The girl was honest and innocent; two traits that growing up as an heiress. She'd been taught that that would only get you killed. That's what her farther had drilled into her mind at a young age. The physical scars he left healed up with time, but the mental scars never fully recovered.

The opening of the door behind her awoke her from her sleep, the sun having clearly set out the window. She had been so enticed with her thoughts that she had failed to keep herself awake. Blake and Yang entered the room, chattering away with their normal positive attitudes. Blake had a knack for calming down Yang when she was mad, a trait that was most useful to have.

"Hey, ice queen" Yang called across the room, startling the heiress. "How are you two doing in here?" She asked nonchalantly, having clearly calmed down.

"Well, I almost died today. But other than that, I'd say I'm doing splendid." Her sister joked, still upon her bunk. She wasn't sure if she'd just woken up as well, or if she'd still been awake, but she did know that the girl was still as content as could be. You could drop a cargo ship on her emotions and the girl would still find a way to be as happy as could be.

"Ruby, I don't know where you get your never ending well of happiness and energy, but do you think you could hook me up sometime?" Her sister joked, walking over to their small kitchen and opening the cupboards. She scrounged around for a minute or so, before turning around defeated.

"We have nothing good to eat. Anyone want to go with me to town before everything closes down and get some unhealthy stuff? I could really go for some unhealthy stuff right now." She asked, her eyes directed towards the fauness.

"Yang, I don't even think I have a choice as to what I do anymore. I'm just the ball and chain around your ankle. I try to slow you down, but all I do is get drug around everywhere." She groaned, clearly wanting to rest.

"And that's why I'm glad you're my partner. We make such a good team" she announced gleefully, grabbing her nearly passed out partner by the arm. "We'll be back in a few hours. If you guys need anything, feel free to give us a call and we'll pretend like we care. See you guys later!" She said as she pulled her partner by the arm out the door, leaving as fast as they came.

"Ruby, I don't know how you guys have so much energy. Are you guys involved with shady people that I should know about?" Weiss asked, trying to joke around with her partner. Being so cold to her partner was beginning to feel wrong. Especially with a partner as innocent as Ruby.

"I don't know either Weiss. We're just kinda, energetic people by nature. I'm energetic, my sister's energetic, my uncle Qrow is energetic, my…" She froze suddenly, her silence strange. "Mom was energetic."

That's why she went silent all of a sudden. Ruby had never really talked about her mom before. Even though Weiss's relations with her mom were not the best, they were better than her being dead.

"I really miss my mom sometimes Weiss." Her partner whimpered from above her, clearly upset from the thought. While the girl was primarily happy, her emotions could change as fast as the wind, and normally, without notice beforehand.

"It must be unfortunate losing your mom at such a young age. I never really got along with my mom that well when I was younger. It only got worse once the white fang began to attack. She got more stressed out, more stern. She became more like my father." She returned with sadness, the emotion now filling the room.

"This feels really gloomy princess. I really don't like this feeling. It feels weird to be sad. You're wasting time when you could be happy."

"What kind of a nickname is princess? Of all the nicknames you could give me, you gave me the nickname princess?" Weiss replied, surprised by the nickname.

"Well, do you want me to call you ice queen?" Ruby bargained, her happy mood returning.

"No. Princess is fine as long as you let me call you crater face." She returned, fighting fire with fire.

"You wouldn't dare." Ruby joked, happy that her partner wasn't so cold anymore.

"Says who? Because I can really see myself getting used to calling you that."

"Why are you being so nice all of a sudden Weiss?" She paused for a second. "What do you need from me?" She asked suspiciously, not used to her partner's sudden kindness.

"Is it wrong for me to try and be kind to my partner sometimes? Maybe I just felt like being cheery around you."

"Weiss, you're scaring me now. Did you hit your head? Do I need to get you to a hospital? Should I get a teacher in here to make sure that you're not going to die?"

"No, Ruby. I'm not going to die. I just genuinely felt like being kind today. If you want me to go back to being the same old, cold Weiss Schnee that everyone else knows, you can feel free to let me know."

"Well, thank you then. I like this new, kind Weiss Schnee way more than I like the old one. The old one was scary and freaked me out. The new one gives me hugs and is kind to me and…"

"Ruby, I thought I told you never to bring that up again, remember?" She pressed, suddenly on the defensive.

"Actually, from what I recall, you told me not to tell anyone else. And I'm not telling anyone else. I'm telling you. Wait… Are you forgetting things? Should I go and tell the teachers that you're having some kind of medical thingy and that they should get you some medical help?"

"No, Ruby. Like I said, I'm fine. But I'm just wondering why you'd bring that up again. I was happy for you saving my life, and nothing else. Can we just leave it at that?"

"I was just saying that I was happy for this new Weiss. Please don't go back to being old Weiss. I'm really sorry for what I said!" She backtracked, trying not to bring back the old Weiss. The cold, uncaring old Weiss.

Weiss allowing herself a small chuckle. "It's fine Ruby. I'm not going to hurt you. That memory was actually kind of nice. Just make sure you don't bring it up in front of anyone else alright?"

"Alright princess, I'll make sure I never tell anyone else." Ruby replied cheerfully, and Weiss could nearly feel her smile radiating through the bunk bed.

"I'm going to go to sleep for tonight. Is there anything else you want to tell me before we wake up tomorrow crater face?" She joked back, refusing to take the joke without returning one of her own.

"Sleep well Weiss." She answered, her voice returning to its drowsy state.

"Sleep well Ruby." She replied, placing her head against her pillow.

She wasn't sure about the emotions that she felt about her partner. She wasn't sure if it was kindness, envy, security, or more than that. She didn't know how to find out what the emotions she felt were, but she knew that time would tell. But right now, she had classes to attend tomorrow, and she wasn't going to miss them again.

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**A/N: I have a confession to make. There wasn't going to be another chapter up tonight. There really wasn't. But Cymki and Tatya1999's comments changed my mind. So this chapter is devoted to you, random citizens of in the internet. I wasn't kidding when I said that reviews could affect my writing. It's greatly appreciated. **

**As for this chapter, I have a question for you guys. Do you like how I'm developing these characters? If not, why? Because quite personally, I like how it's building up right now. I haven't rushed anything, and I feel like I've kept them mostly in character. **

**But anyways, that's enough for tonight. If you guys like me posting these chapters so continuously then let me know. It really does make a difference. **

**So have a great morning, day, evening, night, and take it easy. **


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: If you have time, I strongly recommend you read the authors note at the bottom of this chapter. It will really give you an explanation as to the scene that I drop in this chapter**

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_**Team RWBY's dorm,**_

_**Ruby**_

The thoughts of yesterday's conversation had mixed effects on Ruby. On the one hand, she was happy that her partner had opened up to her. She was happy that there was indeed a side of Weiss that cared about her. But the thoughts of her mother that she had long since drowned out returned, plaguing her dreams like they had years ago. Her dreams were trickled with mixed memories. Some were of them playing happily in the fields together, some were of her mother smiling when she did something silly, some were of the many times she visited her mothers tombstone. Every time she did, it stung like a knife wound. Going to your only parent's tombstone was not something you could do without hurting yourself. But sometimes, she felt like that was all that the she could do. Her mother was the only one who was always truly there for her. She sat upright in her bed, looking to the bunk to her left. Even in the dim light, she could tell that Yang and Blake were back. Yang was stretched out over her blankets dressed only in her pyjamas, but she couldn't make out what Blake was doing. All she could tell was that the fauness was indeed there. She grabbed onto the side of her bunk bed with extreme caution, making sure not to wake any of her team mates. She connected with the ground with enough silence that you could still hear a pin drop on the other side of the room. She quickly changed her clothes into her combat skirt and slowly opened the door. She peeked her head out, making sure that no one was in the halls with her. She scurried out of the room and closed the door behind her, heading down the hallway.

Outings like this were uncommon for Ruby, but the silence left her alone to her thoughts. On the outside, she was a perfectly happy girl who couldn't be brought down by any human means. But keeping up an appearance like that took a toll eventually. It wasn't always the easiest being the always happy girl. Sometimes she wanted to be a normal girl who could be mad, be angry, be confused and be scared. But that's not what her team needed or wanted. They needed a strong leader, someone who could lead them consistently and effectively. She opened the door to the cliff, the one they had just launched off two days prior. The cold air felt refreshing against her sweaty form, the moonlight lighting up the cliff. She sat down next to the launching platforms, the cold metal refreshing against her skin. It was a cliff just like this one where her mother's tombstone rested. The last time she'd seen it, snow covered all around it. The red roses she'd placed against it had long since wilted away, spread to the wind. She had told her mom everything. How hers and Yang's life was going, the jokes that Qrow had told them, how she was doing in school, everything. She spoke to her like she was expecting an answer. But she never did. The only sound that every accompanied her voice was the wind, the constant reminder that she was gone. Ruby had never really liked the wind from that point on. It reminded her of things that she didn't want to remember. Lying back against the grass, she let her mind wander.

"What are you doing here Ruby? I never really took you for the kind of person to go out adventuring out this late at night. I always took you for the responsible leader." The familiar voice questioned.

"Oh. Hello Mark. I guess I could say the same for you." She replied, her head still buried in the grass.

"Do you mind if I take a seat?" He asked as he gestured to the ground beside her.

"Go right ahead. There's more than enough room for you here" she responded with a chuckle.

"What's on your mind right now Ruby? That's the only reason that I can see you coming out this late at night. Is it about school, or what?" He questioned kindly, keeping the conversation casual.

"No. I'm just thinking about before I came to beacon. Back when life was easier, you know. I'm not complaining though! I'm just saying that life was better in ways before I came here." She answered, speaking the truth. Not the whole truth, but truth nonetheless. "Anyways, what are you doing out here? Were you looking for me, or was I just in the way when you came here?" She asked suspiciously, not trusting the leader to her right.

"Actually, I came out here to ask you a question, if that's alright with you." He asked nervously, bringing fear into her soul. She didn't know why he was out here, or how he knew she'd be here. But whatever she felt, she couldn't let it show. She had to keep being the strong, happy leader that she had been told she was.

"You go right ahead Mark. I love questions." She replied gleefully, still lying on the grass. Mark cleared his throat and waited a few seconds before replying.

"Well, as I know, you're the leader of team RWBY, correct?" She asked, granting a nod from Ruby. "And you're also the partner of Weiss Schnee, correct?" He asked again, granting a more suspicious nod from the crimson girl." Then I believe that I must ask you permission to begin seeing her. I don't want to anger you in saying that, I just know that she's not taken, and I quite enjoy her personality, and I think that'd I'd be a good match for her. That is with your permission, of course." He asked, causing the cogs in Ruby's head to begin to turn.

"So that's why you came and found me tonight, isn't it? You wanted to ask me permission to date my partner. That makes sense, but why would you ask me? There's no rule saying that you have to ask me." She questioned, somewhat confused.

"I respect you, Mrs Rose. After what you did for me and my squad back there, I could at least respect your decision. That would be the least I could do for you. You did a brave thing that I could not ever hope to repay, so I'm trying to pay it off as best I can. This doesn't settle my debt I have to you, of course, but it's a start. And if you don't wish to accept my request, I will take it to heart and honour it. I wish for you to accept, but if you don't, I understand."

She closed her eyes, letting the choice float through her mind. She didn't have any feelings for Weiss romantically, or even the same gender for that matter. And she knew that Weiss showed interest to Mark when they had returned. He seemed to be responsible, had a good attitude, but was prone to getting in fights without the ability to defend himself. That caused her to choke up for a second before delivering her response.

"Go ahead Mark. But if you hurt her, or you can't defend her, you'd better hope that the fall down this cliff breaks your neck before the beowolves can get to you." She threatened, letting her intentions be clear. She had just gotten to the new Weiss, and she wasn't going to let her crawl back into her shell of coldness.

"Thank you Ruby, I'll do my best. Also, if I do start dating your partner, can I call you petals?" He asked jokingly as he stood back up.

"No. Nothing is going to change my mind about it either. You're not going to call me petals." She replied, closing her eyes when she felt him stand up.

"Alright, well thank you. I'll try not to let you down." He finished as he vanished from the cliff, leaving Ruby to her new, less downing thoughts.

"Hopefully I just made the right choice." She said to herself with guilt, the choice now more weight she had to bear on her shoulders.

_**Team RWBY's dorm, **_

_**Weiss**_

The ice princess had been awoken by the creaking of their door opening, causing her so jolt up in attention. Myrtenastar was under her bed, out of reach of her hand. The intruder closed the door and began to approach her, causing her heart to stop. The muscles tensed and her mind filled with fear. Her body told her to scream, but her throat had quenched too tightly to free anything more than a wheeze. She looked over to her left, the sleeping figure of Blake still there, providing no comfort. Weiss lifted her hands in front of her, a measly attempt at self defence. The figure merely took off their clothes and climbed onto the top bunk as though Weiss wasn't there.

"Ruby? Is that you up there?" The silver haired heiress asked, confused by the chain of events.

"Yeah, it's me Weiss. Now let's get to sleep. We've got a lot of classes tomorrow." She closed, ending the quick conversation.

What was she doing out there? Ruby never disappeared randomly like that. That was a Yang trait, but certainly not a Ruby trait. Why had she just randomly disappeared? Speculations filled her mind, trying to make logic out of the situation. She could've needed air, she could've been meeting someone by how fast she had dismissed any answers. She could've gone to think about something, there was so many things that she could've done. Weiss couldn't place her finger on one answer. She decided to abandon it and go to sleep. Her leader had a reason for going out there, and she knew that she did. Maybe she'd ask her tomorrow.

_**Team RWBY's dorm, **_

_**The next morning,**_

_**Weiss**_

The ice princess had awoken late the next morning. The sun was already making its journey to the top of the sky when she looked out the window. Blake was already gone, and by the looks of the covers, so was Yang. She stretched herself out and stood up, looking at the bunk above her, which was also empty. "_My team abandoned me_" she thought to herself as she looked around the room, the only thing out of the ordinary was that the bathroom door was closed. Yang often closed it once she was done, and she was generally the last one out, so that was explained. She slouched to the other side of the room, glancing into the cupboards. They were newly refreshed with Yang's and Blake's journey to town yesterday. She grabbed a box of cereal bearing some fancily dressed young woman with red hair on the front. She walked over to the fridge and took out the nearly empty carton of milk. She didn't know where it all went, but Ruby most likely had something to do with it.

"You're up late today Weiss. What's the deal with that?" Came the muffled question from behind her, causing her to jump. She turned around to see the face of Ruby, already dressed in her combat skirt with a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Don't do that to me Ruby! You could've given me a heart attack!" Weiss scolded, her hand on her heart.

"What did you want me to do? I couldn't tap you on the shoulder; I couldn't just stand behind you. Should I have left a note on the milk that said I'm behind you, don't be afraid? Because I don't think that would've ended any better." She joked, disregarding her partners fear.

"You could've left the bathroom door open. That would've worked I guess."

"Oh, I guess I could have. Sorry Weiss." She apologized.

"Ruby, what were you doing out yesterday night? It's not like you to go running off like that in the middle of the night. Have you been spending too much time around Yang?" She joked while pouring herself a bowl of cereal. It wasn't a five course meal, but it was good enough for her.

"I was just thinking about some stuff some last night." She replied. She wasn't lying, but she wasn't exactly telling the full truth either. Fortunately, that was enough for Weiss to believe her.

"I trust you. But if you're going to go running off like that in the middle of the night, at least let me know first. You nearly gave me a heart attack when you came in last night. I thought you were coming to kill me."

"Oh, I never thought of that. Sorry again princess. Anyways, I'm going to meet up with Yang, Blake and JNPR in the cafeteria. You're free to come join us if you want." Ruby proposed as walked back into the bathroom, returning without her toothbrush.

"I'll catch up with you guys once I'm done eating and getting changed. Class isn't for another half an hour anyways." She said nonchalantly, beginning to dig into her bowl of cereal.

"I'll see you then Weiss. Have fun with your cereal." Her partner joked as she left the room, leaving Weiss by herself once again.

_**Beacon cafeteria,**_

_**Ruby**_

When she arrived at the cafeteria, her six teammates and friends were already engaged in a conversation about what had happened yesterday. Ruby took a seat next to Yang and across from Ren, who was currently face palming about some remark Nora had made. She was given a quick wave of greetings before they continued the conversation as though she had never arrived.

"What did you guys even do once you two took off yesterday Yang? You guys just kind of, vanished away. I mean its normal for Blake, seeing as she's a ninja and all, but you're generally a lot less quiet than that. What happened between you two?" Jaune asked, Pyrrha sitting next to him.

"We had a nice conversation and then returned to our dorm room. That's basically what happened. And then we went and bought groceries. That's honestly all we did yesterday." Her tone was normal. Either she was telling the truth, or she was just a really good liar.

"What about you Ruby. What did you do once you and Weiss took off? We didn't see you again yesterday. You just kind of vanished like them. Did team RWBY just all take ninja classes during the summer?" Jaune joked, earning a chuckle from everyone but Ren.

"I just went back to my dorm and went to sleep. Not as exciting as being a ninja though." She replied blandly, telling the partial truth again. This was becoming far more reoccurring than was normal for her.

"Oh, well that sounds interesting. Speaking of you two, where's Weiss. She's usually up bright and early. It's weird for her to be getting up so late."

"She was just eating before she came here when I saw her this morning. She should be here in a few minutes."

Mere seconds after Ruby answered the question, the heiress approached the table, sitting on the end across from Pyrrha.

"Good morning ice queen. Did you sleep well?" Jaune joked, getting nothing more than a mean look from Weiss in return.

"What's up with you Weiss? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Yang teased, earning no response from the heiress once more.

"She's clearly not having a nice morning. Let's leave her alone. Besides, classes start in five minutes, so we should be going anyways" dismissed Pyrrha, dragging Jaune up by the arm.

Team RWBY stood up and began to head towards their first class of the day, sparring. They only had two classes per day, which made studying rather easy. Yang and Blake stormed ahead, leaving Weiss and Ruby trailing behind them.

"Hey Weiss, what's going on with you this morning? You're not this cold normally. Is something wrong?" Ruby asked concerned, noting the strange behaviour of her partner.

"No, I just wasn't in the mood for talking. Thank you for your concern though." She dismissed, continuing the trek in silence. They were interrupted only dozens of feet away from class by a voice all too familiar to Ruby at this point.

"Good morning girls. How is this morning treating you thus far?" He asked, his voice upbeat and happy.

Ruby didn't even bother to answer. She just stormed off to class, leaving the duo behind.

"Hey Weiss, I've got a quick question for you." He asked vaguely, forcing Weiss to reply

"What is it Mark? I'm not in the best of moods this morning." She replied bluntly, trying to shoo him off.

"I know a great restaurant here on campus that I've got two reservations for. Would you honour me with your presence tonight?" He asked as gentlemanlike as he could, hoping to woo the heiress.

"I'd love to Mark. Now if you don't mind, I've got a class I must attend to. You can find me after classes at my dorm." She replied quickly before jetting off to class, leaving Mark and his childish grin behind.

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**A/N: Now before all of you reading this decide to abandon thread, hear me out real quick. I know that I've just paired up Weiss with an OC in a white rose story, and that some of you might be thinking of leaving this story. But this is just a dip in the road. This story is still white rose, and please trust me when I say that. It might anger you, and I'm deeply sorry. But this is how I chose to continue the story, and I have a very big reveal in mind for the next few chapters. Watch out for wordplay to see if you can get what I'm hinting towards.**

**In lighter news, I'd like to address the four reviews that I've gotten on this chapter.**

**Yellowsign: I appreciate that you can understand where I'm coming from. And I REALLY appreciate that you trust me. I need people like you right now. Your review was greatly appreciated friend.**

**Shadowmanji: on the same lines as Yellowsign, thank you for trusting in my writing. Also, thank you for complementing me on my writing. It really causes me to want to write more.**

**Metimesthree: I really hope that you still feel the same after reading this chapter. I'm holding my breath**

**Cowjumpmoon: If you like the character development in these few chapters, you're going to love the next few chapters. **

**So a combination of those four is the reason there is a chapter up tonight. I honestly really love writing this story, and I'm far more than happy to keep putting up a new chapter every night as long as you guys keep on dropping feedback. Its an exchange of sorts. Also, if any of you guys want to PM me with questions, concerns, or just to talk, I'll make sure I reply as fast as I can. Reviews are also amazing. If you drop a comment, I'll either shout you out or reply to you, depending on which one fits.**

**Question of the chapter: How do you guys feel about how I'm building up my characters and plot? Do you like it, is it meh? Let me know what you think.**

**Any ways****, long authors note on a potentially misleading chapter, but just have faith my readers. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. **

**So have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy.**


	7. Chapter 7

Weiss stammered into the classroom, taking her seat next to Ruby. Although her day hadn't been the most joyful, it was above comprehension that she'd been wanted by someone. And someone as well mannered and intelligent as Mark. The thoughts of what they'd do tonight filled her mind. She'd never been on a real date before. She'd only really been on ones with people she didn't even remotely care for. Her father didn't care about her feelings, he only really cared about someone who could carry on the family name. That was all that ever mattered to him, really. That's how she was always treated as a child. Just a figure that was going to have to one day carry on the family name. That could take a toll on a young girl. She had, and still was suffering from trust issues and coldness. Those were traits that her father had taught her. Traits that she hoped she'd one day remove of.

"Hey Weissy, how was your meeting with Mark?" She asked with a nudge of her shoulder, taking the heiress from her unpleasant thoughts. A grin that could ignite the sun filled her face. She knew what had happened in the hallway. But how?

"It was good. He wanted to check out how I was doing" she replied, only realizing how stupid the answer sounded once it left her mouth. She was immediately greeted to this by the answer of her partner.

"I've learned one more thing about you today Weiss. You weren't taught how to lie when you were growing up were you?" She replied sarcastically, ignoring the teacher who was delivering his welcome to sparring speech that he had clearly practiced to his mirror.

"I'll tell you Ruby, but only if you don't tell anyone else. I trust you enough to tell you that he asked me to go for dinner tonight." She replied with a smile, her anticipation already beginning to accumulate.

"I knew it!" Ruby yelled quietly, making sure no one else heard her. The girl had gotten better since last year. That was for certain. Last year she would've immediately yelled it out to the rest of the class or rushed over to her sister, but now she just seemed more… mature.

"So if I go missing tonight, you know where I've gone Ruby. Now let's pay attention to the class. I'm not going to lose marks because I was distracted by this dunce."

"Alright princess. Whatever you say" Ruby returned jokingly, keeping the grin on Weiss's face there just a few seconds longer.

The introduction to sparring was so well rehearsed that it sounded robotic. The class was going to be about sparring, but seeing as they were second year students, it would also involve the duelling of the creatures of Grimm. All partners would be partners for the rest of the year, responsible for both their partner's grades and lives. They would have to make several more trips back into the emerald forest this year, as exams of sorts. They were asked to come up with their partners and show how their combat skills had fared over the summer. That seemed counter intuitive after what they had done in the emerald forest on the second day they were here, but he didn't seem to care much when Weiss proposed it. He needed a baseline to begin working everyone up from. Weiss and Ruby were third from last, after Yang and Blake, but before another team. They watched the duels, the dominant partners becoming obvious. Nora, Pyrrha and Yang were the ones that they cared about. Weiss and Ruby were called to the front, their paces racing. Weiss had seen what her partner was capable of in the forest. She stood no chance.

"Alright girls, if you'd like to draw your weapons and prepare for combat, we'll begin on my mark" the teacher announced, standing back away from the stage that they stood on.

"Good luck Weiss" Ruby said cheerfully, crescent rose extending from its rectangular, veiled shape. The blade dwarfed myrtenaster easily.

"As to you Ruby" she returned sternly, her focus entirely on defeating her partner. If she could defeat her, that would say leagues about her combat ability. Maybe give her some boasting material over dinner tonight.

"Good luck to you both. The duel begins on the count of five." He counted down, and after yelling one, swung his arm down to signify the start of the duel.

Weiss looked at her opponent, waiting for her partner to make the first move. Yellow dust locked itself into myrtenaster, the blade displaying a dull shade of yellow. Ruby shot herself towards her partner, her move anticipated. Using the power of the dust, Weiss leaped above her partner, landing gracefully behind her. Red dust locked itself in next, the blade turning a dark shade of red. She placed her free hand against the pommel of her blade and thrust herself towards her recovering partner. Just as she was about to connect, her partner vanished into a pile of rose petals. Looking around her, her noticed her partner, crescent rose placed against Weiss's side.

"Victory for Mrs. Rose!" The teacher exclaimed, the group letting out a clap. The fight had lasted less than ten seconds, the most definitive victory that had been witnessed that day. "That was an amazing display of skill Mrs Rose. A quick and clean victory. I sense a lot of potential in you. Now if you two could return to your seats, we still have two more groups that must spar before the day is over. Mrs. Schnee, if you wouldn't mind staying behind after class, I'd like to have a private word with you. And once again, good job girls."

Weiss hung her head low as she returned to her seat. How had Ruby defeated her so quickly? How did she get back there while she was recovering? What had she done wrong? She was interrupted from the thoughts once more by a ball of paper to the back of the head.

"You call yourself a heiress, but you lose in less than ten seconds? You're even more pathetic than I thought beforehand. I thought your cocky attitude would at least be accompanied by at least some skill." A female voice came from behind her. Weiss turned around to defend herself, but she was beaten out by her partner.

"You think that Weiss is a terrible fighter right? I mean, she was just taken out in less than ten seconds. That must be insulting right?" Her partner asked, Weiss unsure of what team she was standing up for.

"You've got that right. Someone as confident as her should at least be able to defend herself against someone two years younger than her right?" The girl returned, confident that Ruby was on her side.

"So she's got to be a terrible fighter by that accord." Ruby turned away from the girl, looking to the stage. "Professor, seeing as our next group is still preparing for their duel, would you allow me use of the stage for a minute?"

"We have the time for it, I suppose. Does Mrs Schnee wish to embarrass herself again?" He said jokingly, but it hit Weiss in the gut. Even her teacher was mocking her. Hopefully tonight would make up for it though.

"No, but someone else does." Ruby replied, her signature grin crossing her face. She grabbed the girl by the hand and pulled her unwillingly from her seat. A quick look at her face displayed only terror. She had walked right into this. She was drug onto the platform, her realization kicking in.

"I don't want to fight her! I never agreed to this! You can't let her do this professor!" She yelled, trying to wiggle her way out.

