Minor Inconvenience

Weiss Schnee

------

In bed with Zwei curled in her lap, Weiss gushed and stroked his pristine fur.

"Who's a good boy?" she said.

Zwei barked and rolled over.

"That's right, you are!"

With her teammates out dilly-dallying, it made for the rare opportunity to reserve the whole room for herself, something which she took advantage of without a second to waste.

Because later tonight, Weiss expected her favourite bodyguard to visit and gift her something he's refrained from telling her.

Weiss shuddered under the influence of what it may be.

The rest of her time until then was spent cuddling up with Zwei while rewatching the tournament matches on her scroll.

Knowing Yang and the fact that she would be representing their team in the singles round, Weiss graciously offered to review the footage of their potential adversaries and pass on her findings, and all went well until she came across the insane battle between Team RTLS and Team BLLT.

Weiss didn't know where to begin.

For one, should she be impressed or horrified at the fact that Roderick didn't die in the middle of the arena? Secondly, she was proud of Stiofan for overcoming his opponent yet annoyed at how long it took him to do so.

Honestly, the moment Stiofan stepped foot in this room, she'll have to give him a stern talking to.

A knock jolted Weiss out her thoughts.

Zwei barked at the door.

What impeccable timing.

"Just a second." Weiss slid the dog off her before fixing her attire and allowing the First Guard entry. "It's nice to see you haven't forgotten about me."

"And have this all to myself?" Stiofan flourished the silver platter in his hands. "As pleasing as that sounds, wouldn't it be rather tragic if you were absent for this delight?"

Her stomach rumbled.

"Haha, very funny." She settled at the nearest desk. "I waited long enough for you, so this better be good."

"Is that so?" He set down the platter and lifted the cover. "Enjoy."

The double crust pie engulfed her senses in an instant. A fragrant stream of apple, vanilla, and cinnamon invigorated her lungs, persuading her to take a simple taste. The toasted waves surfing along the rim of the pie beckoned her forth, and the Schnee emblem, etched in the center of the shell, meant this delicacy was exclusive only to her.

"I put in extra effort for this," he said and arranged the plating and eating utensils. "Consider it a reward for your victory."

The reminder of her poor showing in the doubles round soured her appetite. "I wouldn't say I did much of anything. If we're being honest here, it was Yang who did all the heavy lifting."

Stiofan cut a perfect wedge, nestling it on her plate.

The glistening apple slices puzzled between the crusts released the floodgates inside her mouth.

"Yang did eliminate both opponents." He cut himself a wedge and seated himself next to her. "However, your selfless act to protect her is what mattered most. And I must say, when you sacrificed the remainder of your Aura for her, it did no good deed to anyone's heart, mine especially."

It's not like Weiss wanted to jump into that lava geyser and possibly incinerate herself; she'd do it all over again if had to.

"As you can see, Stiofan, I'm fine," Weiss said and forked her pie. "What really concerns me is whether or not this is as delicious as you say it is."

The moment it touched her tongue, the gentle crunch played music to her ears while the sweet flavours melted in harmony, and before she knew it, her portion disappeared.

-----

Tannum "Cooper" Oakwood

-----

On the bookshelf under their dorm room window, Cooper pushed open the glass panes and played a simple guessing game involving the Atlesian airships lollygagging across the sky.

Which one was Roman Torchwick on?

That way he could go up there and strangle some much needed answers out of him for this mind boggling situation.

Immediately after his capture, reports came that the crime rate in the city of Vale stopped entirely. The charts neither dipped or blipped. It just went up in a puff of smoke which made zero sense with the amount of Dust shops still recovering from the past year.

The chilly fingers of bad news stroked his tail.

Was it because the Atlesians were here? The extra soldiers patrolling the city streets was a dandy deterrence, yet it was far from enough to stop crooks from prowling in the nights.

The only explanation had to be Roman having a part behind everything.

There's no way he could ever hold enough power or resources to run an entire city wide operation. Then again, he's never been backed by the White Fang before either.

Teddy yipped and stared up at him.

"Well, look at ya." Cooper hopped off and ruffled the beanie on the bear's head lump. "Don't tell me Leon's been feeding you more sweets?"

He shivered and cooed.

"How bout we burn off some of that extra weight?" Cooper grabbed the rubber ball. "Can't let you grow too much or else that big, bad witch of a prof will gobble you up."

Teddy dashed to the other end of the room and bounced in front of the door.

Cooper tossed the ball, and thanks to the sheer force of bad luck, Leon walked into the room and hit the ball with the door, rebounding it off a desk and back to Cooper which he caught.

"Look out!"

"Huh?" He gasped at the furball charging straight for him. "Wah!"

They collided and tumbled out the window.

Cooper plummeted onto the lawn while Teddy used his chest as a cushion.

"Not again. . ." He coughed and searched the clouds for answers. "Why?"

Grass rustled nearby, growing louder until Roderick came around the corner.

"Thought I heard something weird." His face slacked. "The heck happened to you?"

