4

After being laughed out of her dorm, our little scythe wielder felt a tad in the dumps.

'It's not my fault I fell asleep in class!' Ruby pouted. "Maybe it's my lack of activity. Dad did say I'd fall asleep whenever there wasn't any excitement around. I guess a mission of sorts is in order." She shut her eyes and stroked an imaginary beard while she continued on through the hallway until her temporary blindness caused her to bump into someone.

"Oof!" Thank goodness her teammates weren't with her. This incident would only add more fuel to the humorous flames.

"Oh, dear! I'm so sorry!"

Opening her eyes, Ruby noted two things. One, Pyrrha's heart-shaped face hovering above her, forest green eyes wide with concern. Two, she had a clear view up Pyrrha's miniskirt, where she was given the fortune of seeing her very… risqué underwear.

'Who knew lace could be done up like that…'

"Ruby, is everything alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"Pan… ties…"

"What?"

"I… can… panties…" Ruby's gaze averted to the tiled floor. Obviously, janitors kept Beacon's tiled floors spick, and span, because she could very much see the raging blush on her cheeks.

Was that a little blood under her nose?

"Could you speak up, Ruby?" Pyrrha leaned closer, and unknown to her, the action displayed the top of her cleavage.

'She's trying to kill me.' Lightheaded, probably from her leaking nose, Ruby spoke again. "Your panties, I can see them."

Clearly, she hadn't spoken loud enough, because Pyrrha leaned even closer to her. "I'm sorry, but I'm having difficulty hear-"

"I can see your panties!"

Motion froze in the hallways at the loud outburst. It'd only been a few students dawdling about before heading to class, but even that small handful was too much for Pyrrha.

"E-Excuse me?" Pyrrha choked face burning.

"I didn't mean too, I swear! I wasn't minding my business because I was kinda upset my teammates laughed at me so I left the room and while I was sulking I was thinking maybe I could do a mission with them to keep me more active since I keep falling asleep in class so I was stroking my imaginary beard while I walked down the corridor and then I bumped into you and landed back on the ground and when I looked up I saw your panties!"

Everytime Ruby repeated that word, Pyrrha's face burned a watt brighter. As swift as lightning, her hands flew to her drapery and brought it to her upper thighs, knees buckling as she sunk to the floor. Her expression was unreadable as her long hair created a veil.

"Pyrrha, are you okay? Pyrrha?"

No, Pyrrha was not okay. Today was laundry day, and her other undergarments were out to wash except for this one she currently wore. Out of all the underwear she owned, she hated this one the most. Well, if she hated it, then why'd she buy it? She didn't buy it to begin with. It'd been a gift from a cousin of hers. And, Pyrrha, being ever so kind, could not be rude, and simply refuse it.

It was a stringy piece of material with diagonal strips of silk connected to a triangular cut of lace fabric which hardly hid her privates. Not only did the design irk her, but the piece in front of her genitalia was practically see through.

Which meant, when Ruby looked at her, she most likely saw Pyrrha's bits as clear as day.

The thought alone caused Pyrrha's body to fall even slacker on the floor.

"Pyrrha! Pyrrha! Speak to me!"

She couldn't speak, not when Ruby of all people saw her most intimate parts. Those who thought the Invincible Girl couldn't be flustered were proven wrong as she remained unresponsive to Ruby's cries.

"Pyrrha!"

"I am so, so, so, sorry, Pyrrha! I didn't mean to invade your personal space like that! Or, embarrass you like that!" Ruby apologized for what had to be the one-millionth time.

"It's alright, Ruby. I was simply… taken off guard." Pyrrha grinned at the apologetic girl weakly. 'I may be lying a bit. I was completely mortified.'

"I can't believe I did that!" The young leader covered her face in shame. "I can't believe I embarrassed the Pyrrha Nikos, Champion of Mistral like that. Ugh, I'm such a dunce!"

Pyrrha disregarded the girl's words of self-admonishment, focus taken by the reverence held in her words. Countless people put her on a podium for her solely, while only few saw her as another Huntress in training whose skill level stood above those of her peers.

A result of years of practice.

Years of arduous training could make anyone one of the top huntsmen or huntresses if they truly worked for it. Then, why did almost everyone see her as special? Why was she referred to as the Invincible Girl? What made her any different?