"This girl insulted my partner, my teammate, so I took that as an insult. That's why we're up here professor." Ruby explained. Crescent rose took form once again, dropping to Ruby's side.

"She does have a point. You did insult her team and thus insulted her. I strongly recommend you draw your weapon. The duel will begin in ten seconds. Good luck to you both."

"Good luck" Ruby mocked, getting her point across. Ruby was a puppy by nature. But if you cornered it, it would fight like a caged beowolf.

"You're going to pay for that!" The girl screamed, her great sword drawn from its hilt, poised in front of her.

"Good luck to both of you." The professor announced as he left the platform, only taking a few steps away before turning around.

The girl charged, broadsword gripping firmly in front of her. Ruby sat calmly at the other end of the stage, checking over her weapon as though she was about to go on an outing as a sign of disrespect. As she approached, she brought her sword overhand, aiming for her opponent's skull. Her sword caught nothing but red roses. Sudden force launched her onto the ground, the hilt of her sword digging into her chest as she flipped over it. A solid black boot stain was now imprinted onto her armour. As she hit the ground, the tip of crescent rose stuck in the ground in front of her, signifying the end of the spar.

"And the winner is Ruby Rose! And it only took her four seconds to do so." A wave of applause filled the room, surprised at the speed of her takedown.

Ruby stood over her defeated opponent, her hand outstretched as a sign of both sportsmanship and embarrassment. The girl had only suffered damage to her pride, luckily enough. She pushed away the sign of sportsmanship and stood up on her own, taking her blade from the stage and placing it back in its hilt. She gave a grunt to Ruby as she walked back to her spot in the audience, trying to hide away from her shame. She laughed at the girl who took eight seconds to be brought down, while she herself had only taken four. What did that say about her?

Ruby pulled crescent rose out of the stage, returning it to its traveling shape and placed it behind her cape, against her back. She returned to her space in the audience, sitting next to a now smiling Weiss. Ruby was innocent and childish at times, but after having been given the role of the leader of the team, she was also defensive. She was especially protective of Weiss. She considered Weiss's safety her own personal responsibility. She felt like she had to protect the spoiled Heiress.

"I don't think she'll be bugging you anymore Weiss. I think that she learned her lesson for today" Ruby exclaimed to her partner, pride lining her facial features. Her childish smile, her wonderfully shaped eyebrows, her deep silver eyes.

"I don't need you to look over me Ruby. I can take care of myself." Weiss defended, trying to preserve her pride.

Ruby just let out a huff. Whatever reason Weiss had for always denying her help, she was unsure. Maybe her heiress training wouldn't let her take help from anyone else. Maybe it was something that her father forced into her. She wasn't quite sure yet, but she's was going to find out.

Lunch and the following class passed by rather quickly. Weiss was angry at Ruby for not telling her about the homework for battle techniques and strategies, but she'd live. It had been a mere hoax anyways, simply a test to see who would come in and who wouldn't. Weiss and Ruby had failed, of course, but that could be said about everyone else as well. After classes, they returned to their dorms, preparing for their own events. Weiss had taken the washroom for over an hour, exiting dressed like she was headed to a wedding.

"Well well, why are you dressed up so fancily Weiss? I mean, you look like you're going to a wedding. Got some plans for the night do you?" Yang teased from the top bunk, her eyes trained on the heiress.

"Why yes, I do have plans for tonight, thank you very much. I want to ensure that I look presentable for my date." She replied, shaking out her clothing. She wore a light blue dress that hugged her figure, revealing her intentions. Her symbol was imbedded onto a light blue necklace that hung at the very bottom of her neck. She was indeed a sight to behold.

"Oh, so you're going on a date huh? What's his name?" Yang questioned, seeming thoroughly intrigued at this point.

"That is none of your concern. All you must know is that I was asked to accompany him to dinner, to which I accepted." She replied formally, checking herself in a mirror time and time again.

"Is it that Mark guy that we met the other day?" After Weiss answered with a cold shoulder, Yang continued. "So it is that Mark guy. Just make sure that you're safe when you're out there tonight Weiss."

"I don't know why you'd be concerned about him, Yang. He's a team leader. I don't believe that he would ever attempt to harm me. We're also headed to a private restaurant full of people. There will be no problem with my safety. I appreciate your concern, although it is not needed." She replied coldly, certain that she was ready and presentable.

"That wasn't what she meant Weiss." Blake replied, before being cut off by a knocking at the door.

"That's him! How do I look you guys? Do I look presentable?" She blurted, nervousness showing in her voice and expression.

"You look great sunshine. Now do you want to answer the door, or should I?" Yang replied, causing Weiss to scurry over to the door. She took a deep breath and twisted the doorknob. Mark stood on the other side, dressed in a suit and tie, as though he was also headed to a wedding.

"People try too hard nowadays" Yang muttered to Blake, earning a chuckle from the fauness.

"You look great Weiss." Mark announced with confidence, either used to the routine or simply full of confidence.

"As do you Mark" Weiss replied coyly, her cheeks a slight red. She had been on many dates before this. Maybe even more than Yang. But the ones that she had been on were not the same. They were forced upon her by her father. He desperately wanted someone who could carry on the Schnee name. He had been disappointed that he had a daughter rather than a son, as he thoroughly let her know through her scolding's and beating's.

"Shall we?" Mark asked as he extended a hand to the heiress, who took his hand in hers. He led her from the room, closing the door behind them.

_Milestones restaurant_

_Weiss_

The restaurant that Mark had brought her to was indeed worth the reservation. Elegant glass chandeliers hung overhead, and everyone was dressed in the fanciest apparel that money could grant them. They waited at the opening of the restaurant for a little over an hour, filling the gap with a bunch of small talk. Once they had finally made their way to their seat, the sun had already begun to set behind the mountains in the distance, filling the air with an orange and golden haze that reflected off the extremely well kept furniture. They opened their menus and them over thoroughly. Anything that you could want filled the menu. This was certainly an expensive store, but right now, money was the least of her ever stacking list of concerns. Lists of appetizers, main courses from every part of the world, deserts that could make you salivate just by looking at the name. After around twenty minutes, she settled upon a salad, made with the finest vegetables and herbs found in Vale, a steak made from the meat of a rare animal found only in Mistral and a small slice of cake made only from the finest materials available from Haven. She looked back over to her date, who was already done ordering and was looking intently at her.

"For someone who comes from such a wealthy background, I'm surprised that it took you so long to order." Mark stated, having clearly finished ordering several minutes before her.

"I just like to try out new things. Life back where I came from wasn't always so happy and exciting as you might think. It's nice having money, of course, but money can only fix so much" Weiss confessed, thoughts of her childhood passing back through her mind.

"From what I understand, you never really had a good relation with your father. Would you mind if I asked why?" He poked, trying to get information from the ice queen.

"I'd really prefer not to talk about it right now, if that's alright with you. I really don't like bringing up my past. And it's not that I don't want to tell you about it, it's that I really don't want to bring it up." She ended, forcing him to change the conversation.

"So how do you feel about your partner then Weiss? She seems like she can be a little bit difficult, but she seems good enough."

"She's got a kind and innocent soul. I'm impressed that Ozpin chose her over me. I could never do the things that she does." She answered as she recalled the events of today. "She's really someone who's cut out for being a team leader."

"Is she over protective of you? Because she seems like the kind of person that would go to the end of the world to defend you guys. Am I correct in saying that?" He poked again, this time yielding results.

"She feels like it, but we're able to defend ourselves. We're big girls Mark. We don't need her to look over us all the time."

The night continued on like this, them receiving their meals and continuing their conversations about what home was like for Mark, how school was going, how life was, and everything in between. Mark paid off the bill and escorted her home, making sure she was safe inside.

"I will see you later Mrs Schnee. And thank you for accompanying me to dinner. Your company was greatly appreciated." He announced as he closed the door, leaving her alone to her dark room. She locked the door, sighing as she did so. She had a great night, but something was off with Mark. She couldn't place her finger on exactly what it was, but there was certainly something going on with him. She turned around to find her whole team was asleep, the room quiet and peaceful. She carefully took off her dress, ensuring that it had been placed back perfectly in her dresser alone before continuing. She took off her necklace, placing it gently on her nightstand before she crawled under the covers. She tried to think about what it was about Mark that didn't seem right, but she was out like a light mere moments after her head hit the pillow.

* * *

**A/N: Whoo. Another chapter down. I'm pretty happy with how I wrote it, and I'm moving the plot. I have a lot planned out for the next few chapters that I think you guys will like. Also, sorry for the Weiss X OC date, but I had to hide some stuff in my writing for you guys who like to read between the lines. **

**Question of the day: Do you guys look for the little hints I leave in my writing? Because I love writing them, but I haven't gotten any feedback on if you guys like them. **

**Shoutouts: And boy is there a lot today. This story has already passed my other story in everything but views. I really love writing this story. It's become my vent of sorts. Something that I can do to pass time and clear my head. But anyways, onto the shoutouts. **

**Cowjumpmoon: I'm glad you're enjoying the story as much as I am. I also appreciate that you're staying with me even though it's developing so slowly. Your constant reviews are always welcome here. **

**DazerRT: Thank you for the compliments. I first read your comment when I was on my way to work, and it really helped me out. I appreciate all the kind words that you left for me, and I try to update as quickly as I can. I mean, one chapter a day is pretty impressive. And as long as you guys like my work, you can expect to see more from me in the future. **

**Dark dragon queen of death: I really want to answer your review. I really do. But I can't. If I do, I'll just spoil the story. So much temptation. But I cannot. But just stick around and you'll find out.**

**Shadowmanji: You fall into the same category as Dark dragon queen of death in that I can't really reply to your comment. But you really need to stick around. I'm sure you'll love the next few chapters.**

**Tataya1999: I can't really imagine this story being as good as the show, but I appreciate being related to it. It makes me feel all warm and giddy inside. Its really nice to know that you're still with me and chugging along through the good and bad. I appreciate it. **

**Cymki: I don't know how you missed the update my friend. All chapters that I post are going to come out at around this time every night. So you can be expecting one every night or every other night at this time until life catches up to me. **

**Undoingtech: They aren't attacking with the intent to kill. Don't forget, auras are powerful things. Also, they wouldn't try to kill each other. Only teach them a lesson, if you know what I'm saying. But its alright for you to be confused. My writing can be like that sometimes. **

**Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed today. I'll try to get another chapter up tomorrow, but if I don't, I'm really sorry. Reviews are always a good way to motivate me to write another chapter though. They're amazing to get, and I have a lot of fun writing the shout outs.**

**So as always, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy**


	8. Chapter 8

_**Team RWBY's dorm,**_

_**Weiss**_

_**The day of the mountain hike**_

Team RWBY had all managed to get themselves awake, although everyone other than Ruby was currently groaning in their beds like a pack of traveling seals. The day of the mountain hike was a near death wish for all the students. The memories of the pain that they had endured on the last 'hike' as they liked to call it still burned vividly in their minds. They had found it difficult to exist without causing pain after the last one, and now they were being asked to climb a mountain. It was going to be at least four hours on the way up. And then came the task of getting down. You were allowed to use your own landing strategy if you wished, but if you hit the ground before you intended to, you weren't going to make it. After the herd of seals managed to get themselves and getting dressed in their combat apparel, they moved to the cafeteria to join team JNPR, who also closely resembled a pack of seals.

"Why are they making us do this? What are we really hoping to accomplish to this?" Yang complained as she buried her face into the lunch table, shaking the entire table as she did so.

"I'm really beginning to believe what Blake said is actually true." Weiss moaned, her face buried in her palms. She had nearly died after the last outing they had suffered through, and that didn't involve scaling an entire mountain. It was a small mountain, but it was still a mountain. Even with the ability to use their powers, the thought hurt her mind.

"Come on guys, it could be worse!" Pyrrha announced gleefully, trying to lift their spirits. "We could be forced to… Actually, on second thought, forget what I just said. It couldn't actually be worse." She complained as she leaned onto Jaune's shoulder, her ear resting on his collarbone.

"Well, at least when we get back, we have an entire day to rest right?" Jaune proposed, trying to brighten their moods.

"Jaune, that's simply because dragging corpses from room to room takes up too much of the professors time" Yang groaned once again.

"Good morning students of Beacon academy" Ozpin announced over the loudspeaker. "As most of you are aware, we will be climbing a small mountain today, so be prepared. You will not have to spend the night up there, but you will most likely not return until mid day. So as of now, you are dismissed from the next two days of classes, that being today and tomorrow. So if all of you would be kind enough to head to the back of the school, we will begin the hike. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Blake, I'm sorry I ever doubted you. I'm really, really sorry." Yang groaned as she stood up from the table, beginning the walk. Everyone else eventually managed to stand and follow her, all dreading the day that they had ahead of them.

_**Unspecified mountain**_

_**Weiss**_

_**One hour later**_

RWBY and JNPR had managed to make their way to the mountain intact. The hike hadn't been as tiring as they thought. It was a simple walk on mostly well kept terrain. As they reached the base of the mountain, their hopes for the future were dampened. The mountain wasn't steep. It was very manageable at least. It was just extremely rugged. One slip, one misplaced step, one accidental trip, and you wouldn't be a member of the living anymore.

"Alright students, you will have a ten minute preparation period before you are being asked to climb the mountain. This will allow you to prepare a strategy for climbing the mountain. The point of this climb is simple. You must climb to the top. That is all you are being asked to do. Once you are done, I ask that you return yourselves to me so that we may do the trek back together as a unit. Now the best of luck to you all, and safe climbing." He dismissed, walking away from the group of students for a better angle at the mountain.

Teams RWBY and JNPR sat around, looking at each other. What had he meant by a strategy? You climbed the mountain. It couldn't be that difficult, it would just be tiring. You were also allowed to use your weapons and equipment to assist you in the scaling of the mountain, which removed most of the difficulty. That was in theory though. Once they began to climb the mountain, they noticed that the use of your weapons wasn't that logical. The jagged mountainside proved a difficult opponent. If you tried to use your weapons and equipment to climb, you'd have to return to the mountainside eventually, which would prove lethal if you tried. Weiss tried to use her glyphs, but suffered the same issue. She had to return to the mountainside eventually, and based on the jaggedness of it, would prove fatal. The eight students slowly made their way up the mountain, ensuring that their steps were all placed properly and carefully. Every step took around ten seconds to place, making the journey to the top a slow and gruelling process. It didn't help that the sun was now completely overhead, heating them up to uncomfortable temperatures. Sweat glistened on the brows of everyone, making the time needed for heat exhaustion to begin kicking in shorter and shorter. They knew that at the pace they were going, they weren't going to make it on time. Around halfway up, they found a small clearing in the jagged rocks, allowing them to rest in comfort. A large boulder blocked the sun, giving them much needed shade.

"Ruby, how much longer is it going to be until we make it to the top? I'm all for trying to get to the top of this mountain. Well, my brain is. But I'm not as strong as you guys. I'm not going to make it up there. You guys might have to do it without me." Jaune announced gloomily as he collapsed in the shade, the heat and treacherous climb having clearly taken their toll on his body. His muscles all stung, his stomach feeling uneasy. He was covered in sweat, his face starting to lose colour. Dehydration and exhaustion were clearly setting in on him, but also for Pyrrha and Nora. Ren had managed to endure thus far, but his concern for his partner was visible.

"I'm not sure we're going to make it any further Ruby. If we keep going and TRY to reach the top" Ren emphasized, his monotone voice holding true. "We're not going to make it back to the bottom safely."

"We're sorry Ruby. But this is where we stop. We have to get back to the bottom before we collapse. We wish you the best of luck, and may you reach the top safely. We will see you back at the bottom." Pyrrha announced sadly, clearly willing to continue, but lacking the power to do so. Ren could've continued, but his concern for his partner and team forced him back down. They began their trek back down the mountain, leaving team RWBY alone behind the boulder.

"Are you guys good to keep going?" Ruby asked cautiously, afraid they'd also be exhausted and forced to go back down. She had enough energy to make it to the top, she was certain. But she didn't want to have to climb the mountain. That was only going to end poorly. No Grimm had appeared yet, but that could change in an instant. And alone, on this kind of terrain, she'd be overwhelmed in an instant, but to her surprise, her whole team nodded. They had the power and determination to follow their leader higher, all of them nodding proudly.

"We're not going to let you climb this mountain all by yourself sis. We're going with you all the way." Yang announced proudly, giving her fist a quick shake for emphasis.

"Your sister is right Ruby. If you're going to keep going, we're going with you." Weiss added sternly, but Ruby knew she meant it kindly. Blake didn't have anything to add, so they continued their trek up the mountain. About two thirds of the way up, and around three hours in, a quick rockslide forced them to scatter, hiding away from the rain of death that came from above them. Weiss merely through up a blue glyph, which bounced all the debris away. But the other three were forced to take other ways to defend themselves. Blake attempted to nimbly dodge her way around every one, but small, unavoidable shards were forced to be blocked by her aura, wearing it down. Yang had taken the more head on approach, choosing to smash her way through the boulders, but suffered the same damage as Blake. She failed to dodge the small chunks of rock that wore down her aura to the red. Ruby had chosen to launch herself into the air, deciding that landing would be an easier fate than trying to deflect the rocks. The debris quickly passed by, allowing her to return to the ground. She spotted out a series of flat rocks and tried her hand. She managed to land rather safely, although she nearly fell as she did so. Quickly thereafter, team RWBY managed to reassemble, although two of the members were questioning whether they should keep climbing.

"I'm sorry sis, but I don't think that Blake and I are going to be able to keep climbing. Our auras are too low. Another hit like that and we're not going to make it. Good luck though." She told the saddened Ruby as they began their trek back down to the bottom.

"You're going to stay with me right Weiss? I don't want to climb this by myself."

Weiss let her partners words stay in the air for a while. She wasn't really sure she wanted to keep going. Her legs were beginning to ache, and the sun was beginning to beat down on her.

"I'm not sure Ruby. I really don't think I have the power to keep climbing either. I'd love to keep going, but every step I take up is a step that I have to take back down. I'd rather just quit while I'm ahead. Good luck though. I have faith in you." She tried to cheer her partner up, but cheering people up was never one of her strengths.

"So you're leaving me too huh? Well, I hope you make it back down safely Weiss." She sighed, clearly saddened by her whole team abandoning her all at once. She wasn't sure if any other tam had made it up this far, but certainly some of them must have.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I just really don't think I'm strong enough to keep going." She reasoned, hoping to raise the girl's morale.

"It's fine Weiss. You're strong enough to take care of yourself right?" Ruby recalled as she headed back up the mountain, beginning to leave Weiss behind. She was going to get to the top of that mountain, whether it was with her team or not. Weiss began her trip back down the mountain, guilt hanging on her soul. She didn't want to leave Ruby behind. If Weiss had been in her situation, Ruby would have followed her to the end of the world and beyond. But she had just abandoned her because she was getting uncomfortable. What kind of a friend did that make her? Ruby only had about one quarter of the mountain left to scale. She could make it. She was strong enough. But why was she continuing? What was going on inside her innocent partners mind? A disgruntled scream came from behind her, causing her to turn on her heel. Wind screamed through the crevices in the mountainside, creating the noise she had heard. But the wind didn't stop there. The sudden turn had caused the heiress to lose her balance, her left foot catching onto a small, loose rock. The wind threw it out from underneath her, her balance failing. The wind began to pull her away from the safety that she possessed, her form slowly tilted further towards the base of the mountain. Her screams of help were muffled and carried away by the wind, joining the melody of disaster. Behind her, jagged outcroppings of rocks filled the mountainside. She tried to draw myrtenaster, but her flailing prevented her from drawing it in time. One final gust of wind threw her over, her body connected solidly with the ground. Spikes of pain found their way to her mind, the pain in her back shutting out her thoughts. She slid several feet, approaching the rocky outcropping with every second. She came to a lurching stop several seconds later, her body freezing. She opened her eyes to see the smiling figure of Mark, his hand wrapped firmly around her own.

"Going somewhere princess?" He asked jokingly, a smile across his face.

A panicked breath escaped Weiss's lips. She hadn't expected Mark of all people to be here right now. Why was he even here?

"Do you think you can pull me up?" She asked kindly before being yanked to her feet.

"So are you heading back down? Because if you are, I'd be more than glad to tag along." He asked proudly before getting a response.

"Yes, I am heading back down. And yes, you can feel more than free to accompany me down." She replied, grateful for some company. They began down the mountain as she threw her gaze behind her, spotting Ruby in an outcropping, crescent rose already drawn. If Mark hadn't have been there, she would've been. She quickly dismissed the weapon and continued back up the mountain, leaving Weiss alone with her companion.

_**Bottom of the mountain,**_

_**Weiss**_

The trip down had proven successful for Weiss until the final minute. She had gotten too distracted in her conversation with Mark and had forgotten to watch the path in front of her. Her foot had lodged itself between two rocks and twisted, causing intense burning pain. They had managed to get freeze her ankle, reducing the blood flow and swelling to her foot, and even though they caught it early, a pulled muscle was going to hurt for a few more hours minimum. Mark had been kind enough to carry her to the bottom of the hill and she strangely felt safe in his arms. She wasn't sure why she didn't trust him yesterday, but she certainly trusted him now. Ozpin refused to talk to any of the other students, merely nodding when they told him that they were safe and back down. Some of them had told him that they had made it to the top, to which he dismissed them with a nod. Several students came down shortly thereafter, dropping something in Ozpin's hands, to which he checked their names off on the notepad he held. Ruby still hadn't arrived at the bottom two hours after they had reached the bottom themselves. The sun was only a few hours from setting. Mark tried to comfort the semi-afraid Weiss, who was beginning to think that something had happened to Ruby. Ozpin asked who was missing anyone, and only three people had yet to check back out at the bottom. The other two students arrived later on, but Ruby had yet to appear.

"What do we do Mark? What do we do if Ruby's missing?" Weiss blurted as she began to freak out, afraid of the wrath of Yang.

"She's not missing. She'll be down here any minute now. How's your ankle doing anyways?" he asked as he pointed to her left ankle.

"It's getting better, but I really should stay off it for at least another few hours." She determined, having suffered many of the same injury during her practice sessions.

"Hey Weiss, would you be interested in going on a walk with me tonight?" Mark whispered, trying not to attract any attention.

"My partner could be missing and you're concerned about yourself? That's rather self centered of you Mark. I really expected better." She scolding, not believing him when he told her that her partner was safe. She pulled out her scroll containing her team's aura strengths for the hundredth time that night. A sudden dip in Ruby's aura caught in her throat. She had been just fine until now. Nothing had changed! It had been a constant full green and it just suddenly dipped into the yellow. The bar drained once more, hovering on the line of red. She looked up at the mountain, nothing out of the ordinary catching her eye. She stood up and began to run towards the mountain as if that was going to change something. Suddenly, a crash from behind her took her attention as bits of earth sprayed up. Ruby stood up from the small crater, one hand on crescent rose, the other on her forehead.

"Hello Miss Rose. That was a unique entrance if I've ever seen one before." Ozpin greeted as he approached her.

"Here's what you sent us up there to find" she acknowledged as she took several small pins from her pocket and placed them in his hand.

"I'm impressed. Congratulations to all of you." He announced. "You are free to head back to beacon whenever you please. That is all, and good night." He turned back to face the mountain, looking it back over.

Ruby tagged alongside Mark and Weiss the whole way back, listening to their elegant conversation. Mark had mentioned something about going on a walk with her later tonight, to which Weiss accepted. Her ankle appeared to be in pain, but she walked on it regardless. Her slight limp only got worse the closer and closer they got back to Beacon, before she had to be carried back by Mark. He had returned her back to their dorm, but blocked Ruby's path in with his arm. After making sure Weiss was safe and inside, he pulled Ruby by her shoulder back down the hallway.

"So Ruby, Weiss and I are going to hang out tonight as you know. I just want to tell you that she probably won't be coming back home tonight." He announced with reddening cheeks. "I just don't want you to be afraid if she's not in her bed tomorrow morning. Seeing as there's no school tomorrow I decided that I'd treat her to something…" He paused for a second. "You know what I mean."

The realization hit Ruby like a truck full of concrete.

"Oh! So that's what you guys are doing. Huh" she quickly calmed down after the rush of excitement. "Where will you guys be sleeping tonight?" She asked innocently. After a few seconds, Mark replied.

"We'll be at my dorm tonight. My squad will be out doing something else tonight, so we'll be alone."

"That sounds believable. Just make sure that you don't hurt her. The threat that I made earlier, I wasn't lying. I will chuck you off of Beacon's cliff. You guys might have a thing, but she's still my partner, she's still my teammate, and she's still my friend. So if you do anything to her and I hear about it, they won't be able to find your corpse with a magnifying glass." She threatened. A sister like Yang really rubbed off on you huh?

"Yeah, sure. Thanks for your compliance Ruby. I'll be back in a few hours to get her. Make sure she's not asleep for me." She dismissed sternly. She wasn't sure if she scared him, or what. But she was suspicious. She'd have to ask Weiss tomorrow how it went. She returned to her dorm room and placed her head to her pillow, taking in the cold. Her adventure off the top of the mountain had truly scared her.

"Hey Ruby, what was Mark saying? Did he say anything about me?" Weiss asked gleefully. That was out of character for her. Maybe they were really actually good together.

"No, we just wanted to get some things cleared up." She replied. Yang was really rubbing off on her.

"Did he say when he's coming to get me?" She asked again, happiness in her voice.

"He just said that he'd be back in a few hours. That's all he told me." She answered. She was telling the truth. That was all she honestly knew about when he'd be back.

"Hey Weiss, do you actually like Mark? You guys have only known each other for over a week now, and you're happy when someone even mentions his name. And it's not you caring about him. It's you being happy that scares me." Yang called from her top bunk, sparking a response from the heiress.

"I'm allowed to be happy sometimes Yang. It's just… He's the first real date I've gone on, and he said he had a surprise for me tonight is all."

Yang and Ruby shot wide eyed glances at each other. The girl was really clueless wasn't she?

"Anyways, I have a question for you Ruby. What exactly happened once we turned back and returned to the base?" Yang questioned, trying to get off the subject of Weiss.

"Well, I climbed to the top, grabbed the pin thingies, and launched myself at the base of the mountain. That's basically how it went." She replied, leaving out the part where she watched Weiss nearly die.

"But I watched your aura spike down right before you crashed. What was the deal with that?" Weiss questioned, bringing silence from her partner.

