25

Chapter 25:

Arranging a meeting between the two teams, bar the two sisters, was a more difficult prospect than Blake liked. RYNB wasn't hard, seeing as Yang was all too happy to find her own amusements on the weekend, usually involving clubs or bars in Vale. RASP, on the other hand, spent much of the week together, training in between classes, only going their separate ways on Sunday, and not always, sometimes even spending their day off together, as a team.

It had taken a little doing on the part of Blake and Ren to arrange things. It had involved a series of discreet texts between the members of the two teams, with the exception of Ruby and Yang, to find something for Ruby to do, while Yang also did her own thing, leaving the remaining six to meet behind closed doors and discuss the issue.

So it was that Sunday, just after lunch; Jaune, Weiss, and Pyrrha discreetly entered Team RYNB's room, across the hall from their own. Ren, Nora, and Blake were waiting for them.

The three members of RASP listened as Ren and Blake explained the problem. After they finished, a silence descended as everyone thought things over.

"I'm not sure what to do," admitted Pyrrha nervously.

"Do we need to do anything?" asked Weiss. "I mean, Yang's behavior is a problem, for sure. But there have been no issues on our team, with Ruby."

Silently, both Pyrrha and Jaune noted that it was a pretty big step for Weiss to say something so complementary about Ruby. "Weiss, we can't just pretend this isn't an issue," said Pyrrha. "These are our friends we're talking about, Yang included."

"And...it's been kinda an issue for me," added Jaune with a wince, remembering his "sparring match" with Yang a few weeks back.

"Fine," said Weiss with a resigned sigh. "But what do we do? Ruby's resolved not to even acknowledge Yang's existence, when she can help it."

"Maybe we can arrange a situation where they have no choice but to face each other," suggested Pyrrha, "like if we arranged a sparring match between them."

"Actually...I could see that going downhill really fast," said Jaune warily.

"Me too," agreed Ren, while Blake nodded along with him.

"Fine then, what do you suggest, lock them in a room together or something?" asked Weiss. "Try something like that, and I can pretty much guarantee that whatever building the room is in won't be standing, when it's all over."

They fell silent, contemplating their options.

"I give up!" exclaimed Nora, throwing her arms up. "I can't think of any way to get them to make up with each other."

"Maybe getting them to make up is the issue," said Ren. "We either have to get Ruby to at least acknowledge, and be willing to talk with, Yang or get Yang to accept that Ruby won't deal with her as a sister."

"This is hopeless," groaned Weiss, leaning back. "Is there any way we can make them meet halfway."

"I'm not even sure what that would look like in this situation," said Pyrrha pensively.

"There must be something..." Jaune frowned. "Ruby's not gonna do anything herself. Is there anything that Yang can do...a peace offering...something?"

"I'll...check with her," said Ren. "I don't know what other option we have."

"We'll try and work on Ruby," said Pyrrha. "But this is the one thing that makes her angrier than anything else."

"Yeah...this is gonna suck," said Jaune.

"A peace offering?" Yang frowned, looking at her teammates. "I don't know...I haven't seen Ruby in so long. All the things she was interested in, back when she was nine, I doubt they'd matter much to her now."

"Perhaps there's a hint in there somewhere," said Ren. "A person's interests can mature along with them, but they are often rooted in the things that they enjoyed as children."

"Yeah, like pancakes!" exclaimed Nora, bouncing on her bed.

"Nora, you've always loved pancakes," said Ren with an exasperated, yet amused, smile. "That's one thing about you that's never changed."

"That's because pancakes are timeless!" cheered Nora.

Yang and Blake couldn't help but giggle. I'm glad they're trying to help me now, thought Yang. It was a far cry from before, where all she had was building frustration and...And I just flew off the handle at Blake, just because she heard something I didn't like. Shame washed through Yang and she slumped. I...I've just been causing problems for my team, making things harder for them. They're trying so hard, but it may be just as much so I'll get myself under control as it is because they want to help me fix things with Ruby.

Considering how she had expressed her frustrations before now, Yang's teammates were well within their rights to do any number of things to try and bring her under control. Yet here they were, trying to help her with the very thing she'd been blowing up at them over. I need to get control of myself, she thought.

For now though, Yang decided to focus on trying to figure out what she could do to connect with Ruby. There had to be something. She was ashamed to realize she couldn't remember things like Ruby's favorite movies or cartoons from when she was little. Granted, those were things she'd liked when she was nine, and Ruby hadn't been in contact with the Kingdoms much over the past six years. So it was hard to say what she did and didn't like now.

The only other thing she really loved was hanging out with Uncle Qrow... Yang's eyes widened and a faint gasp escaped her. Uncle Qrow! Their eccentric uncle had been someone that Ruby had always admired and desired to emulate. Ruby had been ecstatic, on those occasions where he dropped by to visit. She'd always wanted Qrow to teach her how to use the scythe, so that she could learn to fight like him.

But, in the years since the incident, Taiyang and Qrow had fought furiously over Ruby's future, Taiyang threatening to bar Qrow from even seeing Ruby, if he kept pushing to have her trained. It had reached the point where, anytime Qrow showed up at the house, it always devolved into a shouting match between the two men, often leading to Qrow storming out. Qrow had admitted to Yang that he'd found Ruby after she'd run away, but had ultimately let her go, trusting the people Ruby was with. Qrow hadn't seen Ruby in six years. Now...

"You have an idea?" asked Ren.

"I think so," said Yang. "But I need to make a call."

"Watch where you're going!" snarled Cardin, glaring down at the other student, now sprawled out on the ground.

"S-sorry," the poor boy whimpered, scrambling to get away from him.

