Chapter 4: Team Activity
It had been a couple of days since team RWBY's study session under Weiss. After that, Yang and Blake had been doing their best to avoid their new team leader, hoping to not get pulled into another one of the heiress' hellish study sessions. Weiss obviously tried her best to get her two teammates to join, but was unable to do so. It was clear that the two girls would do practically anything to not spend time with the white-haired girl in the library.
Strangely enough, this all worked out well for Ruby as well. Since her partner was too busy chasing their two teammates, the redhead was left completely alone by Weiss, allowing her to not only spend her free time the way she wanted, but to also study at her own pace, too. To say the least, Ruby was quite happy with how things were turning out. Not only did she not have to worry about all the things that came along with being a team leader, but she also got herself some much needed peace from her partner. In short, things were looking good for the scythe-wielder.
However, once Friday came along, things took a bit of a change for the members of team RWBY. At one point, they had come to an agreement that the Friday afternoon would be spent together as a "team day," which meant that one of the four girls needed to come up with an activity that they all could take part in. This was usually done in one of two ways. Either each member gave a suggestion that they would decide upon or Ruby had to come up with something. The reason the redhead was tasked with the duty of making the final decision was because her three teammates had very different tastes, which meant that she often had to make sure they were all happy with what they ended up doing. But now that Ruby was no longer the team leader, she hadn't even thought about what kind of activity they would do for the day.
Ruby had been reading one her books while laying on her bed, when her sister had suddenly walked up to her with an excited glint in her eyes.
"Hey, Rubes, what are we going to do today?" Yang asked her sister with a slight hint of anticipation in her voice. "I'm really looking forward to what you've got planned for this week's Team Day! Are we going to the movies? Or the arcade? I even heard that there was a great carnival in the city today!"
Ruby looked around and saw Blake staring at her as well, clearly waiting for her answer. The former team leader had not expected to be put on the spot like that, as she no longer had the same duties she used to have. She had honestly not even thought about the whole "Team Day" that they were supposed to have that day, so she was honestly at a loss.
"Sorry, Yang, but I haven't got anything for us to do," Ruby answered with a sad sigh, hating the fact that she had to disappoint her older sister like this. "Ever since I stopped being team leader, I haven't considered the things I used to do even a bit. I honestly have no ideas for today's Team Day."
"Oh... That's a shame," Yang said in slight disappointment. "But don't let it bother you, Rubes! We can find other ways to amuse ourselves! Heck, if nothing else, we can always stay here and play video games or watch movies!"
"That doesn't sound too bad to me," Blake said with a small smile. "It could be a nice change of pace to do something much calmer for once. No need to go out to the city every time."
Seeing as how even her partner was up for her idea, Yang was about to go and get the games ready, when the fourth member of their team suddenly cleared her throat rather loudly, getting everyone's attention. The three girls turned to look at Weiss, who was sitting on her bed with a confident smile on her face.
"Actually, since I have been made our team's leader, I decided to prepare for this day," the heiress said. "I have an idea on how we could spend our Team Day and I'm certain that you will all enjoy it."
Yang and Blake looked at each other for a second, uncertain about the idea of Weiss making preparations for a team activity. After the whole mess with the study session, they had started to doubt the ideas the white-haired girl had.
However, a certain redhead seemed to be more than willing to let Weiss decide the way they would spend the day.
"Alright, I think that settles it then," Ruby said. "Since no one seems to have any better ideas, I think it might be a good idea to go with what our leader has planned. By the way, what is your idea for our Team Day?"
"That's a secret, but I will assure that you will all enjoy it," Weiss answered with a smirk. "However, in return for the Team Day I have planned for you all, I hope that you could show some appreciation by joining my study sessions from now on."
Neither Yang nor Blake were fully convinced yet. The fact that the heiress had made preparations for their team activity in order to get them to join her horrible study sessions was causing alarm bells to ring in their heads like crazy. Not to mention, they didn't even know what Weiss had planned served as a warning sign.
Then again, they weren't exactly obligated to join her study sessions even if they went along with what their white-haired teammate had planned. In other words, it seemed like it was a win-win situation.
"Alright, we'll consider joining your study sessions from now on, depending on what kind of an activity you have planned for us," Yang finally replied to Weiss' offer. "However, whatever you're planning better be good, alright?"
"Oh, trust me. You are certainly going to enjoy it," the heiress said with a big smile. She then got up from her bed and walked to the bathroom. "Now that we have all agreed on what we'll be doing, I guess it's time we all got ready for the day. We need to leave soon, if we want to be on time."
