Chapter 27

Unwinding

The world stopped turning as Ruby Rose fell to her knees crying and clutching at her chest. It wasn't a sound the world was accustomed to hearing, and so perhaps out of respect it fell silent before spinning faster than ever before.

Her blood curdling scream caused both Yang and Weiss to jump to their feet and come running to her side but all they could do as she writhed in agony was urgently repeat her name. The only response either received was groaning and Ruby kicking her legs uncontrollably.

A katana and cleaver clattered on the floor as a trembling shadow backed away murmuring frantic apologies. "I-I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean-"

"Blake!" Weiss shouted, snapping the other girl to attention. "Get the first aid kit! Now!"

"R-right." The shadow flitted back to the bleachers where the pair had been sitting previously and returned hardly a heartbeat later carrying a large white canvas bag. She knelt down between Weiss and Yang, and with unsteady hands revealed the contents of a small hospital. She didn't see any blood or torn clothing but Ruby's hands were tightly pressed against her chest, and Yang and Weiss were in the way frantically trying to remove her blouse and waist cincher.

They were uncoordinated trying to remove them both at the same time, and Blake knelt there with scissors in her hand unable to bring yet another sharp object to her leader's chest. Just as Weiss and Yang were about to rip the clothing off her body Ruby angrily slapped their hands away.

"I'm fine!" she said between tightly clenched teeth. Ruby continued fighting the hands undressing her with surprising strength and ferocity, and once it was clear she wasn't just mindlessly lashing out Yang and Weiss hesitantly withdrew.

Gasping for air Ruby's eyes shot open and she glared up at her response team like a wounded animal, daring any of them to make the first move. If Blake was being given the same dirty look she couldn't be sure as she was too preoccupied looking down at her trembling hands in horror at what they had done, or at least very nearly.

"I'm alright," Ruby grumbled as she attempted to sit up before collapsing again. "Just a pulled muscle."

"Like hell it is!" Yang yelled, sounding more scared than actually angry. Both she and Weiss held onto her to keep their resilient leader from trying again, and also to try and get a good look underneath the hands and arms still cradled against her chest. All they could see was her black undershirt which was tucked into her skirt and possibly leggings, which were all tightly secured by her ammo belt. Feeling shy or perhaps unsettled by their prying eyes, Ruby covered herself with her cloak and began readjusting her attire if for no other reason than to give her shaking hands something to do.

"I'm alright," she repeated, reassuring herself as much as her teammates.

Yang and Weiss glanced at one another and without a word the heiress quietly began packing up the first aid kit before her partner could notice it. The scissors had fallen out of Blake's hands but if Weiss noticed her still staring down imagining them covered in blood she didn't acknowledge it.

"That hurt," Ruby admitted a few minutes later which caused her sister to let out a half-sob, half-chuckle.

""If you ever scare me like that again I'm gonna cover you in pillows and wrap you in bubble wrap, and not the kind that's fun to pop!"

Ruby smiled but it appeared painful for her. "I thought that's what aura was for? To keep overprotective big sisters from going overboard."

"Trust me, you haven't even seen overprotective and overboard yet." She leaned over and kissed her sister on the forehead. "And I don't think your aura did much good, sis..."

Blake flinched as she felt what might've been an accusatory glare but didn't look up to see who it was from or if she was right. A moment later she was surprised by legs suddenly surrounding her and an unsteady hand offering to help her to her feet. Blake looked up to see Ruby giving her as strong a smile as she could manage while Yang and Weiss supported her on either side seemingly fighting over who got to carry more of her weight.

While sitting there dumbfounded Ruby playfully wiggled her fingers as if to prove they were real, and without looking her in the eye Blake accepted the help back to her feet, which Ruby wasn't actually much help with. Afterward she quietly excused herself to gather Crescent Rose and Gambol Shroud.

Blake eyed the katana and cleaver mutinously, hesitant to even touch them after committing the ultimate betrayal to her friend and leader, which was something she was intimately familiar with.