Cardin snorted and kept on walking. At the moment, he was in a foul mood. His efforts to entice Ruby were coming to nothing. If anything, she was repulsed by him, rather than attracted. He couldn't even properly take out his frustrations on fitting targets, like those faunus animals, for fear that she would follow through on the threat she'd made when he'd been tormenting Velvet. Now he was just left with lashing out at anyone unfortunate enough to cross his path.

It was Saturday. Cardin should have been enjoying the day in Vale, preferably with a pretty girl on his arm. He had a particular girl in mind too. When he'd first laid eyes on Ruby Rose, he'd thought of her as little more than a child, Ozpin's little pet, probably invited into Beacon for some random reason, or to bolster the school's reputation.

However, after seeing her fight Russel, and subsequent matches, Cardin had realized that Ruby was a prodigy, someone who had indeed earned her place at Beacon. What was more, she had been made the leader of a team that included the likes of Pyrrha Nikos and Weiss Schnee. And then, after that first Sunday in town, Cardin had gotten a look at her in her new outfit.

Now there was no question in his mind. Ruby Rose was a beautiful young woman, and one with a bright future to boot. If Cardin could hook up with her, his status and street credit would skyrocket. Now...if only she could see the appeal of being with him.

After all, Cardin came from the Winchester family. While they weren't as prestigious or powerful as the Schnees, they were a force to reckoned with in Vale. Over the years, the family had supplied multiple members of Vale's Council, and several members had gone on to become renowned Huntsmen and Huntresses. The family fortune, again, was no match for what the Schnees had, but they were more than wealthy enough for their purposes. With that kind of clout, he should have been irresistible to a girl like Ruby.

However, she was disgusted by him, preferring to hang out with a wimp like Jaune Arc, all because he had the good fortune of winding up as her partner. Just the thought of a loser like that hanging out with someone as valuable as Ruby Rose was enough to make Cardin's blood boil.

Stewing in his frustrations, Cardin wasn't really looking where he was going. With his size and heft, if he bumped into anyone, they were likely to be the ones to wind up on the ground. So it was only natural that, as he rounded a corner of one of Beacon's outbuildings, that he didn't see the diminutive girl who was coming the other direction, namely because she was so short that he was below his normal field of vision, even had he been paying attention.

"Oops," said the girl, skipping back slightly to avoid bumping into Cardin, her voice attracting his attention.

Cardin looked down, taking in the girl, her auburn hair and chocolate-colored eyes, her light build and, most visibly, the reddish-brown, bottlebrush tail, with a white tip, that swayed behind her.

"Terribly sorry," said the girl cheerfully. "This school is a bit hard to navigate for a visitor like me."

Cardin growled and bared his teeth. If there was one thing that irked him about Beacon, it was the fact that Ozpin and Goodwitch gave free rein to let these animals run around however they pleased. If there was one thing his family had taught him, it was that faunus were animals. They might think they had won their rights with that stupid revolution of theirs, but no amount of revolting would change the fact that they were revolting. The sight of that fox-tail dancing behind this little interloper made his blood boil, particularly with the way she spoke to him, as though she had any right to address someone like him, as though she were another human herself.

"I don't suppose you could direct me to the student dormitories," said the girl, looking around. "I'm here to visit my younger sister."

Cardin growled. "You damn mutts," he snarled. "It's bad enough that the likes of you are trying to become Huntsmen. But now they're just attracting more of their kind."

"Oh, well I can see that you aren't inclined to be helpful," said the girl, shrugging indifferently. "In that case, I'll keep looking. Perhaps I'll find someone more polite."

She turned and began to walk away. Her nonchalance, not even seeming offended by his words, irked Cardin all the more. His hand twitched, and he remembered Ruby's warning.

But she's not here, right now, thought Cardin. This is perfect. There's no one around, and I can get some stress relief.

"Hold up," he said. "You think you can just walk away from me?"

"Hmmm?" The girl paused and looked back over her shoulder at him. "But I figured, since you were so upset by my presence, this was what you preferred."

"Oh, I don't like your presence all right," said Cardin. "But you're an idiot if you think you can just walk away before I can show you what your kind deserve."

"And what is that?" inquired the girl.

"A beating," said Cardin, reaching out to grab her tail. "I've been a bit stressed out lately, and a dumb mongrel like you is perfect to help me vent." He pulled back on her tail, trying to pull her towards him.

To his surprise, the girl didn't budge. Her face reflected neither pain nor fear, merely indifference. "Please let go," she said simply.

"Hell, no," growled Cardin. "An animal like you doesn't give orders to me. We're gonna play, you and I."

"Well then, I won't bother asking again," said the girl with a shrug, turning towards him so that her tail was now curled around her side. "In that case, I advise you to hold on with all your might. My idea of 'play' is very rough. It would be unfortunate if you ended up flying over the horizon."

"Huh what do you meeeeaaaaaaaan-?"

Cardin's voice ended in a terrified shout as the girl's tail abruptly pulled itself in his grip, pulling Cardin along with it. It yanked him upwards into the air with such suddenness that it wrenched his arm from its socket, lengthening and extending, before swinging him over the top of the girl's head and pulling him back down. Cardin slammed back into earth on his back, with enough force to break the ground beneath him. Something in his back cracked, and pain shot from about midway down his spine and out to the tips of his toes, making him scream in agony.

"Oooh! That was a cracked vertebrae," said the girl, wincing in sympathy. "From the way you're reacting, I imagine it put some pressure on your spinal cord, which is why you're feeling so much pain down into your legs even. It seems I dislocated your shoulder too."

Cardin wheezed and gasped. "You...b-b...You bitch!" He panted for breath for a moment before finding the strength to keep speaking. "I'll report you! Y-you won't get away with this."

"Oh...get away with what?" asked the girl in all innocence, tilting her head cutely.

