Chapter 14 - - - Dissension

Ruby groaned as she laid down on the ground, not at all caring about the dirt and grass stains that were smudging on the back of her coat and hood that she had pulled over her head. Her chest heaved with heavy breaths and her body ached all over while the cool evening breeze felt refreshing against her heated face, covered with sweat.

The rest of her team were also collapsed in various ways around her; Weiss was keeled over her legs while leaning on her sword for support, Yang was sitting on the ground with her hands supporting behind her, and Blake was sitting cross legged with her head hanging.

After three days since their semi break, they had finally finished clearing the area of Grimm and successfully allowed Glynda to repair the wall.

"Splendid work you four." Glynda praised with a small smile as she stood in front of them. "I think you've all earned the rest of the day off and tomorrow, until we depart in the evening."

Ruby grunted, "Thanks."

Glynda hummed in affirmation before shifting, "For now though, we do need to report back to the mayor."

The four groaned, their bodies aching in pain and exhaustion.

Weiss, already on her feet, moved over to help Blake up as Yang pushed herself to stand. Ruby however, was completely drained of energy and couldn't bring herself to stand. She had, at one point, been taken by surprise and was flung against a tree by an Ursa, only to be rammed further into it by a Boartusk right in her gut, and head butted upon keeling over.

Thankfully, her team had come to her rescue; Weiss had quickly intervened with the Boartusk and Yang had distracted the Ursa while Blake came in to pull their leader out of danger. However, with the number of Grimm that were surrounding them, Ruby had been left with no other choice but to continue fighting with dangerously low levels of aura.

Now, her aura was completely depleted and she could feel the full effects of ache and weariness.

… And she couldn't get up.

"Gu~ys!" Ruby whined.

"We got you, we got you." Yang said in a light tone while the three walked over to her.

Blake came up from the other side of Yang, and the two leaned down to grab an arm, and pulled her up as Weiss stood behind her to dust as much of the grass stains and dirt off.

"Thanks…" Ruby mumbled as she adjusted Pyrrha's dirt-free scarf more securely around her neck, while the group made their way back to the closest entrance.

"It's the least we could do." Weiss said, having finished brushing off as much dirt off Ruby as she could and gently pulled her hood down. "Considering that we're currently a bit more able bodied than you."

Ruby lightly grumbled, her eyes trained directly on the ground as she brought a hand up to the side of her head.

"What's wrong Rubes?" Yang asked in concern, lowering her head to try and get a better look at her leader.

"Headache." Ruby mumbled, wincing as she touched the sore spot above her ear.

Yang lightly tugged on Ruby's hand, taking a closer look at said area as she brushed her hair back. "Oh yeah, that's gonna leave a bump."

Ruby lightly groaned, not at all wanting to return back with such an annoying injury. How was she going to sleep on her side now?!

"Perhaps you should consider getting that checked up before resting." Glynda offered as they entered back into town. She pulled out a large scroll, opening it up to the four's status page. The bar below everyone's picture was well into the yellow, with Blake and Weiss nearly being equal and Yang being the highest. Ruby however, was completely drained save for a red line that was barely there. "It's likely that you have sustained some injuries considering the levels of your aura. And I do not wish to transfer some of my own to you in case there is an underlying problem that requires a more… gentle touch, which might require aura levels to be cut in order to prevent further injury.." Glynda stated.

"That sounds good." Yang agreed for Ruby, who immediately frowned.

"But I'm fine!" She protested.

"It would be safer if you went regardless." Weiss said

Before Ruby could say anything further though, a gentle hand on her shoulder gave her pause, and caused her to look up at Blake.

"We'd feel better if you went." Blake said, causing Ruby to wilt in resignation.

"Fine." She agreed.

Glynda smiled at the displayed banter before poking around on her scroll, "In that case, I'll send the coordinates to you and tell the doctor to be sure to expect a Ruby Fall." She said, finishing up doing so before pocketing the scroll. "In the meantime, I will be meeting with the mayor to relay our report."

"Thanks teach." Yang smiled

"Think nothing of it." Glynda said as she readjusted her classes, "Just ensure that Miss Fall is well taken care of."

"Yes ma'm." The team, save for Ruby, chorused back.