"I don't know what you're talking about Weiss. Must've been a problem with the machine. I don't remember anything spiking down my aura." Her partner assured her. "Anyways, I'm going to get some sleep. Climbing a mountain isn't as easy as it looks you know."

"Sleep well Ruby" replied the trio in unison, silence pursuing afterwords.

_**Team RWBY's dorms,**_

_**Weiss**_

_**Two hours later.**_

Weiss had been awaken from her near sleep state by a sudden knock on the door. She looked at herself and noticed that she wasn't dressed to go out. She wasn't even dressed properly. She ran over and opened the door, revealing an equally unprepared Mark.

"Are you ready to go Weiss?" He asked quickly as though he was in a rush for something.

"No! I'm not even dressed to go out right now!" She replied afraid. How could she have drifted off?

"It's fine. You won't need it for what we're going to be doing." He replied, grabbing her by the hand. She quickly closed the door and walked beside him, hand in hand. They strolled over to the Beacon Cliffs before sitting down.

"I always love these cliffs at this time of night. It's always so relaxing." He said, keeping the heiress's hand in his own.

Weiss didn't know how to respond to that. Would she reply casually or romantically?

"Hey Weiss, do you trust me?" He asked, allowing her to avoid the last response.

"Well of course I do. Why would I be out here with you all alone if I didn't?" She replied suspiciously.

He shook his head, his facial features bearing an obvious burden.

"Weiss, I really want to let you know that…"

A second voice cut through the cold night's air, freezing the ice queen solid with fear. The voice sent shivers down her spine, her limbs refused to move. She turned her head slowly towards the source of the new sound, her body trembling.

"Well well Mark. It's nice to know that you kept your end of the deal."

* * *

**A/N: Boom! Cliff hangers for the win! Sorry for the less than average opening, but I hope that the end makes up for it. I just really wanted to write the ending to be honest. I might go back and give it some spicing up later. But right now, I'm just happy to be getting this chapter out, and I really hope you guys like it. **

**Question of the day: Who do you guys think that the voice is? Feel free to leave it as a review or PM me. And guess before you read the next chapter if you're from the future. If you guess correctly, I'll give you an internet cookie or a shoutout or something. **

**Now onto our shoutouts. Also, you guys have left seven reviews on the two newest chapters, and that's completely amazing. Keep it up you guys!**

**Tatya1999: I got your name right this time. Woohoo for me. But anyways, thank you for your constant reviewing. I love reading your reviews, and it's always nice to see your name pop up once a new one is posted. I hope you enjoy this one. And also, that's what I'm trying to do with this story. Update it extremely often so that the plot isn't forgotten. I read a lot of fanfiction, and that's a major peave of mine. But anyways, thanks for the review again friend.**

**Shadowmanji: The fight makes sense in your mind if you imagine what happens. It's basically she runs forward, swings, misses, gets flipped over, and is out. Four seconds is realistic for the amount of stomping that Ruby gives her. Also, I love that you love the story. Your constant reviews are always welcome here.**

**Rwbybomb21: It doesn't matter if you review late; it's nice to have you here. Anyways, good job sniffing out his suspicious behaviour. I can't tell you what happens in the next chapter, but I guarantee you that it will be amazing. **

**Undoingtech: Welcome back tech. Good job catching onto the wordplay I used. I used poked as a metaphor of sorts. I might give you a better definition on the next chapter. But until then, thank you for the constant reviews.**

**Yellowsign:** **Welcome back yellowsign. It's nice to see that you're still kicking around with me. And while I guarantee you that Mark isn't a journalist, it really made sense when I read it. I really felt your thought process. It's honestly an amazing guess. The next chapter should shine some light on it though. Also, thank you for the compliment on the Weiss/Ruby relationship. I really worked hard to try and capture their personalities properly. So thank you very much.**

**Cowjumpmoon: You give me a review, I give you a shout out. So here's another one. I wanted Mark to give off bad signals. Only the next chapter will truly tell though. **

**Agent224: First off, thank you for (I think) your second review on this story. Thank you for complementing me on my uploading habits. It's not easy to get the ideas, write the chapter, edit the chapter, think of the shout outs, re read the whole chapter, and then upload. It's not as easy as it seems. Also, I'm glad you're enjoying me not rushing white rose. It was really the first thing I was aiming for when I started writing this. Also, I haven't even begun to develop the characters. This is kind of a basic rubric of each character. They're going to fan out a lot more once I get into it. This is just for starters. At least that's what I have planned. I'm glad it doesn't feel like I'm dragging it out. It's nice to know that you like my writing and pacing. It's a great feeling as a writer. It's the reason I keep getting a new chapter up every night. **

**Anyways, that was a lengthy shout out section. Longer shout outs get longer shout outs because there's more to comment on. If you want a shout out, just leave a review, or state it in a PM. If you PM me and don't say that I can shout you out, It'll be private between us. I haven't gotten one yet. I will be waiting… **

**So anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and as always, take it easy.**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Team RWBY's dorm, **_

_**Ruby**_

The same dream continued to plague through Ruby's mind. She stood in a field of roses, opposite to an unmarked tombstone. The wind continued to blow through, scattering rose petals to the wind, a vivid display of red. As she approached closer and closer to the unmarked tombstone, the wind picked up, tearing more petals from the floor, revealing only darkness beneath them. She continued until she reached the tombstone, still seeing nothing. She had seen nothing written on that tombstone for over a year. Yet still she checked every time. The final petals were torn from the ground and she awoke in a lurch, safe in her dorm. The sun had set behind her, the moonlight bouncing off the floor. She tucked her head down and checked for her partner, before remembering she was gone.

"_I hope Weiss is enjoying herself with whatever she's doing right now" _she thought to herself before climbing down off her bunk. Blake and Yang slept like rocks, unaware to their team members awakening. She slid out of her pyjamas and slid into her night ware, ready to head out for a quick breather. Nights like this didn't happen all the time at Beacon, and she loved to take the best use of them that she could. She slid into her combat skirt, threw on her boots and slowly opened the door, holding her breath like it mattered as she did so. It creaked as she opened it, causing her to force it open. She looked back terrified that she would have woken up her teammates. After several seconds of silence, she slid out the door, checking to make sure crescent rose was still on her. The door creaked close again, causing her to shutter. She quickly locked the door with the key that all of them had been given, and made a dash to the courtyard. She passed by a ton of closed doors, the thought of what Weiss could be up to filling her mind. What were they doing right now? Was she enjoying herself? Was Mark behaving himself? He seemed kind of off the last time that they had met. What was he thinking about doing tonight? If she found out that he had harmed Weiss, even in the slightest, Beacon cliffs was no more than a hop, skip, jump and a throw away. The courtyard doors opened proudly, the Beacon insignia stamped on the front of them. Several other students occupied the courtyard, not surprising for a day off. Most of them alone, although one couple sat next to the hedge on the right hand side. The cool night air filled her lungs as well as cooling her body. She felt her mind clear as she stepped outside. It was only her and the night right now. She was completely alone in her mind. No Weiss to worry about, no Yang to watch over her shoulder, no Blake to jump at her from the shadows.

"I'm not lying! I really don't even know who she is!" Came a panicked voice from the hedges, clouding Ruby's clear mind with thoughts that she didn't quite care about. She continued walking, absorbed by the feeling of the night air against her skin.

"Oh, of course you don't. That's what they all say. You're a terrible person. I trusted you, and you let me down. You tried to be all kind to my friends, tried to be all kind to me, and then the moment that I let my guard down, you stabbed me right in the back. You're a filthy human being." Replied a clearly furious female voice, although what she was talking about confused Ruby. Had he cheated on her? That would explain why she was so angry. Dismissing the thought, she continued through the courtyard. A girl by herself at this time of night wasn't an unseen occurrence, but it certainly wasn't normal. Then again, people being out in the courtyard at this time of night weren't normal either.

She continued her nightly stroll through the courtyard, abandoning the couple and their bickering alike. Maybe one day Weiss and Mark would be like that. Maybe one day they'd have a fight like that. Why was she thinking about Weiss anyways? What kept drawing her back to her? Why did her thoughts always end up at Weiss? It wasn't because she was her partner, or team mate. It wasn't because of Mark. Something kept on drawing her back to her white haired partner. She always felt responsible for her safety. She had always felt like her safety was her number one priority. Thoughts of her mother came back into her mind, causing her to stop in the middle of the courtyard. She turned around and began to leave the courtyard, heading to the one spot in Beacon that reminded her of her mother.

_**Beacon cliffs,**_

_**Weiss**_

The voice had cut through the night air like a hot knife through butter. Chills shot up her spine as she looked towards the source of the noise. Four figures had appeared from where they had come from just minutes ago. Her legs refused to cooperate, her heart sinking. She'd been betrayed. Mark stood up and approached the four figures before he began speaking.

"Alright Helion, I kept my end of the deal. I brought the girl here without alerting anyone. That was the deal that we had. Now you're going to leave me and my team alone right? I kept my end, you keep yours." Marked exclaimed, a slurry of emotions lining his words. Nervousness, pride, fear.

"Speaking of your team, where are they exactly? I thought I told you to bring them here with you." Helion replied, his voice continuing to terrify Weiss into immobilization. His broad shoulders, tough face and six and a half foot height freezing her to the ground. It was only made worse by the fact that she no longer had her partner to protect her. She began to crawl away, but even though the section of the cliffs was large, she would eventually be chased down. She could try to jump off the cliffs and hide in the forest, but that was like trying to hide a steak in a dog's food bowl. It was at least a fifteen minute walk back to beacon, and she didn't possess the endurance to make it all the way back in a sprint. Her movement was noticed by Helion, who shouted at Mark.

"If your team is here, tell them to stop her Mark. Otherwise the deal's off." He threatened, the pride in his voice refusing to falter. Mark made a quick gesture with his hand, and suddenly, three more figures appeared from the forest, causing Weiss to freeze in place. She contemplated screaming, but that would do no good. They were way too far away from Beacon for anyone to hear them, and all that it would accomplish would be angering her captors. She froze in place and began to weigh out her options. She could try and run, but that would only get her caught. She could try to bribe her way out, which may just work, or she could try and jump off the cliff, which would almost certainly result in her death.

"Good. Now tell them to bring her to me." Helion threatened once more, causing Mark to make another hand gesture. Weiss was picked up by her arms and drug over, kicked and flailing as they did so. Once they stopped, she felt a solid hit connect with her face, causing her whole body to jolt to the side. A deep burning pain remained in its place, the pain remaining. She looked around. Helion and his three team members stood in front of her, mark to her right, one of his team mates to his left, and the other two behind her. She couldn't remember their names, but that wouldn't matter.

"What do you want from me?" She pleaded, trying to find a way to get out of the situation that she was in. "Do you want money? I can get you as much money as you'd like."

"No. I don't want money. Let me tell you what I want. The other day, your little friend made a fool out of me in public. She shamed our names by standing up for these punks and beating us. So I think I'm going to get back at her. I was going to try and get at her directly, which would definitely have been better if Mark had wooed her instead of you."

A burning pain erupted in her chest, threatening to tear her apart. She had trusted Mark. She had trusted someone in her life, and she was immediately let down. Maybe her father was right. Maybe she was too foolish and childish. She should have seen this coming. No one truly loved her. She had been soothed into a false sense of security and immediately stabbed in the back the moment her back was turned.

"So, we're going to get our revenge on you. Mark here let us know that she has a thing for you. We know the way she looks at you, the way that she protects you. So we're going to hurt what is dearest to her. And then when she finds you out here, the autopsy will tell them that a Grimm had gotten to you when you went out on a hike one night. An unfortunate fate indeed."

Weiss's mind raced. Autopsies were only for the dead. They were really planning on killing her. Why? Were they so prideful that they were going to kill someone to get back at someone? And Mark was willing to go along with this?

"Helion, this was never in our agreement. I bring her out here, you show her a lesson, and we all go back happily. That was what we agreed on. I'm not killing someone to fuel your grudge. That's not in the deal. If you're going to try and kill her, then the deal is off." Mark defended, his tone becoming more serious.

"Well what do you think we should do Mark? Do you want to give her a slap on the wrist and send her back? That's not how the world works. This world is a harsh place, and you can only get along by being tougher than those around you. You should know that after what happened to your parents."

Mark seemed to reel back at the comment, but recovered.

"I don't know. I don't know anymore. You know what, the deal's off. She's coming back with us to Beacon." Mark announced as he waved his hand back, dragging Weiss away. "You guys are sick. I can't believe I ever agreed to work with you. I'll never do that again."

"Hey Mark, you really shouldn't have done that." Came a female voice from the woods. "You really should've just stuck with the deal."

Four more figures emerged from the forest, their figures clearly female.

"You see Mark; we wouldn't have had to do this if you had just stuck to the deal and listened to us. Now we have to shed even more blood tonight."

"You guys are sick. Why are you guys even doing this?" Mark asked as they retreated away from the new figures, bringing them closer and closer to the cliff.

"You see, our friend Roman torchwick really doesn't really like little Ruby Rose either. We're just here to carry out his dirty work. It's nothing against you, you were just so easy to manipulate that we couldn't pass you up. You think you're tough, you think that you're all that. But you can't even keep your own squad out of this. You're just pathetic. At least you'll serve as good food for the Grimm down the cliff though. So at least you can say you died with a purpose."

Mark's squad pulled Weiss closer and closer to the cliff before only several feet separated them and the drop. Their breathing was panicked. They'd been played like pawns. Their team drew their weapons, dropping Weiss to the ground. Kaitlyn possessed a massive sword and shield, double the size of Jaune's. Selanin drew two handguns, holding them close to her sides. Adrian drew a large rifle, pressing the butt up to his right shoulder.

"You're going to try and fight us? Mark, you're really not catching on are you? You're outnumbered, outgunning, and out of room to run. So here's the deal. Tell your team to put their weapons down, disable their auras, and we'll make this quick and clean." Helion taunted, drawing his war axe. He fired a shot off at MASK, which was easily blocked by Kaitlyn's shield.

"We're not going to go down without a fight Helion. If you want her, you'll have to take her from us." Mark said heroically, drawing his submachine gun.

"You know what, that's really not as bad sounding as you think it is." Helion joked as he brought his axe to his side and charged in, gaining momentum. Mark squeezed off a few rounds into him that were easily deflected by his aura. His black aura flared as he did so, revealing his semblance to be polarity. His team began the fight, but they were outnumbered. The four girls from their right charged in, all wielding simple swords. Adrian loosed off a few rounds, but their attackers simply weaved, causing his shots to miss. It was hard to hit a moving target, let alone a smart one. MASK began to open fire, releasing as much ammo as their trigger fingers would allow. They managed to weaken the aura of one of team HEAT before they were overrun. They have the range advantage, but with no where to run, they were swamped by their melee attackers. They fought valiantly, but the numbers advantage, lack of preparation and nowhere to run all favoured their assailants. They were drug away from Weiss and placed in the middle of field.

"What should we do with them Helion. They know that we were here and they know who we are. But if we shoot them here, they'll know that we killed them." One of the girls asked, concern in her voice.

"It doesn't matter. We cannot go back to Beacon at this point. We just have to cause as much damage as we can before we leave. Starting with the princess. She's the only thing that we can do here that can actually affect our target, so she goes first. Bring her here. I want to do this personally."

The girls nodded in cooperation and moments later, the petrified Weiss was brought to his feet. Her body refused to function at this point. She had been betrayed and deceived by the one person that she had trusted. Tears streamed down her face, her body nearly convulsing she was shaking so hard.

"I would tell you that I'm sorry Weiss, but I'm really not. Your family has done some pretty terrible things to us, and we're just returning the favour. I guess we really hit two birds with one stone huh? I guess Mark actually did do a good job tricking you into coming here. And I thought he was simple and easy to manipulate, and he managed to fool you. What a shame you must be to your family. I can see why your father hated you."

Helion was tearing open newly healed scars. She had returned to Beacon with the intention of starting anew. She was going to impress her father. But now she was going to die like a bug under a shoe. Helion was right. She had trusted someone, and she would die for it. Her father was right. He really did deserve someone better. She was a shame to the Schnee name.

"But that's enough talking. Can you keep crying for me Weiss? It'll make me killing you that much more interesting. Now on the count of three, you'll die like the pest you are."

Tears streamed like waterfalls from the heiress's eyes. She was on her knees, her face buried in her chest. Warm streams had built themselves down her neck and chest, their warmth unwelcome. The taste of salt filled her mouth, her composure destroyed. Helion had caused more emotional pain in one minute than her father had caused in one summer. Even if she were to live, there was no way that she would recover from the emotion scars he had dug back up.

Helion relished in the moment. He was about to kill the heiress of the Schnee dust company. The company that had forced his brothers and sisters into forced slave labour. He would cause a dent to the company; bring hope back to his people. His finger tugged back on the trigger, the loud echo of his _sfaira _cracking through the night sky. Weiss rolled to her side, shocking her attacker. Myrtenaster appeared from its hilt, her animal instincts kicking in. His teammates kicked into action, but he ordered them back.

"The little kitten has claws. I don't need you guys to help me. I'm going to take great enjoyment from this." He reasoned as he charged in, _sfaira _held at his side. Red dust clicked into myrtenaster, the blame shining with a faint red glow. Small orbs of fire shot out, but Helion continued his charge. Weiss channelled yellow dust into myrtenaster before nimbly leaping over his attack. She took a thrust at his back, but he used the weight of his weapon to swing his axe around behind him, causing him to turn around in the blink of an eye, catch myrtenaster right along the blade. She managed to maintain her grip on her rapier, but felt the muscles in her arm begin to tug and sting. She leaped backwards, channelling light blue dust into myrtenaster before sending out a wave of ice that caught Helion in place. Purple dust locked itself in next as she slashed towards her immobilized opponent, slashing directly across his chest. The hit caused him to lurch back, the effects of hit showing on his face. He fired into the ice, causing it to shatter into small shards of dust. He readied _sfaira _once more, charging back at his opponent. White dust channelled its way into myrtenaster, prepared for the final strike. She charged back, expecting her final blow to be enough. She was quickly caught by the weight of the flying axe, causing her to reel back. She was suddenly smashed over by her attackers much larger form, crashing into the ground. His legs held down her own, his hands pinning hers to the ground.

"I thought you'd be a difficult opponent Weiss Schnee, but all you proved was a waste of time. What a waste of time. But I guess that's the story of your life huh? But I guess that's a waste of time too, seeing as you've heard it all from your father time and time again. He's such a better person than you. He's ruthless, cold hearted, greedy. I guess those are the only traits you really got from him huh?" He snarled, forcing tears back from the heiress. "And now you're crying. You really are a waste of time and energy." He grabbed _sfaira _from off the ground beside him, raising it over his head. He began the swing before a loud _crack _filled the air, whipping _sfaira _from his hands once more, launching it against the ground several feet away. His eyes rose from his victims to spot out the source of the attack. On the other end of the field, a small red outline appeared in his vision before rapidly approaching. In less than a second, she had closed the entire distance, appearing only five feet away from Helion.

"I don't know what you're doing here Helion, or what's going on for certain. But if you don't leave by your own will, you'll leave on mine." Ruby threatened, her normal innocence and compassion missing from her tone.

"There are eight of us Ruby. There is one of you. I really don't think you understand the situation that you got yourself into. But seeing as you're who we came to kill, I don't think that we can just let you go kindly." He threatened as he stood up from his moping foe. He quickly charged towards her, not giving her time to draw her weapon. She managed to block his hands with her own, but his sheer size began to push her down. Sweat began to form on their faces as they struggled against each other, despite Helion's sheer size advantage. Ruby eventually managed to claim victory by twisting her body, launching Helion down the field with surprising force. She quickly drew crescent rose, impaling the tip onto the ground in front of her, showing her intentions. Helion quickly stood back up and waved his arm towards the cliff, signalling the other seven to leave. They quickly fled the scene, leaving Ruby, Weiss, and MASK behind.

Ruby quickly stormed over to team MASK, crescent rose being drug behind her. She approached the terrified team leader who knew that this was bound to happen eventually. They were all standing upright now, after the initial wave of shock had passed by.

"All of you leave. Right now. Before I start second guessing myself." She threatened as the petrified squad took off, fleeing the cliffs. She could've ended Mark then and there, and a part of her wanted to her. But she had more important matters to attend to. She walked back over to her sobbing teammate, lifting her to her feet. The heiress barely possessed the strength to stand up on her own, her voice removed by her constant sobbing. She collapsed into her partners arms, burying her head into her shoulder. The emotional pain that Helion had brought up was destructive. He had torn open emotional scars that had just healed up. Thoughts that she had been trying to bury away and forget. Her mind traced back up to her scar on her eye, a visible weakness to everyone around her. She had been trained and raised to be perfect, and she had failed. Not just that once. She wasn't living the life of a heiress. She was living the life of a damsel in distress. Someone in constant need of saving. She was someone who needed to be constantly watched over, like a newborn child. Her trust had been shattered and spat upon, her self worth crumpled and torn, used to light the fire that burned her being at the core.

"Weiss, I'm sorry that I let you down. I shouldn't have trusted him. I shouldn't have left you alone. I did and it nearly cost you your life. No apology I can make will forgive what I've done." She said drearily, Weiss's sadness spreading over.

"You… You couldn't have done anything differently Ruby. You trusted me, and I just let you down. I'm just spare luggage that you drag around. I'm something that you don't need, but you keep around just in case." She muttered in between constant sobbing, spilling herself upon her partner.

"Weiss, it's not your fault. You've been denied the proper caring that you've needed as a human being. It's normal that you reached out to him. You needed someone who could care for you, and you took the first person you could find." She announced, dropping her partner's mood even lower. "But please, let me the person that cares for you. Let me be someone who you can lean on, who you can scream out your troubles to. Let me be the one who cares for you when you're sick. Let me be the one who protects you when you're weak. Let me be the one who saves you when you're stranded. Let me be the light in your darkest moments. Let me be your home Weiss. Please"

Her tears began to pour out like a newly destroyed damn. Her form completely caved in as she collapsed into her partners arms, completely unable to support herself upright. Her partner was right. She was looking for a bridge, a moral support, and she had jumped into the arms of the first person who had offered her that. But she had never seen the one who was there for her all along. Who took care of her when she was sick, who defended her, even when it meant standing up against her own family, who carried the weight of her whole team through the thick and thin, who had risked her own life to save her partners without even considering herself, the one who comforted her when no one else would. The one who carried the warmth for the both of them. She was the one who had made her smile when her world was caving in around her, the one who would have fought to her own death to ensure her safety. The one who woke up in the middle of the night when she heard her partner's pain, the one who looked out for her partner's best interest before her own. The one who had bared the storms and pushed through. The only human being in her life who really cared about her.

Ruby Rose.

* * *

**A/N: There we go. There's the chapter that I had in mind when I first started writing this story. The one that I've been waiting to write for a week now. I really hope you guys are impressed. I spent my entire day off writing this chapter, and I don't regret a single second of it. **

**Question of the day: how do you guys think that I did on this chapter? Did it bring upon a major wave of feels? Because I'll be the first to admit, I took a break writing this chapter because I was so caught up in it. **

**Also, it wasn't Cinder, despite what most of you guessed. She'll be in the future, trust me on that. **

**Shout outs: **

**Tatya1999: Thank you for your constant reviews my friend. I didn't mention why her aura was spiked down because I had brought too many feels already. That will be for next chapter. Also, good guesses on who it was, but unfortunately, they were all wrong. I guess I'm too unpredictable. **

**Rwbybomb21: Welcome back! It's nice to know that I haven't scared you off yet. Anyways, thank you for the guesses. They were all what you'd think. But the answer was so simple and deus ex machina'd that you couldn't really guess it. But hey, it made sense still right? Right?**

**Yellowsign: Welcome back my friend. I don't quite understand what you meant by laid back, but I'll take it as a compliment. I tried really hard to avoid the over powered OC's that I've seen before. Some of them are so absurdly strong that you wonder why they have to get out of bed to make the world bow. But anyways, Mark kinda took a spin in this chapter huh? But you knew that something was going on with him all along. He was too kind. Also, I completely forgot about what you wrote in the ending, but you called it out completely. You were also the only person who guessed the OC as the voice. So wow, are you reading my mind or something? I love the formatting of your review. This shout out is just a mess of ideas huh? But anyways, I'll keep trying my hardest to get some good chapters out, and thank you for your constant reviewing. **

**Undoingtech: Welcome back tech. And no, it wasn't because the rest of his team was still in their dorm, but good guess. It could've fit into the story just as well as my idea. Maybe it would make more sense actually… **

**Anyways, I was trying to create internal conflict when I put that Mark line in. I was trying to pull you guys both ways, making you wonder if it would actually happen. There will be more in the future as well. **

**Metimesthree: Nice to see that you've come back friend. And good job on the guessing, you're on the same train as everyone else. And then there's me on a completely different train heading in a circle. **

**Shadowmanji: Welcome back. As stated above, the dips in her aura are going to be explain next chapter. Also, about the cliff hanger thing, here's the story behind it. So I was writing the last chapter, but then I got sidetracked off the RWBY wiki and onto a video that had Barbara in it. And I guess that she rubbed off on me too much and I had to include a pun somewhere in there, and that's what it turned out being. That's the reason why that's there. I had to do it, don't ask why. **

**Cowjumpmoon: Welcome back friend. You were craving another chapter, so here it is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. **

**So that's the shoutouts for today. New and old reviewers alike are welcome here. If you're new, don't be afraid to drop a review. I quite enjoy interacting with my readers, and I'll give you a shout out and a reply at the end of each chapter. And no, I don't bite. So don't worry about that. I get notifications on my phone when this story gets reviewed, and when I see that I've gotten a new one, it makes me feel all warm and giddy inside.**

**But any ways that's it for tonight, and as always, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy. **


	10. Chapter 10

_**Beacon cliffs,**_

_**Weiss**_

Several minutes of silence had passed between the girls. After Ruby's speech, Weiss had refused to speak. Her face was buried into her leader's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around her. She had made her feel something that she hadn't felt for years. For once in her life, she felt safe. She felt warm and secure in her leader's arms. Tears continued to stream down her face, her soul still injured after the betrayal she had just suffered. She had trusted someone other than herself, and she had nearly been killed for it. That was the number one lesson that her father had taught her, even at a young age. Anyone that wasn't you couldn't be trusted.