Pyrrha participated in many tournaments, and for every one, she fought in, she won. Sometimes, however, she'd be faced with tough opponents, and she'd have to resort to pulling out all the stops. And, sometimes, she'd win by default, because her opponent forfeited in fear of being humiliated by her. Pyrrha hated winning anything by default.

This way of life for her progressed on for years. She'd fight, she'd win. She'd fight, she'd win. She'd fight, she'd win. The process always repeated itself, and Pyrrha found herself becoming miserable. There was no joy in stepping foot into the arena knowing the outcome already as soon as she inspected adversary after adversary. A dull, bleak lifestyle.

Pyrrha shifted back to the origin of her train of thought. The emphasis put on her name, and title by Ruby. Pyrrha considered Ruby a friend, and very recently, she found herself enjoying the presence of the girl far more than she should have. For all that, did Ruby only see her in the same way as many others did? Some luminary everyone praised?

Suddenly, Pyrrha's world seemed even more lonesome.

"Here's my stop," Ruby informed once they reached the mission bay, taking back Pyrrha's attention. "Again, I'm super sorry for what happened back there."

"All is well, I assure you."

"Still…" Ruby looked at the floor before turning to Pyrrha. "Let me make it up to you."

"Make it up to me?"

"Yeah! If there's anything you want, just tell me!"

"Anything?"

"Anything!"

Pyrrha bit her bottom lip, brow furrowed as she thought about the offer. She didn't usually accept bargains from friends unless the bargains were made in jest. 'Am I a friend to Ruby, though?' The question plagued her.

"Well, there is one thing that would please me," Pyrrha stated, holding one arm with the other.

"Name it!"

"It'd be nice of you if you could just see me as another huntress here at the academy."

"I don't get it."

"What I mean is, I'd be happy if you wouldn't refer to me by my whole title. It's not who I am, it's just something the kind people of Mistral bestowed upon me." Pyrrha shifted from one foot to the next. "It'd be nice if you could just see me as Pyrrha without all the fuss that follows after."

"And, you'd be pleased with that?"

"Very much so."

"So be it, then… Pyrrha." Ruby winked and stuck out her tongue. "I'm actually glad you told me this."

"Oh?" The older girl relaxed her posture, looking Ruby in the eyes.

"Yeah, my mouth gets really tired sometimes saying the whole thing. If only I'd known you disliked it so much." Ruby sighed.

"I don't necessarily dislike it," Pyrrha said. "I'd just prefer to be called by name."

"Well, you don't have to worry about that from me anymore." She zipped over to Pyrrha, arm around her waist. "From now on, you'll be good ol' Pyrrha Nikos, a student of Beacon Academy. That sound good?"

"It sounds lovely." Bell-like laughter chimed as Ruby's actions amused Pyrrha.

"Good, since that's out of the way, I should get going." She stepped back from her elder, making her way through the hallway. "I'll see you later, Pyrrha!" She bid her goodbye, waving before she jogged away.

Pyrrha waved until Ruby's figure became a dot. "I suppose I stressed for nothing. Ruby's significantly different than other people. An endearing trait of hers." She mused, walking down the corridor in a relaxed manner.

Dodging the hustling bodies of her fellow students, she walked up to the mission log. After skipping a few missions that seemed a bit too much for just her team alone, she stopped on a simple delivery mission for a nightclub.

"Hm, this one seems easy enough. It might be better if I brought someone with me as backup in case things get ugly." The machine beeped as she punched her team's name into the empty mission slot. "Done."

Blake reclined on her bunk, nose deep in the pages of her book. Lost was she in her world of ink and paper, that she didn't notice Ruby's entrance.

"Where is everyone?"

Amber shifted from black ink and white pages to Ruby before sliding back to the book.

"Weiss is in the library last she told me, and Yang left to go somewhere."

"Oh." Ruby twiddled her thumbs, eyes constantly darting to Blake.

"Is there something you'd like to ask?" Blake closed her book, obvious that she wasn't going to finish it today.

"Would you… like to come with me on a mission?"

"A mission?"

"Yeah! I mean, I know how much you like to read and when I came in you were so deep in your book that you didn't hear me and when you get like that you don't like being disturbed but I'd really like it if someone came with me on this mission and that person turned out to be you. So, what do you say?" Ruby rambled, palms sweaty.