She examined her weapons and found some comfort that at least the blades had been properly dulled by her aura before coming into contact with the caped-girl, otherwise her katana would've come close to completely bisecting her. It had only been due to her training and faunus reflexes that the followup swing with her cleaver hadn't decapitated her, or more likely crushed Ruby's windpipe or possibly broken her neck.

Even at full strength in a non-training match Ruby would've likely still been left with a nasty-looking bruise as the force from bladed weapons attempting to cut through or pierce aura acted similarly to the way a bulletproof vest protected oneself from bullets. The vest might not allow the bullet to penetrate to its wearer but the impact was still rather painful, though rarely life threatening. Even when Blake's aura was strengthening Gambol Shroud to its deadliest potential, it like all other blades found varying resistance in cutting or piercing the spiritual suits of armor all huntsmen wore, but someone like Yang who specialized in bludgeoning her opponents could almost ignore aura, as well as any other armor they might wear, as the impact of her punches were able to break bones without breaking aura.

Shaking, and holding the weapons as though they might somehow be infected Blake sheathed her katana and attached the cleaver to her shoulder harness. Glancing back at her teammates she found Yang and Weiss helping Ruby onto the bleachers and offering their own nearly empty water bottles before realizing hers was just an arm's reach away. They both watched on worriedly but Weiss seemed rather pleased that Ruby had accepted her water bottle before her sister's, and that she'd been the one to notice Ruby's sitting not far from her own.

With her head hung low Blake took a seat nearly a full body's length away from her teammates who were either ignoring her or were too busy making sure Ruby didn't drown herself. A moment later after coughing half the water back up Ruby began the painstaking task of scooting down to where Blake was sitting. Thinking she simply wanted her weapon back Blake handed over the folded up sniper-scythe but Ruby pushed it aside and instead offered her a black water bottle which she had snatched on the way over.

Without a word Blake accepted what she thought might've been some sort of peace offering, and when she finally came up for air she found Yang and Weiss hovering over Ruby, concerned but also inquisitive.

"Alright," Yang said, folding her arms over her chest. Despite not having grown up with a mother figure Blake somehow instinctively knew this is how they appeared when their children were in trouble. "We'll get into what happened in a minute, but first you outta know that your partners screwed up. We were busy chatting and weren't really paying attention to what was happening, and I promise it won't happen again."

Weiss nodded earnestly, guilt written across her pale face. Ruby reached out and squeezed her hand reassuringly but a moment later turned her attention to Blake sitting beside her. She pretended to be interested in her boots and flinched when Ruby suddenly laid her hand atop hers. It was clammy and about as steady as her own, but Blake couldn't help being more aware of Ruby's other hand still clutching just below her left breast.

"It was just an accident," Ruby said gently. "If it was anybody's fault it was mine for letting you inside my guard. You did exactly what we're supposed to do, and it's not like any of us haven't taken a hard hit during training. If we're being honest that was probably mild compared to what me and Crescent Rose has done to you and Weiss. And no offense but this is nothing compared to being punched by my sister, even when she's just kidding around."

"This is different..." Blake murmured. She briefly glanced up to meet Ruby's eyes but almost immediately looked back down. "I-I don't know what happened. Everything just happened so fast and I-I-"

"It wasn't your fault," she reassured with a smile, which only made Blake feel worse. "We're training to be huntresses, and sometimes accidents happen. If it wasn't for my aura being so low Gambol Shroud would've bounced off my aura shield causing a bruise but nothing that would've stopped the match."

"If it wasn't for your aura being so low I wouldn't have even landed the hit," Blake said, sheepishly glancing sideways at her. A small infectious smile tugged on Blake's lip seeing Ruby's spread across her face.

"Try non-existent aura," Weiss corrected, holding up her wrist scroll for everyone to see. Sure enough she wasn't exaggerating as the top bar identifying Ruby's aura levels was unfilled and reading zero percent.