"H-huh?" Cardin blinked, then realized something. He wasn't in pain anymore. He felt good as new. It was like he hadn't just been smacked into the ground with bone-breaking force or had his shoulder dislocated. "Wha-what did you-?"

Before he could finish his question, he was pulled into the air with another scream, swung up and over the girl's head again and slammed back down. This time, he landed awkwardly and there was a jolt of agonizing pain from his back...followed by sheer terror as all feeling from his shoulders down vanished.

"Well, that was a broken neck," said the girl. "In stories, they always kill people that way, but not enough force and you just inflict total paralysis. Such an injury can be permanent, even if a person's recovery abilities are bolstered by their Aura." She favored Cardin with a cheerful smile. "Fortunately, you are in capable hands...or a capable tail, rather.

Cardin blinked and the sensation of...a lack of sensation...was gone. Everything was back to normal. "What was-AAAGGGHHH!"

He was whipped around yet again, this time landing on his forearm and breaking it. Even before he was finished wailing with pain and lifting up the limb to inspect it, it had returned to normal.

The girl was beaming cheerfully down at him. "Isn't it amazing?" she asked. "Injuries like this are child's play for me to fix."

"What are you?" gasped Cardin.

"I'm a healer," said the girl proudly. "Isn't it amazing to be able to experience that pain? Since I can erase it so easily, you get the unique experience of being hurt, with none of the consequences. Wonderful, isn't it?"

"Y-you..." gasped Cardin, before he was flicked around again, breaking a leg this time. "Stop it!"

"But why should I?" asked the girl, still beaming innocently. "If you want to stop, all you have to do is let go."

Cardin blinked and gaped. It was so simple. Why hadn't he done that sooner?

The answer was that he couldn't. Now that he thought about it, Cardin realized that the muscles of his hand had seized up, locking it in a grip around the girl's tail that was tighter than the grip of death itself. "I...I can't let go."

"Oh, that's just a safety measure," said the girl. "Like I said before, it would be a shame if you were sent flying, so I wanted to make sure you don't lose your grip."

"But now I can't let go!" protested Cardin.

"Well, if you're going to be stubborn about it, I suppose that we'll just keep playing," said the girl, blatantly ignoring that she'd just said that she was the one making it so that Cardin couldn't let go.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" wailed Cardin as he was whipped through the air again, breaking his ribs this time.

"Isn't it incredible?" teased the girl. "It hurts, then it's gone, like it never happened. Don't worry, I'll heal every injury you receive, so you can continue to fall without a care in the world." Her smile widened, but the expression now looked positively vicious on her face. "People often threaten to break every bone in another's body, but you'll be the one of the few who will actually get to experience it...and then be one of the rarer few able to walk away afterwards. What a truly distinct opportunity this is."

She was diminutive, a little under five feet. But, right now, to Cardin's eyes, she seemed a titan as she loomed over him, her smiling face menacing in its cheerfulness. "Now then, what should I break next, hmm...?"

A plaintive whimper was the only response Cardin could muster.

Ruby blinked and turned, finding herself looking through a few trees, back towards Beacon's main campus. Is that...?

"Ruby!" cried Jaune, from where he hung, "Your flame is getting too big!"

"Oh!" Ruby quickly turned back to Jaune and adjusted the size and intensity of the plasma orb hovering below him to its proper level. "Sorry." She beamed up at Jaune. "But you're doing a great job. Keep up the good work."

A pained moan was her only response as Jaune curled back and forth, dangling from his legs, his knees hooked over a tree branch, forced to keep moving his body to avoid keeping either his front or back exposed to the heat radiating upwards from the orb below for too long and start burning. However, he also had to hold each position a certain amount to allow the other side of the body to cool off enough for him to expose it again.

"Where did you get an insane exercise like this?" asked Weiss, incredulously, watching Jaune continue to work from where she stood. She was pretty sure she'd seen something like this in an artistic depiction of the torments of Hell.

"I used to do it almost every day, when I was little," said Ruby. "It's good for developing your core muscles. The heat is a nice motivating factor."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this," admitted Pyrrha, watching with no small amount of trepidation. "It looks more like torture than exercise."

"Nah, if it were torture, I'd be making the plasma hot enough that he'd burn, no matter how he moved," said Ruby dismissively. "This is just enough to not harm him...so long as he doesn't slack off."

"It sure feels like torture to me," complained Jaune from above.

"If I could handle this when I was nine, you can handle it now," Ruby called back cheerfully.

"You are enjoying this way too much," muttered Weiss.

"You mind?" Ruby inquired.

Weiss looked up, seeing the distressed, borderline panicked look on Jaune's face, and the corner of her mouth quirked in a half-smile. It was a very comical expression on his face. "Not too much," she admitted.

"Well...I suppose it's for his own good," said Pyrrha, still looking unsure.

"Traitor!" wailed Jaune.

"Less griping and more working," Ruby called up at him. "If you've got the breath to complain, I must not be making the it hot enough."

"I'm working! I'm working!" Jaune's movements above became sharper.

Ruby grinned, then gasped, feeling another pulse against her senses. She turned to look in the same direction as before.

"RUBY! TOO HOT!"

"Ah!" Ruby turned back and adjusted the plasma again. "Sorry!"

"Um...if you're having trouble concentrating, perhaps we should-" Pyrrha began, only to cut off when Ruby snapped her head back around to look towards the campus again.

She'd felt it again, like a gentle pulse against her. What was more, this feeling was familiar to her. Ruby gasped, her eyes going wide, an exultant smile forming on her face as she realized what it meant.

"RUUUUBY!" Jaune yelled desperately.

"Ooops!" Ruby turned and extinguished her orb completely, leaving Jaune gasping desperately, up in the tree. "Sorry," she said. "Let's leave off here for today."

