Chapter 10 - Stories of Old

Yosuke's footsteps echoed through the halls of Beacon as he approached a grand oak door. Reaching out, his hand grasped the knob, and with a gentle twist, he pushed it open.

The door swung silently, revealing the spacious interior of the library. Yosuke's eyes scanned the room as he entered, the door closing behind him with a hushed click.

His cerulean orbs took in the sight of towering bookshelves that adorned the somber gray walls. Rows upon rows of books, scrolls, and other written materials filled the shelves as if they were waiting to be explored.

The polished wooden shelves were meticulously arranged along with the soft lighting from the discreetly placed chandeliers and natural light streaming in through the tall glass windows, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Yosuke meandered through the library, his gaze flickering through the columns of books that adorned the shelves, 'Hmm, it doesn't seem like I'll find it here...' He sighed, 'That's unfortunate.'

Regardless, he was prepared to settle for an alternative and proceed to his next class after acquiring it.

While walking through the aisles he took noticed of the quietude that pervaded the library, noting the surprising number of students engaged in quiet reading and study.

Coming to a halt, Yosuke directed his attention down an aisle, where a sign overhead read, "Fairy Tales." A hand rose to his chin in contemplation.

It had been quite some time since he last read a fairy tales, and the allure proved irresistible. That, however, was accompanied by the fleeting visage of a smiling woman sitting by a bedside as she mouthed words inaudible. Yosuke felt a sting in his chest, one that lasted but a moment before disappearing.

'I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a look...'

With a pivot on his heel, he set off toward the designated aisle, his gait relaxed as his eyes skimmed the titles carved into the spines of each book before pausing at a particular title and pulling it out slightly while examining it with care.

The cover displayed a captivating artwork depicting two pink-haired children, their arms intertwined as they stood before a house resembling a gingerbread crust within a snowy forest.

'Hansel and Gretel... Have I read this one before?' Yosuke pondered, his finger tracing the embossed letters. After a moment of contemplation, he made his decision.

"I'll take it and read it later." He murmured, securing the book in his grasp before turning and continuing his journey through the library.

After half an hour of exploration, Yosuke had diligently perused every aisle of the library. Unfortunately, his search yielded no success in finding the specific book he had been seeking. However, he couldn't help but come across some rather...um, "interesting" reads along the way, though they were a bit too "passionate" for his tastes. How such books were even allowed on campus in the first place? He hadn't the faintest clue.

Not to say he didn't like them.

But who's to say he did?

Making his way toward the exit, Yosuke's gaze shifted downward to the book cradled in his hand as his finger traced over the bold title once more, his thoughts briefly lingering on the contents within. With a smile, he pushed open the door and stepped outside, allowing it to softly click shut behind him as he made his way towards his next class.

-.-

Yosuke sat, his notebook open in front of him as he swiped his pen across its pages scribbling notes while Professor Oobleck went on with his lecture. The sheets of paper becoming coated with stylish ink as the seconds ticked by slowly.

Suddenly, the bell blared, signifying the end of the session. Professor Oobleck took a sip of his coffee as his bespectacled gaze swept over the class, "Alright students, that is all for today! You may head out for lunch." He said, and not a moment too soon the other students bolted through the door as they charged towards the cafeteria with Aria being one of the many who did.

Sighing, Yosuke swiftly stowed away his notebook under his desk. Glancing to his side, he saw Saya and Toño quietly doing the same before breaking the silence with a soft query, "Are you two heading for lunch?"

The twins slowly rose to their feet with the shorter of the two giving a nod of affirmation, "Will you be joining the others?" He asked again, however, Toño merely waved away his question as they stepped out and turned down the hall towards the direction of the cafeteria.

Yosuke shook his head slightly, they truly were quite challenging to befriend. Standing, his eyes flickered to the book in his grasp as a small smile graced his lips, 'Atleast I finally have time to read.' He mused before striding out of the class and towards the cafeteria, flipping the book open to the first page as he walked.

His eyes landed on the first page, slowly skimming across as he read in his mind, "Once Upon a time a brother and sister named Hansel and Gretel lived in a hut..."

Yosuke greedily absorbed the contents of the thin book as he maneuvered through the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria. His eyes were glued to the pages, completely engrossed in its contents, his eyes darted across the pages like a cerulean blur as they hungrily gobbled up word after word.

Reading the book had been quite enjoyable so far, the struggles of the twins, their meeting and eventual confrontation with the Forest Witch and the moments leading up to her demise was rather enthralling.