Glynda nodded in approval, "Good. I expect you all to be back in your room by curfew then. And please… refrain from getting into any trouble." She said, causing another series of agreements to chorus back to her before she departed.

"But I'm fine…" Ruby sulked as the four began making their way to the doctor's, though the rather harsh stumble she took contradicted her statement.

"Yes. Well," Weiss doubtfully agreed to humor her leader. "Let us depart to the doctor regardless." Weiss said in a tone that left no room for argument.

A small whine came from Ruby, not at all wanting to go.

"We can get food after," Blake offered. "Yang managed to find a good Eastern Mistralian place to eat while waiting for me a few days ago." She said, though Ruby's mood didn't seem to improve.

"Yeah, they have good food." Yang nodded in agreement. An idea came to her as she looked over to Ruby with a sly grin. "And they have really good strawberry shortcakes for dessert. We could grab as much as you want after the doctor looks you over."

Ruby perked up at the mention of a sugary treat, her mouth slightly watering. She attempted to hold fast though, as she refused to allow a mere mention of food to sway her decision in visiting a doctor.

"And, they have strawberry milk tea." Blake offered, immediately catching onto Yang's plan and causing Ruby to perk up even further. "You can ask them to put bubbles in it too. They come in all sorts of flavors."

Weiss frowned, staring at Blake with an arched brow.

"They have coffee too." Blake assured, causing Weiss to become pleased.

"So? What do you think Ruby?" Yang asked

Ruby's mouth contorted between a smile and pout, drool nearly spilling out from the corner at the idea of her favorite treats and flavors.

She hated how much strawberries had a control over her.

"Okay." She hurriedly relented out, no longer able to restrain herself any longer.

"I'm glad you've come to agree with us," Weiss said, stopping in her tracks before gesturing to a door of a rather small, one-story clinic. "Because we're here."

"On second thought-" Ruby hurriedly began, turning around to hightail it out of the vicinity just as Yang grabbed her and hoisted her into the air. That didn't seem to deter Ruby from attempting to run though, as her legs quickly moved into the air comically.

"It'll be quick. Don't worry!" Yang smiled carrying Ruby into the clinic as Blake held the door open.

"That's what they all say!" Ruby hissed. "But next thing you know! You're required to stay in a sucky bed overnight like Blake did! Then you wake up more sore than you should be because the bed SUCKS."

"Is that why you don't like going to the nurse's office?" Weiss asked in disbelief.

"Well… The beds are pretty bad…" Blake offered, wincing at the memory of her stiff body the morning after staying in the nurse's office.

Weiss hummed, a small teasing smile crossing her face. "Perhaps you would have had a more pleasant time staying in mine then." Weiss suggested, causing Blake to suddenly choke on air.

"Make sure you don't leave her behind tonight." Yang chimed in, "Wouldn't want her to miss out on all the fun." She said as the two began snickering.

Blake groaned, her cheeks completely red while putting a hand on top of her head, as though to help cover her expression. "Why."

"Oh Blake," Weiss lightly began, her giggles slowly dying out. "I don't mean to cause you stress. If my… teasing seems to becoming much of a bother, then please don't hesitate to tell me. The last thing I wish to do is put a strain on our. Relationship." She finished awkwardly

Yang snorted, "Or lack of." She stated, causing Weiss to throw a small glare her way.

"Miss Goodwitch was correct, you certainly are a rowdy bunch." An older person mused as they came through the doorway of the lobby donning a white, medical coat. Upon gathering the four's attention, the doctor seemed to note the small leader being held up, an amused smile crept up on their face. "I assume the one being held captive is the illustrious Ruby Fall?"

"That's right doc." Yang grinned.

The doctor smiled, "Well then, if you could deposit her in the back then we'll go ahead and get started."

"I might as well be a postal package." Ruby grumbled, crossing her arms as Yang carried her into the back, legs dangling in air.

As promised, the checkup did not take long at all. After performing basic medical tests, the doctor easily determined that Ruby had a minor concussion and would not have to stay overnight, along with several other injuries, with bruised ribs being the most severe. However, due to her concussion, she was required to take an preventive aura shot that would last twelve hours in order to allow it to be relieved without interference.