"That's just a rough estimate," Ruby said flippantly. "Our scrolls have a two to three percent margin of error and my aura's been in that margin for the past month." Despite her casual, unconcerned tone Ruby couldn't help glancing down at her own wrist scroll frowning and biting her lip. Her heart skipped a beat which was painful against her chest, causing her to clutch what was surely the beginnings of an ugly bruise.

"Guys, I-I think I may have just cost us our spot in the tournament." Ruby's eyes twinkled but no longer because of the pain. "It's taken all month for me just to get back up to around five percent, and I need to have at least fifteen in less than three weeks. A-and I think this is gonna take awhile to heal..."

There hadn't been any anger or resentment in her voice, simply disappointment and acceptance, but Blake could hear plenty coming from her shadow which had long since disappeared. In their previous match together the temptation and permission from Yang had been there to land a debilitating blow and call it an accident, but she had hesitated at each and every opportunity, and this time had been careful and consciously aware of the caped-girl's every movement and how she would react to every attack.

The final moments of the match played in the back Blake's mind. Her sword and cleaver swings had merely been defensive maneuvers to catch and repel the six foot sniper-scythe, and unless Ruby somehow ran into her blade it shouldn't have come anywhere near touching her. At least that's what she thought...

As their hovering partners flocked closer around Ruby, Blake scooted away so that Yang could sit to Ruby's left while Weiss sat on her right. While they embraced their leader telling her that everything was alright Blake's self-loathing slowly began turning into doubt and denial as the the events replayed over and over in her head. Before long she began to wonder if this was what going mad was like, and couldn't help finding the sensation oddly familiar.

Retrieving her scroll from her back pocket Blake quietly logged into her student account at Beacon. She had never actually downloaded footage from any of their training sessions before as that was usually done by team leaders, and being the least technologically savvy member of the team it took her several minutes to figure out the process and have both matches emailed to her.

In the meantime, she thought she felt Weiss' icy glare for fiddling with her email while Ruby was in desperate need of comforting, but Blake ignored her and her own self-loathing as best she could. After a few minutes during which she'd occasionally hear muffled sobs, she opened the video and fast-forwarded through Yang and Weiss' match to the beginning of her and Ruby's. Nearly a dozen different camera angles captured everything within the room in high definition so that nothing during training was missed, not even the heiress stealthily picking her nose.

She slowed the video down to half-speed to better follow along, but finding the match repetitive she couldn't help getting distracted by how close Yang and Weiss were sitting, or Weiss' blushing and their occasional hugging, but resisted the urge to try and read their lips.

"What are you doing?" Weiss asked sharply, her short temper getting the better of her.

Blake cleared her throat and swallowed. "Ruby wasn't standing where I thought she was. I-I need to know what exactly happened..."

The sisters leaned over to get a better look dragging Weiss along with them. Soon they were all crowded around the scroll watching curiously but also flinching every time they thought the grisly moment had come.

Blake's nausea worsened as her countless past mistakes and constant doubts that plagued her mind came rushing to the forefront. Her natural instinct was to run, and occasionally she'd glance at the training room's double doors imagining herself rushing out back into the wild, back to freedom, but a warm, steady hand on her shoulder helped keep the daydream in check. Life before Team RWBY hadn't really been freedom anyway...

After fast-forwarding through their many mid-match breaks it didn't take long to reach the sudden conclusion, and everyone flinched as Blake ruthlessly swung her katana into Ruby's upper chest and just barely stopped herself from taking her head off. They all swallowed and sat quietly while taking shallow breaths, except for Ruby who still couldn't quite catch hers.

"It was just an accident," Yang said finally, squeezing her little sister around the waist and Blake by the shoulder. "It wasn't anybody's fault."

"Honestly it was inevitable," Weiss said shaking her head. Yang nodded but Ruby leaned forward and turned to Blake.

"You saw it too?" The girl in black nodded. "That's not where I saw you standing either, and there's no way I wouldn't have seen something that obvious coming."

She paused the video and Ruby practically crawled atop her sister, once again dragging Weiss along with her.

"Alright, everybody knows I'm kinda slow on the uptake sometimes," Yang said. "Care to give a hint?"

