Just a quick disclaimer, all characters are the property of Roster Teeth and I, in no way, am attempting to lay claim to the rights to these characters.

Also, a small note to the readers. I have decided a different approach compared to how i used to write these works. This work is completed as of the posting of this chapter. Every week I will be posting the next chapter(See comment added after initial post at end). There will be little to no wait for the chapters to be written because they are all already done. I may add on extra epilogue chapters, but those are not written at this time.

Lastly, enjoy!

Take it Back – Chapter 1

It was just another weekend at Beacon Academy, filled with both relaxation and furious studying for the coming week of school. Most students were enjoying their short lived freedom from the confines of class, while others remained ever diligent, reviewing material and rewriting notes in an attempt to better prepare themselves of the unforeseen future that they have landed themselves in at this prestigious academy. One such student was furiously writing notes in her notebook, this student is none other than Weiss Schnee, the perfect student that strived to be the best at everything. In the same room, resided her three teammates, Yang Xiao-Long, Ruby Rose, and Blake Belladonna. The perpetual, walking radiator was currently playing games on her scroll while listening to music with headphones. Ruby was cleaning and doing maintenance on Crescent Rose. Blake was doing what she always did on her weekends, read quietly on her bed. It was just another peaceful Saturday morning, but for one particular resident of this dorm it was D-Day and her nerves were threatening to tear her apart.

Ruby had been planning for a certain conversation, with a certain individual for nearly a month now. In the high of anxiety she turned to cleaning her cherished weapon to relax, needless to say it was doing nothing for her. She glanced at the clock for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last hour.

Good, its 10:30 AM, Yang will be so engrossed in her game that she will be oblivious to anything going on around her. Weiss will be neck deep in studying for the exam in two weeks and she'll ignore anything not related to her studies … time to go for it!

Ruby reassembled Crescent Rose in lightning speed, even without her semblance the process was so ingrained within her that she could take it apart and put it back together before anyone would be able to question why she was doing it. Ruby gingerly carried Crescent Rose to her bed before gently setting it down on the pillow, treating it like a newborn. Ruby then slowly made her way over the secluded bibliophilic teammate who was lounging on her bed, the anticipation that was welling up inside the younger girl threatened to shatter the miniscule amount of courage she had summoned for this task. As a result, with every step she took her face grew darker a shade of red. Doubt filled her mind and her boots felt like they were filled with lead. In one final push of bravery, the young girl swallowed her doubt and took the final step that landed her next to the bed that supported the still reading woman.

Ruby's throat and mouth were dry as bone, making it nearly impossible to form words. She cleared her throat once, then twice to get her oral and esophageal fluids flowing once more. The noise unintentionally served the dual purpose of grabbing the raven-haired girls attention away form the book she was immersed in. The previously reading girl peered up at her young but admirable team leader with piercing golden eye. Ever the passive observer, a habit she picked up while in the White Fang and fending for herself, the older girl noticed that Ruby's face was flushed, her hands were fiddling with the hem of the younger girls shirt, and that Ruby was struggling to maintain eye contact. Nothing simple or unimportant could cause her fearless leader to act in this way, so Blake closed her book and set it aside, giving the flustered, younger girl her undivided attention. The younger girl seemed to notice that Blake had set down her book and that she was patiently waiting for Ruby to explain what had gotten her so worked up.

"H-hey Blake! What'cha doin'?" Blake didn't miss the stutter, but decided to ignore it, else she risk dumping the weight of embarrassment on top of the younger girl's already burdened shoulders.

"I was just reading an old book, I've read it several times, but it so good that I enjoy it every time I re-read it." Blake remarked passively, clearly trying to suggest that she was doing nothing important that could not be interrupted. This obvious cue went straight over Ruby's head.

"Oh! If you're busy I'll just come back when you're done?" The younger girl's eyes displayed a mixture of relief and sadness; the odd combination confused Blake, but she reached out and caught the younger girl's arm before she could back away form her.