In other words, she had to allow the bump at the side of her head to swell naturally, thereby leaving a light bruising to peek out to right temple and back under her hairline, instead of having her aura heal it. This was simply to prevent pressure to accumulate within her head, and to prevent her aura from causing said pressure to pop, and thereby spread.

Which was just as bad as staying overnight in a crummy bed since a lack of aura made it more difficult to sense her surroundings.

"C'mon Rubes, cheer up." Yang said as they exited the clinic. "It's only for twelve hours. You'll be sleeping for the last third anyway."

"But I still hate it. It feels weird!" Ruby whined, lightly shivering when a chilly breeze blew by and burying her face further into Pyrrha's scarf for more warmth. "I can't see well, and it's cold!" She complained referring to how the doctor had made her take out a contact lenses out after noting some slight swelling around her right eye.

Having no aura felt like having her senses, or what others call their sixth sense or intuition, turned down to mere static. While it was normal to most people, to a hunter it might has well felt like going about their day underwater.

"It certainly doesn't sound pleasant." Weiss stated, "I'm happy to say that I'm not jealous of your predicament."

"You shouldn't be." Ruby retorted

"The good news is that you'll get to fill your stomach up though!" Yang offered, "It'll be yummy!"

Ruby's stomach lightly grumbled, causing her to frown. "Are we close to it?"

Blake nodded as she pointed to a corner a few streets ahead. "It's just around that bookstore there."

Ruby followed the direction Blake was pointing to, and squinted. Not knowing which store Blake was referring to, but nodded regardless. "Okay."

"As for the rest of the day," Weiss began with a sigh. "We must be extra careful in what we get ourselves into considering Ruby currently doesn't have an active aura."

"Don't worry! We'll look after her." Yang grinned, heavily smacking Ruby on the back reassuringly.

Though the gesture backfired as she startled Ruby, causing her to stumble forward and trip over her own feet. Fortunately, both Blake and Weiss reached out to grab their leader before she face planted into the ground.

A sound that crossed between a whimper and groan crossed from Ruby's throat from pain and embarrassment of being taken by surprise, causing the other two to throw looks of disapproval toward Yang, who merely ducked her head sheepishly.

"Oops." She said.

Weiss shook her head as both she and Blake helped Ruby steady herself. "Perhaps we should keep you away from her… for her own safety." Weiss mused.

"Aw, don't be like that Weiss." Yang frowned. "It was just an accident. Won't happen again." Yang swore.

Weiss hummed surreptitiously, not sure whether or not she could believe such a promise.

"So long as there is no roughhousing, then I think we can trust her." Blake offered

Weiss sighed, "I suppose that's fair enough." She relented as the two let go of Ruby.

Ruby lightly groaned to herself in embarrassment for being treated as though she were fragile child. "I'm fine!" She whined, "I can take a few hits!"

"Considering how you nearly injured yourself, I have difficulty believing your statement." Weiss quipped as the four rounded the corner of the bookstore… and came across a small crowd of faunus marching further down the street holding multiple signs.

"What's going on?" Ruby asked, slightly squinting.

"Oh." Blake sounded, seemingly not surprised. "It's a protest for equal pay." She answered, looking closer to the signs being waved about and listening to the chants.

Ruby frowned, recalling how Adam mentioned how the conditions of the town made it difficult to obtain food for his faction. He must have meant how stealing food from the town would have starved Faunus out….

After all, if there was lack of food supply, then prices would go up. With unequal pay, the majority of faunus in town wouldn't be able to afford food alongside other humans that were poor or homeless.

Though… Conditions for Faunus were bad enough in town, it seemed that he didn't want to make life worse for them just to make those in his faction more comfortable.

Weiss gave a thoughtful hum, garnering Blake's attention.

"What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"Nothing." Weiss shook her head, "I was just thinking about how I hope it works out for them."

Slightly surprised, Blake widened her eyes at Weiss before glancing back to the crowd. "I… Yes… I hope so too."

Yang scratched her head with a frown, "I guess we'll be getting lunch with a crowd. Is that okay with you guys? Or do we want to go somewhere else?"

"But Yang." Ruby whined. "You promised!"