After Weiss had closed the bathroom door, both Blake and Yang turned their attention towards Ruby, hoping to get some answers from their youngest teammate.
"Ruby, do you have any idea what she might be planning?" Yang asked her sister. "While I did say that I would give whatever she was planning a chance, I can't help but feel a bit skeptical about it. Do you think she has planned anything fun for us?"
"Hard to say. This is the first time she has told me anything about any plans she has for our Team Day," the former leader answered with a shrug. "All I know is that I'm going to make some preparations, just in case things go wrong."
The two older girls wondered what Ruby might have been talking about, but didn't ask about it. After all, they were just going out to the city to have a good time. What's the worst that could happen?
Some time later, the members of team RWBY were in the city of Vale, ready for whatever Weiss had planned for them. The heiress had led her teammates around the city and eventually arrived at their destination, which was an opera house. She had actually reserved tickets for all four members of the team to go see one of the shows they were going to perform. There were a lot of different people coming to the opera house, but none of them looked like team RWBY's members at all, as they wore clothes that were clearly expensive, and the people also walked around in a manner that told everyone of their higher class.
"Well, what do you guys think?" Weiss asked her teammates with a proud smile on her face. "I told you that you guys would enjoy what I had planned for you! We are going to be watching one of the greatest opera shows ever made! Doesn't that get you just excited?"
However, instead of the eager cheers and compliments that she had expected to get, all the white-haired girl received was silence in response. She looked at her teammates and noticed that they didn't seem all that excited. Ruby seemed to be completely indifferent, which was the most positive reaction Weiss had managed to get from her three teammates. While Blake seemed to be nothing but unsure and skeptical, Yang was staring at the opera house in what seemed to be pure horror. The blonde looked like she was witnessing some sort of a tragedy right in front of her eyes.
"Hey now, what kind of a reaction is that!?" Weiss asked, somewhat offended by how her teammates were acting. "I did plan this for the sake of all of us! The least you three could do was show some form of-"
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND, ICE QUEEN!?" Yang yelled angrily at her teammate. "An opera!? Seriously!? That's the best thing you could come up with!? What is wrong with you!?"
Before Weiss could speak up to defend herself, Blake decided to speak up.
"I kind of have to agree with Yang, Weiss," the cat faunus said in an awkward tone. "I don't think this is exactly an activity that suits us all. While I have no doubt that you'll like it, I don't think that we will all like it."
"How can either one of you even say that!?" the white-haired girl asked angrily. "I mean has either one of you ever even been to an opera before!?"
Blake and Yang were about to answer, but stopped upon realizing that Weiss was right. They actually had not been to an opera before, so they really couldn't say that they honestly hated them. Both girls were mostly going on what they thought operas were really like, so they couldn't really say anything that would make their reaction to the opera seem reasonable.
"Well, I don't care if we go in or not. I leave that up to you guys," Ruby said indifferently. "So, what will be the group's decision? Shall we go in or not?"
Before either of the two doubtful girls could even really consider their options, Weiss decided to add something.
"I would also like to remind you all that I have already paid for the tickets," the heiress said. "If we go away now, it will be a waste of money."
Yang and Blake gave each other one last look before deciding to agree with Weiss' idea, much to the fencer's delight. After all, Weiss had made plans specifically for their sake and had even paid for them. It would be pretty rude to just turn down her offer at this point, especially when they wouldn't lose anything.
'I've never imagined myself to be one for operas, but I guess I've got nothing better planned anyways,' Yang thought to herself as they walked in. 'Besides, who knows? I might end up actually enjoying it!'
About an hour and a half later, the members of team RWBY had been sitting in the theater, watching the opera, which had been enough for Yang and Blake to make up their minds on operas.
'Alright, I was WAY too hopeful! I'm not enjoying this! THIS ABSOLUTE TORTURE!' Yang thought to herself, as she wanted to do nothing but run out of the opera house while firing her gauntlets at anything that got in her way. 'This has got to be some sort of a crime against humanity! WHEN WILL THIS END!?'
What Weiss had failed to tell her teammates was that the opera they were watching would last a total of five hours. So far, they hadn't even reached the halfway point yet, meaning that they were in for a long show.