"You're actually calling off training early?" asked Weiss skeptically. "What happened?"

"She's here," said Ruby eagerly.

"She...Wait!" Pyrrha gasped. "You mean your sister?"

"Yeah!" said Ruby, practically dancing in place. "Jaune! Hurry up and get down here! I want to introduce you."

"Um...A little help heeeeeeeeeeeere!" Jaune's request terminated in a wail as his legs relaxed, which, unfortunately, resulted in them loosening their hold on the tree branch, sending him plummeting towards the ground.

"Jaune!" exclaimed Pyrrha, reaching out to catch him.

With a flash, a white Glyph appeared beneath Jaune, hovering just a foot off the ground. Jaune's drop came to an abrupt stop, leaving him hanging in the air above the earth...for all of a second, before the Glyph vanished and he dropped the rest of the way to the ground with a grunt of pain.

"Thank you, Weiss," Jaune moaned tiredly from where he lay.

"You're welcome," said Weiss with an amused smirk on her face, while Ruby giggled next to her.

Then Ruby quickly moved down to help Jaune to his feet. "Come on, silly," she said. "Hurry and get cleaned up."

Jaune groaned as he accepted Ruby's hand, grunting with the exertion of getting his tired legs under him, then straightening them. After that, he gratefully accepted the towel Pyrrha offered him, using it to dry off the sweat that had collected across his brow and bare torso, unfortunately completely oblivious to the fact that the three girls were now blushing as they eyed him, his physique having already improved markedly after just these few weeks of training, enabling him to develop muscle-tone that was bordering on impressive.

Reluctantly, Pyrrha offered Jaune his T-shirt, unable to tear her eyes away as he lifted up his arms and slid the garment over his head, feeling somewhat disappointed, once his skin disappeared beneath the garment.

"Come on!" shouted Ruby, grabbing Jaune by his wrist and yanking him back towards the school, making Jaune yelp in surprise as he struggled to keep from getting pulled off his feet, leaving him being almost dragged along in Ruby's wake.

"Ruby! Wait!" shouted Weiss as she and Pyrrha broke into a run to try and keep up with their excited leader.

"P-please stop," whimpered Cardin from where he lay, having just had his femur snapped like a twig.

"Aw...but we've only just begun," said the girl, sounding disappointed. "A human skeleton has over two-hundred bones. We're only a little ways into the double-digits."

"No more...please!" begged Cardin, tears of fear and pain streaming from his eyes.

"Well...if you really don't want to play anymore, there's no helping it," said the girl, adopting an expression of faux-benevolence. "I suppose you're the kind of person who only likes it when the 'play' is only fun for you. You prefer it when your playmate is the weaker one, don't you?"

Cardin gulped, his eyes widening as the girl crouched over him, positioning herself so that she was leaning directly over his head and looking straight down at his face.

"Yes," crooned the girl, "you like that: the feeling of power, the feeling of control, of being able to handle a person any way you like, while they protest and plead. But now that you're on the other end of that, it's not so fun anymore, is it?"

She leaned in closer, her nearness making Cardin tremble. "The pain is unique, true. But this sense of powerlessness, of having control wrenched away, and your pleasure and pain being completely subjected to the whims of another, that is what your victims experience when you take advantage of them. Tell me...when the ones you victimized asked or begged, did you actually stop...or did you merely pause to savor their whimpering, before continuing, only stopping when your wants were sated?"

Cardin whimpered wordlessly.

"Fortunately, I am a bit more merciful than you," said the girl. "If you want this to end, it's all too easy. All it takes is two very simple words." She raised her right hand and, ever so lightly, rested the tip of her index finger on the center of Cardin's forehead.

"Huh?" Cardin blinked.

"After all," continued the girl. "You were so very rude to me, even though I minded my manners, despite your lack of such. Yet you still proceeded to try and attack me. I know some of the humans in the Kingdoms harbor negative views of faunus. I find it quaintly amusing most of the time. However, not everyone is as tolerant as me. The next time you try something like this, the person you antagonize might well be stronger than you...and nowhere near as merciful as I am."

This is her idea of mercy? wondered Cardin, too terrified to give voice to his thoughts.

"Now then, that having been said..." said the girl, "...as I told you before, all it takes is two simple words to end this. What do you think they are?"

Cardin's throat worked furiously. He knew exactly what words the girl was fishing for. However, his pride didn't want him to give voice to those words. This girl was a filthy faunus, a freak, masquerading as a human, pretending that the tail that grew from the base of her spine was something normal...even before she'd started stretching and manipulating it like it was some kind of furry tentacle. His family had always taught him that the faunus were beasts with delusions of grandeur, that treating them like people was beneath him...that they were beneath him.

But now, he'd met this girl...and he was the one beneath her, the one being tormented and beaten, his pain being treated as a source of amusement to her. It was infuriating...humiliating...to be reduced to that. And now she wanted him to compound his humiliation further. Pride and fear warred furiously within him.

"Now...what do we say?" asked the girl, reprimanding him with the sternness of a mother correcting her child's behavior.

In the end...fear won out. "I...I'm s-sorry," said Cardin, his voice trailing off in another whimper.

The girl's smile widened ever so slightly and, for all of a second, Cardin was terrified that she would ignore it and continue torturing him. Instead, he felt the muscles of his hand relax and open, her tail finally slipping out of his grip.

"There now," cooed the girl. "That wasn't so hard, now was it? In the future, I advise you to mind your manners much more carefully. You never know when someone might be the sort of person more than capable of turning your belligerence against you...and more than willing to."