"Not much." He groaned and fought off the aches ravaging his entire body. "Just fell out our window."

A bead of sweat dribbled from his forehead. "That's on the fifth floor."

"Thank goodness for Aura, right? Wait." He searched for the bear. "Uh, Radek, did you happen to see Teddy, by any chance?"

More confusion smacked his noggin.

"Hey!" Stuck halfway out the window, Leon pointed ahead. "Get Teddy's ass back here!"

Like he said, the furball dashed past shocked onlookers and made way towards the main campus.

Cooper and Roderick did the only sensible thing: scream and go tally-ho!

-----

The chase continued on behind the dining hall.

"There he is!" Roderick dove into a pile of rubbish. "Got him!"

Trash bags and nasty gunk showered him as Teddy slipped out his grasp and scurried around.

"Ugh." Cooper pinched his nose. "You stink!"

The leader gagged at the goo drenching his clothes. "Forget that! What's this black stuff?!"

Cooper put distance between him and the leader and pursued the bear, weaving between people and hurdling a series of small bushes Teddy burst through.

Embers ignited in his legs, and hot air seeped into his lungs.

Cooper strung up every tid bit of willpower in him to catch that bloody bear before his own body set itself on fire.

Teddy slipped between the ajar doors of the lecture hall right after someone opened them.

Thankfully, classes were postponed during the festivities, mostly clearing the entire building of students and staff.

Further down ahead, a mop bucket and a wet floor sign blared danger.

Teddy slipped, bulldozed the mop bucket, spilling soaping water everywhere, and did the greatest belly slide ever.

A brilliant idea hit Cooper.

Without falling over, he did a slide of his own, swiping up the mop and setting the bucket on its wheels to become a scooter.

Somehow, Teddy curved perfectly around the corner, and Cooper drifted after him.

Teddy flew down a set of stairs and exploded out the exit at the bottom. Cooper did the same, scooter bucket shattering to bits upon landing, but it did nothing to stop his momentum.

"Cooper!" Roderick came sprinting up beside him, slightly out of breath. "Where's Teddy?"

"Over by the training field." Cooper gulped to moisten his throat. "Got a plan?"

The leader locked onto a green haired gal riding a hoverboard and minding her own business. "Sorry about this, Reese!"

"Huh?" She checked back and caught her breath. "Wait, you?!"

He knocked her off the hoverboard. "Cooper, hop on!"

"You know how to use this thing?"

"Think so—Whoa!"

The hoverboard jerked, speeding faster than Cooper's heart could handle.

"Radek," he latched onto him for dear life, "slow down!"

"No way, look!"

True to his word, they quickly gained on Teddy's tail, and once he was within reach, Cooper scooped him up.

"Alright." Roderick tapped his foot around the board and pressed a button. "How do you stop this thing?"

As soon as he said it, the hoverboard did just that, and they missiled into a metal fence.

Cooper groaned and worked on keeping his stomach under control, which was a blessing compared to Reese stomping a hole into Roderick before retrieving her hoverboard.

"Teddy," he cradled the sleepy bear in his scarf, "don't do that, again."

Soon after, Cooper returned to the dormitory while Roderick stayed behind to deal with any professors that started asking questions.

"We're almost there." Cooper went invisible and pushed the button for the lift. "Try not to make a peep."

Teddy yawned and licked his lips.

The elevator dinged, and to his delight, it was completely empty.

Score!

Cooper went inside, but before he could hit the button to his floor, a couple people managed to slip inside.

"Lucky us," said a pale, silvery haired man. "We got an elevator all to ourselves."

The gal with green hair and dark skin pressed their floor number. "Whatever."

The door shut, and Cooper wanted to rip his hair out.

This was exactly what he needed of all bloody things.

Here he was, pressed up in the corner with a sleepy bear in his scarf, and his Semblance was counting down.

Wait a second.

That gal picked his pocket in Vale the other day, didn't she? And the bloke next to her was her teammate.

Mercury and Emerald.

If it wasn't for the fact that they had a field day on Coco and Yatsuhashi in the doubles round, Cooper would've never known their names.

"I've been meaning to ask." Mercury gave her a sideways glance. "How exactly are we going to do that thing Adam asked for?"

Emerald shot him a glare. "Cinder told us not to talk openly about that."

"What?" He gestured all around. "You afraid of a metal box ruining our dear Cinder's grandmaster plan?"

"Mercury, shut up."

"Relax." He chuckled and leaned against the wall. "I bet you're as curious as I am, though, about Adam's request. What's his deal, anyways?"

"You know how the White Fang gets when it comes to the SDC." She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You shouldn't be surprised."

"No, you're right." Mercury shrugged. "I shouldn't be, but then again, Cinder's been full of nothing but surprises ever since we came to this stupid place."

Emerald faced him, eyebrow arched. "What are you talking about?"

"You know her," he put up air quotes, " 'Little Eagle.' "

"So what if Cinder wants to mess around with that kid?" She adjusted her collar. "It's not like he can do anything about it."