"Hey Weiss, is there anything I can do to make you feel better? I really don't like seeing you like this. It's not the Weiss that I know." Ruby whispered, barely audible over her partners sobbing.

Weiss gave herself a little bit to calm her breathing and reduce her sobbing before replying. This wasn't how a heiress was supposed to act. This wasn't how her father had brought her up. She was supposed to be calm and collected all the time. She was never expected to make a mistake. But she had. What would her father think of her right now if he saw her like this?

"I trusted him Ruby. I thought that he'd be there for me. And all he did was let me down. Is this what I get for trusting people? Am I really just here to be used?"

"No Weiss, you're not just here to be used. You trusted someone and they let you down. And while I can't repair what he did to you, I can make you a promise. No one will ever hurt you like that again as long as I'm breathing. I won't let anyone hurt you like he did. That's my promise."

"It's not your job to watch over me Ruby. You shouldn't have to watch over me. I should be strong enough to defend myself. I shouldn't need you to watch over me. I'm the heiress to the Schnee dust company. I should be a model, someone who is able to take care of themselves. Instead, I'm just someone who needs to be watched over. That's not who I want to be Ruby. I don't want to be someone who needs to be watched over."

"Weiss, you're a strong woman. Just because you made one mistake doesn't mean that you're a weak person, it just means you're human. You've been taught all your life that mistakes make you weak, and you've always wanted to be strong. But if you don't make mistakes, you're never going to get any better. You need to make mistakes to get better. That's how being a person works. Just let me be there when you do make a mistake. I want to help you Weiss. I want to be the home that you never had."

Waves of emotions tore through the heiress. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. She wanted to be strong, she wanted to defend herself. But she had proven on many occasions that she was weak. The field, climbing the mountain, and now here. She had proven that she wasn't able to defend herself. Her pride told her to turn down the help, turn away everyone else. But she had trusted herself and only let herself down. Her partner was right. Making mistakes was the only way that she was going to make herself better.

"Ruby, I don't want to weigh you down. You're strong, I shouldn't weigh you down." She continued, her train of pity refusing to slow down.

"We're a team. We're partners. And I'm not going to keep being strong while you keep being so down on yourself." She said as she wrapped her arms around her partner's waist, pulling her into her embrace. "It's getting really late Weiss. Do you think you're good to get going?" Her partner asked as she noted that it was past midnight at this point.

"Yah, yeah I'm good." She replied as she released her arms from around her partner's waist. The moment she let go, she already missed the feeling of her partner. As they turned around and began to head back towards Beacon, a realization came across the Ice queen. Something that she didn't think that she'd ever feel.

She loved her partner.

_**Team RWBY's dorm,**_

_**Weiss**_

The trek back to the dorm had been slow and treacherous, but they had made it back safely. Blake and Yang were out like rocks on their beds as the duo entered the room. They quickly undressed and jumped into their beds, Ruby passing out in an instant. Sleep didn't come so quick for the heiress however. Her mind was racing with too many thoughts to allow her a simple night. She had experienced so much tonight. So much pain, so much sadness, so much grieving. But she had learned so much more about herself than she had known before. Her father had always taught her that she needed to marry a man one day; she needed to be the one who would carry on the Schnee name once he passed away. But after tonight, her feelings had changed. She didn't care what her father had told her, she didn't care about what she was born to feel. She knew what she wanted to get, and she was going to get it. That was the Schnee way.

_**The next morning**_

It was already noon when the heiress awoke. She lifted her head from her pillow, nearly smashing her forehead onto the bottom of her partners bunk. She rubbed her finger through her eyes, removing all the gunk that she had accumulated overnight. Ruby was nowhere to be seen, nor was Yang or Blake. Her team had a bad habit of leaving without letting her know where they were going. She pulled her legs of bed, placing them gently against the carpeted floor of their dorm. A quick yawned escaped her mouth, signs of her poor sleep quality. Her dreams had been terrible last night. She slid out of her bed, the sounds of her knees cracking shocking her. She peered up onto her partners bunk, letting out a quick sigh as she found it unoccupied. Her attention turned over to the kitchen, spotting the remnants of some cereal sprawled around the table. The door suddenly lurched open, and her partner stepped in, her breathing heavy.

"Good morning Weiss. Did you sleep well?" Her partner asked as she stumbled her way over to the kitchen, opening the fridge.

"I've had better nights, but thank you for wondering." She asked as she spotted a scar against her partners shoulder. "Ruby, what happened to your shoulder?"

"Oh, that? I really don't know to be quite honest with you. I just kinda had it once we left the mountain yesterday. It doesn't hurt though, it's just kind of there. Why? Does it scare you or something?" She answered as she rummaged around in the fridge, pulling around half eaten meals and bottles before coming across a bowl of vegetables. With a satisfied grunt, she pulled the bowl from its resting spot, observing the contents. "Hey Weiss, how long is it before lettuce can't be eaten anymore?" She asked as she looked into the sealed bowl.

"I don't know, a week, maybe two? Why?" She questioned before looking down at herself. She had slept in her combat skirt accidentally. She would have to find something else to wear today.

"Ok good. This should be good to eat. It's only three days old. Do you want something to eat?" Her partner asked as she grabbed a fork from the drawer, looked it over, and sat down at the table, trying to peel off the lid of the bowl.

"Not right now. Right now, I have more important things to attend to." She dismissed as she headed over to her dresser, finding her more casual uniform. She grabbed it from the dresser and headed to the washroom, leaving it ten minutes later, changed and cleaned. She exited to spot her partner also changed into her more civilian apparel as well.

"Why are you all dressed up Ruby? Do you have plans for today?" She asked curiously, unsure of what her partner was up to.

"I might be if you're willing to tag along. We don't have to go back to classes until tomorrow. That is if you want to spend a day with me of course" she replied innocently, a small blush coming across her cheeks.

"I'd love to Ruby" Weiss replied, before muttering "more than you know."

* * *

**A/N: I have some bad news and some bad news. Starting off, I'm sorry for the less than average chapter. I really needed to get one up tonight to make my announcement, and I didn't have the time with what I had to do today. As of now, I regret to inform you that my daily uploads will cease to be. They will be between 2-4 days per upload. Work has begun to heat up, and my hours have been largely increased, so even though I want to try and get as many chapters up as I can, life is a pain sometimes. I'm sorry to you guys. We made it ten days non stop, but now it ends. I'll get them up as fast as I can, and maybe I'll get them up every day. But I still need to work and keep my normal life in check.**

**Shoutouts: **

**Blitzkrizer: Welcome my friend. Thank you for your review, and hopefully more to come. I appreciate that you like my writing, as that's what I'm shooting for whenever I post a chapter. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and the better ones to come. **

**Shadowmanji: You were close on your guesses, but I'm just too unpredictable. Also, don't worry about Ruby's delivery of ass kicking. It will be there eventually. Also, I'm going try and get more puns into this story. They'll be there eventually. **

**Rwbybomb21: It's not easy getting up a chapter a day. I try to make them as long as I can for you guys, but when you're writing, you know that feeling when you should just end the chapter. It's instinct. And your idea; maybe it's true, you'll have to wait to find out though. Thank you for your constant reviews, and I hope to hear more from you soon. **

**Tatya1999: Helion might get what's coming to him, you'll have to keep reading to find out. Also, I plan on really overcomplicating my characters in the near future, so that will be the next thing on my list of priorities. Thank you for the constant reviews and keep it up friend. **

**Yellowsign: Thank you for your constant reviews friend. I have already replied to you through a PM, so I'll keep your shoutout clear and to the point. I didn't make my OC's terrifyingly strong because they just ruin plots. It's plain and simple.**

**I like your joke regarding my mind reading quote. It was clever and gave me a quick chuckle so good job to you. **

**Why did Helion monologue? Simply put, because of his ego. I wanted to make someone who was too cocky for their own good, and I created him. It goes along with his personality. **

**I'm glad to know that you've noticed my work getting better. It's nice to know that I'm getting better at this, seeing as I plan on sticking around in this category for a while to come yet. **

**Anyways, thank you for your review, and I'm looking forward to more. **

**Undoingtech: I had Helion in mind since the very beginning. I didn't just spontaneously change it because I could. Also, come on man, you didn't like that fluff at the end? I thought that was the best part of the whole chapter! But we all have different opinions right? Hopefully I write something you quite fancy in the future, huh? **

**Anyways, that's it for tonight, and I'm sorry for the bad night that I delivered tonight. Through the shortness of the chapter, the lower-than average skill and the delaying on chapters that I'll be releasing, I feel like I've hurt you guys. I'll try to make it up to you though. **

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy.**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Beacon parking lot,**_

_**Weiss**_

Conflicting emotions waged war inside the mind of the heiress as her and her partner departed Beacon academy. Manifestations of her own insecurity. What she was doing right now would disgrace her father. Her whole life had been taught to trust everything he said. But all he ever gave her was hurt, sadness and grief. But her partner gave her alien feelings that she never knew existed. Safety, caring and compassion. Those were things that her father had promised her ever since she was a child. But she had never obtained any of those things. They quickly made their way over to a Schnee owned limousine, earning a gasp from her partner. They quickly stepped inside, her partner still ogling over the material wealth. Fine leather upholstery, one way windows, and a chauffer. All of these things were new to Ruby. She hadn't grown up poor, but she certainly never grew up with this kind of stuff. Her small form wriggled around in the seat, the soft and well kept leather almost causing her to purr like a kitten. A quick voice from in front of her caused her attention to jolt away from her adorable partner.

"Good evening Miss Schnee. Where will I be taking you two girls today?" The chauffeur asked politely, as though he had known Weiss for quite a while. While it was normal for a chauffeur to be polite to those he was driving around in order to keep his job, his voice seemed different.

"As to you sir. If you wouldn't mind, we'll just be heading into downtown Vale if you'd be so kind as to bring us there first." She replied courteously, trying to return the kindness that he had displayed to her.

After the limousine began to lurch forward, the heiress diverted her attention back to her partner who was still preoccupied rubbing herself against the seat, oblivious to anyone or anything around her. A smile covered her face, causing Weiss to return a small smirk. Her partner was so innocent and cute when she wasn't threatening someone's life or rushing to Weiss's side.

"I know that it's nice Ruby, but do you really need to continue rubbing yourself against the seat? It can't be that nice can it?" She asked confused, wondering why her partner was getting such satisfaction to the seat.

"It's just so comfortable Weiss! How can you not love these seats?" Her partner replied energetically, her body still sliding around on the seat.

"I don't know. I guess I've just been desensitized to them, seeing as I've been around them all my life." She replied coldly, her choice of words coming back to bite her. She had been desensitized to more than just these seats.

"But they're so awesome Weiss! They're soft and warm and…" Her voice slowly faded away as Weiss's mind trailed to thoughts of other things. Thoughts of her partners embrace, and how it felt. She felt so soft and warm. How was she ever going to tell her how she really felt? She couldn't just downright tell her because she wasn't sure she felt the same way. And if she didn't feel the same way, then that would just result in her getting awkward glances from the rest of the team. She'd have to find out if she even had feelings for her before she tried to make a move.

"We are here Miss Weiss. Where would you like me to wait?" The chauffeur asked politely, the car having come to a stop in downtown Vale.

"Oh, you mustn't wait for us. I will simply message you once we are ready to return as we are most likely to spend the rest of the day here. Thank you for the offer though." She answered, checking her scroll. The number for the limousine was already added to her scroll, so she could contact him when they did indeed want to head home.

"You two girls take care of each other alright? Your father would be most disappointed if something was to happen to you Miss Schnee." He announced as their doors popped open, allowing the two girls to get out. The time had passed by so fast. How long had she been zoned out for? They watched as the limousine drove away, disappearing around a bend before they began to walk.

"Where are we going first Weiss?" Her partner asked joyfully, her trademark smile still beaming across her face.

"I thought that you had this day planned out already, seeing as you invited me on it back at Beacon." She defended happily, not really caring whether or not they had a plan.

"I guess we're just going to have to wing it huh? Do you like coffee Weiss?" Her partner asked as she pointed a finger towards a nearby store.

"Coffee sounds amazing" she replied, a smile crossing her face. Although Ruby didn't really point it out when she said it, this was like they were going on a date. A one sided date, but it was something to start on. Something that could bring light to the darkness that consumed her life. Her partner was nearly skipping, the joy and content in her step evident. Weiss trailed slightly behind, smiling at her partner. She longed for her partner's ability to be happy no matter what happened. She no longer wore her normal combat attire, instead dressing in more casual civilian clothing. Red and black were the only colours showing, fitting her perfectly. Weiss bore her normal civilian clothing, seeing as her combat attire was currently being washed after yesterday's entire fiasco. They entered the café side by side, quickly approaching the counter and ordering themselves each a cup of coffee. Weiss took hers with as little as she could muster, trying to seem as professional as what was expected of her. Ruby, however, filled her coffee with as much sugar as she could before she earned a stern glance from her partner, warranting her to stop. Weiss settled upon a double double, while ruby took three creams and more sugar than a coffee would need. Maybe that was how she managed to maintain her constant upbeat personality. They took a seat next to a window, the sunlight scattering against the ground as it filtered through the blinds. Weiss let out a long breath as she sat down, struggling to keep her thoughts in a somewhat organized fashion.

"How do you take your coffee so light Weiss?" Her partner asked, sparking a conversation

"How do you take your coffee so sweet? I mean, doesn't the thought of your health ever pass through your mind?" She replied, not seeing a response to her question.

"Well yeah, but it just tastes so good. Have you ever tried adding a ton of sugar to your coffee Weiss?" She asked, receiving a questionable glance from her partner.

"No, I haven't, and I don't quite have the intention of ever trying. And besides, I like the coffee that I have right now."

"Are you sure you don't want to try it Weiss? It's actually pretty good." Her partner asked kindly, extending the coffee towards her.

She took the cup from her partner's hand and looked into it. It looked like your every day, common cup of coffee. The dark yellow color, the stains along the side of the cup. The cup looked completely ordinary. She placed her lips to the rim, tilting the cup back ever so slightly. The taste was different, but it was certainly good. She returned the cup back to her partner's hand, letting the taste sink in. It didn't even taste like coffee. But she could certainly get used to the taste.

"Sooooo..?" Her partner asked with a grin, her sweet voice only adding to Weiss's thoughts.

"It was alright, but I don't think I could get used to it" she lied, her egotistic nature still interfering.

"Aww, you looked like you actually liked it Weiss. Are you lying to me?" Her partner asked jokingly, taking another few swigs from her cup.

"What are we going to do after this? What did you have planned Ruby?" She asked, looking down to her normal, bland coffee that she had grown up on.

"Well, I got us tickets to see two movies at four until ten. But until then, I really don't know. What time is it Weiss?" She asked as she brought out her scroll, checking to see the time. "It's only three. That gives us what? Forty five minutes?" She asked, getting a nod from her partner. "Do you want to go for a walk? It'll help us pass the time better."

Thoughts returned to Weiss's mind, picking apart what her partner was asking. She brought her out for coffee and then to a movie? It could very well be that Ruby was bringing her out as a friend, but it just seemed odd. She'd have to find out what Ruby was thinking one of these days. She wasn't sure if maybe her leader had feelings back, but if she did, Weiss would find out.

"I'd love to. Just let me finish this coffee up first." She motioned towards her barely touched cup. "Do you think you could pass me the sugar?" She asked, receiving a smile from her partner.

_**Vale walkway,**_

_**Thirty minutes later,**_

_**Weiss**_

The walk thus far had been uneventful. The duo had been mostly silent, Weiss's attitude not helping the situation. Ruby had tried to start several conversations, but she had replied with one and two word answers, causing the newly forming conversations to wilt away as fast as they had begun. Ruby's happy look still covered her face despite being shut down by her partner. They had been walking down a slightly forested path, one that was rather rare in downtown Vale, but they had found one surprisingly fast. Now that she thought of it, they had found it too fast. They had headed down random alleyways and still managed to find it without them becoming lost even once. Maybe the impromptu day out wasn't so impromptu after all.

"Hey Weiss, are you feeling better after what happened yesterday?" Ruby asked from out of the blue, tearing Weiss away from her flurry of thoughts.

"I'm never going to completely heal from that Ruby. I really trusted him, and I nearly died for it. It wasn't even my fault! They wanted to kill me for reasons that I never caused. They wanted to kill me to get at you!" She yelled, a section of her self control breaking away, the strain that she had placed on it being too much for her to handle.

"What? They wanted to kill you just so that they could get at me? Weiss, you're not telling me something. You can talk to me, you can trust me. I care about you. I don't want to see you like this." Her partner spoke sincerely, her voice dropping down to a small and comforting tone, as though she was speaking to a child. It was rather quiet on the path, and they had only seen two other living souls on the path the whole time they had been on it.

"He said the same thing Ruby! He told me I could trust him, and I almost died. I would have died yesterday if you hadn't showed up. I hate him Ruby! I hate what he did to me!" She yelled, anger pouring out. She had broken. She coiled like a spring, and Ruby ventured too close. Now her partner was caught in the crossfire. Her thoughts became blurred as to who she was talking about. Not even she knew who she was talking about. Was she yelling at Mark or her father? She felt her partner's arms wrap around her body, pulling her in.

"He was a terrible person Weiss. He was, and he still is. But I'm not him. I want to be better than him. It's hard for you to trust anyone right now, but please, just let me be here for you. Forget about him. Forget everything that he did to you. He did nothing positive for you." She whispered, trying to calm her partner. Weiss wrapped her arms around her partner, pulling herself deeper into her partner's arms. She gave her partner a quick thank you and buried her head into her partner's shoulder. Ruby was her home. Somewhere she could feel safe, somewhere that she felt like she was really cared about. She was the place where she turned to when she needed something, somewhere she was always welcome.

"Are you feeling better Weiss? We don't have to leave until you're better." Her partner asked, once more stirring up her partner's emotions. Weiss didn't want to leave here. She was more than happy to stay here. But her partner had bought her tickets to a movie and she wasn't going to disappoint her.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thank you Ruby." She replied, letting herself free from her partner's arms. "Let's get going. We don't want to miss the movie do we?"

"I don't, but you seemed pretty happy staying right there Weiss." Her partner replied with a smirk, causing Weiss's heart to skip beats. Did she know? She had to know that she had feeling for her. Her wording couldn't imply anything different. But how could she know? Sure, she had come along with her, and they had hugged a few times, but those things were far from obvious.

"What do you mean, I seemed happy staying there? She asked, trying to squeeze as much information as she could.

"I have my ways of finding things out" her partner replied innocently, stirring up even more questions. "Anyways, the movie starts in ten minutes, and we'll probably miss the good seats. Let's get going."

Weiss's legs began to move, her mind occupied elsewhere. How did her partner know?

_**Vale theatre, **_

_**Weiss**_

They entered the theatre, the massive lobby dwarfing their small bodies. They treaded over to the till as Ruby pulled out two tickets, handing them over to the person behind the till.

"The plot isn't really the best, but the acting is certainly amazing" the female worker addressed as she threw the tickets into the machine, returning them with a large red "C" in the middle. "Is that all for you girls today?"

"Yeah, that'll be all. Thank you." Ruby replied as she took the tickets back and began towards theatre number five, Weiss trailing behind. They managed to find the theatre with five minutes to spare, quickly entering the theatre. Most of the seats were unoccupied, and upon seeing this, Ruby let out a long, relaxed breath. They quickly rushed up, grabbing two upper-middle seats. Pre-show advertisements played through as they got situated into their seats.

"Ruby, are these two movies really going to be six hours long?" Weiss asked confused, unsure if partner was being serious or not. Six hours seemed like too long for two movies.

"Uh uh. They're both two and something hours long, and there's two of them. So yeah, I hope you don't mind that I pulled you out of your room to sit here and watch movies with me for the next six hours Weiss" she answered with a sheepish grin, clearly anticipating her teammates anger. Instead, she was met with a smile.

"I trust that these movies will be good enough to warrant my time" she replied before leaning back into her seat, taking in the pre-show advertisements. Although they weren't interesting, they were something for her to look at, and right now, that was better than nothing. The movie began shortly after, the beginning of a long journey ahead. The story followed the life of a huntress in training and her team as they braved the life of training to become hunters and huntresses and ended with the death of her whole squad. Ruby ended up in tears, but Weiss had slept through most of the movie. Somewhere around the point where they were studying for a test they had on the next day had her out like a light. As they exited the theatre and entered the lobby once more, Ruby was still in shambles, trying to hold back tears.

"What's the big deal Ruby? Why are you almost crying?"

"That movie Weiss, what if that happens to us one day? What if all of you guys die because I made a mistake? What if I end up getting all of you guys killed?" She asked, her voice showing signs of terror that she'd never shown before. But why was she this riled up?

"It's fine Ruby. You're not going to get us killed." She replied, although comfort was not her strongest point. "Speaking of movies, what is the other one we're going to watch?"

"It's some comedy romance one." She replied, getting a questionable glance from her partner. "Come on, what's a night out on the town without a romantic comedy?" She asked, trying to recover from her mid day terror.

"They have a name for it Ruby. It's called a night on the town. Also, are you going to be alright? I don't really see you as the kind of person who gets so easily upset over a movie." She asked as concerned as she could manage, hoping that her partner would just get over it.

"I just don't want to think about that happening Weiss. I really don't want to think about it." She replied as she trudged over to the till, getting their next batch of tickets signed before waving her partner over. They made their way into yet another theatre, once more consumed by darkness. They sat down, side by side in the upper middle, basically in the same place as last time. Couples began to funnel into the theatre one by one, causing a knot to form up in the heiress's chest. Did Ruby actually know that she had feelings for her? She'd been acting too suspicious today for her to say that she didn't with certainty. But she hadn't actively done anything. She could've simply been doing things that came to her as a first reaction and not as some form of messaging. Weiss decided that she had to test the ice, try to find out if her partner really did feel something in return. She rested her head against her partner's shoulder, receiving nothing as subtle as a shake or a push away. Her ear rested nicely against her partner's collarbone, her eyes still somewhat set on the screen. She felt the comforting hand of her partner place itself against her hair, beginning small, circular motions. Weiss nearly melted into her partner then and there, the sheer comfort she was providing was immeasurable. She pulled herself in closer, trying to achieve more from her black haired teammate. She received nothing more. No more signs that she had feelings as well. She merely placed her head back on her partner's collarbone, the same, comforting hand being placed upon her snow white hair. Moments later, her conscience faded once more into nothing, allowing her mind to wander.

_**Vale theatre,**_

_**Three hours later,**_

_**Weiss**_

Weiss awoke from her spot on Ruby's arm just as the movie was ending, immediately noticing the smiling face of her partner. Her fingers rubbed their way across her eyes, her eyes having an easy time adjusting to the low light. Her eyes traced their way over to the screen, the credit reel already beginning.

"Rise and shine sleepy head" Ruby announced joyfully, her legs already rising to stand. She extended a hand to pull her partner to her feet, to which she accepted. Pins and needles surged down her legs as blood rushed back, reminding her that she was still a member of the living.

"How long was I asleep for?" She moaned, the normal punch she packed in her voice lacking.

"Well, you missed the entire movie, so I'd say a little over three hours. Movie wasn't great though. You didn't miss much." She replied as she walked down the stairs, back towards the lobby. Weiss trekked after her, pulling out her scroll and sending off a message to her chauffeur letting them know to meet them just down the road. She needed to get her legs back in use before she sat back down for another hour or so. They could've taken an airship down to Vale, but that was variable. Sometimes the airship was there and waiting for you. Sometimes it took it two hours for it to show up. It was just rolling the dice on if the airship was actually there when you needed it. Once they made it back outside and into the night, Weiss's arm extended towards the end of the road, letting her partner know where they were headed.

"I'm sorry for passing out on your arm in there Ruby. It's just that I'm kind of tired after what happened yesterday. I didn't really sleep well last night and…" Her apology was cut short by her partner, who gave her a quick shake of her head.

"Don't worry about it Weiss. To be quite honest with you, it was nice. I'd love to do it again sometime, as long as you promise to actually watch the movie with me instead of passing out. I paid money so that you could pass out in the chair you know." She answered jokingly, continuing their trek to the limousine.