She stood up. "I also suggest you reconsider your life philosophy. The belief that being stronger allows you to exploit those weaker than you might seem enticing, but those who only ever pick on the weak soon find that their strength will reach its limit, whereas someone who actually aims to get stronger, generally by facing those even stronger than them, will surpass that wall. Keep this up, and you'll only be top dog for so long...if you even are now."

The girl stretched her arms above her head, her tail flicking idly. "Now then, I'll be off to find my sister. Feel free to get up whenever you're ready. It's not as though you're injured, after all."

It was true. There wasn't a trace of physical pain in Cardin's entire body. He felt fine, in fact, better than fine even, as though he'd been healed, not only of the injuries the girl herself had inflicted, but all the little sources of pain and discomfort that tended to build up in the body over time, even with Aura to help with recovery.

Yet, that revelation only terrified him all the more. Even though he was perfectly capable of standing up and walking away, without so much as a limp, Cardin was locked in place by the memory of that pain alone.

The girl merely giggled and walked away, heading back around the corner, already homing in on a familiar Aura approaching her. Turning, she began to follow that sense towards its source, her smile widening eagerly as she felt the source approaching her just as quickly.

"Sasame-nee!" shouted Ruby as she barreled towards the fox-faunus.

Mitarai Sasame's smile widened and she broke into an exuberant grin. "Ruby-chan!" she shouted back, holding out her arms in preparation to greet her little sister.

Roman groaned as he set aside his book. Prison wasn't as bad as the Dust-vision shows made it seem. The food wasn't terrible, perfectly palatable, tasty even, particularly on Saturdays. Sure, he got a few privileges, like getting books from the prison library and some time to watch whatever he wanted on the prison's projector. But that didn't change the fact that it was boring in the long run.

And, unfortunately, he figured that he was gonna be here for a while. It wasn't as though Cinder was going to spring him anytime soon, not when he was here, in plain sight, being such a good suspicion-deflector.

His eyebrows went up as he heard a faint tapping on the door to his cell again.

"Bad news," his most-trusted ally reported.

Roman rolled his eyes. Of course it is. Using his shoe, he tapped out a response. "What?"

"Cinder has a new approach,"

Roman swallowed. That's not good. If Cinder was changing the plan so that she could work without him...then that made him expendable. If he became expendable, then he also became disposable. Unfortunately, his boss wasn't the sort to hesitate when it came to doing the disposing. "Is she...?" He really didn't want to finish that question.

"No," came the answer, making him sigh in relief, before checking his behavior. He knew his cell was monitored. The last thing he wanted was to give them the impression that he was having a conversation. His ally continued. "She still wants me for Phase 2. She won't have me if anything happens to you."

That made Roman relax a little. He had to admit, his little helper was one of the most capable people in Vale's underworld...for a variety of tasks and roles. She didn't have the head for running things the way he did, not to mention the issues her...other problem...created, but she was even better than him, when it came to fighting, and had the capability to get into a lot of places most people couldn't, as evinced by her presence here. He could understand why Cinder valued Neo's skills so much. Now he appreciated her skills more than ever...almost as much as he appreciated her loyalty.

It was said that there was no honor among thieves. But what Roman and Neo had wasn't based on honor. It was a trust and loyalty based on far more than that. No matter how bad things got, neither would ever truly abandon the other. So, as long as she was useful in Cinder's plan, Neo would make sure that nothing happened to him.

"What's the new approach?" Roman asked.

"She wouldn't tell me," Neo replied. "But she's been having the White Fang move operations out of Vale."

That got Roman thinking. For all that Cinder apparently needed Neo for the next phase of her plans, she wasn't willing to explain those plans to her, nor was she explaining how Phase 1 had changed, now that he was in custody.

He'd thought that the plan had been to have the White Fang start hitting Dust shops, now that Roman was conveniently behind bars, leaving the police with their guard down. But it seemed Cinder had something else in mind. "What about me?"

"Stay put for now," Neo answered.

I thought so, thought Roman, suppressing the urge to groan. This probably meant he would be stuck here for a good while longer. Still, Neo's made sure Cinder isn't gonna off me anytime soon...I hope. That's enough for now.

Ruby squealed in excitement as she threw her arms around Sasame's shoulders. Sasame immediately returned the gesture, hugging Ruby around the waist. A second later, she shifted her hands and, in the next second, Ruby squeaked as she was tossed up in the air. Sasame caught her on the way down and began to toss her up again.

"You know, there's something...off...about this picture," deadpanned Weiss, staring at the scene of a girl a full foot shorter than Ruby, tossing her up and down like Ruby was a toddler. The scene became even stranger when Sasame caught Ruby again, swinging her around so that she hooked an arm under Ruby's legs, now holding her like a toddler too, all despite the fact that Ruby was a good bit bigger than her.

"Sasame-nee! I'm too old for this," protested Ruby, blushing as receiving such treatment in front of her friends.

"Aw, but you're still my precious little sister, Ruby-chan," replied Sasame teasingly. "As your big sister, it's my obligation to embarrass you in front of your friends."

"Yep, they're sisters all right," said Jaune with an amused chuckle. He'd seen that treatment between his own sisters...and been on the receiving end of it himself. He chuckled more as he watched Sasame dip Ruby down far enough that the older, yet shorter, girl could kiss the tip of Ruby's nose, drawing forth an embarrassed whine.

"You know, if you want this kind of thing to stop, you have to stop making the cutest noises when you're flustered," said Sasame, which only made Ruby whine more, even as Pyrrha began to laugh, muffling the sound with her hand.

"She does make very cute noises," Pyrrha conceded softly to Jaune.

"That she does," agreed Jaune.

Finally, Sasame set Ruby down and stood back, looking her up and down. "I haven't seen you in months, Ruby-chan. Just look how much you've grown."

"I have been drinking milk," said Ruby.