"Not slow, but wouldn't mind a hint either," Weiss added.

"Look-" Ruby pointed and both Yang and Weiss leaned forward and squinted, causing Blake to enlarge the image and zoom in on their faces, specifically their red tinted eyes.

"It's just a lens flare," Weiss said, feeling a strange mixture of relief and disappointment, as well as unease at what they were suggesting. "Almost everyone's eyes glow when they use their semblances and aura. Maybe the camera just distorted yours? Ruby's aura is red after all, and when they're glowing your amber eyes aren't too terribly far from a shade of orange. That's close, right?"

"And what's wrong with having red eyes?" Yang asked half-jokingly, her eyes flickering. Despite trying to relieve the tension and growing paranoia she stared at the image frowning.

"You have to admit it's weird timing," Ruby said. "Look-" She rewound the footage back a few seconds and slowed it down even further for her sister and Weiss to better follow along. "The second my eyes light up I move my head and start blocking my right side because that's where I saw Blake move and swing Gambol Shroud."

"And I saw you move the opposite direction swinging Crescent Rose on my left. My plan was to block with my katana and then send both of you spinning with my cleaver. Instead you left yourself wide open not even looking my direction, a-and it looks like I just took a cheap shot..."

They turned to their partners for affirmation that they weren't in denial or simply looking for excuses, or going mad, and saw that both of their faces had paled. Slowly they began glancing around the training room for where an unseen enemy might be lurking, but after Ruby had done a full sweep with her sniper rifle's thermal scope setting everybody sighed in relief.

"I think whoever caused this is long gone by now," Blake said softly as if afraid of being overheard. She held up her scroll again cutting to a couple frames before the accident where a faint shadow passed the bottom of the training room doors.

"Before we get too carried away by conspiracy theories-" Weiss said in a worried but reserved tone- "the two of you have super speed and lightning quick reflexes. Is it possible that subconsciously you were both trying to anticipate each other's next move and guessed wrong? Blake, your favorite tactic is making the opponent think you're one place when in reality that's your shadow and you're actually attacking their flank. Even at half-speed I don't see anything peculiar about the video, only when you slow it down frame by frame. And no offense, Ruby, but I think it's possible that for once you were just too slow and Blake too fast and anticipating what you'd do at full strength. Right now there's probably a couple dozen students that have returned from missions and wandering the halls, and that shadow probably just belongs to someone either walking by or checking to see if our room was occupied."

The team gave each other uncertain glances with Ruby and Blake's eyes falling on each other's before the faunus averted her gaze, wondering if she had made up this entire charade so that she didn't feel responsible for injuring Ruby. The more she thought about it the more it seemed to make sense. She had been running from responsibility for most of her life after all, and those doors were looking closer every second she stared at them...

She nearly leaped toward them when Yang removed her hand from her shoulder and abruptly got to her feet. She stalked toward the metal doors activating her gauntlets along the way, and inspected them for several minutes, even getting on the floor to check the small gap under the doors. Afterward she stuck her head out into the hallway and checked the door locks before returning to the bleachers, shaking her head and deactivating her weapons. With Blake's last semblance of hope gone she turned away and wiped something from her eye.

"The doors shut and lock automatically when a room's been reserved," Yang said to the group, returning her hand atop Blake's shoulder. "The only way in here without breaking the doors down is with one of our IDs or our team passcode, or with a teacher's ID. Weiss was right about a bunch of teams coming and going in the hall, and there's just enough of a gap under the doors to see a slight shadow but not enough to actually see in or out. Maybe the teachers wanted to block out the sound of gunfire but leave just enough of a gap to hear somebody screaming for help."

She shrugged and scooted closer to her partner. "Dunno, but what I do know is that for a mind altering semblance to work that person has to have direct line of sight, and making two people with aura shields up see two different illusions at the same time is supposed to be really hard. Besides that every student with a mind altering semblance has to have it on record with the academies so that everyone can have their auras on guard when they're around. Off the top of my head I can only think of three we've been notified about, and they'd never do something like this. I hate to say it but I think this might've just been a freak accident. Sorry, Blake..."

