23 Lunch

"So, you going to check up on your hubby today Ruby?" Yang teased as she was getting her uniform ready for the day.

"Yang! Stop that, it was an accident! There isn't anything between us!" she retorted, failing to hide the rosy colour spreading across her cheeks.

"Uh-huh, and repeatedly tackling him into hugs every time he wakes up, because you are scared he will go into another coma, really shows you have no affection for him." Weiss pointed out not concealing the smirk she had festering upon her visage.

"Th-that happened three times! Three! times!" Ruby argued to the Shnee.

"She's not refuting it." Blake pointed out, much to Ruby's chagrin

"Wha!? Blake! Why are you helping them!" she whined to the black haired girl, whose only response was a small amused smile.

"Also saw her playing with the ring during the night with a smile on her face." The black haired devil spoke as she covered her mouth with one hand, failing to hide the grin that was peaking around her fingers.

"Wha!?" Ruby's face lit up even brighter, anymore and you could see steam coming out her ears.

"Oh really~" Yangs grin grew bigger "I thought you didn't like him like that?" the yellow devil teased.

"I-I don't! It-it's a really… pretty ring?" she questioned, showing she didn't even know how to refute their claims. Seeing that nothing was working, Ruby resorted to plan W. she would later regret this decision. "Weiss! Help!" she pleaded.

"Ruby, you were staring at it the entirety of Professor Port's lecture yesterday." The white devil said with visible annoyance on her face at her often distracted team leader and partner. "Now, even I can say that his lessons are… 'Interesting' but you have never been, THAT distracted." Weiss's expression faltering as she thought of the extremely dull, and extremely boring 'lectures' that Professor Port gave. The 'lectures' being his totally true, most definitely not exaggerated stories from his youth.

"You traitor!" the reaper whined. As she hid her head under her hood and pleaded "Please can we just go…" she begged, fake tears pouring from her eyes in embarrassment.

"We should really get going, it's already eight thirty" Blake announced to the room, finally relieving Ruby of the teams teases as they left their dorm and began walking towards their first lesson for the day.

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Arthur was currently undergoing a check-up by Professor Peridot, he was hoping that after the last three days he would be freed and allowed to finally begin the coursework he had missed over the last one and a half weeks. But, fate, the cruel mistress that it is, had other plans. Little did Arthur know that the same Professor Peridot that had just days earlier been as kind and caring as a mother, was also a research crazed fiend that would happily tear his arm off just to analyse the blood vessels within.

Though, luckily for Arthur, she had been ordered to the more 'non- invasive' research methods she could come up with, mostly just x-rays and blood tests. For the new goal she had set herself was to discover the origins behind the mysterious 'innocence' as she had heard Arthur call it, and maybe just maybe recreate it to further medicine and possibly aid the never ending war that was fought against the Grimm.

"Pro-professor Peridot? Are the restraints really necessary?" Arthur asked, his right arm tied to a metal table by leather belts. While the professor loomed over him, well as 'looming' as someone in a wheel chair could be, doesn't change the fear he felt when he saw he evil expression that just told him the he, at this point in time was nothing more than the next interesting subject she had discovered

"Please, call me Kardia, Arthur. And yes, don't want you struggling while I am busy." Her expression turned gentle as she spoke, her voice being strangely calm and 'homey' to Arthur, but just as terrifying when put in context of her words.

"Di-didn't Ozpin say 'No, invasive experiments'" He stuttered out as he watched Kardia pull out a large saw from a drawer, muttering 'no… too, bloody.' Before placing it back in the drawer and pulling out what looked to Arthur like a medieval torture tool.

"K-Kardia?" Arthur gulped in fear as Kardia pulled out an even bigger, more menacing saw than the last, still muttering that it was 'not right' or just her thoughts on what the outcome of using it would be, more often than not it had something to do with 'blood' or being 'Too obvious', whatever that meant.

"Wh-why are you doing this!? I thought I was being let go today!?" Arthur pleaded, finally getting Kardia out of her strange 'research' based trance.

"Hmm? Oh, right, yes. Just a few more tests than I can let you go. You truly are a fascinating individual, Arthur." She said as she brought her face inches from Arthurs, bringing a scent of Iron and lemon with her. 'Close!' Arthurs inner self screamed as a light flush took to his face as he stared into Kardia's deep green eyes.

"I mean your arm, it is beautiful! I can't even comprehend how such a thing is possible! It's almost like another creature is living symbiotically with you, and these gems! They are not just grafted into you! They are fully connected to you, to the bone, to the nerve and muscle! They have their own veins and have your blood flowing through them! It is truly a mystery." She once again began trailing her fingers over Arthurs arm, admiring every inch of it, her fingers hesitating slightly at the cross on the back of his hand, but soon trailing her fingers over them as well, sending a jolt through Arthurs body, causing him to shiver and blush even harder.

"And that's not even taking into account you dual coloured Aura! Something that shouldn't even be feasible! Aura's can only have one colour, not two! The only way that would be possible is to have two different souls, that are so perfectly combined that neither is vying for more of the body!" Kardia had now returned her face to centimetres in front of Arthurs, her eyes once again locking with his, as if searching for the answer to all of her questions to the mystery of 'what was Arthur Fielder?'