"Well...there's that too," said Sasame with a giggle. "But I was thinking you look more mature now. It seems that going to Beacon agrees with you quite a bit."

"I guess," demurred Ruby, looking away, her cheeks flushing.

"Oh, she's thriving here," said Pyrrha cheerfully.

"Indeed," said Sasame, turning to take in Ruby's teammates for the first time.

The three other members of RASP found themselves flinching reflexively under the force of Sasame's look. There was no malice or negative emotion attached to her gaze, yet it exuded a palpable pressure.

"Well then, I suppose you'll have to introduce me," said Sasame, turning back to Ruby. "I can't wait to hear everything you've been up to."

They found their way to a table in the courtyard and seated themselves around it. Sasame's tail flicked behind her as it extended through the chair's open back, a feature designed to accommodate the faunus who attended Beacon.

"This is Weiss Schnee," said Ruby, gesturing to Weiss, who dipped her head politely, Sasame returning the gesture. "And this is her partner, Pyrrha Nikos."

"Pleased to meet you," said Pyrrha cheerfully.

"Likewise," said Sasame in an identical tone.

"And this is my partner, Jaune Arc," said Ruby, gesturing to Jaune.

"It's great to finally meet you," said Jaune.

"And I'm glad to meet you," said Sasame. "It's nice to know that Ruby's made friends who've been taking good care of her."

"Actually, it's more like she's been taking care of me," admitted Jaune with a sheepish laugh.

"Jaune!" hissed Weiss. "Do you have any idea how that sounds?"

"How what sounds?" asked Jaune, looking at Weiss in confusion.

"It...never mind," growled Weiss.

Sasame merely giggled. "Yes, good friends indeed," she said. Her eyes flickered over the three of them in turn.

Weiss had to admit that the mysterious "Sasame-nee" Ruby had talked about had not been what she'd been expecting, not that Ruby had ever given them a detailed description of the older girl. She wasn't sure what to expect. Having heard that Sasame was a healer, she'd expected a gentle demeanor, which Sasame did indeed have. However, Sasame's presence was incredible. Just her being there made the air seem lighter and clearer, almost as though Weiss had set foot in a high-class spa, just by entering into Sasame's vicinity.

"Still, you seem to have acquired quite the cast of characters," said Sasame, her gaze going back to Ruby. "And you're the team leader, are you? I'm very proud of you, Ruby-chan."

"Thanks," said Ruby, averting her eyes slightly.

"She certainly deserves it," said Jaune.

"I imagine so," said Sasame. "It's certainly quite good of her to oversee your training, Jaune-kun."

"Huh?" Jaune blinked, flinching back, his eyes going wide. Weiss and Pyrrha wound up gaping at Sasame as well...while Ruby didn't look remotely surprised.

"I can see the evidence of recent development in your physique," said Sasame plainly, her eyes gliding up and down Jaune's torso, with a look that reminded him more of being examined by a doctor than being eyed by a girl, not that the latter had happened to him much. "You've only really started training in earnest recently. You have a remarkably strong Aura. It's rare for anyone to have so much of it naturally. The state of your Temper indicates that you've unlocked it, and only been training in its usage recently...a little over a month, right?"

"Y-yeah," said Jaune, beginning to sweat.

"That explains how you've developed so quickly," noted Sasame. "Your Aura speeds your recovery, stimulating your muscle-growth after an intense workout. You can work longer and more often and, thusly, increase your musculature much more quickly than average. Ruby-chan took almost three-times as long to start showing the results you're showing now."

"So I'm basically almost at the level she was at when she was nine," noted Jaune.

"Adjusting proportionally for age," Sasame assured him. "For someone who's never received proper training before, you are showing impressive growth and, I imagine, your body should reach the levels of strength and stamina matching the rough average of others in your year in another two to three months, assuming you continue working at this pace."

"Really?" gasped Jaune, Weiss and Pyrrha looking equally surprised. Even Ruby clearly hadn't expected Sasame's assessment of his progress to be so radical.

"Yes," said Sasame. "Unfortunately, that does little for your technique, which I imagine is rudimentary at this stage. Aura boosts your physical recovery and will enable you to practice longer and harder, but there are no shortcuts to mastering a skill. That will take a little longer. However, as your body develops, you'll be able to devote more time to your technique training.

"That's good, I suppose," said Jaune. "How can you-?"

"-tell the level of your training and your history at a brief glance?" Sasame grinned at his surprise. "It's not hard. As a healer, I've developed the skill to assess my patients. By examining your physical condition, it isn't hard to begin building an understanding of your personal history. I am also adept at reading a person's reactions, so with a few well chosen statements and questions, I can gain a great deal of information about a person, both by what they say and how they say it, by reading both verbal and nonverbal cues. For example..."

Sasame's eyes narrowed and her gaze swept over all three of Ruby's teammates in just a few seconds. "From your reaction and the state of your body, the logical assessment is that you were not in a condition for the rigors of a Huntsman Academy, when you first arrived here. That suggests little or no real training prior to your admission, which itself is a conundrum, as I imagine a school as prestigious as this one must screen its applicants on some level. The fact that you were admitted in that underdeveloped state, without your Aura even being unlocked, suggests that you employed some measure of deception to get in."

"Th-that's right," said Jaune, shaking in his seat.

"However, while you're discomfited by my analysis, you are surprisingly unworried about this secret," mused Sasame. "From the way they reacted, your teammates were surprised at my insight, but not at the fact of your situation itself, which tells me they are privy to your history. The fact that you seem so settled, when, under most circumstances you would normally be afraid to have someone find out your secret means that there is a secondary screening of sorts for full entry into this Academy. Passing that means that your entrance is cemented, and even the secret of your initial admission will not change that."