She cast her partner a sympathetic look but it went unnoticed by the faunus.

Climbing out of the pile Weiss let out a deep breath that she'd been seemingly holding for the last several minutes. "I don't know about any of you but that's actually a relief." She flashed a smile at her teammates but their eyes were still on Blake who had curled up into a ball with her head between her legs. Weiss lowered her own head realizing not everyone felt the same way, but there was a peculiar warmth coming from Yang's aura that caused her to look up.

"Blake?" Yang said, practically shoving their faces together. "This wasn't your fault. It was an accident, and believe me I've been the cause of much worse accidents than this." Blake gave a slight nod but kept her face hidden. "Rubes, it's just a stupid tournament and we probably would've gotten knocked out in the second round anyway."

"But-"

"No buts, not unless we're talking about Blake's Bellabooty." She gave the pair playful nudges and kisses on the forehead before growing serious again. "That accident could've been a hell of a lot worse, Rubes. Right now I'm just happy that you're alright. Yeah it would've been cool to compete but we'll still be honored in the opening and closing ceremonies, and you wanna know what's even cooler? You forgetting about the tournament and focusing on just getting better. Who knows? Three weeks is a long time. You're already moving around better than you were a week ago, so maybe you've finally gotten over the hump and your aura will recharge faster now!"

Although she tried sounding optimistic everyone could hear the buried doubt and pessimism of Ruby making yet another miraculous recovery, and sensing that her words were falling on deaf ears she pulled them into an embrace and pressed her forehead in between Ruby and Blake's, with Weiss once again finding herself at the bottom of the pile.

"Hey, I love both of you, and what happened today isn't anybody's fault. It could've just as easily been me or Weiss that got hurt. Blake, it was just an accident and Ruby's alright. Nobody blames you. Rubes, you mean a hell of a lot more to us than a stupid tournament. Remember our talk on the rooftop a couple weeks back? Sometimes bad things just happen, but you're the one who taught me that some of the best things in life come out of our worst days. And if this means three more weeks of binge watching movies and eating junk food till we puke I'm alright with that."

As her aura began to fade Yang smiled at Weiss who had surfaced and joined the embrace at some point with her head against Ruby's. Once everyone's eyes began to open and she became aware of what she'd been doing Weiss coughed awkwardly and made some excuse about being dizzy from lack of oxygen before scooting away to adjust her sweat stained attire. Ruby and Blake's heads rose a moment later and after smiling shyly at one another they gave each other gentle hugs.

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Blake whispered tearfully.

"Don't be," she said kindly back. "It was just an accident, and I'm alright."

Yang beamed at the pair her aura practically humming. "Why don't we go get changed and head upstairs? I think we'd all feel better after baths and showers, and I wouldn't mind strangling the princess with the shower head and making Schnee angels with her on the floor again."

"Sorry to disappoint but you'll have to find another shower buddy this week," Weiss huffed, her bottom lip twitching upward. "You can have Blake and I'll take Ruby. No offense, Blake, but she doesn't spend thirty minutes cleaning her ears, though sometimes she really ought to..."

"Sounds good!" Yang grinned, giving her a playful jab on the shoulder. "Blake and I will take the shower, and you and Rubes can have the bathtub. We can swap afterward if you want, just be sure to hold onto her real tightly so she doesn't slip and fall. I don't wanna be able to fit a Bible in between you two."

"That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Did I though?"

The girls laughed as Weiss' face turned a bright shade of crimson and steam practically started coming out of her ears. "Come on, Rubes," Yang said standing up straight. "Let's get you back to nurse Zwei. If you need any help getting undressed I'm sure your partner would be more than happy to help. Isn't that right, Weiss?"