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**A/N: Guys, I'm really sorry for this chapter being so late. I tried my hardest to make it as good as I could for you guys, and I'm not really impressed with how I wrote this chapter. Life got really really difficult for me over the last two days, and I really wanted to get a chapter up, but life intervened and I was unable despite my absolute craving to write another chapter. I really feel like I failed you guys with this chapter, and if I did, I'm really sorry. Life is just a cruel place.**

**We got a lot of reviews on the last chapter, and I really have to thank you guys. It really helps me out more than you guys can understand right now.**

**If you guys have any free time, go and check out yellowsign's writing. It's honestly amazing and is truly a good read. Better than mine I'd care to say. **

**Question of the day: did you guys feel as though this chapter was lacklustre? Also, do you believe that I should look around for a beta reader in order to improve the quality of my writing? I won't take hard to your answers. Feel free to be as cruel as you wish. I want to know if my real life is affecting my writing.**

**Shoutouts: **

**Noblemeta: It's nice to see you back here. You were the first review that I got on this story, and it's nice to know that it's good enough to keep you coming back. Anyways, onto the review itself. In this review, you basically state that you understand what I'm going through. So thank you. Thank you for knowing the strain that it puts us through to put up daily chapters. It's a daunting task that really strains you out emotionally. I hope to see your return in the near future, and once more, thank you. **

**Shadowmanji: Welcome back Shadow. I'm not sure what the last chapter ended like. Maybe I should go back and read it. Also, thank you for your support. I hope that this chapter is good quality seeing as how long it took for me to get another chapter up, but life has really crushed my mood and I hope it doesn't bring down this story. **

**Agent224: Nice to see you coming back my friend. Sorry for not getting your shoutout on the last chapter. Seeing as you review as an anon, I need to moderate your review before I can see it. Anyways, onto the review. This chapter served as a point where Weiss realized that she was weak. She had believed that she was strong enough to do anything, but she learns the hard way that she can't. Did I make her too weak? Very possible. Also, there was no Ruby absolute stomping scene because I was all fight scened out. I just didn't have it in me. Anyways, thank you for the review and I hope to see you back soon.**

**Lordmarc: Thank you for your review. It's nice to know that my writing can do that to someone, and it truly helps me out. Hope to see more of you soon. **

**RoxyRoxas1313: Thank you for not getting mad over my OC's. They are just there to make plot and nothing more. Weak storytelling, I know. But I need a crutch to lean on sometimes. Anyways, about Weiss's father. We will see him eventually, yes. But don't look forward to him. That's all I can say. **

**Yellowsign: Thank you for your constant PM'ing and reviewing. It's been nice communicating with you. Last chapter and this chapter were certainly filler. I just wanted to calm the story down a bit. It'll pick up with plot again soon. Anyways, I'll try to keep chapters coming up as often as I can, but in my current mental condition, I'm not sure it'll be quick. **

**Rwbybomb21: Thank you for not getting mad at my filler. I'm afraid to move the plot right now, and I want to make sure I don't choke myself out of options. Right now, if you think this is my best work honestly, thank you. Life has been difficult, and I really appreciate your support. **

**Undoingtech: I tried to make the chapter as good as I could, while still trying to add in some plot. Those two points will be super refined later on, at least I hope. Also, no, there was no MLP reference in there. It's one thing I refuse to watch. If there was one, good for that I suppose, but it certainly wasn't intentional. **

**Blitzkrizer: I kinda did that with this chapter, and I'm sorry my friend. I want to get out good chapters, but my mind is strained and hurting. I'll try to make them as good as possible, but I may need to begin searching for a beta reader. **

**Tatya1999: Nice to know you're still kicking with me friend. I've been trying to keep my real life out of this story as much as I can, but I'm so emotionally dead that I don't know if it's affecting the story or not. I really hope that you are still enjoying these chapters still, as that is my number one concern right now. **

**Kymeara: Hello my friend. Thank you for the review and hopefully many more to come. In regards to your review, what did you mean when you said 'guilty pleasure'? Who you be so kind as to clarify? **


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: A few things for this story that I find is necessary. First, this is a reupload, and I'm sorry. I took down the chapter without thinking that I could just edit it, because I'm foolish and mentally exhausted. Woopsies. **

**Secondly, I have a question regarding the story that I feel I must ask you guys, which is also one of the reasons this story is so short. Would you guys like to see Mark and his team come back into the story? Leave a review or PM, and I'll add it all up and write the next chapter accordingly. I would like to see him be approved, but it's up to you guys. The poll is on my profile if you'd like to vote. You guys really matter right now.**

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_**Team RWBY's dorm,**_

_**Weiss**_

Despite every inch of her being telling her that she needed to rest for tomorrow, the heiress couldn't find the will to do so. Thoughts clouded her mind, her body struggling to make sense of any of it. Thoughts of the work she'd be forced into doing tomorrow, thoughts of what her father would think of her right now, thoughts of her partner, but mostly thoughts of the night she had just experienced. She couldn't tell if she wanted her partner to know about her attraction. She had rested her head on her partner in the movie theatre, but that wasn't too obvious. Ruby had made reference to it though, which set off alarms in her mind. She must have suspicion of it at this point at least. And perhaps by her acknowledging it, she was trying to tell her that she felt the same way? She shrugged the idea aside, certain that wasn't the case. That wasn't how her partner worked. Above her, the mattress shook occasionally, letting her know that her partner wasn't sleeping perfectly either. The sound of disturbed breathing filled the room, adding to the troubled sleep her partner was experiencing. She threw herself out of bed, her feet unevenly applying themselves to the cold floor, her muscles cold and tired. She forced herself up, her knees cracking as she did so, forcing her to shudder. Her eyes gazed upon her partner's bunk, the small figure tossing in her sleep. She was clearly passed out, her small silver eyes hidden from view. Her red and black pyjamas lined her body, the loose fitting clothing leaving only fuel for the imagination. Her arms and legs hugged her body as though she was trying to make herself as small as possible, her already small figure being made even smaller.

"Can you hear me Ruby?" She whispered into the darkness, not even stirring the small girl across from her. She extended her arm, her small, delicate hand making contact with her partner's sweaty shoulder, causing her to cringe once more. She gave the girl a small shake, trying to awake her from whatever nightmare she was experiencing. When little success came, she pulled herself onto the bed, surprised by the amount of room that it seemingly processed. She placed her hands once more upon her partner, shaking with determination instead of force. Her partner jolted up, her breathing becoming far heavier. She looked around for a second before locking eyes with her partner, her deep blue eyes showing only concern. Once it became evident that she wasn't in danger, her breathing slowed, her hands returning to their sides.

"I'm not going to say I'm not happy to see you Weiss, but what are you doing in my bed?" Ruby asked with a lifted brow, her confusion evident.

"You don't remember any of the nightmares you were having? You were tossing and turning in your sleep, your breathing got heavy and sporadic, and you were sweating terribly. You don't remember any of that whatsoever?" She replied, concern lining her voice. She was seated on her knees, her posture shameful for the heiress, but that didn't concern her. Her eyes ran their length across her partner's petite body, taking in every feature that she could. Her loose fitting black and red pyjamas hid her curves, but her form was still distinguishable. The angle of her shoulders, the curve of her jaw, the way her hair clung to her head. Her partner replied with a tilted shake of her head, confusion glazing her eyes.

"Hey Weiss, I know that you love being close to me, but did you really have to wake me up this early in the morning just to do so? It seems off for you." Her partner asked quizzically, taking in her partner's shock when she said so.

"I did not! You were having troubles sleeping soundly and I came up here to check on you. I was simply trying to be a good partner. Humph!" She defended with a mask of frustration as she hid the embarrassment she was feeling. She quickly slid off her partners' bed, her small feet making no noise as they connected with the carpeted floor. She quickly slid into her own bed, forcing her head upon her pillow and closing her eyes, bidding the night farewell.

_**Team RWBY's dorm, **_

_**Eight hours later,**_

_**Weiss**_

The heiress opened her eyes to the sight of sunlight creeping through the team's blinds, dancing across the floor as the wind manipulated the blinds that her partner had 'created.' Pulling her hands through her crusted eyes, she pulled herself upright, looking over to the other set of bunks that occupied their dorms. Seeing the bottom one empty, she pushed back her head, refusing to let the day begin. She tried to go back to sleep, but she knew that would accomplish nothing. She forced herself to her feet, groaning as she did so. With the recent turn of events that she had lived through, she wanted nothing more than to just lie in bed. She checked the remaining bunks; the only one still occupied being that of her partner. Her small, rhythmic breathing causing the heiress to sigh in relief. She wandered her way over to the kitchen, observing the remnants of some breakfast cereal, determining that she wouldn't see brawler again until they made it to their first class. She grabbed out a box of cereal, gave a quick shake to check the quantity of its contents and poured it into a bowl off the counter, grabbing the milk from the fridge and adding it in, before grabbing a spoon and settling down. She sat herself towards the beds so she could see her partner when she awoke. The only noise that filled the room now was the occasional crunching of cereal as she indulged herself in her breakfast, enjoying the stress free moment she was experiencing.

The sounds of rustling sheets disturbed her moment once more as her eyes caught the movement of the sheets, indicating that her partner had returned to the land of the living. Returning to her thoughts, her mind wandered. The emotions she kept behind her eyes waged a long and painful battle as she tried to make sense of her emotions. She knew her father wouldn't agree with her choice, but he wouldn't shun her for it. She was still his daughter, someone who he cared for. She was certain that the feelings she had for her partner went beyond companionship and she knew she wanted something more… intimate. Her mind drifted to thoughts that she quickly dismissed, not wanting to think about it. Ahead of her, the sheets rustled once more, small, tired groans emerging from the pile of blankets that consumed her partner's bed. Blue eyes traced the bunk as her partner emerged from her bed and dropped to the ground, her small feet connecting soundlessly to the prestigious carpet. The younger girl made her way over to the table, already awake. After having observed her partner for over a year, she was determined to prove that Ruby ran on batteries as no living, organic human being could always wake up so energetically.

"Good morning Weiss. Did you sleep well last night?" The smaller girl asked as she stood to peer into her partner's bowl before collapsing back into her chair with a dissatisfied huff, her pair of silver eyes returning to scan the counter. "You always eat that same cereal. Don't you ever get tired of it and just want to try something new?" She questioned half-heartedly, her mind currently occupied with the task of finding her next meal. Weiss replied with an equally half-hearted shrug as she plunged her utensil into the bowl once more, eating her meal with renewed vigour. The life of a heiress provided more repetition than most, soothing her into the lifestyle at a younger age.

"If you are inviting me out for breakfast Ruby, I would be more than happy to accompany you" the older girl replied, choosing her words carefully as to hide her feelings. Something else that the title of heiress brought upon her was the ability to mask emotion, something her father had taught her just before she transferred to Beacon. A trait she was grateful to have learned. Ruby stood and paced her way over to the counter, pulling open the cupboards with a more and more confused look the more and more she looked.

"That's not quite what I meant, no." She verbally vomited before realizing the harshness of her words and rephrasing it. "It's not that I don't want to go to breakfast with you, it's just that Yang and Blake were supposed to get groceries before the sun came up, but I can't see anything different" her partner corrected as she continued her inspection of the cupboards before turning a wrinkled nose to her partner. "Yang never forgets groceries, how weird" the younger girl asked in a confused tone as she nodded towards the washroom. Receiving a nod from her partner, she slid away behind the door, vanishing from sight.

The heiress quickly finished her bowl of cereal and stammered back over to her bed, collapsing into the sheets with a drawn out sigh. Blue eyes scanned the bottom of her partner's bunk as her mind raced through the common thoughts once more, releasing a stressed breath as she did so. She thought of the day she had ahead of her, attempting to make a plan that she could follow. Abandoning the plan after she forgot what classes they had, she forced herself back to her feet, pulling open her dresser and scavenging through the contents. After withdrawing her clean combat skirt and myrtenaster, her eyes traced back to the bathroom door, weighing her options. She could wait for her teammate to finish up and using it to change, but she dismissed the thought. She stripped herself of the clothes she had worn the night previous and changed into her 'school uniform', sighing as she did so. Much to her fortune, no one had entered the room during her changing, sparing her an embarrassed explanation and a scarred ally.

Her partner exited the bathroom minutes later, her crimson hair now covered by a black and red towel, the one she had brought from signal. Her body was covered by her clothing from last night, now hugging her body due to the moisture, revealing her curves as she slid towards her dresser, forcing her partner to bite her tongue to refrain from gasping. The leader slid her way over to the dresser, her hands scavenging around as she searched for something to wear. Several moments and a satisfied grunt later, her partner tugged her combat apparel from the dresser before slipping herself back into the washroom, once more free from sight. A sudden noise from the doorway took the heiress's attention, causing her vision to shift towards the latter half of team RWBY. The brawler was releasing the occasional chuckle while her partner held her composure, her Faunus eyes showing no emotion.

"Hey Weiss, do you know where Rubes went? I don't remember her telling me that she'd be going anywhere" she asked as she peered around a corner before returning unsatisfied "and she's not the one to just get up and go running around. At least not this early." She continued as she made her way over to the bathroom door, quickly noticing the closed door. Nodding her head towards the door and receiving a nod from the heiress, she sat poised beside the door where she would be out of sight once her sister opened the door. The door opened moments later and she burst out from around the corner, forcing a shriek and a rapid retreat from her sister, who lost her footing several steps in and collapsed against the wall, her chest now visibly rising and falling. Her normally innocent features were now a mess, her body portraying nothing but fear. Realizing moments later that she was safe, she pulled herself back to her feet, dusting herself off as she did so before turning to her sister with an angry glance.

"What was that for Yang!" The youngest girl asked, her body now calming down, but her features were still poised, her form ready to defend itself. Her eyes had locked with her sister's, her fists still clenched.

"I just wanted to make sure that you were up and awake before the big day today. You know, seeing as we're being sent to clear out the Grimm in the emerald forest and all that." Her sister asked in her normal joking manner, her body leaning back before coming to rest against the wall, her arms crossed just in front of her midsection. The non-sister members of team RWBY gave concerned glances, their awkwardness filling the room.

"Oh Yang, you wanted to check and see if I'm all up and awake today, but you forgot the groceries that I had asked you to get. What's your excuse for that huh?" The younger sister asked, her voice losing its bladed edge in exchange for a more suspicious and pressing tone.

"We just got caught up in the sights of Vale and what not sis. We'll go get them tonight." The older one replied, keeping up her calm and cool demeanour, her face changing to that of confusion when she noticed her sister break into a grin that stretched from ear to ear. Her question, however, was stolen by the heiress, who had also caught onto the grin of her partner.

"Hey Ruby, would you care explaining to us why exactly you're grinning like that? It's not that it's strange to see you so content with yourself, but this seems hardly the time." The heiress asked coldly, her voice carrying only hints of suspicion and fear. This only widened the grin of her partner who tilted her head to look past her sister even further, before heading past her sister and towards the door. Confused looks were shot to her by the remainder of her team, although she ignored them until she made it to the door.

"Hey Yang, I don't remember the last time I got so caught up in the scenery of vale that I got my lipstick stuck on my partner's neck" she announced with a sheepish smile as she exited the room with a quick closing of the door, leaving only blushing teammates behind.

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**A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the re-upload. I was foolish and removed the chapter, and then I realized that I could've just replaced the chapter. My brain is not working as well as it should be. Work has gotten difficult and time consuming, but I hope to get some more chapters up in the near future. Don't forget that there is a poll on my profile right now, and if you have time, I'd love if you looked into it. I'll base the rest of the story off of the results of that poll, but IMO, I want you guys to be alright with Mark returning. But you make up your minds, don't let me do it for you. And on one final note, I added some bumblebee hints at the end of the chapter, and I will hopefully add on that later. But right now, the poll is the most important thing to this story. I'll give it a few days to add up, and then I'll begin the next chapter. **

**Shoutouts: **

**Shadowmanji: I'm trying to add mystery right now, as I feel like that is something I want to add into this story. It's something that I really want to work on getting better at to be quite honest. I like to write deceptively such as the hints I include in my writing and such. Thank you for your continuous reviews, and hopefully more to come. **

**Yellowsign: I've already replied to your review through PM, so I'll simply thank you for your continuous reviews and hopefully more to come. **

**Rwbybomb21: Sorry about this chapter, I just needed something to get up. The short length is basically because I wanted to test out some new writing techniques and the question I asked in the AN at the top. Next chapter will be far better, I promise. **

**Tatya1999: I've been trying to add to the feelings for Weiss in these last few chapters at the cost of lack of plot advancement. The plot will pick up again next chapter, as well as the quality of my work. Real life has mentally drained me, and if I didn't get what I have up tonight, you'd be looking at two more weeks before my mind was fully rested and back to normal. **

**21crashman: First off, welcome, and thank you for your review. In regards to it, thank you for the compliment. I greatly appreciate it. This chapter is a rare exception where I really didn't try my hardest on this chapter because as stated above, I'm mentally drained. Shouldn't happen again though. **

**Undoingtech: this chapter was bad, and I understand that. This is the last chapter that I will allow to go by this poorly, I just needed something up. I'm afraid if I take too long to update, I'll scare you guys, which is not what I want to do. Last mediocre chapter, I promise. **

**Serpenthawk: Welcome to my story, and thank you for reviewing. I've already replied to your review, so I'll simply thank you deeply and thank you for your concerns on the story. I'll patch them up once I get more than an hour to myself a night. **

**Lordmarc: I will say this to you my friend. Ruby is going to be a little bit… slow. That's all I can say before I spoil it… Anyways, thank you for your constant support, and I also love your profile picture. Big AOT fan here. **

**Demoneagle87: First off, welcome, and thank you for your reviews. I got these when I was at work, and it was quite enjoyable to see them constantly pop up when I went on breaks. It's nice to see how your emotions changed while you read it. It was quite an enjoyable experience. I hope to see more of you in the future, and once more, thank you. **

**That's it for tonight, although on one final note, I do not currently have a profile picture. If one of you guys would like to make me one, I'd appreciate it greatly. You can PM me and we'll find a way to make it work. **

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Question for you guys, would you like to see Mark and his team return? There's a poll on my profile, or if you want you could leave a review or PM me. This is the last chapter for voting, so make your voice heard now.**

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_**Beacon academy hallways**_

_**Ruby**_

The sound of her shoes connecting with the ground reverberated down the hallway, breaking the early morning silence that always occupied Beacon this early in the morning. Most students were awake at this hour, but only a small few of those ventured into the halls before they needed to. Her thoughts grazed back to the events of the morning and the situation that she had created. She always knew that there was something that wasn't exactly normal with the relationship between her sister and Blake, but she never guessed that they held that kind of relationship. And while her sister was a good liar, given that her lifestyle often permitted some… persuasive words to save her skin, her sister was far more observant than you'd expect at first glance. Living a life like the one she had shone light on things in a new way, a way that you normally couldn't tell from her usually excited and flamboyant exterior. And while a year at Beacon had shed some layers off of the childhood naivety that she once possessed, she was still a child at heart, no matter how hard she tried to act mature. Her time at Beacon and especially the responsibility that came with being the leader of a squad forced you to grow up and bare the challenges that life threw at you. You could still be an energetic and upbeat person, but sometimes you needed to be a beacon, someone that could guide your team.

She quickly turned a corner, her footing slipping. Her ankle slid against the ground, twisted inwards, her body quickly slipping to the ground, her ankle forced into bending an unnatural angle, the heat and pain immediately apparent as her brain fought with the signals her body was sending. She could feel her aura healing the area, soothing the burn and the pain as she recovered. Her eyes met the ground, her hands poised on either side of her body, her hips twisted. She quickly twisted her hips, pushing herself up with her hands and pulling her knees beneath her before standing back up. The pain still tingled in her ankle, but having sustained a swipe to the torso from an Ursa last year, it was going to take far more than this to bring her down. She continued her way down the decorated halls of Beacon, relishing in the sunlight as it rose above the outside walls, spraying light through the slightly tinted windows, the blue shadow of the hallway bringing a faint smile to her face. She quickly found her way into the cafeteria, her eyes scanning the tables for familiar faces. When none were found, she made her way over to the table that they tended to gravitate towards and took a seat alone, free to her thoughts. She struggled around the thought of Yang and Blake being a couple, but she still had Weiss, to which she was grateful. She wasn't sure how exactly her sister's relationship would affect her and the team, but she decided to leave that thinking to another day.

Several minutes later, she was accompanied by the souls of her other teammates, quickly finding her and making their way over. They quickly slid themselves into their seats, their conversation continuing once they sat down, causing the crimson leader to sit herself out of the conversation, her eyes drifting towards the ceiling. The beautiful lights of Beacon remained dull as the sun filled the room with natural light as it glistened across the tables of the early morning. Mornings like this always reminded her of a painting her mother had left behind after she left on that hunt and never returned. Her mother had painted it one morning before Ruby had awoken just on the hill outside their home. The picture portrayed a sleeping Ruby still in her crib, the light veiling her sleeping form. She had kept the picture with her, keeping it close as a sign that her mother was still with her, even if it was only a picture. It was still something, a sweet memory that drifted her mind, fighting away even the darkest of thoughts.

"Hey Ruby, are you feeling alright? It's not like you to just zone out like that. Is there anything you need to tell us?" The Faunus asked caringly, her calm voice breaking her leader back into reality. She quickly brought her eyes back from the ceiling, meeting the eyes of the rest of her team. How long had she been zoned out for?

"Oh yeah… Yeah I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." She responded quickly, her voice still staggered as she struggled to retrieve her mind from the clouds and back to the present. "I was just thinking of home, you know." She lied, but it apparently worked, causing a quick shrug from her sister before her sister continued on with their conversation. The gaze from the Faunus lingered several seconds longer, her eyes scanning the expression of the younger girl before returning to her partner's devoid of suspicion. A quick tap against her knuckles caused her vision to dart to her partner's, the evident look of suspicion failing to leave hers.

"Yes Weiss, I'm fine. Seriously, I am" she added when her partner cocked a brow, allowing herself a small smile. Weiss had really become a different person after that night on the cliff. She had shed her ice cold shell in exchange for one of compassionate friendship. She liked the new Weiss far more than she had liked the old one, but something just seemed off in her. She never seemed so caring, and saving her life one time didn't seem to cause you to care about someone as Weiss did. She knew first hand.

"I just don't want you acting up on our mission Ruby. Are you certain that you are still ready to go on this trip? The thoughts of home are becoming more and more constant, and you seem to be taking them worse and worse." She whispered with a nod to the courtyard before continuing. "Do you want to talk about it? You said you'd always be there for me, and it would be selfish and dishonourable if I didn't return the honour" the heiress replied as kindly as she could manage as she looked into the silver orbs of her partner. She placed her hands on her partner's, feeling the smooth hand of her leader. While the palm of her hand was calloused due to wielding the scythe that she managed to drag around with strength she got from dust-knows where, the back of her hand was to the touch, innocent.

"Weiss, I'm fine, really. It's just that some memories are harder to forget than others, and I don't even know if I want to forget it, if you know what I mean." The younger girl replied with a forced smile, but the words struck something inside of the heiress. Her caring and cautious expression was replaced with that of guilt and sorrow, her eyes meeting the table as she withdrew her hands to her head. Ruby's instincts kicked in and she pulsed her semblance, crossing over the table before someone could notice she was no longer there. Pulling the older girl off of the seat and onto her feet, she spun her around, pulling the two together. The frail arms of her friend wrapped limply around her shoulders as she pulled herself closer, no sound coming from her.

The heiress tried her hardest not to cry, the sheer unprofessionalism of the act causing only disgrace according to her father. She instead pulled herself into the arms of her partner, dark memories clouding her mind. Her body fought to remove them, but the battle was being lost. The dark memories that she had fought to bury had resurfaced, stabbing at her being. Feeling the hand of her partner against the back of her hair, her mind began to rip itself apart in turmoil. The two sides of her body fought a harsh battle, the one that cared for her father, the one that cared for Ruby. Her body displayed no signs of this distress, but her mind was the source of a battle that couldn't be explained.

The couple at the table shot a confused look at Ruby, not having caught the quiet conversation. A stern glance averted their eyes, the two looking into each other's eyes as silence filled their table, confusion and grief hanging in the air. The younger girl placed her head against the back of her partner's hair, pulling the heiress closer into her shoulder. She was met with harsh resistance as her partner pulled herself free, the only sign of distress being a slight amount of bloodshot in her eyes, but nothing noticeable by the casual observer.

"I'm alright. I just haven't slept enough recently. I'm getting too agitated over nothing. Thank you for your concern though Ruby, I greatly appreciate it. Anyways, isn't it time for class to start? It seems like it is" she asked with a rushed tone, her voice almost stuttering as she maintained her composure. It wasn't like a heiress to get as riled up as she had. Her father would have scolded her if he'd seen her like this. This wasn't the way that a Schnee was supposed to act, and she felt terrible for it. Grief clouded her mind from the war being waged inside as she headed off towards their first class, leaving the remainder of her team behind, including her confused partner in a metaphorical cloud of dust, her shoes clicking against the ground as she hastily exited the cafeteria, trying not to make a scene.

Ruby looked back to her sister and her partner with the expression of a dear caught in a pair of headlights, her body frozen. She had been a confident leader, one who always knew what to do in any situation. But now her body and mind had frozen, unsure of what to do in her situation. On the battlefield, she was a more than competent leader, and even in most dramatic situations. But not right now. Her eyes met with her sisters, the stern look counteracted by a smile as she pointed towards the direction of the fleeting heiress, allowing herself a small smile at her sister's expression. The only way she could have told her sister to follow her was if she had a sign that said 'follow her!' in her hands while she yelled it into a microphone. Her sister's body began moving once more as she nodded shakily and began her pursuit, her small legs traveling as fast as the wind could carry her.

_**Beacon Hallway,**_

_**Weiss**_

Her pace was quick as she headed down a hallway of Beacon, her shoes clicking with every step against the beautiful white floor. Beside her sat a large glass window that exposed the open air outside, the view willing her to take a minute to relish in its beauty. The sight of Vale could be seen off in the distance, merely a spec of black against the green backdrop. The light filtered through the window, bouncing off the ground and illuminating the hallway in an almost heavenly fashion. Pictures of students passed lined the hallway, all smiling with their weapon by their side. Their faces were lit with the angelic light, causing them to seem almost holy in their pride days. Once the thought hit her that most of them could be in a wooden box six feet underground, her stomach knotted as she thought that she could be one of them one day. Another pair of noises shot down the empty hallway, bouncing off the walls as she turned her head. The stumbling figure of a rabbit faunus came into sight, her name immediately known. Four bodies followed her as she stumbled into the hallway, collapsing to the ground just before she would've contacted the window, saving a potential trip to the hospital. Her trip appeared to be of her own accord, perhaps loose fitting shoes or a mere slip against the tiled floor.

"Now Velvet, we told you and your team that you weren't going to get in the way again, didn't we?" Came the villainous voice of Cardin Winchester, his voice distinguishable amongst the horde of other students that occupied Beacon. Over the year, him and his team had become a strong contender in the department of team strength, rising above their old status of being weak and uncoordinated. Despite abandoning their old ways of ruthless and random attacks, they were still involved with darker tones inside Beacon, ones that the teachers would shun them for. If they knew.

" I'm sorry Cardin, I didn't mean to. I was just heading to class and then you guys were there and then I was there and then you guys got mad and then I ran and then we're here and I don't want to be here" she replied hastily as she made her way back up to her feet, shuffling her way down towards the shocked heiress, bringing their attention over to her.

"Do you want to get in the way too ice princess? If you want, feel free to step up, but if you're not, get out of this hallway before we force you out of it." He spat as he approached both the fleeing faunus and the stunned heiress, the other three standing close behind him. They walked uniformly, their feet connecting at the same time like a twisted marching band. Every muscle in her body began to make sense of the situation and poised to run, her legs beginning to move. She cared for her classmates to an extent, but she would never throw her neck on the line to save someone else. Her father had taught her that. "It's always better that you have your neck than they do theirs" he had constantly reminded her, his drilling techniques sticking to her. A small laugh came from behind her as her body darted down the halls, unsure of what to make of the situation. Another voice from behind her forced her attention back, her eyes immediately catching sight of one object. The red cape of her partner whipped behind her as she rounded the corner, nearly smashing into the back of Dove before her boots came to a screeching close behind them. A confused look shot across her face as she examined the situation before squeezing by them as though nothing had happened.

"Do you want a piece of this too? Do you think you're so tough that you can walk past us like nothing ever happened huh?" The leader of CRDL asked with false bravado as the crimson girl walked past him before noticing the skittering faunus. Her eyes scanned the team, her brows narrowing as she looked at them with a confused expression, unsure of what they meant.

