Kapitel 123: 25
Chapter 25 – Idle Paws
"Well, this is awkward."
As if she needed to be told that. Sat as she was in the chair across the desk from the Headmaster himself, who was calmly sipping from his mug. Who knew what thoughts went on behind those eyes, what incredible intellect and insight.
And to make matters worse, behind her stood Miss Goodwitch, just out of sight – which was enough to have her nerves at a knife's edge. That constant presence that promised retribution should she step out of line.
And tonight, she'd hadn't just stepped past that line.
She'd gone on a road trip.
"Sir, I-" she shut her mouth when he held one hand up. Like every authority figure ever, he allowed her to stew in silence for a few seconds, the man busying himself with the important task of refilling his mug.
"Do hold on Miss Belladonna, I thought it might be best for us to discuss this once we're all assembled."
All, Blake wondered to herself, eyes scanning the room. Were they expecting anyone else?
"Uh-oh…" Jaune's voice echoed from behind her, and though she didn't dare turn around she knew he was facing the door. "This doesn't bode well."
Who? The police, some kind of interrogation unit? Her hands tightened into fists.
The truth was far worse.
"Blake, what on Remnant happened!? Yang told me you were out on a date with some guy and then there's explosions and a fire and Sun says you were attacked by Roman Torchwick in a huge robot, and I know I don't know much about dating – but I'm fairly sure that isn't how it's supposed to go an-"
"Breathe Miss Rose," the Headmaster said, interrupting the girl as she bent over to take great gasps. Blake for her part could only glare at the man, why the hell had he brought Ruby of all people here!?
"Okay – breathing now," the small leader sighed, walking forward to sit in the seat next to Blake. "I'm just saying… I don't think Torchwick is a good choice in boyfriend, even if you totally have that black and white fashion thing that Yang talks about going on."
"Wa- w-what!?" Blake tried to find the right words, to cover any of the deluge Ruby had just spilled on her… what!? They thought she, and Torchwi- what did colours have to do with anything!?
"Huh… I never noticed that before, but you kinda do have like an alternating theme thing going on between the two of you."
"Thank you for that Miss Rose," the Headmaster acted like she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary, "but your teammate's questionable choice in romantic partners was not the reason you were called here."
"I'm not sleeping wi-"
"Miss Belladonna, please," the man shushed her, "do allow us to speak first."
"And I mean, I get that girls like older men – or so I'm told – and I suppose he fits the bad boy image too…"
"Normally we like to handle issues of discipline on our own," Ozpin explained to the two of them, "however in cases where a rapid spate of… disobedience, occurs at once? Then we need to look at other measures."
"I'll take responsibility for whatever happened," Ruby immediately said.
"No, she won't!" Blake interrupted, ignoring the frantic shushing motions the smaller girl was making, "sir, this was my mistake and my choice, you can't blame Ruby for it."
"You can't expel her, I know she skipped detention to go fight robots, but I'm sure it was for a good reason!"
"No one," the man raised his voice a little, "is being expelled over this. If the both of you can calm down for just a single moment?"
"It's just… I mean… Roman!?"
She fixed a quick glare on the ghost, only to drop it a second later when Miss Goodwitch raised one brow threateningly. Trust him to float in front of her…
"The reason I've called Miss Rose here is so that we can try and deal with this matter in a more civilised manner. Miss Belladonna, you received a detention for assaulting another student… not an unusual occurrence at a combat school, tensions rise high and this is what we teach you." The man paused here, before nodding at the blonde woman behind them both. "Skipping out on punishment with a teacher however, is unusual."
"Wait, you decked Cardin? When was this – and why didn't I get to enjoy seeing it happen?" Ah right, he'd still been a prisoner at that point.
"That's why we thought to involve Miss Rose, because it's becoming increasingly clear that you, Miss Belladonna, are suffering from a lack of respect for authority figures." She winced, but knew it wouldn't be possible to dispute it. It wasn't true… well, much. She did respect the teachers, but that still didn't mean she'd let the White Fang get away with things if they told her to. "If you will not listen to us, then perhaps you'll be more willing to listen to your team."
"You will be responsible for ensuring she does not fail to attend her future detentions," the blonde teacher behind them spoke, causing Blake to lower her face into her hands. Oh Gods… they'd gone and sicced Ruby on her… this was beyond unfair.
"I can explain tho-"
"It is not us you need explain yourself to," the Headmaster cut her off again, "though rest assured, should you miss any further detentions our next conversation will be less polite."
"She won't miss any," Ruby promised.
And the worst part was that Blake fully believed her…
"I feel like we've been here before," Jaune sighed, floating a small distance from her as she sat cross-legged in the middle of the room. Weiss, Yang and Ruby faced her – sat across from her like a committee.
None of them looked particularly impressed.
Well, except for Zwei, who was happily leaping back and forth, phasing through Jaune's spectral crotch as it tried to bite the ghost. Thankfully it wasn't quite as distracting this time, since she had her eyes firmly locked onto the floor.
"Didn't we say to come to us if there were any problems next time?" Weiss snarked, sounding somewhere between angry and just plain disappointed. The latter cut far deeper.
"In my defence there wasn't a problem," Blake tried, "everything was under control until Torchwick decided to rampage in a robot."