"Ruby, I'm not doing anything important. Like I said, I've read this book several times, so I'm not missing anything by not reading for a while. You look like you need someone to talk to …" Ruby's flushed face grew even darker when she felt Blake's hand clasp around her slim wrist.

"Actually, I just need to talk to you. Do … do you mind if we talk? In private?" The two emotions that battled for dominance just beneath the surface of Ruby's pupils were hope and fear. Again Blake was confused about what she was reading in Ruby's eyes, but her confusion only fueled her to get to the bottom of whatever was what eating at the younger girl.

"Of course we can Ruby," Blake stood up from her bed and motioned to the door with her hand, "Lead the way."

'Talking in private' apparently meant that Ruby wanted to be in a place devoid of all life. Hence why the two of them were currently on the roof of the building that housed their lecture halls. Blake stood facing Ruby, with Ruby facing away from her. The younger girl appeared to be silently trying to motivate herself, for what exactly escaped Blake. Finally, after waiting for nearly 5 minutes the younger girl whispered loudly a "Lets do this!" and a fist-to-palm gesture before spinning around to face her patient teammate.

"Blake, I need to tell you something. This something is probably the most important something I've ever told anyone, or will ever tell anyone." Ruby took a deep breath and gathered her courage. "Blake … I think you're an amazing person. You're skilled, talented, patient, generous, kind, and beautiful. You've lead the toughest life I can imagine. Slowly watching a pure cause, that you've loved and been a part of nearly your entire life, become a corrupt terrorist organization is something that I cannot even fathom. You've seen the worst in the world, yet you remain untainted. You are the strongest person I know because you don't let anything get you down, you always move forward and face your fears and demons head on without flinching. To be someone like you, is something I dream about. You are my idol and I always strive to be someone who deserves to be your teammate and team leader. I know that I'm just a scrawny brat, who it a couple years younger than you. And I know that you are an amazing, beautiful, gorgeous, awe-inspiring woman who will change the world … But I just wanted to let you know that I think you're the best-est person I've ever met … And … and … and I think I'm in love with you … I was kinda hoping you liked me back and that were could be girlfriends … or lovers." The last part was a near whisper, but Blake's Faunus enhanced hearing heard every word.

The following silence was deafening to the younger girl, the pounding in her heart and the blood that rushed to her head caused her heartbeat to resonate in her ears. The sheer amount of embarrassment pinned her eyes to her feet. The anticipation of an answer from the object of her affection caused the young girl's diaphragm to seize up, resulting in her breathing all but halting. The sound of a foot landing on the floor in the distance caused the younger girl's head to snap up. There stood Blake, half turned towards the door to the roof, one foot further from the younger girl than when they first started. Her eye's were wide with fear and shock, her hands in white-knuckled fists, and her bow was twitching and shifting at the tiniest of sounds.

Tears welled up in the younger girl's eyes, Blake's rejection was quite clear, but she'd be damned if she let the older girl leave without first responding. Using her semblance, Ruby sped to the door, shutting it and placing her body just in front of the doorknob. Blake, realizing her situation, sighed dejectedly then took a deep breath to address Ruby.

"I'm sorry Ruby … but I do not feel the same. To me you are simply my leader, in the future I had hoped to one day call you a close friend, or possibly a younger sister, but never my girlfriend, never mind my lover. I must reject your feelings, and I hope that one day we can return to being proper teammates-"

"W-what?" The tears were now freely streaming down the younger girl's face, the pain of rejection nearly rivaled the pain she felt when she lost her mother.

Blake composed herself, she knew that an ambiguous answer could cause long lasting confusion and eventual scarring of their relationship which would potentially ruin their teamwork in the future, so she decided to be as honest and as clear as possible. She squared her shoulders to Ruby, looking her in the eye with a cold and distant stare that also contained traces of fury, "I have never thought of you in the way you think of me, nor will I ever think of you that way. You are too naïve, Ruby. Life isn't a fairy tale, it's about time you woke up to reality." The venom-coated blade of rejection had pierced Ruby's heart; the younger girl flung the door open and fled with her hand clutching the shirt above her heart. Blake could only sigh sadly before exiting through the same door and returning to their dorm.