"Not everyone can sit through a protest rally with their favorite treat in front of them like you can Ruby." Yang lightly reprimanded while elbowing her leader.

Ruby merely pouted, turning back to the other two with wide, pleading eyes.

Blake shrugged, "I don't mind. I'm use to it."

Ruby turned her wide gaze over to the last teammate.

"I certainly do not wish to stand in the way of Ruby and her… addiction." Weiss commented, looking away from Ruby's pleading gaze and toward Blake. "Remnant forbid anyone who does…" She drawled, causing the corner of Blake's mouth to twitch in amusement

"YES!" Ruby cheered, throwing her hands into the air, garnering chuckles amongst everyone. "Can we go now? I want to go now. I'm going now." She excitedly said, already bouncing away and ahead on her feet without her friends.

Despite the sound of them protesting for her to slow down though, she hurriedly continued onwards, unable to wait to eat her snacks.

As she got closer to the store and protests though, she began to slow down upon seeing a tall, redheaded, blurry figure standing still at a respectful distance away from the protestors.

Curious, she completely walked past the cafe and toward the person to get a clearer look.

"Pyrrha?" She called, causing said person to perk up.

"Oh! Hello again Ruby!" Pyrrha happily greeted, relaxing her stance as she turned to face the young leader. "It's a delight to see you once more."

Shuffling on her feet a bit, Ruby lightly nodded in agreement, "You too." She said, "But what are you doing here?"

"Shadowing my Hunter." Pyrrha answered easily, gesturing behind her to the Sheriff overseeing the protest.

Ruby leaned over to the side to get a better look just as the rest of her team caught up to her, and found the Sheriff in question with hands folded in front of their body and completely unarmed while standing still as a statue in front of the building the faunus were protesting. Upon glancing over to the rest of team JNPR, who were all standing around the "corners" of the crowd, Ruby noted that they were all unarmed.

"And yourself?" Pyrrha asked

"We just finished our assignment." Ruby said with a small smug smile. "So Glynda said we can have the rest of the today and tomorrow off until we have to go."

A fond smile quirked on Pyrrha's face as she glanced over Ruby's dirty attire, "I'm certain that it's well deserved." She said before a small, inspective frown suddenly appeared upon noticing something. Leaning closer, her gaze focused on Ruby's right temple, and her eyebrows knitted up in concern as she brought a hand up to hover over the injury, only to hesitate before lowering it to place on Ruby's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, uh… Yeah." Ruby sheepishly nodded, ducking her head in slight embarrassment as she began to feel self conscious of her bruise. "I'm fine." She mumbled, nervously noting the warmth emitting from Pyrrha's hand.

"She most certainly is not." Weiss interjected in a matter of factly along with a huff, "Ruby here has a concussion, one that the doctor states must be healed naturally and without the assist of her aura."

"She took a few nasty hits along with that too." Yang pointed out, lightly nudging Ruby. "Got flung right to a tree and took a Boartusk charge straight to her gut and then some to her head."

Pyrrha's eyes slightly widened as she snapped her gaze over to Ruby who mentally groaned.

"It's fine." Ruby assured. "It's just a few bruises."

"I don't think having a few bruises mean it's fine." Pyrrha said, her hand coming up to lightly touch at the bump on the side of Ruby's head.

Ruby surprisingly didn't flinch upon contact as she allowed Pyrrha to measure the size of the injury.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to be walking about?" Pyrrha asked skeptically

"I'm sure." Ruby assured with a nod. "The doctor even said so!"

"So long as she doesn't do anything to aggravate her injuries or strain herself mentally or physically." Weiss interjected with a lone finger pointed toward the sky.

"I assume you will be resting for the remainder of the day then?" Pyrrha said more than asked with a small smile, as though silently demanding that Ruby did so.

"Uh…." Ruby stalled, knowing fully well that she was not doing so.

"We're actually going to the cafe just next door to eat." Yang said with a crooked grin while knowingly glancing between Pyrrha and Ruby.