"That's not what she meant and you know it!" Yang's eyes flashed red, fists clenching, and for a moment it looked like she might actually resort to violence. Blake would have honestly preferred it. "Also there was a problem the moment you welched on Goodwitch, and I covered for you because I thought you had some hot date. I mean, ditching me for a guy is pretty harsh, but at least I thought you were having fun. Not… risking your life like an idiot!"
One amber eye peeked up, past their shoulders and towards the lone male in the room. He only shook his head however, shrugging as though to say he had no idea what to do either. A team wasn't something she'd had much experience on… and Adam would have been happy enough for her to engage an enemy like that…
But then Adam was… well… not exactly the best moral compass.
Was she acting like him?
"It wasn't like that," the faunus sighed, running one hand through her hair – only to pause when her skin bumped against something unfamiliar. His weapon… she still had Crocea Mors. "I didn't just go out to look for White Fang, I could have done that any day – there was a reason I had to go out tonight."
So saying, she drew the sword from over her shoulder, laying the blade across legs so that they could all see it. Weiss and Yang leaned in to take a closer look.
"That was Jaune's…" Ruby whispered, the words almost silent – but heard by everyone in the quiet of the room. Amber eyes show towards the girl, surprised.
"It is… how did you know?"
"Wait this is that kid's? The one who-?" Yang didn't finish, looking away.
"He showed it to me," their leader admitted, eyes fixed on the silvery blade. "When he first helped me out, when we became friends – he showed me his sword. I-I don't forget weapons…"
"She was my first real friend, it really meant a lot to me that such a quirky girl was around. There I was, scared how I would fit in with people so much stronger than me, and then I found this girl stressing out more than me. It hardly seemed possible."
And they could have become such wonderful friends too…
"Why do you have it though," Weiss had to know, "did you find it in the forest, and what does it have to do with this situation at all?"
"Jaune…" Blake sighed, looking the man dead in the eye. "He was my friend as well, and I was there when he died." She paused to look at Ruby, reminding her of those last words she'd delivered to the girl. "He also asked me to get this back to his family, since it's apparently an important family heirloom. That was the guy you heard on the scroll call earlier, Yang. The reason I went out was to meet with his father, and inform him that his son had died."
The effect was immediate. The three girls in the room breaking eye contact as a miasma of gloom fell across them. Ruby and Yang she could imagine as remembering the loss of their own mother. Weiss, Blake couldn't say for sure, but she too looked like she had some similar past experiences.
It was a solemn silence indeed.
"Wait, are you using my death to get out of being told off by your team!?"
"Jaune's father didn't take it well though, and said he didn't want the sword back… so I guess it's mine now?" She still wasn't 100% on that one, but keeping hold of it would be the best idea… at least then if the Arc family changed their mind she could give it back.
"So how did a fight with a robot that demolished half an industrial district come into this?"
"Oh that," Blake coughed, "well, there's a goo-"
"Sun said it was because you went to crash a White Fang rally with just the two of you," Yang cut in immediately, the look of sorrow falling from her face as she crossed her arms. Leaning back with one raised eyebrow. "I'm sure your good explanation was about to cover that, right?"
"Or why you thought it was a good idea to go alone, without even telling us," Weiss echoed.
"Because if something happened… we'd have no way of knowing." Ruby finished off the triumvirate, shaking her head as she looked down on the faunus girl shrinking into herself.
"Oh hey, Sun let us down – I am so surprised." He sounded anything but. Not that she blamed him.
"My," Blake hesitated, looking for an escape, "Sun sure was… talkative…"
"He wasn't at first," Weiss shrugged, "but once we realised he'd left you in danger? Well, between me freezing his feet and Yang grabbing him by the balls and threatening to pull…let's just say he was suddenly very eager to tell us things."
"A lot of things," Ruby said with a shiver.
"I guess we didn't think how it would look sending him back alone," Jaune shrugged one shoulder, right before a dog phased through it, jaws snapping. "I'm surprised he even survived… actually, where the hell is he?"
Blake didn't dare ask. So long as he wasn't haunting her it was okay.
"So Blake," Yang's grin turned feral, "we have decided between ourselves on a punishment for you – in addition to all those detentions you are not missing. Because I nearly died of a heart attack when you skipped this one…"
"What my blonde teammate means," Weiss smoothly cut in, "is that you need to do something for us all as an apology!" The three looked at one another, sharing some message as they each nodded.
"I-I guess?"
It would be a small price to pay, if that was what it took to earn their forgiveness. Or rather… they had already forgiven her, she could tell. But she still owed them. If just for the stress she must have put them through.
"Great," Yang rubbed her hands together, leaning over her, "well there's the dance coming up, the one you said you were too busy for? Well guess what, you've got more time now, right?"
"U-Ugh… I guess?"
A medium price…
"And since Yang and I are in charge of arranging it, due to Team CFVY being on an extended mission – we could really use some help. You don't mind pitching in, do you?"
"…" Blake looked between them both, as they towered above her, "… I guess not?"
"And you have to dance with people!" Ruby finished laying the trap, standing beside her two co-conspirators, "first with us – but you also can't run off early! Okay?"
It was a large price to pay…
"That sounds…" she looked for the right word, and didn't find it, "delightful…"
"Ooh, does that mean I get to see Blake in a dress? Sweet!"
Ughhhhh…
Was it too late to rejoin the White Fang?
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein