บท 1826: 57
Chapter 57Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Sooooo… I know it's kinda weird to just ask this now after you've been with us for two weeks now, but…" Ruby cleared her throat awkwardly as she sat with Penny, the two of them watching Pyrrha absolutely demolish one of the other teams in their year- Team YLLW (Yellow), one of the very few, very fortunate teams that got something simple and easily constructed from their names- in a brutal four on one that mostly just made Pyrrha look like even more of a beast than she already was. Though, given her tendency towards showy moves that had a lot of visual flair but not that much impact, Ruby figured that Pyrrha was way better at tournament fighting than she was at annihilating grimm hordes, so it made sense she was doing good against four other students.
That said , it wasn't like Pyrrha was bad at clearing out grimm- it was just that her rifle was a caliber that was, without Dust, better served for fighting people and hunting medium sized game like deer and elk, and her sword wasn't quite big enough to easily cleave through tougher grimm flesh without needing more than a few slashes per kill. Not like Crescent Rose, which was the anti-grimm machine. Well… upwards of a certain size. Fucking Sulfur Fish.
"But?" Penny asked, tilting her head to the side and looking to Ruby just as Pyrrha smashed Yarrow (the leader of Team YLLW) into a pillar and knocked her into the red, leaving the match as a three on one… that swiftly became two… and then one… and then ended with Pyrrha winning with barely an eight of her Aura depleted.
"How… long are you going to be able to stay here anyway? I know you're… y'know. I just… can't imagine that the General wants you away for too long without supervision," Ruby shrugged, twiddling her thumbs somewhat awkwardly as she spoke, her ears twitching and flicking in time with her words while her tail was only just barely restrained from swaying back and forth by the seat she was in. "I mean- he's not gonna call you back is he?"
"Oh, not anytime soon, I think," Penny stated, smiling gently as she bumped her shoulder against Ruby's, her expression giving off warmth and care as she pressed herself against her friend. "Professor Ozpin was quite adamant that I be allowed to choose where I wish to stay- and with the General not arriving for some time, as he will be coming for the Vytal Festival near the end of next semester, he does not have the capability of retrieving me at this moment."
She paused for a moment, tapping her chin slightly before making a little noise of realization. "Ah- I will need to arrange for the technician team to move up here with my equipment. They were already prepared to do so, though I do not think they were scheduled to make the trip for another two and a half months- in between semesters, that is. Speaking of teams- how is Blake? She seems to have been much less agitated as of late. I assume it's because Friend Yang finally talked some sense into her."
"Heh, yeah… I can't believe she was trying to go research the White Fang, honestly. I kinda just thought she just had the zoomies for a while until she started getting really anxious during the day," Ruby sighed, rubbing her cheek a bit awkwardly as she sat there, pursing her lips while staring down at the arena below to where Jaune was awkwardly holding his own against Lan Feilong from Team CFLR (Cornflower), sword clashing against trident as the two of them went at it. "Are you okay with trying to go after the White Fang, though? There's a lot of danger, I think… and I wouldn't want to get you hurt."
"I will be fine, Friend Ruby- helping each other is what friends are for, is it not? And besides- I am combat ready!" Penny grinned, flexing her arm and patting her bicep the same way Yang did so often. "That said, I do believe that I will not be able to accompany you on all of your outings- as part of my stay here, the General has requested that the technician team and my father refrain from going out too much, so that I do not run into too much trouble. He seems to think that your team has a penchant for sticking your noses into things too much."
"Well… Blake was in the White Fang… and I did stop that robbery… and Yang does know her way around the city's supply of information brokers," Ruby hummed, rubbing her chin before narrowing her eyes at Yang, who was seated a few spots over and was idly playing games on her scroll instead of paying attention to Jaune's fight (which… okay, she wasn't entirely paying attention either, but she had her extra eyes keeping an eye on the fight anyway). "... Holy cheese and chocolate I think Yang is technically a criminal."