Ruby looked up, noticing the corner of Pyrrha's lips curl down in disapproval and began scrambling for an idea to prevent her concern from being voiced. "You should come with us!" Ruby blurted, finding herself not at all opposed to the idea when she thought about it. "And uh. You can bring the rest of your team." She offered

Pyrrha's expression turned neutral before gazing at Ruby in contemplation.

Ruby stared up at the other, hopeful that she could still at least eat her shortcake and have her strawberry drink while unaware of the peculiar stares from her teammates.

Softening up, Pyrrha's shoulders drooped a little as an amused smile creeped at the corner of her mouth. "That would be nice. However, I'm not off until about-" She took her scroll out to check the time before pocketing it back in. "-fifteen minutes later. I would not wish to stall you from your snacks."

Ruby rocked on the balls of her feet happily at the statement, "It's fine. We can wait. Right guys?" She asked the rest of her team.

"I don't mind." Yang shrugged, "What's another fifteen minutes?" She asked, causing Weiss and Blake to nod in agreement.

"Then, if you insist." Pyrrha nodded, "I'll be sure to tell the rest of JNPR."

Ruby beamed, wiggling her fingers in farewell. "Okay! See you soon." She said, taking a step back, garnering a smile and wave from the other.

"I'll see you shortly." Pyrrha nodded in agreement.

As team RWBY began making their way over to the cafe and filed in one by one, a teasing smile began to creep up Yang's face as she leaned down to level her head with Ruby's.

"Sooo." She began.

Confused, Ruby turned toward Yang as the four took a table in the nearly empty cafe at the center, knowing that they could pull the table next to them together for when JNPR came in. "What?"

"Nothing." Yang shrugged as they all began taking a seat, "I just thought you wanted your food and drink as soon as possible."

"I do." Ruby agreed, shuffling her hands under her thighs as she began swinging her legs. She sighed, glancing over to the door within her view. "I hope they come soon."

"We could order a drink while waiting." Weiss suggested, eyeing the waiter coming their way.

"You guys can if you want." Ruby said, "I don't mind waiting."

"It's okay, we'll wait with you." Blake assured, throwing a glare at Yang who was about to open her mouth for a retort, that Blake knew all too well would come out of her mouth in regards to Ruby and Pyrrha. With her answer, Weiss brought a finger up to halt the waiter, causing him to nod in understanding before walking off.

Yang deflated, a small frown on her face at not being able to voice out her tease.

"How do you suppose their Hunter assigned work to them?" Weiss questioned, referring to team JNPR. "Professor Goodwitch had us fighting the Grim, though there is hardly much to be fighting for when in town while we're outside the walls. Do you think that they did simple police work alongside the Sheriff?"

"It looks to be that way." Blake said, "Otherwise they wouldn't be standing watch over the protest."

"I don't understand why they're unarmed though," Weiss continued. "All the protests I've seen have the offices standing by armed."

"It's to build trust." Ruby piped up, more than happy to be the one to offer information for once. "If the officers are unarmed, the protesters feel like they won't get hurt and the worst won't happen, so they can stay focused on their protest. If officers are armed, then the protest becomes tense between them and the protesters because then the protesters feel like something bad will happen, and they'll keep an eye on the police and what they're protesting." She finished, turning to Blake and Yang with an expectant look.

"She's… Correct." Blake nodded with a look of amusement as she nudged Ruby's foot from under the table as a gesture of congratulations.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Yang teased with a grin, throwing an arm over Ruby's shoulder to give her a quick noogie.

Though, she only managed to elicit another yelp of pain.

"Yang!" Weiss chastised as the other had immediately let go of Ruby.

"Sorry!" Yang sheepishly said.

"I'm okay…." Ruby responded with a hoarse groan.

Everything hurt, but at the moment, her ribs seemed to be pulsing in pain.

The sound of the door slamming open alerted the four, causing them to all turn or look in that direction and Ruby felt herself brighten up.

"Pyrrah!" She cheered.

"Hello again Ruby," Pyrrha smiled, "Weiss, Yang, Blake." She said, acknowledging the rest of the team.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Jaune said with a small wave.

"Nothing much," Yang answered, "Let's go ahead and pull the table over here." She said, getting up to grab one end.

"I've got it!" Nora volunteered for her team, quickly stepping ahead to grab the other end.

