Burden and Blame: Chapter 1

Long after Blake had her run in with Weiss breaking down on Ruby's bedside; life had slowly started piecing itself back together. Ruby's aura had eventually healed up her more superficial injuries, but the coma remained a dilemma.

Weiss was sure Blake had said something to Yang about how the heiress truly felt. Ever since, the tension hadn't been as thick in the air. This had made Weiss scared because if her feelings were made public, then there was a chance her father would find out. Best case scenario, Weiss would be removed from Beacon immediately. Worse case, Ruby would meet the same fate as anyone else who had tried to be her friend.

Much to the girl's relief, nothing was ever mentioned by Yang, but Blake did hint at it every time Weiss went out at night to visit Ruby for a quick reassurance. This had, to some extent, impacted Weiss. She had become less arrogant, more aware of how others felt, and more careful in combat exercises that could prove potentially fatal. Even Yang knew something was up, so she caught up with the changed girl after class.

"Weiss, will you wait up please?" Yang had asked after one of Professor Port's unnecessarily long fictional tales where he had cut off the head of a Nevermore and hauled it over several miles back to his home town.

"What do you need?" Weiss asked calmly.

"Well, I wanted to ask why you haven't been yourself recently…" Yang trailed off, expecting some elaborate excuse for Weiss to hide behind.

Blushing, Weiss assumed Blake had told Yang, and it was all up. "Well, I really don't want anyone else to be hurt by my actions, or lack thereof."

"I was expecting more from you, Snow Angel." Yang said returning to her playful attitude.

"Well Blake's already told you how I feel about Ruby, so I shouldn't lie to you, should I?" Weiss said, looking at her feet. "What kind of person would I be then?"

"Weiss, Blake didn't tell me anything, but you sure have my attention now." Yang said in a voice full of surprise. "You've got some explaining to do."

Weiss was shocked and had stopped walking, now frozen in place. "S-she didn't tell you then?" She tumbled over her words as fear ripped through her veins.

"She'll be telling me now. And if I heard correctly, the cold-hearted ice princess has a crush on my little sis…"

They arrived at the door to their dorm and went inside. They both quietly walked over to Blake's bunk, where she was reading as usual. Blake had felt two pairs of eyes staring at her. One pair in particular was putting of such a strong feeling of fear that Blake was tempted ignore the looks. She put her book down and turned to look up at her two teammates.

"Is there something you two need?"

"So kitten, what precious info about the princess and my sister have you been keeping from me?" Yang asked ready to interrogate Blake by any means necessary.

Blake looked over at Weiss, who gave her the nod to go ahead and tell.

"Well, I went to go check on Ruby one night after everyone was asleep, but I noticed Weiss wasn't in bed, so I went to investigate. I figured she was studying in the library, but when I found she wasn't there, I decided to just go back to my original plan, and head to bed."

Yang looked over at Weiss who was staring blankly at a wall to her right.

"I got to the door, and I heard crying, and a very familiar voice. I peeked inside and I saw Weiss crying on Ruby's bedside, promising to protect her."

By this time, Weiss was shaking, attempting to control her emotions, even in the presence of her team.

"I went on inside, but I let her finish. When she had taken Ruby's hand and started crying, I knew there was something up, so I went to talk to her." Blake took a moment to pause. "She was startled, and had been distraught."

Weiss decided to take over and finish the story on her own terms.

"I told Blake how I felt about Ruby, and she had promised not to say anything, but I didn't think she would keep her word, so I was surprised when you asked why I was different, and I assumed you knew and blurted out that I have feelings towards Ruby."

Yang sighed as she gathered her thoughts and came to a decision.

"I owe you an apology for saying you didn't care. It was wrong of me. Honestly, Ruby has been fighting for your approval since the first day at this school. She told me a few months before she got knocked unconscious that she always got this warm fuzzy feeling around you, and I think that she and you have similar feelings."

"I'd have to second that. Ruby always has been very, different around you." Blake said with no real concern.

"It's not like it matters. I have to keep her away, for her sake." Weiss managed to say, nearly choking up.