"Prof… Kardia. You-you're a little close!" Arthur caught himself as he saw Kardia's glare. His words sending a pang of confusion through Kardia's eyes as she began to analyse his words before looking up and down his face, and indeed realising, she was a 'little close'.

Slowly, but reluctantly Kardia rested her back against the padding of her wheelchair, a light blush on her face. "R-right, sorry. I guess I-I got a bit focused" she explained, still feeling his warm breath on her face.

Calming his heart down with a few deep breaths asked "Could, could you please take the belts off?" his words falling on deaf ears as Kardia had her head hanging down with her and on her chest 'Calm down Kardia! He's your student! Bad heart! Stop that!' was running through her head.

"Kardia?"

"Hmm?" Arthur's call breaking her out of her stupor " Eh? Ah! A-Arthur, wha-what can I do for you?" she innocently asked.

"Well, for one, please take the belts off" he asked indicating to his unmoving arm "And second, you could just ask me about this stuff? Did Ozpin not say anything to you?"

"R-right! One moment!" she stuttered as she began to remove the restraints. Once Arthur was free he began rotating his arm in an effort to get the blood flowing again. "Now that I'm not worried about losing my arm, what do you want to know?"

"O-oh no, nothing yo-you can go. Do-do you know where your dorm is?" The still stuttering surgeon stammered. "

"I think so, You sure there's nothing you want to ask?" Arthur asked, perplexed that the previously fixated Professor was now so shy she could barely keep eye contact. "I can come back later, just please don't try to amputate my arm, again." He offered, knowing that she didn't really mean any harm to him, except the possible bodily harm that came with the loss of an arm… yeah, no Arthur was thinking that she would just hunt him down if he didn't offer it or compromise.

"Y-yeah, please that would be nice. I mean yes, that sounds good. N-now I need to prepare for the next lesson, s-so if you would." She rolled to her desk, turning her back to Arthur so he couldn't see her expression.

"Okay, Thank you for taking care of me for the last week." Arthur thanked and stood to leave, soon reaching the door, looking back to see Kardia busy with various documents. "I'll see you later" he left the room with the door slowly coming to a squeaky close. From outside the infirmary Kardia could hear 'Should really get that oiled…'prompting a light giggle from her.

"No! Naughty Kardia! He is a student! No matter how interesting he may be!" she said to herself before slamming her head down onto her desk with a loud 'Thump!' muttering "Why do I have to like the mysterious…" while groaning as she realized her head was starting to hurt.

"Owww…"

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'Hope she's okay, she was a little out of it, at the end there' Arthur thought, jumping when he heard a what sounded like a thump coming from the room he had just left not five minutes earlier.

"What was that?" he murmured looking back towards the door, contemplating if he should make sure she was okay.

"I'm sure she will be fine… I think?" he shrugged as he turned around and headed to the dorm building to find his room and get some more rest for his chest wound that had now sealed completely, but still left some phantom pains.

As he was walking through the courtyard Arthur felt a slight rumbling coming from his stomache "Right, food. The dining hall is…" he pulled out his Scroll and opened the map all students were sent during after initiation "That way." He pointed as he began walking once again.

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"Wow, no wonder no one likes school food…" Arthur thought, promising himself that he would just cook his own food from now on, Cooking being one of the few things that Ashe had successfully gotten him into during their three years together.

"Oh, hey there Mono!" Yang called out to him, dragging her sister along, both carrying trays filled with food. Weiss and Blake trailing a short distance behind, watching with amused smiles as Ruby hid her head with the hood of her cloak.

"Mono?" Arthur asked, perplexed at what he was guessing would be his new nickname for a while.

"You are literally all black and white, you are the emphasis of the word 'monochrome'. But that doesn't roll off the tongue that well, so Mono! Also my dad would prefer to get his clothing back in one piece, not with a massive hole going all the way through it." Yang deadpanned.

"Hey! I had no choice in that! It was either get impaled or let Ruby get impaled! And quite honestly I would much prefer my life to be in danger than for hers to be." Arthur argued

"Awww, look Ruby, your knight in shining armour would happily jump in front of another feather for you, maybe you should reward him with a kiss, Hmm~" Yang teased, causing a blush to appear on both Arthur and Ruby's face's, Ruby of course pulling her head down even further.

"T-that won't be necessary Y-Yang. 'Ahem' any-any ways I would have done it for you as well if it were you in her place." Arthur said, bringing a smile to Yang's face, one that he had seen many times before, her teasing smile. On the other hand, Arthur notice a slight twitch in Ruby's cape when he had said that.

"Aww, you act anymore knightly and I might just have to steal you away~" Yang sang, getting eye rolls from Blake and Weiss, while Ruby's cape trembled even more, before she burst out of it shout "No!" surprising the group, except Yang who had been anticipating this as she had been watching her sisters action with a wide, mischievous smile.

Seeing Arthur's surprised face at her outburst Ruby's head began steaming as her face turned red. Before the pressure could get too much for her she disappeared into a flurry of petals leading a trail right through the dining hall, the petals often landing in the food of others.

"You were aiming for that weren't you?" Weiss asked the buxom Blonde.

"Oh, you know it." Yang bluntly stated, not even hiding her motivations

"Is-is she going to be okay" Arthur asked, as he observed the trail of petals that was slowly dissipating into the wind.

"She'll be fine, she does this a lot recently." Blake explained.

"I take it this has something to do with…" Arthur let his words hang, trying to get one of the others to say something, that contradicted his thoughts of 'Him' being the reason for this.

"You, Arthur. I know you're not that dense to not see that she really has something for you at this point." Blake continued. Arthur hearing his thoughts had been confirmed released a heavy sigh.

"Are you really so against this?" Yang asked.

"It's not that Yang. She was essentially tricked into signing that contract. I don't want her to feel pressured into it; I wouldn't want that on any of you. We have barely known each other for a full week. And after initiation I don't want her getting attached to me just because I saved her, that just doesn't sit right with me." Arthur explained to the three

"That is quite honourable of you, Arthur" Weiss exclaimed after listening to him "Not many men would think like that, most men would just think of her as something they 'deserve' especially after what you've been through" her emphasise around the word 'Deserve' sounding particularly disgusted as memories came flooding to her, causing her anger to rise.

"Thanks. Haha, I guess you're right. You would be the one to say that." Arthur said raising his head from the table with a small smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Weiss asked, unsure if it was meant as a complement or otherwise. Sounding hostile none the less, either way.

"I mean that you would understand that some men think they 'deserve' the woman, especially those from the higher class like you." Arthur explained.

"Oh? And you would know how those in the higher class act then?" Weiss snapped, letting her emotions take control.

"Yes, I would guess so. The higher class is usually very tribalistic in nature, I wouldn't put it past you're father to have already set you up with numerous suitors, trying to figure out which one he should get you to marry to further his goals." His expression turning just as angry as he thought about the horrid thought process Weiss's father must have.

Weiss fell silent as she heard Arthur, she also felt Yang and Blake's gaze shift towards her making her feel uncomfortable.

"Is he right Weiss? Did your father really do that?" Yang asked, concerned for her sisters partner. Blake remained quiet, as she already knew that Weiss's father had recently been searching for an appropriate partner for his daughter.

"I do not want to talk about it. And you! Never bring this up again! You understand?" Weiss threatened as she glared at Arthur who could only release a sigh as he stood up.

"Yeah, I get it, won't say anything again. I'm going to see if I can find my dorm room, Later" he said as he turned around and began walking towards the exit, not turning back until he was out of sight.

"That, was a little harsh, don't you think?" Yang commented as she watched Arthur dissapear around the corner.

"Shut it. He doesn't know what he's talking about. You think I should just sit by and nod along as he besmirches my family by calling us 'tribalistic'!?" Weiss yelled. "He has no idea what he is talking about!"

"Does he really not know anything about it Weiss?" Blake asked "I mean, it isn't exactly a secret that your father is searching for a suitor for you. And he didn't explicitly call your family tribalistic, he called the High class in general tribalistic"

"We are not tribalistic!" Weiss argued.

"Really? You come from a rich family, one of the most powerful in the world, your family rarely if ever interact with the lower class or even faunus in their entirety. And when you do it is more often than not in a derogatory manner, as if you believe you are higher than them. And more often than not that tends to end with families like yours to huddle together into a tribalistic society." Weiss found it difficult to dismantle any of Blake's arguments against her

"All you did there was treat him as you usually do anyone else you deem 'beneath' you. You treated him as if he was from a different 'tribe' so to say. So yes, you are very tribalistic in nature, maybe not as deep as your father, but you still have it. And I'm sure if he was a faunus, you would have treated him even worse." Blake passionately dismantled Weiss's statement, throwing it back in her face with an unconcealed amount of anger in her tone.

"I-I-I can't refute that… can I?" Weiss stuttered out.

"No, not really. I have to agree with Blake on this. The way you treated him, is exactly like how I saw you treat Ruby when we first started. It may not have been a lot, but yea, you treated him like crap because he said something you didn't like" Yang said, actively siding herself with Blake.

"Weiss, remember the first day when you and Ruby had that fight after Professor Ports class?" Yang asked getting a nod in return. "He told you to be 'the best person you can be'. And currently you are trying, amazingly I would say, ever since things have been tight between you and Ruby. But you don't take that same advice with others, especially if they say something about you that you don't particularly like." Yang finished her surprisingly astute observation, earning her wide eyes and opened mouths from her two team mates.

"Wh-what!? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"I'm just, I never knew you could be so… observant before. I mean, you are so brash in combat that it seems like you never think anything through." Weiss jabbed

"Ow, thanks Weiss, that just feels like your calling me dumb." Yang held her chest in mock pain, earning another set of eye rolls from the two.

"I should really apologize, shouldn't I?"