In no time at all, the tables were connected and everyone shuffled around to take their seats, Pyrrha taking the one next to Ruby while Jaune took the outside one, Nora and Ren sitting on the same side as Weiss and Blake.

"Have you four ordered yet?" Pyrrha asked, garnering a head shake from Ruby. "Do you know what you'd like to order?" She asked, slightly raising a hand to gesture for the waiter, prompting him to do so.

Ruby hummed, hunching over the table to look at the menu, "I waaaaaaant," She drawled, just as the waiter came up with a notebook and pen in hand, "Theeeeeeee, Pork Udon, an extra large Strawberry smoothie, Wiiiith…. Mango and Passion Fruit Jellies. And two Strawberry shortcakes." She finished, holding up two fingers by her face with a grin.

Pyrrha gave Ruby a fond smile as everyone else ordered their food and drinks, so immersed with watching her that she almost didn't hear the waiter.

"And for you?"

"Oh." Pyrrha snapped her head up, startled out of her reverie before glancing down at the menu, still not having decided on what she wanted, "I'll have the same as Ruby… with water instead."

Taking note of the final orders, the waiter smiled up at the group, "Your orders will be out momentarily." He said, collecting the menus from everyone before leaving.

"So what have you guys been up to?" Jaune asked, leaning over the table to look at Team RWBY

"You all were stationed out of the walls correct? How was it?" Ren further questioned, keeping his back straight.

"It was… challenging." Weiss informed, "However, it was an interesting experience, one that I would not mind participating in again."

"Yeah!" Yang nodded, "We definitely got a taste of what it's like being a hunter outside the safety of walls! But we held up!"

"Except for Ruby, however that didn't happen until today." Blake interjected.

"Oh," Ren turned to look at the other team's leader with some concern, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine!" Ruby waved off, "Just a few bruises here and there. Nothing a good snack can't fix!"

"If you'd like," Ren began, "When we return to the inn, I can make you a drink of a family recipe, one that will-"

"I'm sure Ruby will be fine with some cake!" Nora quickly intervened with a pale face. "No reason for you to make your drink Ren! No reason. At all!" She said with a tight smile.

Ren frowned, "But Nora, cake doesn't have the proper nutritions to-"

"So we followed the sheriff all week and let me tell you," Nora began, leaning her elbow on the table as she referred to the team, "There's a LOT more work that you'd think there would be."

Ren pouted, the sight amusing Yang before returning her attention to Nora. "What did you guys do?"

"Everrrrrrything!" Nora exaggerated, flopping her upper body across the table just as the waiter came back to serve everyone's drinks.

"The sheriff doesn't mind taking on cases meant for lower ranked officers," Pyrrha clarified, eyeing Ruby's large drink. "So we did many things ranging from an investigation due to a call of suspicion, to standing duty at the checkpoint, to chasing a thief on the street, to a murder scene." She finished in amusement as she watched Ruby happily pull the large drink that was tall enough that Ruby had to raise her chin a little. Undeterred by the size, Ruby's tongue peeked out to lick her lips as she reached up to pluck the cherry off the whip cream first to eat.

"Which was linked to our first assignment! The one that Pyrrha just mentioned." Nora perked up, drinking her raspberry lemonade

"Pyrrha found that out first." Ren stated with pride. "She recognized the voice of the murdered from listening to their voice inbox on their scroll, and connected them to the person who called."

"Were you able to arrest the person?" Weiss asked, glancing over to Ruby who already had gobbled up all of the whip cream, leaving quite a bit of the sugary confection around her mouth as she began slurping her drink happily, which left Weiss cringing in displeasure as she lifted her cup of coffee to daintily sip from.

Pyrrha nodded. "Yes, the murder happened to be the same person who we had to interrogate for suspicious behavior." She explained, lightly nudging Ruby to garner her attention. Upon getting Ruby to look at her, Pyrrha pointed to her own lips to indicate there was something on the shorter girl's mouth, prompting her to sheepishly wipe her mouth before returning back to her drink.

"We weren't able to arrest him the first time though," Jaune sadly said. "There wasn't enough evidence to bring him in because all he was doing was standing at the corner of the street to smoke."