Silently she slipped back into the room, Yang was listening to music on her bed, and Weiss was reviewing material from Professor Port's lecture. The raven-haired girl made her way back to her bed, taking note that Crescent Rose was no longer on Ruby's bed before picking up her book. She returned to how she was before Ruby even spoke to her.

Later that same night, Yang was impatiently pacing back and forth between the parallel bunk beds, repeatedly checking her scroll. Ruby had mysteriously disappeared sometime in the morning and had failed to return to the dorm in time for curfew. Blake, blaming herself for Ruby's disappearance due to how she handled rejecting Ruby's feelings, had remained silent on the topic, patiently waiting for any news on her team leader. It was nearly midnight before any of them heard from the younger girl; the communication came in the form of a call on Yang's scroll.

"RUBY! Where the hell are you?!"

"*Sniffle* … I-I'm fine Yang … Ozpin needed me to run a small mission for him …"

Yang caught that lie before it even finished coming through the receiver, but as an elder sister she knew that it would be better to confront the lie face to face with Ruby rather than through a call.

"Alright … so where are you?"

"…"

"Where. Are. You. Ruby?!"

"In the infirmary-" The call was instantly dropped when Yang's scroll fell from her hand onto the floor, the fuming blonde already out the door before the device settled on the floor. Weiss and Blake, neither of whom heard the other half of the conversation between sisters, could only follow behind in confusion.

Blake's gut was wrought into a knot as she deduced where Yang was headed, the infirmary. Upon reaching the dreaded infirmary, the receptionist noticed a near raging blonde who was closely followed by two very confused and worried looking teammates.

"Hello, how can I help-" The receptionist couldn't even finish her sentence before Yang cut her off.

"Ruby Rose, where is she?" The receptionist's head shot up in recognition, they currently only had one tenant, who just so happened to have the same name but the receptionist panicked, she had been issued a very desperate request when Ruby was carried into the infirmary, "please don't let anyone other than 'Yang' into my room." The look of pure desperation on her face was enough to make the receptionist comply immediately.

"And who are you?"

"That doesn't matter, where is Ruby!?" Yang slammed her fist down on the receptionist's desk, making the wood splinter beneath the force. For a small instance it looked like the older woman would yield and point out Ruby's room, but her demeanor quickly changed. The older woman stood quickly before speaking in a hushed, yet crystal clear tone. "You will refrain from raising your voice during your stay here, also you will receive no information about any patient in our care here unless you can provide some proof of relation to them. Lastly you will sign in so that we have a record of who comes and goes throughout the day. Am I understood?"

The authority that the receptionist was capable of commanding in tone of voice alone instantly striped Yang of her rampaging emotions. Yang shrunk away from the dented desk and lowered her gaze in shame. The receptionist, noticing that the flares of emotions had died down, gently smiled at the three girls before speaking in soothing tones, "Lets try this again … Hello, how may I help you?"

"My name is Yang Xiao-Long, I'm here looking for my half-sister Ruby Rose, I was told she was admitted into the infirmary earlier tonight …"

"Well, Ms. Xiao-Long-"

"Just Yang is fine."

"Well, Yang I can tell you that Ruby was indeed admitted a few hours ago, as to the extent of her injuries or how she received them, I cannot divulge such information without her consent. I can however show you to her room." The receptionist moved away from her desk after pushing in her chair, motioning for Yang to follow her, however when Blake and Weiss moved to follow as well the receptionist placed herself between Yang and her two teammates.

"I am sorry, but given the extent of Ruby's injuries and the policies of this health center I cannot allow anyone other than immediate family to enter her room. I am sorry, but you two will either have to wait in the waiting room, or return to your dorm."