"Wait, are you guys threatening me?" Came her equally confused voice, not even noticing as the faunus ran down the hallway to safety, leaving her all alone to fight off team CRDL. Reaching around behind her back and pulling out the compressed version of crescent rose; they turned their heels and walked away, not wanting to start a fight in the hallways of Beacon. After they had left, she replaced her weapon, before running back towards her partner who gazed at her partner with deep blue eyes. Her partner came to a quick stop, placing her hand to her chest as she inhaled deeply, her breath quickly returning.

"Hey Weiss, did I miss anything?" The younger girl asked energetically, her carefree voice returning as she looked past her partner, trying to catch a glimpse of the fleeing faunus before returning her head to normal, a defeated huff exiting her lips.

"Ruby, you have to be the most confident and cocky girl I know." She answered, her eyes looking back at the end of the hallway, lost in the event that had just unfolded. _And I love you for it._

* * *

**A/N: There we go. Another extremely late chapter, to which I apologize. Life is just a busy place, but I haven't forgotten this. I just placed it accordingly on my list of priorities. As stated at the top of the page, there's a poll on my profile if you'd like to vote, or you can leave a review or PM me. If you'd like to add conditions that you'd like met if you want them to return, feel free to add those in a PM or review, but sadly you cannot do it on the poll. Onwards to the shoutouts. **

**Demoneagle: Thank you for your review. I feel as though I should explain to you as to why my writing quality is decreasing. While I do know that I possess the ability to be better, I have simply begun to lose my interest in writing this story. Not that I don't like writing this story, I just don't like what I've done to the plot, and I don't exactly know what I want to do with it. Every chapter is kind of impromptu. Once I regain my direction, the quality will improve. I also write every chapter in one sitting, instead of writing it over time, so I get tired and it tends to slump at the end if you've noticed. Sorry my friend. **

**Shadowmanji: thank you for your support. In regards to what they will do, I can't tell you yet, as I only have ideas that I can get onto, but they'll be… different shall I say. And that is all I can, so you'll have to find out I guess huh? **

**Rwbybomb21: Thank you for kicking around. In regards to why you don't want Mark and his team to come back, it is totally understandable, and I get what you mean. It's your decision and I respect it, so I'll add one to the tally of no. And thank you for not getting mad with my writing. Still trying to find the fire that can fuel me to write better as I know that I can do far better. **

**MasterKosa: I changed the chapter because I really really really hate what I did with it. So if you haven't gone back and reread it, I strongly recommend you do. Anyways, thank you for your… support? I'm really not sure if you want him to come back or if you just want him to show up and die. Anyways, I'll take that as a yes, but I'll put a question mark (hehehehehe) beside it. **

**Tatya1999: I changed the chapter because I hated it, so feel free to go back and read it. Anyways, they will have feelings for each other eventually, but I'm having fun watching how long I can burn the fuse out for. It's truly something that I enjoy. Anyways, hope to see you again this chapter. **

**Demonhunter: Thank you for the support my friend. I greatly appreciate it. If you like my writing, check out some of yellowsign's work. He's not well known (sadly) but his descriptive writing experience is far above mine. Really a good read if you have time. **

**Grimm Hunter: You fit in the same category as MasterKosa, as I'll add you to the yes category, but I'll add a question Mark beside it. (I really love this pun) **

**Chriz Myth: Hello Chriz, I don't believe I've seen you around yet, So first off, thank you for the review. Anyways, if I get good feedback on Mark and his team, I might make a substory for them as I really want to add them into the plot of this story, although it might be rated M for reasons that you cannot know yet. But yes, right now EVERYONE hates them, which was kinda what I was shooting for, but they're getting a lot of negativity, which is what I want. I'm twisted like that. Also, sorry for the late updates, I'm a lazy human being. **

**That's it for today, and once more, vote. Make yourself heard. I've got a sheet of paper with the tallies on it, and I'm making this count. It's interactive storytelling in a way. One more thing, we broke 100 follows, which was what I was shooting for. So thank you so much to everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed. It's inspirational. **

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So as the poll goes, Mark and his team will not be returning to the story. While I would've slightly enjoyed having them to use as pawns to my devilish creation that is the later chapters, I will now need to find more, shall we say unfortunate souls as catalysts. Thank you to all who have left your opinions, it's much appreciated. **

**Also, I want to write a one shot (what?!) Yeah, I know. I don't normally do one shots, but I kinda want to take a quick break from this story, so I need a cover art. I can always scavenge the internet and find one, but if any of you have anyone you'd like me to check out or a picture you'd like me to use, feel free to let me know. (Warning: It's a tragedy fic, so it won't be cute and cuddly.) **

**Anyways, that's it for today, so I'll leave you to what you came here for and as always, take it easy. **

Beacon academy was a school, but not one that you entered without knowing the risks. Both students and teachers alone knew the risks involved with enlisting in this line of work, and the trade was quite hands on, requiring constant outings into the world to teach students the skills that could save their lives. You could teach students all their lives which part of a Grimm they needed to attack, signs of an ambush, how to take down a nevermore and how to track your opponents to the end of the world. But you couldn't teach them the horrors that they would experience, you couldn't teach them how to hold under pressure. You couldn't teach them how to fight together as a coherent unit, and you certainly couldn't teach them trust. All of these things needed to be taught through doing, bonds forged in the flames of war. They were all still students, mere young souls who had yet to have an impact on the world around them, and in this field of work, most of them wouldn't. Childhood naivety and the thoughts of your indestructibility were all well and good, but believing yourself to be invincible didn't save you from the forces that hid in the darkness, waiting for you to step out of place.

The girls knew this concept quite well, though Ruby had learned this lesson terribly. Her parents had been hunters and huntress's, and they knew what they were getting into before they agreed to this line of work. Her mother had known the risks that she took whenever she picked up her weapons and fought for her family, her city, and her planet, and she had performed the ultimate sacrifice so that her child might be able to live her life in peace, a world where the Grimm were mere lab experiments and you needn't worry about the shadows of the forest. But her enemies were unrelenting, never giving up their ruthless siege as they continued to batter themselves against the walls of humanity, the barriers that separated them from the evil slowly chipping away against the endless hordes of darkness.

But Beacon did a good job of boosting the morale of the students. Although their fates could be determined by the mere misplacement of a foot or a wrong positioning of a blade, they didn't let this falter the undying will of the students who fought for their freedom. They ensured that the students were well protected and travelled in large groups, often returning back with only bruises, scratches and stories to tell around the cafeteria. But the casualties were clearly present if you merely pulled the records of the year's attendance that was readily available to all students who knew how to unlock their scrolls. The amount of students that progressed every year dwindled, and only half of the students that had started their first year at Beacon had graduation photos. Hidden away out of sight and out of mind stood the memorial wall, the area of the school that everyone knew existed, but no one cared to venture. The faces of smiling students lined the walls, consuming more and more of the hallway as the years skipped by, their smiling faces forever resting against the smooth marble. The smiles of children who would never shine again, eyes that would never see their children play. Arms that would never hold their lover tight, bodies that would no longer comfort a saddened friend, hands that would no longer hold their children as they spun them in t he spring breeze, potential that would never bloom. They had been human beings worthy of the oxygen they breathed, and every single one of them meeting the same fate, all of them dying believing that they had died for a greater cause, a cause that would cause them as a species to continue, making the hard decisions when they needed to be made and willing to pay the ultimate price.

The girls had ran along this wall, trying not to catch the immortal glances of the students passed as they dashed to their next class, but their eyes couldn't help but meet the eyes of the students before them, all of their fates already sealed. They hung their heads low and stood still for a second, paying their tribute to the students who had passed well before their time, their limitless potential ended in a heartbeat. Below each picture rest the way of their passing, the stark contrast of their smiling pictures breaking even the toughest of hearts. They continued on in silence, leaving the wall of memories as they headed over to their class, walking in silence.

The thought of her face in one of those portraits filled the mind of the young heiress, the thought causing her a small shudder as they continued in silence, thoughts of her own demise filtering their way into her thoughts. She envisioned her own face plastered against the perfectly clean wall, her fast joining the legions of others in names forgotten in the fight for humanities survival. Her eyes traced their way back over to her partner as they continued, her gaze averting as her partner's eyes caught her own. The silence that they held continued all the way to the classroom, where they quickly entered and seated themselves, their eyes glued to the teacher, neither one in the mood for conversation. Ruby was too afraid that she would set off Weiss again like she had this morning, and Weiss too afraid that she was going to say something too obvious and give herself away. She rattled her fingers against the desk, her mind overflowing with thoughts as it always did. Her crimson partner's gaze met the stage behind the teacher who was currently tapping notes against his desk and clearing his throat. Her head quickly jerked to the side to meet the entrance of her sister and partner who quickly made their way over to sit next to their counterparts. Their joyful conversation came to a quick close as the teacher began speaking, cutting all other noise from the room.

"Welcome, proud students of Beacon, to the first Grimm hunt of your second year here at Beacon. As you are already aware having survived through your first year, these are a regular occurrence at which you are required to participate unless you have a clear and signed reason for why you are not here. Failure to abide by these rules will result in an immediate failure of my course and a stern talking to by the headmaster himself. Now back to the topic. The Grimm hunts that you had taken place in last year were merely a warm up, an introduction of sorts, to what you will begin getting yourself into this year. Instead of being allowed to team up with another, or even several other squads, you will be forced to partake in this challenge with the mere assistance of your teammates to guide you. Any questions thus far?" He asked as he flipped to the next page, clearing his voice once more before addressing a raised hand in the back of the class.

"So, what exactly happens if you find yourself close to another team? Do you just pack up and move away?" The student asked with a confused voice, clearly trying to find an exploitable loophole in the rules that him and his team could abuse.

"Of course not, we don't have the supervision needed ensure you follow these rules. So instead, we are going to drop you off in random portions of the forest and task you with your own survival. If you find another group, feel free to take their side. Your own survival comes first, of course." The confident voice of the teacher replied, causing the cocky students face to slump down, defeat painted on his features. Another hand was raised, this time by a girl on the other side of the room, small ears poised above a wave of brown hair.

"Excuse me for asking this, but don't you think that this is a little harsh? Just dropping students off into the forest and telling them to survive by themselves? What if we drop into an ursa nesting site, or stumble across a nevermore nest? What do you expect us to do then?" Shot the clearly angered voice, whose person was now standing from her seat, the rest of what could only be taken as her squad standing up to take her side. You didn't survive in Beacon by yourself, and most students quickly caught onto this. You took your teammates sides through the thick and thin, lived through your choices and decisions as a team, not as an individual.

"Clearly you do not believe in your squad's ability to function as a coherent unit, or you don't believe in your teachers abilities to do proper research on the forests we grew up in. So tell me student, which one is it?" He asked as he grabbed a cane from beneath his desk, posing himself against it as though he didn't quite care what her answer was. He had trapped her, and she had no logical way out of it. With what could only be taken as a huff of frustration, she sighed back down into her chair, her squad following her as they did the same, causing the teacher to grab the papers from back off his desk, placing his cane down behind it, out of sight of team RWBY.

"So as I was saying" he began once more, his confident voice failing to falter. "You and your team will be tasked with survival for one night, and are allowed back into Beacon by breakfast time tomorrow. If you do not return by the night after, we will begin a search for you, and you will quickly be found. Remember, your first priority is survival. Giving a grade to a corpse is not as effective as to a smiling student. Kill off what Grimm you can, but do not bite off more than you can chew. Any confusions with what you are being asked?" He finished, ensuring no more hands had lifted before dismissing the class to the cliffs with a smile and a quick phrase of motivation.

They quickly exited the room, all four of them walking together, and for a good reason. Outings like this were always a worry of hunters and huntresses in training. Although they were in the proper situations that had already been heavily thought over by their teachers and battle planners, they were still spending the night under the stars. All it took was your guard falling asleep and your team was coming home in body bags. It was a test of students training, patience and cooperation, and it tested bonds, and not all of them passed. There was always a new face to add to the wall after every away trip, despite their hardest attempts to keep them alive. Accidents were not made because you wished them so, and no perfect mindset could save you from a twisted ankle or a tired muscle.

Their leader wished to start a conversation, something to break the mindset they were all clearly sharing, but the words were caught up in her own problems. She was responsible for all of their well being, and she would be the one in trouble if anything were to happen to any of them. The thought always filled her mind any time they were about to go on a hunt, a thought that caused only pain. She bid the thought to leave, to exit her conscience, but the stubborn thoughts refused to leave. She tried to bring herself to better thoughts repeatedly, but every attempt failed. Her heart began to pump quicker and quicker, her muscles tensing. She understood the reason behind the hunts. You couldn't teach combat on a stage. You could try, but only training on the real thing would increase your chances of returning home every time. But the mental fortitude that it required to do her job took its toll. The childish demeanour that she had entered Beacon with shed long ago as responsibilities crowded her life.

They reached the cliffs with only small playful gestures being exchanged between the couple of the team, trying to lift their moods. Several bullheads rested next to the cliff, the Beacon logo proudly painted against their sides. Leaning against each one stood a pilot, their bright white jumpsuits and a white helmet tucked expertly under their arms as they watched the approaching students giving the students a sense of security. While launching the students off into the forest was certainly a viable way of performing the hunt, the areas next to the cliff had already been cleared off all Grimm threats and didn't need to be cleared again. Every student had been given an assortment of gear that resided in a backpack in front of their assigned bullhead, their logo attached to a flag as it danced in the wind. They quickly grabbed their backpacks and looked up to their pilot. She was a middle thirties lady with a petite physique, a blue eagle stitched onto the right shoulder of her white jumpsuit. Scratch marks lined the ship, the close encounters with nevermores shining through the repainted layers. You could try to cover up mistakes, but some never went away. Ruby opened up her backpack to find a canteen, several cans of food, a dust powered tent and a sleeping bag. Survival wise she found a small knife for opening cans, a compass for finding their way back, and a map that would do them no good once they landed in the forest. They could always walk back the way that they had flown from, but there was no guarantee that the plane wasn't slightly tilted whilst they flew, causing them to be off by kilometres when they thought they should've been approaching the cliff. Looking into the bags of her teammates, she found the same assortment of gear, not even the slightest of change between them.

"Hello girls, I'll be your pilot for today, and most likely every hunt you'll have for the rest of the year, so I feel like we should get to know each other." The pilot began, her small voice matching her physique. "I'm Syndra, nice to meet you all" she continued as she outstretched her hand, shaking all of their hands before continuing on. "Do you guys know how this kind of drop works?" Syndra asked as she placed her free hand on her hip, leaning over to the right hand side. Upon receiving shrugs from the girls, she began her explanation. "We're going to get above your drop zone, in which the back of the plane will open up. The light just behind the door will be red until this point. Once it is safe to jump, the light will go green, but be careful. You don't have a long time to go before that light goes red again, and that door closes faster than you'd think it does. There's an emergency switch next to the door on the left hand side in case anything goes wrong and you need to get that door shut immediately. Do you guys have any questions before we go?" The pilot asked one final time before pointing to the back of the aircraft. "Then let's get suited up and get you guys out there."

The back of the bullhead was surprisingly cramped once you got inside. The seats and think heavy armour caused it to be much more cramped than you'd assume if you'd never flown in one before. The two sets of partners sat on either side of each other, only ten feet separating their legs. They flew in silence, everyone preoccupying themselves as the bullhead engines roared around them, the dust propelled craft not quite excelling in the stealth department. Weiss kept shooting glances over to her partner, hoping her eyes would meet something to give her comfort. Instead, she found her partners' eyes glued to crescent rose, sharpening the blade to the point where even the air could be sliced and then sharpening it some more. Ruby had grown an unnatural attachment to her weapon, treating it nearly like a human being at points. She returned her gaze back to myrtenaster, her eyes tracing up the white exterior. She thumbed the cartridge around several times, ensuring the weapon had been fully loaded and stocked before heading out. She had stored away several cans of dust in her backpack in direct violation of what he had said earlier, but the teacher had said that that their survival came first, and she took his statement over the headmasters. Syndras' voice shot over the intercom, warning them that the drop was in less than one minute and that they needed to prepare. RWBY quickly stood up and took one final look over their equipment, ensuring the packs were strapped to their bodies as tight as they could get, and counted the breaths they took until the door opened. The door immediately launched open and caught the girls off guard, the green light causing them to double take before realizing that the time was now. Ruby, who led the group, charged out of the ship, vaulting herself out into the morning air as the wind screamed across her face, her cape being torn around by the wind. She turned around to see the rest of her squad following her, their rapid descent mutual. Above them, the bulldog began its turn back to Beacon, ready to pick up the next squad. She turned her sight back to the ground, tears forming in her eyes as the wind threatened to tear her frail form to pieces. She drew crescent rose, the scythe forming in her hands as she began firing off shells into the ground, her descent rapidly dropping. The sounds of weapon fire and glyphs from behind her brought her comfort as she knew her teammates weren't experiencing any difficulties of their own. The tree canopies approached as her muscles tensed, the death grip she held on her blade unfaltering. The tip of crescent rose caught onto a treebranch, slicing through it like a hot knife through butter, but slowing her speed nonetheless. She then caught her blade into the tree at an angle, slicing around it until she came to a stop at the bottom, the tree unravelling and collapsing to the ground behind her as she stood up and looked around, meeting the face of Yang and Blake, but not catching any sign of Weiss. The noise of rustling leaves brought her attention behind her as her partner trotted down a trail of glyphs which seemingly disappeared into the wind behind her.

"How are you guys feeling?" The youngest girl asked as she began patting down her body, ensuring everything she had brought was still safe and secure against her body. Several nods from her teammates brought a smile to her face as she pulled the backpack from its resting place and rested it against the ground, quickly grabbing the compass and placing it level in front of her body. Finding the direction of Beacon, which was currently west of where they were, she quickly replaced the equipment, shut the zipper and placed it securely against her back, tugging the strings once more before beginning their trek west. Although they weren't allowed back to Beacon before tomorrow, they could at least start the journey today and maybe sleep in a low Grimm zone by nightfall. They walked in two lines of two, arranging themselves into partners, a several foot space cushion separating them. Quiet whispers were exchanged between her sister and her "kitty" as she had aptly nicknamed her, leaving Weiss and Ruby free to converse. It took several moments, but Weiss eventually broke the silence, her form uneasy after not hearing her partner's voice constantly in her ears.

"Are you certain that this is the way we are supposed to be going? Did you double check to make sure we aren't just headed out deeper into the enemies territory?" She asked the first question that came to her mind, immediately regretting her decision as her partner looked at her with a piercing look, showing her lack of amusement to the older girls comment. The sound of leaves could be heard crunching under their feet as they continued, the awkward silence filling the air once more. Weiss took the time of silence to try and listen to the forest, listening into the noises of the forest as she began formulating a new match for a conversation. The birds sung high in the canopies, their melody grazing through the light breeze that drifted through the multicoloured forest. Small wildlife could be seen skittering up tree branches and against the forest floor, living their lives as though the intruders currently cutting through their homes were mere fragments of their imagination. They traveled quickly; quickening their pace whenever a flight of birds took to the sky of the rustling of brushes could be heard. It wasn't until over an hour later before the next word was exchanged between the duo, this time the conversation was sparked by the younger girl, her voice serious, but carrying sincerity with it as well.

"Weiss" she began, her words clearly carefully chosen "about what you said earlier." She continued before being quickly interrupted by her partner, her cheeks flushing with blood as she quickly tried to dismiss the topic.

"No, Ruby, I'm really sorry for what I said. I trust you, and I know you wouldn't lead us astray, I was just trying to start a conversation, but I spoke without thinking, and for that I apologize. It was very rude of me, and it was not the way that a heiress is supposed to act, so please, don't try to reason with me about why you didn't answer. The silence was well deserved." Came her quick reply, trying to sound as professional as her slipping demeanour would allow. What she received instead was a voice of true sincerity, her silver eyes carrying her emotions as she looked over to her partner, meeting the blue eyes of the heiress.

"Weiss, I know I didn't get it wrong, because that would involve hurting you. And I just can't bring myself to do anything that would hurt any of you; do you know what I mean? I know that it sounds corny, and yeah, it's really cheesy, but when you have this weight bearing down on your soldiers, you can't bring yourself to bring any harm to those who matter to you." She finished, the reflection of the sun in her silvers eyes giving her a sense of holiness and perfection as her partner caught her breath, struggling to create any words that could match the force of the ones here partner had just spoken.

No words came to the mind of the heiress as they continued their trek through the forest, the weight of Ruby's words causing her heart to nearly sink to into her feet.

**A/N: There we go, another chapter down. I really feel like I did a good job with my descriptive writing in this chapter, and I also spent a lot of time trying to hide clues and foreshadowing in this chapter. A lot more than in the previous chapters. While the plot seems kind of slow, that's what I'm shooting for. I don't want to run out of Ideas for this story as I feel like I want to continue it for as long as possible. Interacting with my readers has really kept me going, and the amount of feedbacks, follows, favourites and private messages that I've been getting has really pushed me to keep going. If this story hadn't done so well, you probably wouldn't be reading this chapter right now. **

**As for this chapter, yes, it does seem kind of dark, and I can't tell you why. Maybe you guys can guess it. **

**Shoutouts: We didn't get that many this last chapter, but it felt rushed. Hopefully I get more on this chapter as I feel like I did a better job than I have been doing.**

**Rwbybomb21: Thank you for staying with me this whole time friend, through the thick and thin. Your reviews are always positive and always inspirational. Anyways, I hope you like where this story is going, but warning now, it is going to get dark and angsty eventually. In regards to my lack of motivation, it's not that I didn't have any motivation to write romance, it's that I didn't have motivation to write in general. But I've gotten it back, so no need to fret. **

**Master Kosa: Yeah, last chapter was meh. Didn't really think about it, just wanted a chapter online. Although this chapter doesn't seem too great, the hidden text and foreshadowing that I put into it makes me feel good, and I really hope you enjoy it. In regards to Mark and his team, he will not be making a resurgence unless he gets asked to be put back in by enough people, but right now they're gone. **

**Shadowmanji: Yeah, I really don't know what was going on with that chapter, so don't ask me. It was during my lack of motivation section, and I feel like I dropped the ball. I think I picked it up in this chapter by building up suspense, which is what I'm currently working on. Hope you like it. **

**Tatya1999: Thank you for your review Tatya. Sorry for the confusion that I may have caused, I really haven't been thinking straight, and for that I apologize. I like where it's going now, and I feel like I have the motivation to continue with a higher quality and hopefully some better story. **

**Chriz Myth: Unfortunately my friend, I am an honest man and a man of my word. (Yes, I am a man, and a hetero one at that) So I will display that sadly, Mark and his team failed in the poll and will not be making a return right now. If enough people ask for him to come back in reviews of PM's, they'll make a comeback, but right now, they're sleeping in the corner of my mind. **

**Question of the day: Do you guys want to see White Rose next chapter or do you want me to burn the candle longer? Also, what do you guys think the foreshadowing I did in this chapter was? (There was multiple). **

**So that's it for today, thanks for reading, have a great morning, day, evening, night and as always take it easy.**


	15. Chapter 15

**The emerald forest,**

**One hour before dusk,**

**RWBY**

A dim orange light filtered through the canopies of the trees as the girls continued their journey back towards the cliffs of beacon, legs cramping beneath them. They were trained to be warriors, strong and brave enough to press through any situation without so much as dropping a breath. But several hours of bogging their way through a forest filled to the brim with vines and potential threats, both their mental and physical strength was faltering. The forest appeared to have no place to set up a tent, somewhere they could let their eyes close in peace. Despite none of them saying anything they all knew that that they were all losing the will to continue on. Heaves and pants as they climbed over a fallen tree, feet slipping against a mat of fallen leaves. Their eyes scanned every small hill, every potential outcropping in absolute silence as their journey came closer and closer to its ending. Not even the ball of energy that was their team leader could muster the will to say anything, her breath faltering as she spun to face every noise. The dim light that was filtering through the trees quickly diminished, leaving them with barely any light at all, their eyes struggling to adjust to the weakening light. Light headedness began to settle in, causing their already lacking balance to falter. Even their Faunus was showing signs of dizziness. The thought of crashing against a tree made its way through the group, the first spoken word in hours. Their eyes quickly settled upon a sturdy tree that seemed a good a place as any. The latter part of the team quickly settled their backs against the tree, forcing the other two into unspoken guard duty.

"Not exactly the best way to spend a night, huh Weiss?" Came the voice of Ruby, her body sliding down the bark, her body shifting around as she tried to get herself more comfortable. Her teammate didn't reply, instead easing herself down onto a moss covered rock and straightening out her skirt. Silence thickened the air, the sounds of forest animals echoing out of sight.

"I for one, love spending the night out in the freezing cold with nowhere to sleep jumping at every moving bush, you dolt." Came the sarcastic voice of her partner, her white dress barely visible from her position against the tree. Her back shifted against the tree once more as she looked to her side to see her two remaining sleeping partners, cuddled up against each other. Her body released a long sigh as she stood up, forcing herself away. The thought of her sister being happy made her happy, but she was still a little touchy to the topic. Finding a suitable rock to sit on, she made herself comfortable once more, before speaking up once more.

"You know, my family and I used to do this all of the time. Qrow, Yang, my parents and me"

"My parents and I" Her partner corrected, merely earning a hissing noise in return.

"My parents and I" she continued, catching the ghost of a smile on her partner's lips as she did so. "Used to go camping all the time when we were younger. We would go to this one waterfall all the time, somewhere near sapphire lake, and go swimming until we couldn't swim anymore. Dad always used to splash us with water, and mom would always get mad and splash him back" she continued as a smile crept upon her lips. "And dad used to pick Yang up and throw her in the water, and then she'd get back up and he'd do it again. And then mom would leave them off by themselves, and she'd come and teach me how to swim. We would swim up and down the basin, and sometimes she'd let me grab her shoulders and we'd swim around underwater, because I didn't really know how to swim that well. Uncle Qrow would always just sit up on the shore and read his books, always saying that he was getting too old for it, or that he was preparing his next assignment for his class. He never really went swimming with us." She ended with a grin, her memories almost visible in the air.

"Sounds like you and your parents got along pretty well huh?" Shot out the voice of the ice queen, the smile now evident on her face. While her partner was happy, she couldn't bring herself to be angry or sad, no matter the situation. Something about her, it was almost like her aura portrayed happiness rather than superhuman speeds. Her partners facial expressions shot around like they were stuck through a dust powered roller coaster, her mouth moving as to formulate words, but nothing came out. Her face eventually settled to something readable, settling on the line between despair and forced happiness. The curved lines in her smile, the space behind her glare, all signs that she had brought upon her.

"Yeah, life used to be pretty good back then. Maybe one day the four of us can go back there one day? Just the four of us" she asked with optimism that the heiress wasn't sure if it was forced or natural. The girl that she called her partner could bounce back up from anything, but the loss of family was always something that hurt to bring up. Being from the Schnee name, there was hardly a moment when she was awake that the thoughts didn't pass through her mind.

"Being a hunter doesn't give us much time to do much else Ruby, you should know this" She continued, before mentally slapping herself one more time. For being the heiress to the Schnee dust company, she couldn't combine words in any way other than the harshest of truths. Compassion wasn't something that brought upon the profit that her father expected of her, but he could have at least taught her how to at least fake compassion. She feared that her words would hurt her partner, but all it made it do was bow her head and nod slightly, which hurt just as much. Her head remained lowered for what felt like eternity, and she wasn't sure how much her words had hurt her young partner. Her head bounced back up

"I'm sorry Weiss. I just thought that maybe one day we could go back and see it. You know, as a group bonding exercise or something right? It would never hurt to just get out and see something together. Let us know what we're fighting to save?" Her partner replied as she stared off into the night, not making eye contact.

"I, might have been a little harsh. I'm certain that we'll find some time to go back there one day. You're absolutely right" she replied as kindly as she could, making sure that she was thinking of her words before she spoke them this time. Twice was already bad enough in one night to be rude to the one person who truly cares about you here and now. She brought her eyes out to glare at the night, the darkness of the sky broken by the light of the stars.

"Hey Weiss, what was your family like? You never really talked about them, even though we've been together for well over a year now. What was your life like before you decided that you wanted to become a huntress?" The younger girl asked, her eyes still fixated at a point in the stars, as though she wasn't even there.

"Well, if you must know, my mother and I got along quite well. We used to practice swimming and cleaning, proper eating etiquette, how to introduce yourself to your guests, those kinds of things. She even used to read me stories back when I was younger. We used to read stories of the Faunus and the lives that they lived, fairy tails if you will. There was always one that she would always read to me, but I can't seem to remember the name. And I would ask her to read me that same story, night after night, day after day, until I had the whole story memorized by heart. And after she was gone, I would read that story out to myself by memory, praying that she would just read me the story one more time, brush my hair one last time, hold my hand and tell me that everything was going to be alright just one last time." She felt her hands ball into fists, her arms tensing. "And do you want to know the worst part Ruby? I hated her for it, I hated her for leaving me alone. I didn't care about what happened to her, I just cared about me. That's the kind of person that I am. I only care about myself, and I only care about what benefits me."

She was interrupted by the sudden wrapping of arms around her stomach, pulling her backwards. She felt the brush of smooth hair against her cheek, the weak breeze pulling it back and forth, her body collapsing into the touch. She wanted to be mad at herself, she wanted to grieve about her childhood, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Something inside her wouldn't allow her to do it. She stood up, almost sighing as the feeling vanished away, pulled away by the breeze. She turned around to face her partner, but couldn't bring herself to say anything. Her body longed to say so much, to pour out her feelings now and then, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The duo stood in silence, neither party able to say or do anything that would progress the situation. They merely stood frozen in time, only brought to reality by the tossing of leaves and motions of the chest.

"Weiss, when are you going to stop being so hard on yourself?" The voice finally broke the silence, the expression a strange mixture between concern and anger, like she was addressing a puppy. But one that she knew was needed. Her partner was right; she was being too hard on herself. But all of the past moments in her life, they always seemed like she was the one to blame. Her father had raised her to be perfect, and whenever she did less, she felt like she was failing someone.

"Ruby, can we just promise to never bring up our family matters again? It doesn't really seem to be a good centerpiece for our conversations from what I can tell." She replied with a grin, matching that of her partner.

"That sounds like a great plan Weiss, let's do that." The younger girl replied with a smile, meeting the eyes of her partner with her own, before making her way back over to her rock.

"We've only got like a half an hour left before we should wake up Yang and Blake, so let's just keep it quiet until then alright?" Her partner asked as she lowered her head into her hands, leaving the heiress alone to her thoughts and the sounds of the woods.

* * *

**Hey guys, just wanted to let you know that I'm still alive. Sorry about taking off for 2 months and the like, but it shouldn't happen again. At least I hope not. It's not that life got too busy, or that life was difficult. It was 100% my fault and I just procrastinated. Just like the end of this story. I got really tired, wanted to get a chapter up before I had to go to work tommorow, and rushed the ending. I might edit it up and clean it up a little, just to make it for my liking. I had plans, but I had to scrap them because I had other ones.**

**My apologies for not doing shoutouts today, but it's been 2 months and I'm not sure which ones are new and which ones are older. I'll get them going again on the next chapter. Hope you guys like it, and I hope that I don't forget to upload this time**

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy**


	16. Chapter 16

The heiress slowly awoke from inside their tent, her eyelids slowly parting to welcome the new day. Scanning her surroundings, she noticed that she was no longer outside on the ground, but was rather sleeping inside the tent they had brought, most likely due to her partner. No one else was inside the tent with her, and the trio of voices could be heard just outside of the tent, pointless bickering being exchanged between them. The dull gray walls of the tent were reminiscent of a prison, and the colorless sleeping bag felt as useful as an umbrella in a blizzard. Slowly, she forced herself up and to her feet, untangling herself from the maze that was her sleeping bag. Pulling the small rope on the side, it coiled into itself, making it far easier to carry. She stashed it against the back of the tent and crawled out the door, if only in a half awake state. To her right Blake and Yang sat against the base of the tree, backs pressed and guards down while her partner stood just outside the campfire, eyes focused on the horizon. Her back was turned to her partners while she spoke to them, and while it most likely meant nothing, she decided to note it anyways. She slowly picked herself up and returned to her senses before walking back over to her partner, matching her eyes to see if she was looking at anything in particular, which she decided she wasn't. The bickering and chuckling of her other partners was still audible behind her, and it helped to lighten the mood a bit. Even though they were in the middle of a territory so hostile that they all slept with one eye open, they still found a way to make the best of it and laugh. Maybe one day she could find it in herself to do the same. She gave her partner a quick tap on the shoulder, which was met in return with a quick jolt and an alarmed expression. She allowed herself a smile and waited for her partner to slow her breathing before asking any questions. Her partner bent over and placed her elbows against her knees and buried her face in her palms to hide her embarrassment.

"Good morning Weiss" the younger girl greeted awkwardly as she rose back to her feet, the pitched noises of her breathing still hung in her ears. "How'd you sleep?"

"I felt like I was sleeping on a rock, but I appreciate the effort" she replied with a quick shrug, kicking her foot around in the early morning dew. She hadn't seen a morning as beautiful as this is quite some time now that she thought about it.

"Oh, you did? Yeah, sorry about that." Ruby said with a quick flick of her head to the ground. She quickly returned her head to its normal position, a tint of red apparent in her cheeks. As hard as she tried to cover her emotions, she really wasn't that good at it.

"I really do appreciate the effort though. It was certainly better than sleeping on rock if that comforts you in any way. Anyways, what exactly are you doing over here? Shouldn't you be hanging around with your sister like you always are?"

"I just felt like looking around the forest in the morning. Everything just seems so much prettier than it does from the cliffs at night. And besides, Blake is hanging around with Yang. I don't want to get in the way of them" her partner announced with a tint of disgust. Weiss furrowed her brows towards her partner in a mix of confusion and loss. Ruby was never the one to get mad, especially not at her sister.

"I'm afraid that you have lost me. Is there a problem with them? You seemed to be on good terms with them last night from what I could tell." she shot a quick look behind her shoulder, noticing their proximity to the two, but they were so caught up in each other that they most likely couldn't hear them for the time being. "If anything, I thought that you'd be happy for them."

Her partner gave a quick huff of breath before turning her head to face her sister and the final member of their team. She gave one more quick huff and turned her attention back to the heiress

"Hey Weiss, what do you think about them? I mean, as a couple." The younger girl asked with a hushed voice, uncertain and insecure. Her expression was twisted, a mix between curiosity and what could only be described as disgust. The normal silver eyes that exploded with naive leadership now held darker intentions, twisted and narrowed. She watched as her eyes scanned her body, examining her in a way that could only make her feel uncomfortable. She didn't know what had gotten into her partner, but she knew that she didn't want it to stay.

"I don't see anything wrong with it. They get along well enough and they're still our partners, so yeah, I'm good with it. Why do you seem so against it?" She replied with a twist of interest, realizing that she was able to bend the situation to fit her own needs and desires. Maybe if she could find out exactly what her partner was thinking, she could make sense of her feelings.

"Its not that I don't like them as partners, don't get me wrong" she replied quickly waving her hands towards her partners like she was trying to ward off a ghost. "But it's just the thought of it that makes me feel weird. You don't find it weird that two women can love each other?"

It was snow the heiress's spot in the detectives seat. Thoughts phased in and out of her mind as she tried to form an answer that could hint something, anything to her partner without downright admitting it. Words scrambled around in a jumbled mess inside her head, forming incoherent phrases. She fumbled on her own thoughts, and for the first time in her memory, no words came to mind.

"Ummmm, Weiss? Are you still there? The tent looks nice and all, but I don't think it likes you staring at it that way." Her partner replied with a small giggle before adding "Speaking of the tent. Maybe we should start taking it down. Beacon is still quite the walk away you know. Don't want to make you sleep out in the cold again." Ruby turned her back on her partner and paced towards the tent, a smile back on her face. The heiress could do nothing more than stomp her foot and huff at her partners remark, getting a chuckle back in response.

"I'll have you know that I quite enjoyed sleeping out in the cold last night. As a huntress, it is expected of me to be able to do such a thing on a daily basis and I do not need to sleep in the intricacy of my bed, nor do I" Weiss rambled the brawler yelled across the campsite, snagging her attention

"Hey Princess, we get it. Now can you just calm it down for a minute? We won't see anything as beautiful as this for quite a while." She asked with a flicking of her index finger past the face of the heiress, never shifting her eyes. She traced the finger of her the brawler with her eyes, before encountering a sight she had yet to see in her years at Beacon. Her breath hitched in her throat as she adjusted her body into a more comfortable position to observe it for longer. Directly in front of her spanned a resplendent sunset, intertwining patterns of red and white.

**Several hours from Beacon Cliffs,**

**Team RWBY**

The trek through the forest continued for hours on end, stopped only by the occasional Beowulf or twitching of a bush or shrub. Their lack of proper sleep the past night was clearly beginning to weigh down on them with a force immeasurable. The sagging of shoulders, stumbling of footsteps, delayed reaction times and occasional slip on a log were among the signs that the team was displaying. Even the Faunus was seeming off, dark bags forming beneath her eyes. The sun now hung directly overhead, blazing down on them with the full heat of the fall. The walls of Beacon academy seemed to get closer and closer with every step they took towards it, but with every step forward, the driving force they all seemed to hold at the start of yesterday chipped further and further away, as the heat does to ice.

Ruby was trying her hardest to keep herself up, fiddling with the device she used to communicate with Syndra in her hands, tossing it back and forth. She was doing the best of hiding her fatigue, but she could feel it pulling her to the earth, and every time she placed her foot forward, the temptation got larger and larger. She kept shooting glances back to her sister and her partner, placing their weight on each other, carrying each other together, looking fully content while they did it. Behind her, the heiress struggled to continue on, her eyes blinking at an abnormal rate. She pulled her pack in front of her, struggled to remove her canteen from it, and with several tugs, succeeded. She tossed the bottle back to her partner, who barely saw it coming. Her hands fumbled to catch the object, before she finally managed to succeed, ripping the top off and downing the remainder of the water that remained, before looking up with content.

"Thank you." She said quickly, before replaced the cap and tossing it back with a small underhand, watching the younger girl catch the bottle before speaking. "I ran out last night. I fear as though I'm getting heat exhaustion. Ruby shot back a quick smile as she slowed her pace, falling in line with her partner. They walked side by side, occasionally swiping the sweat from their brows, but remaining silent. She repeatedly shot glances over to her partner, observing the way that the younger girl would swipe her hair away from her eyes or run her tongue over her parched lips. Despite her best efforts to ignore the thoughts that were entering her mind, she couldn't help but think of the taste of what those lips would taste like, or brushing her hair out of her eyes. As she was about to speak up, she was interrupted by the sudden sound of automatic gunfire, the sounds of the dust propelled shells rippling through the blistering heat. The squad came to a sudden stop, trying to figure out what was going on. An attack by Grimm would be more controlled, precise bursts of accurate fire. But instead they simply heard the sounds of bullets whizzing through the air, getting lodged in nearby trees and arching past.

The four began running towards the sound of the gunfire, whilst trying to avoid being seen at the same time. But as they arrived, what they discovered was four troops bearing the insignia they despised the most. The white fang icon was splayed over their backs, the animal masks shading their faces from the rest of the world. Their standard issue stolen assault rifles were aimed at a group of students, who were clearly on the defensive side. But as they rapidly approached the gunfight, they noticed why the fight was going so one sided. The mocha skinned girl with a head of green hair and her partner, and Mercury. They were caught up in the middle of the fight, bombarding the team with constant barrages of attacks, unspoken coordination bouncing between them.

Team RWBY made quick looks to each other before drawing their weapons, and despite the distance they began charging in, letting lose semi-accurate gunfire and magic barrages. Upon noticing this, the white fang turned away, insisting on retreating. But as they did, Mercury dug a cheap kick into the hip of what could only be considered the leader, blasting himself into the air, while launching the student into the earth, flipping over several times before coming to rest face down, not returning to his feet. Ruby had to make a quick decision, whether to chase down the white fang or help the injured student. She heaved in frustration as she dug the blade of crescent rose into the ground, easing off rounds into the running attackers, but the bullets did little to slow them down as they outmaneuvered the rounds, which merely dug into the earth with small puffs of earth. Team RWBY watched as the assailants shot off and ran over to the unconscious student, who was still face down on the scarred earth. A quick run over of the remainder of his squad revealed a crying girl, maybe a year older than the youngest of their own group, and two more boys, whose shock covered features brought a sinking feeling to their stomachs. As they arrived, Ruby quickly rushed over and pulled down the hem of his pants, revealing the wound. A trail of blood streamed down the side of his hip, which was currently swelling to abnormal sizes. She placed her pack on the ground in front of her, removed the communication device, thumbed Syndra's icon, and placed it on the ground.

"Based on the fact that you're calling me right now, I can only assume that something went wrong" came the immediate response of their pilot, the drowsiness still apparent in her voice. "Where do you need me?"

"Just come to the transmitter. Some people just had a run in with some white fang, one of them got shot up pretty bad." She explained, placing pressure on his hip, trying to ease the bleeding that was only getting worse, and could end up being a problem if she let it keep going on its warpath.

"White fang?" The pilots voice immediately shot up, dropping the drowsiness. "What are the white fang doing so close to Beacon? Not even the suicidal ones are that stupid. Stray too far from base or what?"

"Right now, I don't know. But all I can tell is that the white fangs ties in Beacon are a little bit deeper than those guys on that cliff." The young girl explained as she fumbled around in her bag for something to press on the wound, settling with an older sweater, before fumbling it onto his hip and pressing.

"Guys on the cliff? Ruby, what are you talking about?" Came the confused voice on the other end of the line, her fumbling to get dressed apparent. "Who was on what cliff?"

"Just get here. I'll explain later." Ruby finished as she fingered the end transmission button and made sure the transponder was still enabled. Chucking it away into the grass, she looked around. The semi-wooded area would be good enough for Syndra, but if it wasn't, she could always just air-relieve them. It would take a little longer, but it would be good enough. They only needed to get him back anyway. She flipped him over, and reeled back in shock. His skin had gone ghostly pale, inhumane.

"Weiss! He's not looking very good!" She yelled, confusion and shock reeling through her body. While he had suffered minimal blood loss, it was nothing that would cause him to go this pale. Mercury had pulled a fast one on them, and someone might die because of it. The heiress ran over, surprise hitting her features, but vanishing as fast as it had appeared. She crouched down beside her partner, placing the back of her hand to the forehead of the young boy. She then moved her fingers over to his throat, before lifting his chin and placing her head next to his mouth.

"Ruby, something is really wrong here. Move out of the way" She deadpanned as she moved beside his body, placing her hands over his chest and beginning compression, counting silently as she did so. She wore a visage of determination, oblivious to the world around her.

"He's... He's going to be alright isn't he?" Asked the scared voice of the girl that had been engaged with the white fang, her face paling as she looked at his limp body. She searched the face of the young leader, seeking solace that she couldn't find. Tears began pouring down her face as she collapsed onto her knees before driving her fists into the ground, compacting the dampened earth.

Blake seemed to be suffering from the same fate, drilling herself into her partner, head buried in the shoulder of her partner who was slowly stroking her hair, cooing her partner as she wept away. Blake was always the one of the group to get emotionally attached, using Yang as her rock.

Suddenly, the man awoke, body lurching up, causing Weiss to nearly flip over as she backed off, before he began screaming in agonizing pain, hands being drawn to his hip. The heiress quickly chucked her white bag to her partner, before grabbing the man by the shoulders, trying to hold him in place.

"Ruby, he's going into shock! There's a bottle of morphine in the bottom right of the backpack, its white with a blue lid and writing. Grab me two of them" she ordered. "You" she gestured to the young girl on the ground. "Take his hand, try to soothe him. Your voice might be able to calm him down."

The young girl quickly skittered over, grabbing his hand and muttering incomprehensible phrases as Ruby rummaged around the pack, pulling out neatly organized blankets, changes of clothing and dust cartridges until she found a small white bottle. Fumbling around with it, she fumbled it around until she found the writing that confirmed it as morphine, and rapidly unscrewed the lid, dumping the small pills into her hand. She slammed the lid back on and handed the pills over to her partner, who gestured to the other two of her team and muttered the word "water". A bottle of water came flying at the young girl from her sister, whose contents of her backpack were now scattered on the ground. She handed it over to the white haired girl, who quickly jammed the pills in his mouth and tipped the canteen back before jamming his mouth shut and closing his nose, forcing the medication down his throat.

"Do we know how far away Syndra is? This man needs immediate medical attention." The heiress asked as the man returned to the ground, the pain killers clearly taking effect. She took his hand in her own and rubbed her thumb up his fingers, pointlessly trying to comfort him. His body continued convulsing, legs flailing against the dampened earth.

"Syndra? Is she one of those people who attacked us earlier?" Asked the still shocked partner between sobs, her partners hand pressed firmly to her chest.

Ruby took the question. "Syndra's our pilot. She's going to come and get him out of here." she replied, all her effort concentrated into keeping her voice somewhat calm. "And she should be minutes out."

The heiress nodded her head, but she knew better than anyone else here. She took in his face, the look behind his eyes, the small smile that had formed in the corner of his lips, and she could tell that he knew it as well.

His heart wouldn't still be beating when they started heading back to Beacon.

* * *

**Authors notes: Aaaaaaaaaand I did it again didn't I? I need to stop disappearing like this. I have to keep remembering that it isn't just me that likes this story. No excuse again, I'm lazy. ;(**

**Anyways, the story is taking a bit of a change in direction. Its not going to be all cute and cuddly. It will still have that in it, but I want to make them mature as well. Also, Syndra is going to get a bit of character development. She's essentially a fifth member of the squad, so if you can endure past these two things, thank you. If not, I hope you enjoyed it so far, and I wish you the best of a life that I can, and maybe we'll cross paths again**

**Also, conflict. Yeah, that's cool. I plan on developing it, and it might spark me back into writing more. Don't know yet. **

**Yeah, that was also a hint of white rose, just to let you guys know that i still remember ;). **

**So, what did you guys think? Yay? Nay? Let me know what you think. I also answer PM's if you want to rage at me for vanishing for essentially 4 months. Lets hope it doesn't happen again. Third times the charm right?**

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy**


	17. Chapter 17

**Beacon Dorms,**

**RWBY**

The nights began to shift by slower and slower every night for the members of team RWBY, lying in wait every morning for updates on the young mans situation. His coma had hit slightly over a week ago, and the doctors still couldn't find the reasoning behind it. They presumed that it might have been due to shock, but they quickly ruled it out as impossible. Despite the wound that he took, it shouldn't have given him sufficient shock to throw him into a coma for over a week. His chances of waking up each morning were getting slimmer and slimmer, before deciding that he was not going to make it. But still every morning, they would walk over to the medical ward before period one and observe him, the hair still merely patches of fuzz against his chin, a smug still plastered on his face. And every morning they'd be forced to see the young girl sitting beside him, sometimes asleep, sometimes sobbing, sometimes just sitting there, but always wearing the same look of desperation, her features begging for him to wake up, to say her name just one last time. She had revealed to them that the last words she had told him was that he was a terrible leader, and that he was a mistake that never should have made it into Beacon. Now those same words rattled her mind every waking moment, the look of grief forever printed in her mind.

But out of their group, their faunus was taking it the hardest. She would scream in her sleep, begging for her inner demons to leave for a minute, to leave her mind for just a minute to allow her to sleep. Every night she returned to the dorm late, her dark eye shadow did little to hide the dark bags beneath her eyes and the traumatized look that lay behind them. Every day she came back later, and every morning she woke up earlier and earlier, vanishing to unknown locations before returning hours later to awaken her squad and get them up for classes. And despite the desperate pleas from her optimistic brawler of a lover, she refused to rest, sinking deeper and deeper into the pits of sorrow, imprisoning herself in a shroud of guilt. If she had just behaved differently, if she had just made better choices, that man wouldn't be lying there, his innocence taken away by her mistakes. His partner wouldn't be letting heart piercing screams through the ward, breaking even the most strong willed into sobs and sorrow.

Everyone else did their best to earn back the Blake they had all once loved, the quiet and witty counterpart to her obnoxious but loving and personable partner. The young girl who studied for every class, had read through every book she owned several times over, and could rehearse her favorite books for you word for word if you asked kindly enough. The one who always sat slightly facing left and every table she sat at, claiming that her ears twitched less if she did so. But with her gone, the squad fell apart, drifting further and further apart like the driftwood of a sunken ship. The classes they had all once loved together became places of anxiety and waste, the passion they had all once held passing by like a cool autumn breeze. Visages that had once held volleys of happiness now held anger and selfishness, as though their team had never once existed.

With the autumn dance coming up, everyone had made plans, teams, partners and couples planned to head together, but none of their own plans existed, rather they had plans to stay in their dorms and wait it out. Occurrences like this were rare for a combat school such as Beacon, but with the constant workloads and duties placed onto the duties of children whom may not have even clocked over eighteen, special circumstances were created to give them temporary escape from the constant danger that surrounded them.

Team RWBY had all decided to miss the dance, instead they all had made their own individual plans to keep themselves occupied. Yang and Blake were going to simply wait it out in their rooms and library, Blake running around, stressing herself out over a situation that she had nothing to do with and had no way to stop and her blonde brawler trying to convince her to relax and take it easy. Ruby had made arrangements with the firing range and several hundred rounds of standard issue ammunition, and Weiss had pulled all her notes from that semester and placed them in an organized semicircle around her.

As the days began to shrink between them and the day of the dance, Yang had finally managed to convince her faunus partner to at least go there and stop worrying about something she had no control over, and Ruby and Weiss had made plans to go, albeit alone. Weiss had played around with phrases that she might use at the dance in front of the mirror before anyone could awake, everything sounding robotic and inhuman.

Her young, Crimson partner had made plans to go alone, potentially conducting a secret mission in the middle of the dance and escaping away from behind the punch bowl. The idea crossed through her mind repeatedly as she considered exactly how unpopular she was at Beacon. She was friends with Jaune, but him and Pyrrha had found some bond during a combat drill at the end of last year, Blake and Yang were headed together, and Weiss would most likely end up swooning over Neptune like she had last year. There was always Penny, but she was beginning to see less and less of her robotic friend, and doubted that she'd see her this year.

Slowly but surely, the plan of escaping from behind the fruit bowl had become more and more enticing, and eventually she settled on it, using the alias that she was getting light headed from the fog machines they were bound to have. And that was somewhat true. She had never really got along with fog machines, as she had learned during a terrible experiment with a fog machine back at signal. It had nearly knocked her out, and above all it had only been given a B+. So she had abandoned those things, and Yang had always known that. There was also the pain that she was beginning to feel in her thigh, most likely the stress that she was beginning to feel about the rising tension in their once tightly knit group.

One particular Tuesday evening, caught in a lull of Grimm biology and kinetic physics she dismissed herself from the rest of her team, dressed in her running attire, body set on the track. With winter mere breaths away, she needed to make the best of the weather, observing the fallen leaves as she did so.

The jog to the track was littered with students of all ages, their faces blurred to the background of walls that were lined behind them. Once the doors were splayed open, she was met with the cooling autumn air, a stark contrast to the set temperature of Beacon academy. Bright shades of oranges, reds and yellows grazed over the tall trees that not even a month ago had proudly displayed arrays of green. The solid asphalt met each of her steps with satisfying resistance, shoes snapping against the dark substance.

Beacon's track was nothing to brag about. A simple arena boasting nothing spectacular for the school it was hosted at. However, Beacon staff decided that it was more than sufficient as their track could do it's job as well as one that they invested legions of money into. It was well maintained regardless, displaying that it wasn't forgotten, but was instead a display of pride. The colors maintained their beautiful displays and shades of every color of the spectrum, appealing to a wide variety of students.

Her small figure eventually managed to arrive at the track, her eyes scanning around the moment she arrived. While the crowd was limited in number, the track was still somewhat occupied, several groups of people crowded in a light jog around the track, while small groups and singular runners made their ways around the track, hummed on by their unheard music. When her scan yielded no familiar faces, she set her eyes to the track, her body instinctively beginning the laps that she had found herself to be so easy to slip into. She bobbed around runners, her legs replying with a satisfying level of reaction. She felt the contractions in her thighs, the way that her feet connected with the gravel. Right now, there was no world around her, simply her and the track. Her speed began to increase as she eased herself deeper into her average routine, her mind seemingly entering autopilot as she continued to travel around, emptying her head. Her mother had always urged her into running, as she always had a knack for it. Even from a young age, running was the only thing she could always use to calm herself down, something to escape from the world around her. It was the one thing in her life that never changed. And even though her step sister was always doing her best to be there for her, she was not always the same. Her mood would change, her friends would come and go, something would always change between their meetings.