"Depending on your definition of criminal and your usage of specific laws, your entire team is criminals, including you and I," Penny deadpanned. "Blake is a wanted terrorist in at least several locations due to her past, including portions of Mantle and some cities north of Vale. Weiss is a Schnee, which effectively makes her public enemy number one to quite a few people on Menagerie and among certain other faunus. Yang has a minor criminal record for arson, aggravated assault and battery, and consorting with criminals. You are half grimm, which is not exactly a crime even though many ignorant people would say it is… and were arrested for vigilantism- almost twice. Given that I was involved in the latter, that makes me a criminal too, technically."
"... Oh gods we're criminals, how did this happen?" Ruby groaned, dropping her face into her hands and letting her ears and tail go limp while her cape suddenly let off a small burst of rose petals in response to her emotions. "I wanted to be a super cool Huntress that saves the day and is a hero, not a criminal!"
"Most Huntsmen and Huntresses accumulate multiple criminal charges over their lifetimes even if they commit only good deeds- or, they would if most of those charges were not waived due to special exemptions for those with Huntsman licenses," Penny pointed out, patting Ruby on the back gently and soothing her friend as she groaned into her folded arms and flopped onto the table before them. "As your intention was merely to prevent further terrorist actions by the White Fang and whoever is working with them, I do not believe that makes you or Weiss a criminal. Yang and Blake do have actual criminal records though."
"Dad always did say Uncle Qrow was a bad influence on Yang…" Ruby muttered, then shook her head as she sat back up (ignoring the eye roll from Blake as her partner simply turned a page in her book and pretended like she wasn't listening in on everything in nearly a hundred feet) and let out a quiet huff. "Anyway! So, since you've got some time before you have to go anywhere… other than helping your tech team move into Beacon soon… can I take a look at Floating Array? I've never seen a weapon so unique! And that's saying something, because I've seen a lot of unique weapons… and built a few myself! But a floating set of swords on a wire that can also become an Aura/Dust laser cannon? That's new and interesting…"
"Of course you may- we have a free period after this, so if we run to the forges right after, you should be able to get an in depth examination of Floating Array- though, I cannot offer you a deeper look at the software inside, unfortunately. It's Atlesian Military property, so I couldn't let you see even if I tried," Penny shook her head slightly regretfully even as she pulled out one single sword from her Floating Array pack, setting it on the table gently so Ruby could get a cursory glance at it- and looking distinctly like she wished she could blush as Ruby immediately began to run her fingers along the length of the blade.
"Whoa… just from this… the precision engineering on this is insane… even Myrtenaster isn't this precise…" Ruby murmured, eyes wide and glittering with interest as she ran her fingers along the sharpened steel. "This is… that proprietary alloy mix that the Atlas Academy uses, isn't it? I've seen it in a couple others- Myrtenaster for one. I haven't been able to crack the Dust mix they use or the steel ratios but I'm getting close… oh, and the hinges are servo reinforced with specialized emitters for laser conversion- and the control mechanisms in the handle with the Gravity Dust and monowire… Penny I need you to know this- I've seen a lot of weapons in my life and I genuinely think that Floating Array is one of the coolest things I've ever seen."
Penny, for all that she couldn't blush, suddenly steamed with heat as Ruby delivered her praise with those glimmering silver eyes, a goofy, awestruck grin forming on the grimm girl's face as she smiled wide and her ears fluttered joyously just from being able to look at such an elegant weapon so closely.
"I- well. I'm very glad that you find my weapon to your liking," Penny almost stuttered, her core heating up and pulsing gently as she retracted her blade- slowly, gently, as if trying to let it linger under Ruby's touch. "And… if it's worth anything… I think Crescent Rose is the coolest thing I've ever seen as well."
"R-really!?" Ruby gasped, eyes blowing wide and forming star shaped glimmers in her burning coal pupils.
Penny nodded. "Really."
The immediate tongue lashing the both of them got from Professor Goodwitch after Ruby tackle hugged Penny out of her seat was well worth it, in Penny's opinion. Getting to feel more of Ruby's amazingly warm and soft hugs was worth any amount of scolding.
Notes:
Aww, they're cute together
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