Again Weiss' face reddened but as soon as she saw Ruby gingerly getting to her feet she forgot about being embarrassed and helped her stand, once again fighting with Yang over who got to support more of her weight. Afterward Ruby took several deep breaths as if already exhausted, and looking between her sister and partner rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Not that I wouldn't appreciate the help or company- Wait no, not like that! I-I think I'm just gonna get dressed in the bathroom down the hall and shower later tonight. My bedding needs to be washed anyway, and I'm kinda tired."

Her teammates nodded having expected as much and began grabbing their gear, which included Ruby's backpack which she'd brought along with her. She also took Crescent Rose and attached it to her belt despite the extra weight it added, and when nobody was looking, or more accurately were more focused on her rather than what she was doing, she snuck the emergency first aid kit into her backpack.

Taking pity on whoever would have to clean up the numerous bullet casings on the ground Weiss created a propulsion glyph to push them all to the other side of the room before reversing gravity and letting them fall into a large trash bin. It made for a good distraction whether Weiss knew it or not, and she bowed at the sound of applause. "You have no idea how badly I'd like to do that to our dorm room."

Afterward she hurried to Ruby's side who pushed both her and Yang away preferring to walk on her own, but after only a few steps she stumbled and was immediately caught.

"How about a piggyback ride?" Without asking her little sister for permission Yang attempted to scoop her up but Ruby flailed her arms and legs feebly. "What's wrong? I give you piggyback rides all the time. Remember when we won that jousting tournament in the lunchroom? Nobody will think twice about it."

Ruby didn't seem so sure, and with a sigh Yang set her back down but pulled her close so that when they walked she didn't have to put much weight on her feet. Grumbling to herself about Yang being a cheater and showoff, Weiss walked alongside the pair using a small glyph to blow cool air on them while Blake trailed behind a few paces.

When they came to the heavy double doors Yang threw them open having always preferred dramatic entrances and exits, but especially when she felt the need to put on a show. Those in the hallway couldn't help gawking at the fiery blonde beacon, and the team all held their heads high as though they'd just come out of the most grueling training session the world had ever seen while everyone else had been wasting their time on missions.

Once she felt the message had been sent loud and clear Yang nudged her sister. "Oh, I almost forgot. Weiss had a great idea that might cheer you up."

Ruby turned but Weiss just blinked in confusion. "I did?"

"The dinner party, remember?"

"But that was your-"

Yang gestured her head toward Ruby who was looking at her partner expectantly. "Oh! Right, my idea. Well, as you may already know being the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company comes with certain perks and privileges."

"To put it mildly," Yang laughed.

"That includes being invited to a dinner party hosted by General Ironwood aboard the airship at the bottom of Beacon's campus. I had considered skipping the event and later blaming you for eating the invitation, but after giving it some thought I decided I didn't want to give those self-important snobs the satisfaction of thinking I'd been scared off, and I thought perhaps you two might enjoy a tour of Polaris' flagship while I go off and play heiress. You're welcome to come too, Blake, if you'd like."

"Thanks but I'll pass," she said, looking and sounding as though she might be sick. "One Atlesian in my life is enough. Trapped on an airship with them and I might not be able to resist sabotaging the flight controls..."

Yang and Weiss chuckled at what was somewhere between a joke and thinly veiled warning but neither took their eyes off the caped-girl's radiant face.

"A-and I'm sure you'll run into Penny while you're there," Weiss added, her mouth suddenly dry. Yang gave her a gracious smile which was only politely returned.

Ruby stumbled as though she'd forgotten how to walk, and with her feet now barely touching the ground she began to laugh and had to wipe her eyes. Weiss' courteous smile fell but her partner's joy was so infectious that she couldn't help genuinely smiling for her.

"I-I wasn't expecting you to be this excited," she said, expertly hiding her disappointment. "Have you always wanted to see the inside of an Atlesian transport ship?"

Yang's laugh echoed throughout the hall before giving her a mischievous grin. "I think she's more excited about seeing the inside of Penny. Er, the inside of Penny's dorm room I mean."

"EXCUSE YOU!?" Weiss screamed, causing every head to turn.

Ruby glanced between her sister's not-so-innocent smile and her partner's righteous indignation, bemused by their antics. "It's just been a long day is all, and I'm already looking forward to getting out of the room again. Thank you, Weiss."