All four members of Team RASP nodded at that, amazed by Sasame's skill.

"Hmm..." Sasame raised an eyebrow. "What's more, your development shows that you've been taking your training seriously. Your typical glory-seeker, wanting to trick his way into a school like this, wouldn't be even half as serious about working so hard, even when confronted with their shortcomings. You're incredibly motivated, which means that you're probably just as determined to become a Huntsman as Ruby-chan was. That, combined with your condition suggests to me that your circumstances, prior to coming here, were similar to hers."

Jaune nodded vigorously.

"Ruby! Your sister is amazing," gasped Pyrrha.

"I'm almost afraid of what else she might be able to tell," said Weiss softly.

"Well, there's you, Weiss-chan," said Sasame, her eyes going to Weiss. "From your posture and demeanor, I suspect you had a rather high-class upbringing, something that is borne out by the quality of your clothing. While you've clearly opened up somewhat, your manner is still slightly reserved, which suggests to me that your education was heavily focused upon maintaining appearances, and that you were raised in relative isolation."

Weiss swallowed hard.

"And you..." Sasame turned to look at Pyrrha, who stiffened nervously at suddenly being in the spotlight. "You don't come from as exalted a background as Weiss-chan, but you too have clearly been trained to maintain appearances. You probably have the second-most direct combat experience of anyone after Ruby-chan, though I suspect it has been in a rather formalized setting, a tournament perhaps."

Pyrrha nodded.

"I see," said Sasame. "So you established yourself as quite skilled and became famous. While you've learned to let your guard down around your friends here, your smile is still more conditioned than natural."

Pyrrha's face fell.

"It's not something you can overcome overnight," said Sasame, her eyes now flickering between Weiss and Pyrrha. "You both come from relatively friendless backgrounds, isolated from others by your respective statuses, wary of those who approach you, rightfully concerned that others' interest might stem from ulterior motives."

Weiss and Pyrrha both sighed and nodded.

"Dang! She's good," said Jaune.

"Why thank you," said Sasame, beaming proudly. "I'd like to think so."

So this is Ruby's sister, thought Weiss, eyeing Sasame warily. And this is one of the Mibu Ruby has been telling us about. She really is cut from a different cloth than anyone I've ever met.

"Oh, this is just lovely!" cheered Sasame, clapping her hands together. "I'm so glad to see you're doing well, Ruby-chan. Kyo and Sora-sama will be happy to hear this as well." Her face fell a little. "Though I imagine Natsu-chan will be a little sad to not see her best friend for a while."

"I hope she doesn't get mad at me," said Ruby, looking down, the others looking at her in confusion.

"Who is this...Natsu-person?" asked Weiss, having to take a second to filter out the honorific she was still unaccustomed to dealing with.

"My best friend back in Onmyo, that's Leng's capital by the way," said Ruby.

"You've never told us about her," said Pyrrha.

"Um...well...it's never come up," said Ruby, her eyes darting about nervously.

Sasame came to her rescue, by heaving a sigh of all things. "Long distance relationships are difficult, especially since we Mibu don't have anything like the CCT. I can carry a letter back with me. I could also ask Dougal-sama if he can arrange something. Our couriers are nothing if not discrete, even if Vale and Beacon are a good bit further out of the way than most of their destinations."

"Oh! No, please," said Ruby. "I know how hard they work. They have enough to do already."

Sasame sighed. "You're probably right about that," she admitted disappointedly. "However, when I get back home, I'll check and see if I can arrange to bring her out with me the next time I come to visit."

"You could do that?" asked Ruby.

"Well, it would be tricky to get the permission of Natsu-chan's family," said Sasame. "But I do know that she would like the see the outside world herself, seeing as you've told her about what you've experienced."

"That'd be great!" exclaimed Ruby, before leaning forward. "Um...Are you sure it's okay?"

"You mean about that?" said Sasame with a cheerful smile. "Don't worry. I doubt there will be any issues."

"What are you talking about?" asked Pyrrha warily, sensing that a good portion of this conversation was going over their heads.

"Don't worry about it," said Sasame. "It's a private matter. In any case, I'm glad to see you've been settling in well. Have you made any more friends lately."

"Yeah," said Ruby. "There's our sister-team."

"Sister-team?" inquired Sasame, tilting her head.

"We wound up fighting side-by-side with them during the initiation," explained Pyrrha. "They even have the room across the hall from us, so we're fairly close with them."

"Don't forget Velvet," added Jaune.

"Oh, right," said Ruby.

"And who is that?" asked Sasame.

"She's an upperclassman who's in our History class," said Ruby. "She's really nice."

"Ruby saved her from some bullies," said Jaune with a smirk, making Ruby squeak and blush.

Sasame giggled. "Still the same as always, though I suppose I can't complain. That's what makes you so lovable, Ruby-chan."

"I-it's not a big deal," stammered Ruby.

"Well, at least I don't have to worry about you getting a swelled head," teased Sasame.

"Not when I have Weiss," said Ruby with a giggle.

"Hey!" protested Weiss.

They all began to laugh, their guards falling away.

They began to talk some more, but were interrupted by a shout.

"Hey! Ruby! Guys!"

They all looked up to see Nora running towards them, the rest of Team RYNB following in her wake. Yang trailed at the back of the group, her pace flagging when she saw the strange girl with a fox-tail sitting at the courtyard table with them. Is that...?

"Hi!" cheered Ruby, waving at them, all but ignoring Yang. "Everyone, this is my big sister, Sasame." She turned back to Sasame. "Sasame-nee, this is team Rainbow. That's Ren, their leader. Next to him is his partner, Nora. Then there's Blake, with the black hair and the ea-er...bow. And..." Ruby's voice trailed off, her throat locking up reflexively. Finally, she managed to force the word out of her mouth. "...Yang."