The elevator doors dinged open.

The Haven students wandered out, but Cooper's curiosity got the better of him.

He followed.

"The guy's a joke," Mercury said. "But it really does make me wonder why she's so interested in him."

"Look, that's her business, and I'm sure she has a perfectly good reason for doing it," Emerald said. "We just have to make sure we do our part and not screw anything up."

"Like Torchwick did? As if."

Cooper's interests piqued further at the name.

Mercury wiped the disappointment off his face. "Knew we shouldn't have brought that two-bit thief on board. Cinder almost blew a fuse when he crashed that train in Vale. We had to do a lot of improvising thanks to him."

Cooper's heart skipped a beat. Were they in cahoots with Torchwick? Not good.

"I'm just glad things are working out." Emerald slid her scroll across their dorm room lock. "Now, shut up so I can get some rest."

The moment the door shut behind them, Cooper's Semblance ran out of time, and he reappeared in sight.

No matter how badly he wanted to listen in more on whatever those exchange students had planned, Cooper knew better than to push it, leaving the whole mystery tucked in his back pocket for later.

Right now, the best thing he could do was to get back to his own room and figure out what to do next.

-----

Weiss Schnee

-----

After reminiscing over old stories and some fun moments they had here at Beacon, Weiss moved on to another matter that required their utmost attention.

Studying.

Weiss paced the room and gave Stiofan a lesson in proper form and technique while he played with Zwei on her bed.

"According to my calculations," she reviewed the fight on her scroll, "if you reacted half a second faster, you would've been able to avoid the Speed Bomb Slash, and don't get me started on your footwork."

"Is that so?" Stiofan stroked Zwei's fur. "I'll see to it."

Weiss poked the screen with her fork. "And why's your guard's down here? No wonder you were blown away by that mine. It's basic knowledge to always have your guard up."

"Of course," he said and shook the dog's paws.

"Are you listening to me?" She waved her fork. "Hello?"

Stiofan hummed.

Weiss glared and held her hip. "You're fired."

"That's great to hear."

For Stiofan to be this distracted was beyond strange. This was their time and not 'Weiss talks to herself like a crazy person' time. Just what exactly could be plaguing him so badly that it made him forget about her entire existence?

"Remnant to Stiofan." She pricked his cheek with her fork. "Are you there?"

Stiofan jumped and quickly saved face.

"Apologies." He ran a hand through his hair. "I was lost in thought."

"I noticed." Weiss sat next to him. "Tell me about it."

Reluctance crinkled between his eyebrows. "I. . . I believe it's better if we don't."

So, it's one of those kinds of things, huh.

"In that case, I must disagree."

"Come now." He searched the room for a means of escape. "Let's discuss something more worthwhile rather the dullness—"

"I won't repeat myself again." She hardened her voice. "You will tell me this instant. What. Is. Wrong?"

Stiofan appeared to want to argue more, only to relent and surrender his life the same way he served the pie. The absence of light in his teals told the whole story, and the cold drop in temperature warned her that this was a real issue.

Even Zwei stopped dilly-dallying to watch.

Weiss thought this was trivial, a meaningless moment to make light of afterwards, when clearly it was no laughing matter.

Never was it her intention to make him uncomfortable. Weiss only wanted to understand him more, be there when he needed it, and help in any way possible. It actually made her want to kick herself for forcing him into this, but clearly it's way too late to back out of the hole she's dug for herself.

Now here she was, waiting with bated breaths underneath a rainstorm of guilt.

Stiofan rubbed his wrists and licked his lips. "I. . . There's been something on my mind of late, and I'm not quite sure what to make of it."

"Actually, you know what? Forget it." Weiss smiled the best she could and cupped his hand between hers. "I was acting rash. Don't say it if you don't want to. Tell me whenever you feel ready."

"No, it's better if I say this now rather than prolong my internal conflict." He squeezed back. "I've come to a decision, one that requires all my attention to reach. This may be difficult to hear, so brace yourself for what I'm about to say next."

Weiss gulped, heart drumming against her sternum.

"I-If that's what you wish, then say it," she said. "Hold nothing back."

In all honesty, she wasn't ready in the slightest.

Why'd he have to build up her expectations like that? Her mind raced faster than Ruby on a sugar rush to deduce and pinpoint exactly whatever it was he wanted to reveal. Clearly it was something big, but what exactly?

For goodness sake, the pressure was too much. She could barely process her own thoughts let alone the volatile situation they were in, and for crying out loud, how was she supposed to hear anything with all the blood rushing past her ears?

'Calm down, Weiss,' she thought. 'Relax. You're overthinking it. It can't be that bad, right?'

An uneasy geyser left Stiofan's mouth. "Are you ready?"

Weiss made the final adjustments, preparing herself for the blow about to come, and nodded at him to proceed.

Stiofan met her gaze, opened his mouth, and said the very words she never wanted to hear.