Go out on a mission with Ruby, or stay by herself as she read till her eyes burned. Two very good propositions, but she chose the former. She needed to get and stretch at some point.

"Okay," Blake said, moving to put on her usual clothing.

"Really?!"

"Yes, I needed the fresh air anyway." She said as she finished wrapping her ribbons around her lower arm. "Ready?"

"Yeah!"

"What's our mission?" Blake asked as she and Ruby entered the airship cabin.

"Only a delivery to a nightclub." Ruby distractedly informed face pressed up against the glass window of the airship as she enjoyed the view of Vale below. She'd seen Vale from above before, but it never got old looking at the city at this height.

Soon, the airship docked, and the two teens disembarked via the ramp.

Their first task was to collect the package from the rendezvous point before heading to the club. Blake waited outside while Ruby got the goods, returning shortly after.

"Come on, let's go," Ruby said.

They'd not gotten too far before they, literally, squinted their eyes as the person in front them was decked out in white, the evening sun beaming on the white fabric, creating a blinding effect.

"Weiss, is that you?" Indeed, it had been Weiss, her pale features coming into sight as she turned around. Plus, she was the only person they knew who wore so much white.

"Ruby?" Weiss asked.

"I thought you were in the library."

"I was, but then something came up." Weiss gestured to the parcel in her partner's hands. "What are you two doing in Vale?"

"Blake and me are on a mission to drop this package off at a nightclub. You wanna join?"

"Blake and I, and yes, I'll come with you." Weiss agreed.

Reaching the club, Weiss stared, face the epitome of disdain.

"You coming?" Blake asked when their pale friend didn't follow.

"I'm not going in there."

"Why?"

"What would people think if they saw me, Weiss Schnee, heiress of the SDC, going into a shoddy place like this?" Weiss sniffed. "I'll wait here until you've finished your business."

Ruby looked at Blake who shrugged, not bothering to inquire anymore. She went in after Blake, stopping near the entrance of the flashy and bright lit club. Were they expected to find their client in this mess?

Ruby grimaced. The club was a psychedelic mess, and to worsen matters, she'd forgotten the client's visage.

"Everything okay?" Blake checked.

"I sorta… kinda…. forgot the client's appearance." She whimpered, bowing her head in shame.

Blake sighed. "Do you at least know their name?"

"Pssh, of course, I know the person's name, I'm not that forgetful." Ruby snorted as she looked at Blake, the look on her face said 'really now.' "Whatever…" The teen stomped towards the bartender, opting to try her luck in asking him if he knew where Junior's whereabouts.

Blake shook her head, a nearly invisible smile on her lips as she walked behind the girl.

"Hey, do you know where Junior is? We have something for him." He turned to the girls, uninterest in his eyes.

Before Ruby could open her mouth again, a rough voice from behind them called, making the girls turn around.

"I'm Junior. What do you want?" He said.

"Oh, good. I brought the package you ordered." Ruby said as she handed him the package. Junior pulled out a wad of Lien before paying the girls and telling them to 'scram.'

"Eep!" Ruby ran out of the building, leaving Blake to catch up. "Weiss!" She screamed once she laid eyes on her partner.

Weiss changed position in response, facing Ruby as she sprinted towards her. "Slow down, dunce!"

She tried, she really did, but she tripped the instant she stopped running, falling and taking Weiss with her.

Groans and moans of pain came from the two as they lay on the pavement.

Weiss shifted her body, insults on the tip of tongue ready to fire when something warm and soft and slightly dry touched her lips. Sapphire opened to greet argent, their owner's breath brushing ridiculously close to her face.

'Hold a minute…'

Realization washed over Weiss like a typhoon, nearly screaming when she realized that warm, wet and dry feeling was the feel of Ruby's lip touching hers. Why they were basically kissing.

'This can't be happening!' Weiss internally screamed. Ruby's lips were dry and sweet at the same, with a hint of salt. Possibly eating something before she came here. 'It's not… bad, per say, but she needs some practice. Wait, why am I even thinking about this!'

'I'm kissing Weiss. I'm kissing Weiss Schnee. Oh dear, Remnant, I'm kissing Weiss Schnee, heiress to the SDC! She's going to kill me once this is over!' Ruby cried. 'Although, this may be the last time I kiss anyone. Might as well enjoy it before I die.'