"Oh?" Sasame pushed back her chair, still beaming pleasantly. "It's wonderful to meet you all. Particularly..." Sasame seemed to take a single step. The next thing everyone knew, she was standing directly in front of Yang, having passed by the table, and between everyone else in Team RYNB, without anyone noticing. "...you. So, you must be Yang Xiao Long."

"Ah!" Yang yelped, stumbling back at Sasame suddenly appearing in front of her. When-? How-?

Yang wasn't the only one shocked. Everyone except Ruby whirled around to gape at the diminutive girl, having needed to take a second to realize where she was standing. Only Ruby didn't seem surprised. Instead, she was staring at the table, her aspect having paled considerably, her expression suddenly anxious and nervous.

"Uh...um...Yes!" said Yang, still trying to recover by Sasame's sudden appearance.

"I hope you and Ruby-chan have been managing to get along," said Sasame.

"Um...uh..." Yang swallowed. "I mean...not really."

Sasame's smile vanished, replaced a frown. Only the fact that it appeared to be one of concern kept Yang from panicking. "What do you mean?"

"W-well...it's just..." Yang wasn't sure what to do in this situation. She didn't know this girl at all, knew nothing about her, save for the fact that Ruby now claimed her as a big sister. She didn't know what to say or do.

However, Nora was more than willing to speak up on Yang's behalf. "Ruby won't talk to her at all," said Nora plainly.

Ruby flinched sharply, almost curling in on herself right on her seat.

"Nora!" admonished Ren, from where he stood beside her.

"What? It's true," protested Nora.

"Won't talk to you...?" Sasame looked up at Yang expectantly. "Is that so?"

"Y-yeah," said Yang. "I've been trying, but...She won't say anything or even look at me if she can help it." She slumped. "I've been lashing out too." She wasn't sure what compelled her to be so frank, all of a sudden.

"Really now...?" Sasame slowly turned in place her eyes returning to Ruby, who refused to look up from the table. "Is this true, Ruby-chan?"

The change that had come over Sasame was jarring. Where there had once been a cheery, friendly girl, there was now a stern older sibling, staring pointedly at Ruby, her tone low, sounding slightly strict.

"I...I..." Ruby shakily looked up, meeting Sasame's eyes.

Sasame sighed, resting her hands on her hips and walking past the rest of Team RYNB, making her way back to the table. "Ruby-chan, what have we been telling you for the past six years?"

"I...I didn't think I'd see her again," said Ruby.

"I very much doubt that," said Sasame. "You knew that Yang-san intended to enter Beacon as well. If you wanted to enter, you'd wind up dealing with her, one way or another. What's the matter?"

"I...I can't," said Ruby.

"Can't what?" pressed Sasame.

"I can't do it!" Ruby cried out, finally snapping her head to look up at Sasame. "I can't forgive her! I hate her!" Ruby almost screamed that last phrase out, prompting shocked gasps from everyone around her.

Yang gasped, her hands going to her mouth, tears streaming from her eyes. Unable to take anymore, she turned and bolted.

"Yang!" shouted Blake, reaching after her fruitlessly.

"I don't need a sister like her," hissed Ruby, oblivious to Yang's departure. "I don't want a sister like her. I have you, Sasame-nee."

"Ruby Rose!"

The tone of Sasame's voice made it crack like a whip, the tone of admonishment making her sound eerily like Glynda Goodwitch, despite the difference in pitch and timbre. It made everyone stand just a little bit straighter. Ruby in particular shot bolt upright, sitting up in her seat, hesitantly meeting Sasame's stern, disapproving gaze.

"I am very disappointed in you," said Sasame. "I expect better from you, Ruby-chan. I know you're better than this."

"But I-" Ruby began.

"What did I tell you when we first agreed to be sisters?" asked Sasame, folding her arms across her chest.

"Tha-that you wouldn't..." Ruby looked down again.

"That me becoming your sister did not mean I would be replacing Yang-san," said Sasame firmly. "Time and again, Sora-sama, Kyo, and I have told you you need to reach out. From the look of things, your sister is more than willing to make amends. Right now, the greatest obstacle to that is your own stubbornness. I can understand if the two of you are having difficulty seeing eye-to-eye, but to treat her so cruelly...I'm shocked, Ruby-chan."

"I..." Ruby gripped the table, her knuckles turning white.

Sasame sighed. "We'll have to talk more later, Ruby-chan. I'm going to go speak with Yang-san now. I hope that, by the time we see you again, you're more willing to see past old grudges."

Sasame vanished from sight. One second she was there, the next she wasn't.

An awkward silence fell over the rest of the group, no one completely sure what to say next. Ruby continued to stare at the table, her eyes tearing up as she thought back over what had just been said in her mind. Everyone watched her, uncertain of what to say, or how to feel. They knew that Ruby didn't like Yang, but to realize that her anger had run this deep...

Surprisingly, Weiss, of all people, felt sympathetic. Reaching out, she gently covered Ruby's hand with her own and squeezed it. She was all too familiar with how much it could hurt to disappoint a sister that one loved dearly.

Finally, it was Ren who broke the awkward silence. "Actually," he said, "we came to ask if you were willing to come with us to Vale."

"Now...really?" asked Jaune skeptically.

Ren looked at him seriously, then bent down slightly so that he could whisper something to Jaune's ear.

"Oh!" said Jaune, his eyes widening. "That's not a bad idea." Smiling, he turned and offered a hand to Ruby. "Come on," he said. "You could use some time to cool off. I'm sure we'll see your sister later."

"A-all right," said Ruby, accepting Jaune's hand, allowing him to lead her away from the table and towards the air-docks.