But all good things must come to an end.

Yosuke flipped the final page, his eyes falling on the last paragraph as he collected his lunch. He glanced up, quickly finding his teammate sitting with Team RWBY.

'Saya and Toño aren't here today either.' He noted, his mind wondering to the image of a sleeping Saya for a fleeting moment while making his way over to the table, his eyes once again lowering to the contents within the book, finishing the final paragraph as he drew closer to the group.

Aria's voice rang out, "Oh, look, it's Yosuke!" She waved energetically at him as he approached. Yosuke lifted his gaze from his book, promptly closing it as he had reached the end. He stepped forward with his tray, a small smile gracing his lips.

"Hello, everyone." He greeted warmly, placing his tray down next to Aria at the edge of the bench. He eased into his seat and set the book beside him.

"Hey there, old timer! How's it going?" Yang quipped, sporting a mischievous grin that earned her a playful eye roll from Yosuke.

"Not much, just reading a story." Yosuke replied, gripping his fork and spearing a piece of juicy meat from his tray.

Blake, seated across from him, looked up from her book upon hearing the mention of a story. Her amber eyes located the book and curiosity flickered in her gaze. "And what story is that?" She inquired.

Yosuke smiled gently, raising the book so that the cover was visible to everyone at the table. "It's the story of Hansel and Gretel," He replied, placing the book down and studying the title. "It's one of the few fairy tales I never got to read as a child. Reading it now, I can see that it has a rather interesting premise and lesson."

"I know that book. My mom read it to me once, along with many other stories." Blake told, a small smile gracing her features, "It's one of the few reasons why I've gained such an avid interest in books." She added, her flaxen spheres observing the book in her grasp fondly.

Yang quirked a brow, "Isn't that the one where two kids get lost in a creepy forest?" She asked, receiving a nod of affirmation from the boy.

Yang rested a finger on her chin in contemplation, her amaranthine orbs gaining a mischievous glint as they flitted to her cookie stuffed sibling. Ruby locked eyes with the blonde whose lips curved into a roguish smirk, sparking a faint confusion in the hooded crimson-ette.

"You know..." Yang began, her teasing lilac never leaving the confused mercury of her younger sibling as she shoveled another cookie in her mouth before gradually coming to a pause as everyone looked to Yang, "When we were little I used to read that book to ruby all the time." Ruby's eyes widened as the realization finally hit.

"She looked so~ cute." Yang chirped, "Always saying, 'Yang, could you read it again for me pwetty pweeaase' every time I finished." She added with a chuckle, as the crimson-ette became as red as her namesake, too busy laughing to see her sister's rapidly shifting embarrassed figure.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby moaned, jolting into a wrestle as the two sisters tumbled to the floor, the writhing and crashing of the sisters leading to the entire table bursting into a fit of laughter, the scene even prompting those unfamiliar with the group to snicker and chuckle as well.

The Schnee heiress rolled her eyes at her partners' playfulness, "Since we're already on the topic of fairy tales. It's only right for me to share my personaI favorite." Weiss said, crossing her arms as all eyes turned to her, "Although I liked Hansel and Gretel, I found the story of Snow White more intriguing and... relatable."

"Oh? Relatable how?" Yosuke probed, looking on with blue embers of intrigue.

"The 7 dwarves remind me a lot of my butler Klein. He was always there to take care of me and he would always attempt to cheer me up whenever I was feeling down." She told, the beginnings of a smile forming on the edge of her lips as she reminisced on the few happy memories she had during her time at the Schnee manor.

"Ohh, so that explains why you act like an ice queen!" Yang said, halting her little scuffle with Ruby, dropping her fist in her palm as if she had just unraveled a mystery, "But the real question is, where's the prince charming that managed to thaw that cold, icy heart~?" She added, placing a hand on her chest and forehead dramatically while mimicking the act of swooning, much to the ire of the Schnee and the amusement of her peers.

Weiss rolled her eyes at the blonde and crossed her arms in front of her before she clarified, "First of all, I am not an ice queen. Secondly, I merely stated that the story was relatable, not a copy of mine." She huffed, earning yet another chuckle from the blonde brawler.

"The story does have an interesting premise. I admired how snow-white remained kind and bore no hatred towards the queen despite almost dying by her hands on several occasions, who, in the end, met her end due to her own jealousy and wickedness. The story shows that good will always prevail over evil so I understand why you like it." Yosuke commented, his lips curving into a soft smile as he and Blake, who silently agreed, both nodded, causing a smirk to wriggle its way onto the face of the Schnee.