"My pleasure," she said, beaming with pride.

"Y'all know how much I love airships! I can't wait to get my pilot's licence in a couple years!" For some reason Ruby got the feeling she should downplay just how desperate she was to see Penny again, and so focused on what her teammates already knew was an obsession with all things involving guns, as well as all things that exploded when they hit the ground at terminal velocity.

"That's never going to happen," Weiss huffed, suddenly in a better mood than she was a moment ago. "That's a national tragedy waiting to happen, and I intend on bribing Vale's Aviation Administration to avoid my name being associated with it."

"Sorry, Rubes, but I'm with her on this one. Even I'm willing to admit that neither of us should ever be allowed to fly an airship. Nothing good can come from it."

Ruby shrugged barely listening. The only thing outweighing her excitement was her relief, and she found herself humming a tune which Yang soon joined in on. Their partners on the other hand remained silent for the rest of their short journey, with Weiss never taking her eyes off Ruby, and Blake unable to lift hers off the ground.

"We'll wait out here, sis," Yang said as they came to a halt outside the girls bathroom not far from their dressing room. "I'm almost positive what happened earlier was just an accident, but just in case I think we should stay together. I'll talk to Glynda about it later and see what she thinks." She glanced apologetically at Blake who flinched but nodded.

"Thanks," Ruby said, no longer holding her chest where she'd been stabbed but rather her stomach. She gritted her teeth stumbling into the bathroom on her own but after a couple pitiful steps Yang helped her in. Weiss and Blake followed a moment later making sure the bathroom was in fact empty with Weiss poking around suspicious-looking areas with her rapier and Blake scanning with her keen eyes and ears.

"You sure you don't need a hand?" Yang asked once they signaled the coast was clear.

Ruby nodded and reluctantly Yang existed the bathroom with Weiss and Blake following behind. Not a moment after they were gone Ruby locked the door and jammed Crescent Rose in between the handle and tile floor, and after making sure no peculiar shadows had stuck around she dragged her feet to the sink and practically collapsed up against the countertop.

She took several deep breaths noting her paler than usual complexion in the mirror, thinking her skin almost had a gray tint to it which she decided to blame on the lighting.

Shaking her head she splashed water on her face but before she could examine herself closer she lurched forward holding her stomach. With tears rolling down her cheeks and on the verge of dry heaving, Ruby finished untying her waist cincher and unclipped her ammo belt allowing them both to fall onto the floor. With her cape she was more careful and folded it neatly atop her backpack which she'd set to the side. Touching her stomach again she groaned as she felt something warm and sticky, and looking down at her dark blouse she found crimson.

"No," she whispered. "No-no-no! Not yet!"

Wide eyed she frantically unbuttoned her blouse and let it fall. Next she removed her undershirt which had to be pulled over here head causing her to groan and bite her tongue.

Lastly, standing half-naked in blood soaked bandages her fingers numbly undid the wrappings around her torso, and when they too fell to the floor she let out a soft whimper.

Standing before her in the mirror was a scarred body ravaged by tooth and claw but Ruby barely flinched at the familiar sight. Instead her attention was on the blood trickling from five long gashes across her stomach that had disemboweled her sometime in the past.

"It's starting..."

(A/N: Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Apologies for yet another dramatic cliffhanger but it couldn't really be helped. In my original outline Chapters 26 and 27 were the same chapter but I decided to split it in half so as to avoid another 15,000-ish word chapter. They're very taxing on me to edit/revise, and although sometimes it can't be helped I'd prefer them being on the "shorter" side for the time being. As for the chapter itself, I must admit anything even resembling a "fake out" makes me very cautious, and so I always try to raise the stakes by the end of the chapter. In this case I'm sure readers were expecting Blake's katana to have injured Ruby more than it did, but at the end of the chapter we learn it might've been the straw that finally broke the camel's back. I hope you enjoy what's to come. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has blessed me with this story and with all of you wonderful readers. God bless)