Just as Weiss found her eyes sliding shut, Blake walked out the door and interrupted them. She looked at the two of them with narrowed eyes, a flare of unknown emotion flashing across her eyes.

"Oh my, when did this happen?" Blake's satire voice came.

Weiss quickly shoved away Ruby, sitting up to face Blake. "It's not what you think!" She panicked. "She fell on top of me!"

'Did she fall on your lips too?' Blake wanted to ask but held her tongue.

"Yeah, Blake! It was an accident, I didn't even want to kiss her!" Ruby pitched in, hoping to clear the air, but only seemed to muck it up more.

"Are you saying you find me repulsive?" Weiss hiked a brow, attention now to her partner.

"W-What! No, no, I'm not saying that!" Ruby frantically waved her hands.

"Then, you find her attractive?"

"..."

"Well, do you find me attractive, Ruby?" Weiss asked, somehow managing to sit with her hands akimbo.

"I mean, yeah, you're, like, super pretty and stuff." Ruby shrunk under the hard stares of her teammates. Where was this even coming from?

"Then, what of Blake, do you think she's pretty too?"

"H-Huh?!"

"Well?" Weiss said impatiently as Blake stared down at her, eyes piqued with wonder.

She held out for about two minutes before she caved. "Yes! Blake's gorgeous! You're both really gorgeous, okay?! Like head spinning gorgeous!" Ruby hopped to feet, backing away. "I'm gonna go ahead and check out some weapon parts while you two catch up. Okay! Bye!"

Their eyes stared at the retreating girl before looking at each other and back to the direction their leader ran off in.

"What just happened?"

"I think we broke her." Blake replied.

"I'm exhausted…" Ruby groaned, struggling to climb into her bunk. She laid down on her tummy, gawking at the setting sun through their window.

"That's your fault for running away like a madman," Weiss said, tapping on the screen of her scroll.

"That, and you decided to shop for about three hours," Blake added, cleaning up her bunk before she fished for her nightwear.

"Details, details." Ruby slurred, battling sleep. She needed to change her clothes, but her bed just felt so good.

"Pardon me, there's a call I need to make," Weiss said, scroll to her ear as she left the room.

That left Blake and Ruby alone.

After changing, Blake got in her bunk, a book her constant companion. She returned to the page she'd bookmark before she left. She easily picked up from where she left, adrift in her world. Though her thoughts were on anywhere but the book. Her musing drifted back to earlier tonight, to Ruby's loud outburst.

"Yes! Blake's gorgeous!"

Blake's focus wavered, the ink words becoming blurry scribbles as the words repeating in head like a vinyl player's needle stuck on a groove. Eventually, Blake wasn't even studying the words anymore, merely staring blankly.

'I have to ask, or I won't get any sleep tonight.'

"Ruby?"

"Mm, yeah?"

"Did you mean what you said earlier? About me being… gorgeous." Blake clarified.

Ruby brought her gaze to Blake, interest in the moon dwindling away. She flopped onto her back, interlocking her fingers on her tummy, front to the ceiling. "This is probably the sleep talking because I wouldn't be so brave otherwise, but Blake, you're like the coolest person I know at this school. You're smart, you're talented, you can be funny when you want to. You also have this feeling of mystery to you, and it, like, triples your attractiveness. You're also a strong believer of your views, something I like in a person. You don't back down when your opinion is challenged unless there's proof against it." She bonelessly let her head fall to the side. "If I were to judge you on a scale of one to ten, you'd be a solid elven. So, yeah, I think you're gorgeous."

Blake laid on her bed, quiet as can be. Ruby had given her a full disclosure without any forcing her to. That'd speech had come from her heart. Somehow, that made her stomach tingle, and her chest flutter while her face warmed. "Thanks, Ruby." She gently simpered, book forgotten. "Goodnight." With this new knowledge, it was easier to sleep. Her heart was light, her thoughts warm, Blake slept that night with a vague expression of tenderness.

"Yeah… good… night." Ruby half mumbled as she sluggishly slid to the floor, trudging to the bathroom to change. She came back out in her pyjamas, tossing her mission attire somewhere in the room before crawling back to her bunk, sleep embracing her like a lonely mistress.