"At Least someone appreciates a well written story." Weiss snarked, sparing the brawler a brief once over before eyeing the other blonde next to her who she noted to be unusually quiet ever since they started discussing the topic of fairy tales.

As the others continued to converse Weiss eyed Aria with a critical gaze before drawing closer to her and nudging her to gain her attention, "Why are you so quiet? Don't you have any books from your childhood you'd like to mention?" She inquired.

Aria regarded her with a sheepish grin as she replied, "Nope, not really. I don't really like reading books." She chuckled lightly while rubbing the back of her neck.

Weiss seemed a bit taken aback by her reply yet curious all the same, "So you're saying you didn't read any fairy tales growing up? Not even Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood or The Beauty and the beast?"

Aria shook her head, "Nada. I've never read any of those stories," She replied with a slight shrug of the shoulders, "I just kinda did my own thing ya know?"

"Your own thing?"

"I sorta made my own story."

"You write stories?" Blake suddenly interjected, startling the blonde. Peering around, the shotgun wielder realized all eyes were now on her as the table fell silent. Aria nodded, her cheeks dusted a slight shade of pink.

"Wow, really!?" Ruby exclaimed.

"How long have you been writing?" Yosuke asked, quirking a brow in amusement. Who'd have thought the eccentric could be a writer?

"Mmmm, I dunno, I think I started after watching this really fun action movie once." Aria replied, looking thoughtful.

Blake eyed the girl with mild intrigue, "Could you show it to us? The story I mean." She asked.

"Sure." Aria replied, retrieving her scroll from one of her pockets and unlocking it. After tapping the screen a few times she happened upon a document and clicked it before handing it over to the amber eyed beauty.

Blake accepted the scroll, her eyes moving about rapidly as she scrolled, a few snorts and snickers escaping her lips as she did so; prompting the others to gather and read through the document as well. Before long, Yang burst out laughing as she clutched at her stomach, dropping like hay atop the floor with Ruby following suit soon after. Yosuke covered his mouth as he stuffed a laugh while Weiss quirked a brow with a slightly amused expression.

A few minutes passed and the group had finished reading the document, the first to actually respond to the now embarrassed eccentric being the golden eyed perpetrator. With a smile etched to her lips and a tone laced with amusement, Blake placed the scroll atop the table.

"T-Two things Aria. One, I glanced at the date you wrote this and saw that it was five to six years ago and I'm guessing that it was your first time writing judging by how much fangirling you did every time 'Harry' was on screen."

Refusing to meet the features of the sphinx, Aria could only rub her arm, heartbeat akin to a drum in her chest as she heard the onset of giggles from the grounded sisters. "Yeah...It's bad-BUT I'VE IMPROVED!"

"I'd hope so....and second, while this is a book indeed, Aria, do you know what fanfiction is?" Now barely able to restrain her laughter from embarrassing the poor gunner more, light chuckles resonated from the blackened girl as the blonde's face scrunched in confusion.

"Fanwuhhh?"

"Oh nooooo....." Planting her head on the table, Blake simply lost it, laughing and cries mixing to one that forced her to hold her sides.

Yosuke covered his mouth, short bursts of laughter filtering through his loosely guarded lips, struggling to contain his laughter. Weiss sat next to the blonde, her head turned away as she snorted. Meanwhile Ruby and Yang were now rolling on the cafeteria floor like pigs in a pen, their cackles filling the room as Yang pounded her hand on the ground.

"You poor thing....." Turning to face the Blonde, Wiess only spoke, glossy eyes enjoying the serious confusion that hung around the girl.

"W-what's fanfiction! What did I do wrong?!"

"N-no Aria, you've done nothing wrong. Look, what you wrote was what someone would call fanfiction, a fan's interpretation of a medium they're inspired from."

"Ok...."

"Yes, and what you did, just like this book, is what you've interpreted from the show from when you fangirled about Harry, even more, you made a self insert as a love interest too." Losing all the color that highlighted her features, Aria felt her chest crash HARD.

'Crap-I forgot about that!'

"Gimme the scroll Blake!!" Sprinting atop the table, Aria barely avoided curb stomping the lunches of her friends, now inches away from her scroll, diving for the electronic device only for the nightly woman to snatch the device from her grasp.

"I'm saving this to my scroll!"