Blake and Weiss immediately lurched forward, outraged that they were being restricted from seeing their precious younger team leader when she needed them most, but one harsh glare from the receptionist silenced them. Forced to comply, Blake and Weiss exchanged a few words with Yang before retreating back to their dorm, such as "Make sure you tell that dolt we hope she gets better!" and "Let Ruby know that if she needs reading material, she need only ask." Yang nodded to them both before turning around to follow the receptionist to Ruby's room.

"So, Ruby, you gonna come out and tell me? Or am I going to have to pry it out of you?"

Ruby hesitated; Yang knew that she was hiding behind the pretense of the lie she told her over the scroll. She clung to the hope that if she played dumb that Yang would drop it, "What are you talking about? Pry what out of me?" It failed.

"Fine, be that way, say nothing. I'll do the talking. I talked to Ozpin, he didn't send you on a mission. Also, I checked with your doctor, your injuries matched past records of survivors of grim pack ambushes. I asked JNPR to comb the neighboring forests that are known to contain grim, they found Crescent Rose, it was nearly destroyed, they said it looked like someone loaded the firing chamber with dust, blowing the gun portion of the sniper scythe apart. They brought back as many parts of Crescent Rose back, but it'll take some time to make it like it was." Yang's demeanor slowly grew more somber as she spoke, the look of pure devastation and pain on her younger sister's face quickly dissipated her anger. Before she realized it, she was hugging a sobbing Ruby, who was clutching at her jacket with fierce abandon.

Yang began to pull away when she heard her baby sister start to calm down, but was pulled back as the younger girl clung to her. Ruby took in a shuddering breath before letting it back out in an equally uneven manner. "I-it hurt so much … I … I couldn't even feel those grim ripping into my flesh, nor did I feel any remorse after lighting that dust inside my baby. I was in so much pain I didn't even know what I was doing, I barely remember anything after the roof-" Ruby cut herself off before she said too much.

"What roof? What happened on the roof, Ruby?"

The fear that sparked in the younger girls eyes caused orbs of darkness to nearly eclipse pools of liquid mercury. The younger girl began to flail, desperately trying to take attention away from the events that transpired on the roof of the lecture hall. However, much like the rest of this conversation, nothing went her way. "Ruby, what happened to you on the roof? Does it have something to do with why you only let me inside? Does it have something to do with why you asked the receptionist keep Blake and Weiss out of your room? You can tell me anything Ruby …"

Ruby was at a loss of what to do in this situation. She could either tell Yang everything and risk not only damaging her relationship with her sister over her sexuality, but also she risked ruining Yang's relationship with Blake, her combat partner. Or she could continue to lie to one of the last members of her family and risk ruining the trust they shared between one another. Ruby decided to go halfway towards both options, telling a half-truth-half-lie.

"Earlier today … I confessed my feelings to my crush-"

"Who?"

"I'm not going to tell you … but its not like it matters … they didn't- … they don't return my feelings. They said that I needed to wake up to reality, that I was living in a fairy tale, like some little kid …"

Yang could feel the heartache in her younger sister's voice as she broke down. Two emotions battled for expression within the older girl, possessive rage over Ruby against whoever rejected her younger sister and who was causing her so much pain, and her mother-like instincts to comfort her baby sister. But considering that Ruby refused to mention the name of whoever her crush was, she had little hope in having someone to vent her rage onto, with her rage lacking a viable target it quickly dissipated in the face of a crying Ruby. She would console her baby-sister, even if she knew that she wasn't being told the whole truth.

"Shhh, its okay Ruby … Hey, if they're not into you then it their loss … You are the most talented, badass, cute, and awesome person I know, Ruby. Honestly, they don't know what they're turning down …"

The younger girl clung to the older girl once more, this time grasping for the warmth and support that her older sister offered her.

"Thanks, Yang."

Chapter End

After post comment: I'm finding it rather hard to adhere to my own schedule of once weekly releases. So to sate my own impatience, I'll probably be posting chapters twice a week or three times a week, depending on how well my integrity and self-restraint maintain.