But running never did, it was always the same. The weather could change, her friends could change, the seasons could pass, but running was always the same. Running was always her form of escapism, something that she could always do. It was what made her Ruby Rose and not a faceless body at a training academy. Running was more than just a passion, it was a way of living for her. Something she'd never give up for anything.

Minutes later, her bodies need for water began to alert her, and that's when she realized that she had left her bottle at home, right next to her assignment for Grimm biology. But as she began to transfer herself out of the track, she saw an arm extend holding a cylinder of said liquid, accompanied by the smiling face of the young pilot. She took a quick swig from the bottle, before screwing the lid back on and handing it back over.

"You know, for someone who credits themselves to running so much, I never took you as the kind of person to make the beginners mistake of forgetting your water bottle on the shelf next to your shoes rack." Chimed the young pilot, her eyes locked forward as she kept pace, their legs moving in perfect synchronization. Beads of sweat streamed down their faces, arms swaying in step. The crimson girl simply gave a small huff before she turned her attention back to the path, weaving in and out of groups of other students.

Syndra was a smaller woman, her head barely scraping 5'6. Long black hair splayed its way down her back, settling just underneath her shoulder blades. Slim lines of blonde also traced alongside the almost onyx black hair, albeit very few in number. Her eyes were a very light shade of blue, getting darker around the outside. A small frame accompanied the stereotypical pilot figure alongside toned, slender arms and thin legs. You couldn't find an ounce of fat on her body if you spent a weak searching, her toned chest barely visible beneath her standard issue pilot uniform. Her dog tags were strung around her neck, dangling loosely around as she kept her pace. Each step placement was precise, her muscles functioning together like a well oiled machine.

"Anyways, do you have someone to go to the dance with? I hear that your sister managed to convince Blake to go. Maybe you should to." She asked as they swung around a small group of students, faceless expressions passed by. Ruby passed lies through her mind, convincing herself that she didn't want to go. And really there was no reason. Her project on Grimm biology next week wasn't going to complete itself anyways.

"I'm a bit busy this weekend anyways" came her first lie " Finding out what Grimm are made out of isn't going to complete itself anyways. Did you come all the way out here just to ask me if I'd go to a dance?" She asked, trying to break the discussion away from the dance. She really didn't want to go, especially not alone in a time like this.

"If I told you I came out here to be by myself and I just so happened to bump into you, would you believe me?" Came the sarcastic reply of the young pilot, her gaze still fixated on the track in front of them, her question being split apart by her heavy breathing. The small leader gave a small shrug and a wave of her hands before returning them to her sides.

"What are you missing out on if you don't go anyways? A couple hours in front of some writing you've read over ten times? I've been there before, the words don't just rearrange themselves after you've read it through enough times to recite it by heart. You should have some fun sometimes you know." The sarcasm and joking was gone from her voice as they slowed down from a jog to a walk, heavy panting accompanying it.

"You're stressing yourself out too much Ruby. Even the strongest of people still take breaks. Don't burn yourself out just because you're too afraid too get out and try something new." A quick buzzing from her pocket brought her attention away, and when her eyes rose back up, annoyance had settled in, deep behind her blue eyes.

"Routine checkups start in twenty. Gotta make sure that nothings gone wrong after the last twelve times they've checked and I've yet to go up." She joked as she began to split off, popping on the back of her foot, keeping herself faced to the other young girl. "At least consider it for me alright? I don't want you to see you burning yourself out. You did a great job that day. You deserve some fun." She flashed a smile as she kicked herself around, splitting off from the young girl and towards the hangers, hair kicking behind her in the wind, legs kicking up behind her, leaving Ruby alone at the now nearly empty track.

* * *

**Hey guys, sorry about this chapter being a little rushed. I just wanted to get it up and posted to let you guys know I'm not taking two months off of writing. I'm... I'm only taking one. (Not much better is it?) Anyways, I'll try to get better, but life gets busy and I just forget. Trying to fix it though, I really am.**

**NotUrAverage: I'm trying to make it a little bit more mature of a story than what I see here. I don't want it to be an all happy go lucky story. I really want this to carry some meaning, not just blinding following my OTP. It's only going to get worse before it gets better, so expect some hardships ahead. Also, I can't let you know why her aura dropped, because it's a secret ;)**

**Annoying Anon: Firstly, you're not annoying. I love all reviews, yours included, so thank you for your time :). I plan on staying kinda trueish to what my final pairings are, and they kinda become announced early on in the story. Besides, pairings aren't really what I'm going for with this story RIGHT NOW. They will be there later, but right now, I feel like my plot and character development are failing, and after just adding a new character, I feel like character development are more important than pairings right now. But I get what you're saying, and I love the idea. I might try it for a future fic that I might write. Anyways, thank you very very much. **

**Anyways, that's all we have for reviews for this time, and hopefully I have some more to reply to next time. Seeing one makes me remember that I still have a responsibility to write this thing, and I plan on keeping on with it. I also take PM's if you have comments, questions, or concerns about my story. I like knowing what you guys are thinking. **

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night and take it easy. **


	18. Chapter 18

With a quick wave, Ruby turned away from the bullhead as it began its ascent back into the skies. Syndra quickly returned the gesture before quickly vanishing from sight, leaving her behind to the bustling streets of Vale. She had entered with a clear motive in mind, a small dress shop approaching on downtown. The roads of Vale were bustling with action, both people and faunus alike traveling inside their own little worlds, the constant bumping serving as a reminder of the ignorance of the populace.

The many colors of shops and merchants caught her eyes as she traveled, flashing her polite smiles as they gestured towards their wares. Even with her self discipline, she had a hard time resisting the delicacies and homemade pastries as she braved through. After only several minutes, she finally managed to capture a small and simple sign swaying in the evening breeze, displaying a picture of a beautiful dress with several small gemstones around it. She gently pushed the door open, immediately greeted by a small chime, signaling her entrance to everyone inside the store. Casting several quick glances around the store, she took in the sights of the many different styles and colors of cloth arranged neatly around the store. Clothing types for humans and faunus alike were arranged in perfect rows, with several small dressing rooms around the back.

The store looked rather underpopulated, with only several other customers around the store, employees hanging around them like the media to a celebrity. She continued to stand in the doorway as her eyes traced around the building, looking for something to catch her attention. She wanted a dress that would cause her to draw some attention, but something that would still cause her to look conservative. She wasn't looking to drag anyone home for the night like some people would be, and she wanted to make sure that that was clearly evident in her apparel. She slowly began to drag herself through the rows of fabric, occasionally dragging her fingers across some before continuing off to the next. A short time passed, and she was eventually greeted by a petite human female, sporting short, blonde hair and clothing bearing the companies logo.

"Is there anything I can help you with today"? The young worker asked after a quick hello, a cut and pasted smile across her face that she'd seen many times before. "Are you looking for a dress, or something more casual?" She continued, before glancing in the direction that the young student had been looking before she was asked.

"I'm just looking for something that I can wear to a dance. Nothing too fancy though." She answered clumsily, as though fumbling around for words to describe something that she'd never done before. Which was true, in a sense. This was never really her kind of thing. She never got that excited over dressing herself up like a doll she played with as a kid.

"You're going for 'trying to be cute, but not trying to be seductive' kinda look right?" She replied with a wiggle of her finger. "I know exactly what you're looking for. Follow me" she finished before turning around, turning around to make sure her customer was following her before leading her several rows over to where a large, dress rack was set up.

Many different designs were up, everything from the 'this isn't even clothing' to the 'I have enough clothing to survive a winter' and everything in between. She took in the designs for a while, spinning the rack around, taking in every design individually before settling on a couple different ones. She hailed back the woman who had assisted her, and informed her of her choices.

"I can see a few of these working on you, but some of these, just, don't look right." The blonde said as she held up a design in front of her eyes, overlaying it on the girl in front of her. "I like these three though" she replied quickly. "Just these two seem wrong for someone like you to be wearing." She continued with a hand wave towards two designs strewn over a nearby bench

Ruby was taken aback, and her facial expression must have expressed it as well, as the saleswoman quickly showed the back of one of the dresses to her, showing that it remained open until the very bottom of the back, and received a much more positive look from her customer before placing the design back on the display. She did the same with the next dress in question, revealing that the left leg stayed open until the hip, and earned yet another thumbs up for the dress to be tossed back. This left them with one, lonely dress left to test, which Ruby happily took.

After she exited the dressing room, she allowed herself to peer into a mirror. She looked like someone you would see in a princess movie. The way that the dress hug her body, but managed to hide up most of her skin, before fanning out and into a vibrant display of patterns at the bottom. The way that the bottom expanded as she moved fluidity that could only be expressed by the crashing of waves. She cast a quick look of approval towards the blonde, who simply replied with a look of astonishment, before giving a small, yet genuine, giggle.

"I think we have a fit" she replies before standing up and walking over to her customer. Her eyes can be seen tracing lines across her body, taking in the young girl in her entirety. It took her a small shake of her head to snap herself out of the fit. She quickly took the measurements of Ruby before asking her to head back to the change room and get back in her previous attire. The younger girl happily cooperated, returning back to the change room with an evident blush to her face. She had to admit, having someone look at her with that kind of expression was something that she never thought she would enjoy. She was never one that could pleasure in the gawking of another, but it was something she could spoil herself with every once in a while.

Once she exited the room, she could see that her clerk was back towards the cash register a tablet of sort, fingers dancing with purpose, and she could even hear the audible clicking sound as she got closer. Her deep eyebrows were angled with the common sign of concentration, eyes dashing around the illuminated display. Eventually, she lifted her head, jolting back slightly at the moderate proximity of the other girl.

"I'm sorry, I didn't notice you there" came a quick apology as she quickly darted her eyes back to her tablet, her fingers entering a quick set of commands before she turned the tablet around, displaying the aforementioned dress, hanging from invisible hooks. "This is the one that you wanted, correct?" And was met with a quick head nod and a smile to reinforce it. "And have you decided exactly what color you wanted?"

The crimson leader took a second to falsely contemplate it, before quickly replying with "can I see your shades of red? Something a bit darker would be nice" as she tapped her fingers against the glass display of the counter in anticipation. She was beginning to understand how someone could take pleasure in something like this. Learning to appreciate what you looked like could never really hurt you, could it? Before the clerk managed to turn the tablet around once more, another voice came from behind her.

"I'd say that she'd look much better with some vibrant orange at the bottom. Something that screams 'hey everyone, don't you wish your girlfriend looked like me?'" Answered the very feminine voice. It was very soft, like a voice that would animate a child's show. Even through her suggestion against her own preference, her voice couldn't raise any form of negative emotion.

Ruby quickly spun on her heel, turning to face the interruption. In front of her stood some form of faunus, a secondary set of miniature ears cresting the top of her head. Caramel skin accompanied her cerulean eyes, a very definitive smile only adding to her friendly ambiance. She stood at a little over 5'5 and didn't look a day over 22. This was accompanied by a very slim figure, her curves managing to remain prominent even through her conservative choice in clothing. She was dressed in a white hoodie and jeans, the hood tucked behind her long brown hair that made its way down her lower back.

"I feel like red just gives off this, feeling of 'I just want to be left alone' and if you're going to find a dress that suits you so well, it should have the punch behind it. If you find something that makes you look that attractive, you need to flaunt it" she continued as she approached the counter, coming to rest her arm against the counter. She looked at the quizzical face of the customer, then back to the clerk. "Can you at least show us a basic intertwine of colors? I know that it'll suit her."

The clerk quickly looked to her previous customer, and after receiving a swift nod of approval, began to tap against the tablet. A short while later, the tablet was reversed, revealing a gorgeous display of oranges, reds and yellows, giving the dress an appearance of heat. The faunus was right. The dress was a perfect blend of attraction and denial, a dress that spoke stories without needing to know the wearer. The very thought of it gave the team leader a sense of pride, a sense of wanting. Being shy was alright, but the thought of the looks she would get, it gave her a tingling sensation in her chest.

She pointed towards the tablet with a heartwarming smile. "That's the one, that's what I want it to look like" before looking back to the other customer with the same smile. It was met with an equally excited look, an invisible fire being lit behind the cerulean orbs.

"I told you that you'd look great in it. A perfect mix of 'innocent daddies girl' and 'come and get it'. You'll drive them all mad" explained the faunus, whose smile grew even more as the watched the features of the other woman in utter content.

"And I assume that you're here for a pickup ma'am?" Interrupted the cashier, placing her other tablet against the counter as she spun her seat around to a larger, bulkier piece of hardware. Once more, her fingers smashed against the holographic buttons, before speaking again. "Last name please?"

"Lariel" the faunus answered, tearing her eyes away from her new found friend.

"Melanine?" The cashier replied, audible clicking noises following suite.

"Last time I checked"

"Ah yes, we have your order right here for you. Give me a few minutes to go to the back and get it." Replied the blonde haired employee before skirting away beyond the depths of the employee only doors.

"So, Melanie, are you a fashion adviser or something?" Asked Ruby, her best attempt at both quelling her rising curiosity and to fill the void of silence that was awkwardly filling the room.

"The complete opposite. I'm training to be a huntress, actually" Melanie replied with a giggle, brushing her luscious brown bangs away from her eyes, tucking them away behind her ear. "I'm set to go to beacon next year. I'm actually passing with honors right now."

"Congratulations! We can always use more huntresses in this world" came the enthusiastic response of the other conversationalist, glad to so see someone else in her line of work. People who strived to be hunters and huntresses were a rare sight. With the definition of lucky being able to celebrate your thirty-fifth, the reasons against it were evident.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name. You're..?"

"I'm Ruby. Ruby Rose."

"And what brings you to get such a pretty dress Miss Rose? You're too young to be getting married." Her eyes danced around as her thoughts began to coagulate. "You're going to a dance, aren't you?" She continued, a small look of accomplishment across her features.

"Lucky guess" came a the joking response. "Are you doing the same?" Came the curious inquiry of the younger girl, happily continuing the conversation. She was met with the lifted hand of the other girl, shaking her hand side to side to bounce the light off a graciously sized diamond.

"I'm hitched" she replied happily, her posture becoming more upright as the mood in the conversation lightened even more.

"Wow. He must be one lucky man to get someone like you as a bride" congratulated Ruby, suddenly making sense of her knowledge of colors. She had most likely looked over every color in the visible spectrum.

"I'm pretty sure she thinks the same" corrected Melanie, showing no signs of anger at the mispronunciation of her fiancé. She actually seemed somewhat amused, until she observed the transforming expression of the previously bubbly girl.

"Wait, you're marrying another woman? You're not marrying a man?" She was confused. This woman wasn't flirting with her, she wasn't trying to preach her about the benefits of being gay. This girl was completely normal. This wasn't how she always envisioned gay people.

"Unless I've been lied to for the last 4 years, then yeah, I'm pretty sure she's a woman." It was followed up by a half nervous, half confused laugh. "I'm sorry if that offends you. I didn't really let you know beforehand."

Ruby leaned back and gave the other girl a double and triple take. There was nothing about this girl that gave any indication of difference. She looked like any other girl, she talked like any other girl, she acted like any other girl. This wasn't how she envisioned a lesbian to look like. They were always portrayed as animals, worse than the grimm. They were as bad as the grimm.

But she wasn't. She was an upbeat woman who had just helped her pick out a dress. She didn't want to convert Ruby over. She wasn't trying to destroy her way of life. This was just a regular person.

"Are you being serious? You're... gay?"

"I'm about as gay as they come, yeah" she replied with another giggle.

"But you guys, I was always told that you guys were villians! You're defying our way of life because you want society to collapse!"

"Nope. I'm just trying to marry someone who actually makes me happy. Someone who I can laugh with, who I can live my life with. I just want to be grow old with the person I was meant to be with."

"So what all those protesters say about you guys..?"

"Completely fake."

"What about the propaganda?

"A bunch of sheltered people who don't know where the door is to the outside."

How was this possible? Everything that she'd been taught about these people, the view that all of society had, this 'monster' was just a regular person with regular ambitions.

"How did you know that you wanted to marry her? Why didn't you just find a guy that you liked instead?"

"Ruby, you're acting like I'm just like this because I want to. You're not in control of who you like. You don't have to have reasons to love. You just do. I'm not attracted to her because I want to. I'm attracted to her because that's who I am as a person." Her voice was beginning to rise, some frustration seeping through. "I tried it with men, I tried to date them. And it always felt wrong. I always felt like I was only with them because what I was really feeling was wrong. Those thoughts belonged to the grimm. Only beasts could do such a thing. After all, we're compatible to create children. If you can't create children, why would you do it! You're just wasting your time! Something is wrong with you! But I would always find myself eyeing the female figure. Men always failed to understand me, they never seemed to care about what I wanted. And then one day, I came across this girl. She was just... wow." Her voice dropped on the last sentence, her eyes closing shut and her smile found its way back. "She was the most gorgeous thing I'd ever seen. She made me feel things that I'd never felt before! She seemed like she really cared about who I was. She was after something more than my ability to reproduce. She was after the real Melanie. And that's how I found out. I understood that what I was feeling was alright. I'd been lied to my whole life. And now that reckless, sometimes arrogant, beautiful huntress is going to be mine until death comes to claim me. "

"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation girls, but I've got your dress right here Ma'am." declared the clerk as she slid a large package in a bag over the counter. "Can I do anything else for you tonight?"

"That's going to be all for me tonight. I've gotta go Ruby. Don't want to leave her hanging. It was great chatting with you!" Melanie dismissed with a small wave over her shoulder as she exited the store, vanishing quickly into the evening.

Left behind in awe, Ruby managed to complete her request for her dress before also leaving the store. She thought back to Melanie and the confidence she had with the words she spoke. How proud she was with who she was. And despite all the emotions that were flowing through her head at the time, one stuck out like a light in the dark.

Respect.

* * *

**Well, that was a bit of a break. Didn't know what I wanted to do with it, and just kinda had to roll with it. I think I've got what I want to do with it in mind, as well as what I want to do with a sequel, but that's too far in the future for me right now.**

**Overall, I'm happy with how the chapter turned out, and I hope you are too. No promises on constant uploads, but I'll try.**

**Thank you to everyone that stuck around with me through this, and I hope it's up to your standards. **

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening, night, and take it easy. **


	19. Chapter 19

The final bell of the day took far too long. It was the day of the dance, and despite being portrayed as the mature, future defenders of society, they were currently teenagers, and little attention had been payed to anything that the professors had tried to say. Everyone fumbled out of their respective classes and back to whatever duties they had to do in order to prepare themselves for the event. Large clumps of students moved through the corridors in disorderly fashioned, but no one seemed to pay a piece of mind, including the heiress. And while she had seen her partner quite a bit during the day, they hadn't really exchanged any words outside of what was needed for their classwork. And to top it all off, they were both going alone.

And it's not because they weren't asked. Weiss had been asked on many different occasions, but she had politely declined every one of them. She knew that her partner had been asked as well, but she could only assume that she'd declined them as well due to the fact that her partner had mentioned going solo.

She eventually managed to find her way through the crowd and back to the hallway that lead to their hallway. With at least a couple hours left, she had all the time in the world to prepare herself. She had a dress ordered from a store in Atlas a week ago, a simple white dress that she believed would suit her just fine.

Ensuring that she knocked on the door before entering to prevent any awkward dressing situations, she entered the dark and empty dorm room, fumbling around with the light switch before flicking it on. She did notice signs of movement in the room, including loose, tossed objects thrown carelessly around the room, signifying that at least one of her teammates got here before she did. Quickly tidying her and her partners side of the dorm, she made her way over to her closet and inspected the dress she had commissioned.

The dress was of very high quality from one of her fathers most trusted tailors, from which the quality would be immediately evident to any onlooker the second they set eyes upon it. It was made from beautiful white and blue fabric, which was soft to both the touch and the eyes. Colored primarily white, with blue designs sewn in. Ending before her shoulder and resting against her collarbone, it dipped into a shallow groove beneath her neck with a closed back, showing a minimal amount of her pale skin. Forming an almost skintight seal against her sides as it continued down her body before frilling out towards the bottom.

Holding it in front of her for inspection, she examined it for any signs of creases. After several moments, she determined it to be in fine condition, and parted the door to their washroom, before quickly entering and shutting the door behind her. She examined herself in the mirror, looking over herself once more, examining her entire body from head to toe before quickly undressing and trying to slide into the tight fitting dress.

After about 5 minutes of flailing her limbs around trying to fit herself into the dress, already with both legs in and trying for her left arm, a sudden turning of the doorknob to their room startled her, causing her to spin around to ensure that it wasn't the bathroom door being opened. She could hear the sound of footsteps as the person made a straight b-line from the door to the washroom, giving her precious little time to react. As soon as she saw the doorknob begin to spin, she became aware of her condition. She tried to speak, but her voice refused to cooperate, manifesting instead as a small chirp, inaudible to the party on the other side of the door. Quickly lifting her arms to cover her indecent chest, the door opened, revealing a tuned out Ruby, blissfully aware of what she stepped into. As soon as she lifted her head however, revealing a bright beat red Weiss, she snapped back into her senses, her body freezing up, and the duo peered into each others eyes, as wide as pool balls. Several moments passed, both parties frozen in time, unsure of how to react. Eventually, Ruby jolted back to her senses, quickly apologizing and slamming the door with unnecessary force, focused simply on breaking the line of sight between her and her partner.

However, as the door suddenly slammed in front of her, she quickly stumbled back, but only with one leg, as the other one remained frozen by embarrassment. Her body immediately began slipping, head careening towards the white porcelain below. She quickly felt the pain on the back of her head as she impacted. Hard. Her hands had maintained their attempt at decency, failing to cushion her fall. Her vision jerked into darkness as panic nearly set in. Her partner evidently heard this, judging from the concerned shout of her name through the door. Her vision remained dark, streams of red jutting across the vast expanse of dark as the back of her head began to pulse.

"Weiss? Are you OK in there?" Came the question from the other side of the door, but she couldn't hear the sounds of hinges, so she assumed her partner was still on the other end.

"I think I'm OK. Just a little slip is all" she moaned as she began to sit up, blotches of her vision returning as she lifted an arm to grasp the back of her head and letting loose a moan of relief as her hand remained dry.

"Do you have something in there to cover yourself up?" Came another quick fire question from her partner, further increasing the blood flow to her head.

"O-o-of course I do! I was just caught by surprise is all!" She returned, trying to sound as angered as possible, instead her voice sounded more like a winded bird than an angry heiress. Each word came out much higher pitch than she intended, further adding to her embarrassment.

"Um, alright. Just come out when as soon as you can. I want to make sure you're OK" came the concerned voice of her partner before complete silence. She swore that she could hear the sound of the blood pulsing through her cheeks as she struggled to put on her underclothes. As she opened the door, she could see the same thing on the face of her partner. The red in her face provided close competition to the color of the cloak she wore. Her eyes locked on the door. She was seated on their bottom bunk, hands on her knees and staring at the washroom door.

The heiress could immediately see the smirk forming on her partners face as she exited the room, however, as she remembered her current state. Her dress was trailing behind her, her hair was disheveled, and her face remained as red as a beat. The white of her undergarments almost matched the color of her skin, causing her to once again lift her arms and cross her legs, causing her partner to begin to burst out laughing, falling backwards onto her bunk. Too embarrassed to speak, she waited for her partner to recover and beckon her over, causing her to approach cautiously toward her partner. Ruby pointed her finger to the sky and quickly twirled it around, beckoning her partner to spin around, to which she complied.

The black haired girl assisted her partner into her dress, carefully guiding both her arms into the slots in the dress before zipping it up in the back and seating her down on the floor in front of her, placing her back towards her and between her legs before getting to work on her hair, straightening it before braiding it up into her signature ponytail and helping her to her feet without a word being ushered. Several moments passed as Weiss got up and they looked into each others eyes, neither one certain of what to say.

It ended up being the younger girl who broke the silence.

"You look really pretty when you're smiling Weiss" said the younger girl with a smirk.

The heiress was used to hearing compliments such as this, but they were from men that either her father had set her up to meet with, or insincere ones from boys and girls in the hallways. A genuine smile and the sweeping of her bangs served as all the answer Ruby needed and she walked over to the closet, withdrawing her own dress and heading towards the bathroom door.

"Do you want any help getting that on Ruby?" The white haired girl asked as Ruby approached the door, wanting to return the help that her friend had offered her.

"Actually, I think I'm fine. I always had to get myself dressed. This is a piece of cake. I'll be out in a jiffy" She concluded in a chipper tone as she slipped inside the washroom, the door creaking closed behind her.

Several uneventful minutes passed as the heiress waited, before her partner exited the washroom, sporting the new dress that she had heard about from her partner not too long ago. It bore some resemblance to the one that she had wore years before, although the new one burst with much more vibrant reds and blacks. Her hair was let down in the same, regular fashion that she often sported, a small smile across her face. The two girls headed towards the entryway of their abode, and began slipping into their high heals for the occasion.

"So... Who are you going to the dance with Weiss? I saw all of those boys asking if you wanted to go with them. Was it that cute one from biology? Or maybe it was Neptune? I know you've seen him looking at you when you think he's not. It has to be him right?" The younger girl questioned as she stood up and wiggled around to test her balance.

"Actually, none of them. I turned them all down. I had someone in mind, but they never asked me, so I suppose I'm going alone. What about you? I remember you telling me you were going alone, but I thought that maybe you changed your mind?" The heiress returned, standing up with much more confidence, due to having spent much more time on high heels than her partner.

"Actually, I have a date with the punch bowl. He doesn't seem that bad though. He's always there, I always know where to find him, I don't have to worry about him concussing himself on the bathroom tiles." This was met with a very stern glance from her partner, who was really struggling to keep herself contained, but she managed. Ruby responded with a grin that stretched from ear to ear and two quick, nervous chuckles before opening the door and gesturing her partner out, following quickly in her footsteps and locking the door behind them, and setting off to wherever they wished.

* * *

**Hey guys. Quick update after vanishing for 10 months. I'll try not to disappear that long again. **

**Few quick questions: Does the writing still seem alright and 2: Are you guys happy with the pace that the story is going at? Is it too slow for you guys?**

**Anyways, have a great morning, day, evening or night and take it easy. **


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RWBY, Angst, Romance