"Like HELL you are!" Faking to the right, Blake sprinted around the table, completely caught off guard as Aria speared her into a pillar, shaking its base only gaining the attention of everyone.....Feigning submission, Blake, with a heavy heart readied to hand over the scroll that never even belong to her-

TOSSING to Yang, the brawler was already ready, hoping to catch the object, horrifying the girl.

"YANG NO!!"

"YANG YES!"

Landing with a suave, the brawler smirked as she darted off into the crowd with the fangirl hot on her tail. Leaping onto a table, Yang sprinted along, spilling the other kid's lunches as she circled around.

"YANGGGG!!" Aria moaned, almost pleading as she gave chase, skipping from table to table as she closed in. With a mighty leap, she stretched and grabbed the blonde by the ankle, sending them both tumbling onto a table of food as the other students stepped away to give them space.

"MINE!" "NUH UH!" Aria growled, repeatedly grabbing and missing as Yang's hand snapped around just out of reach.

Glancing to the side, Yang grinned devilishly as she hurled the scroll across the cafeteria, "RUBY, CATCH!" She shouted as the scroll landed into the fumbling hands of the young crimson-ette.

"W-wha-" She stretched, catching the device before it came into contact with the ground. Looking up, she saw Aria diving towards her, cyan orbs locked onto her figure as her outstretched fingers coiled around the scro-

Ruby burst into a ball of crimson petals, flanking the blonde who crashed into another table with a thud as the scythe wielder reformed a ways away.

"Nice going rubes!" Yang said, punching the air as she sat up.

"Uhhh s-sorry!" Ruby chuckled nervously as her eyes darted around the area, desperately trying to find a way to dispose of the scro- well not really dispose of it but you get the idea.

"Give me..." Aria began, standing to full height as her lips twisted into a grin, "DA SCROLL!" She bellowed, eliciting a yelp of surprise from the red reaper as she quickly closed in.

"Wah!" Tackling Ruby to the ground, Aria straddled the young girl as she searched frantically for the device only for her to find it on the floor.

"Gotcha!" Moving swiftly, the blonde dove forwards, reaching for the scroll but fell short as the metal contraption shifted away from her fingers, buoying afloat, leaving the girl confused.

"Huh...?"

"Children..." The stern voice of one Glynda Goodwitch rang out, the device resting in her palm as jaded orbs of steel peered down into the startled verdant spheres of Aria.

"What is going on here?" She narrowed her eyes at the students, who only chuckled awkwardly as they glanced around at the mess they had caused.

Ruby chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck as she glanced at Glynda shyly, "Hehehe... Sorry..."

"Apologies Professor, we were having quite a bit of fun and might have taken it a tad too far." Yosuke said with an apologetic smile etched on his features.

"We're sorry, professor." "Sorry..." "Yeah...Sorry."

"Next time, please be more mindful of your surroundings." Glynda sighed, adjusting her glasses before flicking her wrist, the action causing all the damage caused to the cafeteria to revert back to its original state, Aria herself deflating like a balloon at her stress.

-.-

Yosuke and Aria entered their dorm room, the blonde quickly climbing and flopping onto her bed with a sigh, her head hanging off the bed's edge as Yosuke took a seat on the bunk beneath.

"I'm tired~" Aria mumbled, her hands dangling loosely as she stared into the ceiling.

Yosuke chuckled lightly, his eyes twinkling with mild amusement, "Of course you would be tired after what took place today." He teased, causing Aria to cover her face in embarrassment as she groaned.

"Please forget about that..." She said as her cheeks flushed red, eliciting another chuckle from the blue-nette smiled fondly.

"Should I?"

"Yosukeeeeee!"

[A wild pillow has appeared]

Soon after prying the pillow from his face, they were joined by the twins who took their seats on Saya's bed, the male donned a devious grin as he crossed his arms infront of him while the female seemed to be holding back from laughter, which peaked the curiosity of the other two.

"Huh? Why are you grinning like that?" Aria asked, rolling onto her stomach with a quirked brow. Yosuke observed the twins closely before he too donned a small grin.

Toño regarded the blonde as his grin morphed into a smirk, he only needed to articulate two words for the group to burst out laughing.

"Oh Harry-"

"Pfft..." "Hahaha!" Yosuke and Toño giggled to themselves with Saya struggling to contain her laughter as she averted her gaze to the window.

Aria stared at Toño wide eyed before her face instantly flushed red with embarrassment yet again as she burrowed her head into her bed.

"Not you too!"

From that day onwards Aria has never leant anyone her scroll again.