He paused, "Maybe if we could have been more… I don't know… forceful to arrest him when the victim called... maybe we could have prevented the victim's death." Jaune sullenly said, causing everyone to go quiet.

… Save for the slurping sounds Ruby made.

"Ruby." Weiss lightly hissed, nudging her foot under the table and causing her to snap her head up in confusion with wide eyes. "Be more considerate."

Rudy didn't understand why Weiss was chastising her, and knitted her brow. "... Why?" She asked. "It's not like I knew the person…" She lightly shrugged, wanting nothing more than to get back to her drink.

"Because it's sensible." Weiss answered, inwardly cringing at her leader lack of tack and sensibility. It was one thing for the rest of team RWBY to experience Ruby's inability to keep her opinions to herself, however Weiss knew that most others wouldn't welcome it. Pyrrha seemed to be an exception, as she seemed used to Ruby freely speaking her mind.

Ruby glanced over to the others in team JNPR, noting that Ren and Nora seemed to be keeping their gazes away from Jaune, whom seemed to be clenching his fists in anger as he frowned in disapproval at Ruby.

"I didn't think you were so… heartless." Jaune said in an accusatory tone.

The air suddenly shifted as Yang rose up from her seat, glaring at Jaune as Blake bared her teeth.

"The two of you need to calm down." Weiss hissed, grabbing hold of Blake's arm while throwing Yang a pointed look. It seemed enough as she sat herself back down with a small growl.

"Jaune." Pyrrha warned with furrowed brows.

"Well it's true!" Jaune gestured, "She basically said that she doesn't care if anyone gets killed, so long as she doesn't know them."

Weiss rolled her eyes at the statement, her hold tightening on Blake to indicate her ire.

"You're exaggerating now." Ruby said, voicing out Weiss's thoughts.

Jaune slammed his hands down on the table, glaring at Ruby. "You didn't care for the person. You admitted it yourself!"

"I don't know anything about the person!" Ruby exasperated, not understanding why he was so worked up. "They're dead, and all I know is that some unknown person died and that I have a really good drink in front of me that makes me happy and I'm not drinking it."

"A stupid drink is more important than someone's life?" Jaune asked with incredulity.

"When they're already dead, then yeah!" Ruby said throwing her hands in the air, "And if you keep getting worked up over one death, then maybe you're not cut out to be a hunter!"

Jaune recoiled away, "Well- I- What if it was someone you did know huh? What if that was your family?"

"You can't argue with what if's Jaune." Ruby groaned, why was she even arguing with him? Besides, the idea of anyone in her family being killed was impossible. The chances of all the stars going missing would be higher. "Because now I get to play the what if game and say, maybe if you were faster at catching the murderer, then the person wouldn't have died."

"You-!" Jaune nearly snapped.

The sound of hands slamming on the table shocked him, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair in surprise.

"Jaune." Pyrrha eerily said in a calming tone, a piercing glare thrown his way as she stood. "Perhaps you should go back to the inn to rest. It has been a long week for us after all."

"But-!" He tried to protest.

"Before you say something that could cause someone to get hurt." Pyrrha gritted.

Blinking back, he glanced at the others around the table, noting Ren's head shake of disapproval at him and Nora's narrowed eyes. Blake's eyes shifted between Pyrrha and Ruby, while Weiss and Yang looked way's else.

Confused at what was happening, Ruby looked toward Pyrrha in concern, who seemed to be trembling, keeping her head cast down and refusing to look at anyone.

Jaune noticed this, and his eyes widened in realization of what he almost did. He slowly got up, his attention solely on Pyrrha as his hands hovered. "Pyrrha? I-I'm so-"

"Just go Jaune." Pyrrha wearily sighed, bringing a hand up to her brow. "You need to rest."

Reluctantly, Jaune retracted his eyes as he nodded, a sad look on his face.

Pyrrha's eyes moved to the side, quickly looking at Ruby's visible confusion and concern… and paled. "I'll walk you out." Pyrrha said, pushing her chair back to escort him out just as the waiter came with their food.