"Uh… What? Why?" Yang asked, extremely confused.

"My father would have me out of this school the next day if he found out I was getting attached to someone. He has an aversion to anyone getting too close to me."

"Weiss, Ruby would follow you to the end of the Earth if she knew you felt this way about her. There would be no chance of anything keeping her from being with you. Your father wouldn't faze her a bit."

"You just don't get it! At best, I'm gone for good! My dad will hire a tutor or something and keep me locked inside until I 'learn' not to trust or care about anyone! But that's if he doesn't decide to pay off someone to get rid of Ruby!"

With that, Weiss turned on the spot, ran towards the door and exited not saying another word.

"They don't know him like I do. But I made a promise to protect Ruby, and that means if father tries to harm her in any way, he shall know the true feeling of being dead on the inside." Weiss thought as she ran, crying through the halls, not caring who saw. "You need to wake up soon Ruby; I need you to wake up for me."

She ran as far away from her teammates as she could get before she had to stop to take breath. She collapsed to her knees as she continued to cry on the edge of the Emerald forest. All of her anguish and suffering yelled for her to keep running and never look back, but her body wouldn't carry her any further, and she didn't have time to grab any dust on her way out.

"Well that was, unexpected of you Weiss." A flat toned female voice called from her right.

Looking up, Weiss saw Blake standing against a tree, looking rather amused, catching the runaway girl so quickly. "You need to stop being so self-assured and start depending on your team a little bit. We're all here for you, and for some reason, you keep thinking any one of us will shove a knife in your back when you're not looking."

"Did you not hear a word I said?! If I do, I'm gone!" Weiss was still recovering from her flight from their dorms.

"Nothing's going to happen to you. We're not about to let someone take away our teammate, no matter the cost. Now get up and help us figure this out." Blake said, trying to be as caring as possible.

Calmly getting up, Weiss brushed off her knees and wiped away her tears, trying to regain some of her normal composure.

"You're all making a big mistake, but I guess I can't convince you of that."

"Not a chance in hell." Blake said with confidence.

Both girls turned, ready for the walk back to the dorms on the other side of the campus when a roar was heard through the woods behind them. Trees smashed to the ground as an Ursa had got wind of their position.

"I don't have any dust for Myrtenaster!" Weiss complained as she drew her rapier.

"Just take some of mine then." Blake said, tossing a red vial to Weiss, who caught it and opened the revolving chambers, placing it in one of the slots and closing it with a flick of her wrist as the Ursa came crashing through the final layer of foliage.

Blake took off to a nearby branch as Weiss dashed forwards, Myrtenaster raised in en garde. Taking a swipe at one of its legs, a direct cut caused blood to pour out as Blake slashed at its back from above with Gambol Shroud.

The Ursa howled in pain as it turned around, making a gigantic arch with its large paws, catching Blake in the shoulder, sending her into a nearby tree, the Ursa limping over to where she fell.

Weiss seizing an opportunity, created an air walk glyph to boost herself directly over the creature, rapier poised to strike as she fell. Revolving chamber switching to the red dust, the blade of her sword became enveloped in a searing glow as Weiss took a stab directly into the back of the Grimm's neck, causing it to collapse forwards, blood boiling within the creature and sending Weiss flying overhead. Pulling her weapon out as she came over, the girl landed a roll and got up, immediately walking to where Blake lay beneath a tree.

Coming upon the site, Weiss instantly observed the black haired girl was conscious and was alright despite the dislocated shoulder and two cuts along her arm. Taking a firm grip beneath Blake's arm, she jerked upwards, causing a bone chilling pop to resonate through the air.

"Thanks for that Snow Angel." Blake said coolly as she stood up, stretching her arm and walking towards the Ursa to retrieve Gambol Shroud.

"Don't ever call me that again." Weiss said angrily as she began walking back towards the school.

"Whatever. Just get back and tell Yang what happened. I'm going to get my cuts healed up."

Both girls went their separate ways as the Grimm behind them dissipated into thin air, leaving nothing behind.