Everyone fidgeted about, keeping silent - save for the quiet expression of gratitude thrown the waiter's way - as they each continuously glanced up at Ruby and outside where Pyrrha, and Jaune were before glancing back down. (Ren being the only one to whisper to the waiter to box up Jaune's food)

"Soooo…." Nora awkwardly began, eliciting a choked cough from Yang.

"Please forgive Jaune." Ren apologized, glancing toward Ruby, "He… hasn't been well the past few days. He took some time prior to that to befriend the victim before the murder, so he has been taking the situation… harshly. Pyrrha has been, trying to support him through his grief while carrying the responsibilities for our team."

Ruby hummed, snapping her chopsticks apart and slid them against each other to rid of any splintering wood. Subtly, she glanced out the window to see Pyrrha and Jaune facing each other, seemingly having a… heated disagreement of some sort if the saddened look on Pyrrha's face and the angered frustration Jaune were anything to go by.

Pyrrha brought a hand up as a gesture to halt Jaune as her shoulders sagged and she brought a hand up to her forehead.

It seemed to make Jaune deflate before he nodded, causing Pyrrha to look at him with a sad smile before putting a hand on his shoulder.

A small frown crossed Ruby's face before she turned her attention back to her food. "Okay." She shrugged hunching over to pull some noodles up, causing the steam from the food to puff up even more before continuing to stir.

Ren and Nora gave questioning glances over to each other before hesitantly looking back up at the rest of Ruby's team who merely shrugged in turn, as though saying they had given up on how she thinks.

Ruby continued mindlessly shifting her noodles around to cool them.

Knowing that Pyrrha hated being placed on a pedestal, Ruby doubted that she was enjoying her new responsibilities as the de facto leader of JNPR…

"Though I have to admit that hearing Ruby say that about someone surprised me." Nora exclaimed, "She always seemed so sensitive!"

The comment caused Weiss to choke on air, "Ruby? Sensitive?" She asked in disbelief.

"Well… About people… uh. Dying." Nora offered.

"The concept of death is something someone gets use to when they grow up outside kingdom walls." Blake explained, glancing over to Weiss. "Or with a lot of people around you dying." She added.

"It still doesn't excuse murder." Yang pointed out with a frown.

"Of course not." Weiss said, "However, I believe what Blake was saying was that someone like Ruby would find it difficult to empathize with a victim she doesn't know, if she grew up with people dying around her. I'm certain were it someone she did know, such as ourselves, then she would be upset."

Ruby paused, her hand suddenly stiff as her noodles fell from her chopsticks. Her chest suddenly ached as the image of Yang, Weiss, or Blake on the floor in blood or burning filled her mind, causing her hand to tremble.

Her mind suddenly became flooded with past fights and what ifs. It would have been possible for Roman to have killed one of them when he was in the Paladin. It would have been possible for her, Roman, and Neo to overwhelm one of them during their fight at the docks.

A lob in her throat formed, making it hard to breath as her mind looked to the future, where the possibility of one of them being killed became all too real in the face of Cinder's plan to make Beacon fall.

The door slammed shut, startling her to drop her chopsticks into her bowl as Pyrrha walked in.

"How is he?" Ren asked.

"He's calmed down now. He's just returning to the inn to rest." Pyrrha said, taking her seat and glancing over to Ruby with a smile.

Only to frown in concern.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" Pyrrha asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Ruby grew cold, looking up at Pyrrha with wide eyes, only to see the image of Pyrrha on her knees with a blade through her chest.

Her heart clenched tightly in her chest as her breath got caught in her throat, the feeling of fear suddenly overwhelming her as she jumped back and fell off her chair.

A sudden pain bursted from the back of her head, making her see stars in the ceiling… and on Pyrrha who was hovering over her with panic.

Ruby couldn't make out what Pyrrha was saying though, as ringing pierced through her ears.

The only things she could tell though, was that everything ached… her heart, her throat, her eyes…

And that it was cold.

AN: Hello All! I apologize for such a late update. I've recently obtained a second job so writing is going to be a lot slower. ^^; However I still wish to continue writing this until I'm finished, so I thank you all for being so patient and supportive of me!

Thank you for reading!

Edit: Thank you for those who pointed out my mistake in regards to Ruby's name. It's now fixed. I apologize for any other mistakes I may have made or will be making in the future. ^^;