Hoping to find something to save her from her suffering, Yang started to look at her teammates to see how they had decided to endure the torture they were locked in. The way the team was seated had the blonde sitting at the left of the whole group with Weiss sitting on her right. After the heiress came Blake and then last was Ruby. Yang checked out each of her teammates' faces to see if they were paying attention to the show or not. Much like she had expected, Weiss was completely taken by the opera, as she had a look of utter bliss on her face while watching the show. Blake wasn't doing much better than Yang, as the cat faunus had a pained expression on her face.
However, Ruby seemed to be strangely calm, like nothing was bothering her at all. Upon further inspection, Yang found out that the redhead had her headphones on and she was playing a game on her Scroll.
'What the-!? Why is Rubes playing games?' the brawler wondered, until she realized something. 'Wait a minute! She said that she was going to make some preparations! Is that what she meant!?'
Upon finding out what her little sister was doing, Yang decided to follow her example. She quickly pulled out her Scroll and turned it on, hoping to play some games. After selecting the game she was going to play, she noticed on the game's menu that Ruby was playing the same game right now. Hoping to get to play with the younger girl, the blonde was about to send an invite to her sister, when suddenly the game showed that Ruby had suddenly logged off. Before she had the time to fully realize what happened, Yang felt someone tap her shoulder. The brawler looked to her side and saw Weiss giving her the most murderous glare she had ever seen.
"Yang Xiao Long, what do you think you're doing!?" the heiress hissed at her teammate, taking the Scroll from her hands. "How dare you play games during a high-class opera!? Don't you have any manners!?"
"B-B-But the only reason I did that was because Ruby was doing it, too!" Yang said in her defense.
However, when she and Weiss both turned their attention to their former team leader, they saw that Ruby was quietly watching the opera with no Scroll in sight.
"What are you talking about? Ruby's Scroll is nowhere in sight!" the white-haired girl said in a scolding tone. "Now, stop acting like an immature child and show some respect to the opera!"
After scolding her teammate, Weiss returned to watching the show. Yang pretended to do the same, except she kept looking towards Ruby. She knew that her younger sister had been gaming just a moment ago, just like she had seen. Ruby had just managed to hide her Scroll fast enough, so that Weiss didn't see it.
Upon taking another look towards the redhead, Yang's eyes went wide upon what she saw this time. Somehow, Ruby had managed to sneak comic books with her, as she was currently in the middle of reading one of them.
'That's the newest issue of Tarantula-Guy! It's one of my favorites! How did Ruby bring it in with her!?' Yang wondered upon finding out what her sister was reading. She then noticed a small bag that was full of comics that seemed to hidden under Ruby's cloak. 'So that's how she brought those in! She knew that there was a possibility that Weiss' Team Day activity was going to suck, so she brought some other stuff with her for entertainment! And with the way we are seated, she has Blake covering her from Weiss' eyesight! She planned this whole thing upon finding out Weiss was taking us to the opera!'
As much as the blonde wanted to get one of Ruby's comics for herself, she knew that she couldn't do it. Weiss was going to get enraged at her again, and there was the possibility that the redhead herself would get caught. Even if she was bored, Yang wasn't so petty as to drag her little sister down because of it.
However, someone else had also noticed the equipment Ruby was carrying with herself. Blake had seen the bag of comics that was sitting next to the former team leader, and she wanted one of the comics for herself. Even if she was more into books, the cat faunus did enjoy comic books occasionally. Besides, right now, anything was better than simply watching the opera that was playing in front of them.
As slowly and carefully as she could, Blake brought her hand towards Ruby's bag of comics. Upon reaching the goods, she took hold of one of them and pulled it out for herself. The raven-haired girl had a triumphant smile spread over her face, as she opened up her spoils of victory and started reading.
Unfortunately, Blake's reading time was brought to an abrupt stop, as the comic was snatched from her hands by a certain angry heiress.
"Blake, what is the matter with you!?" Weiss angrily hissed at the faunus. "What made you think that bringing comics to an opera was a good idea!? Have you no shame!?"
"But I didn't bring this with me!" Blake argued. "Ruby is the one who brought it, along with a bunch of other comics!"
However, when the cat faunus and Weiss looked at said girl, the comic books were nowhere to be seen, and Ruby was simply watching the opera.
"First Yang and now you! I honestly thought that you were better than your partner, but I guess you're just as childish as she is! Just because Ruby is younger than you, doesn't mean you can push the blame on her!" the white-haired girl scolded Blake. "Now pay attention to the opera and start acting your age!"
After the raven-haired girl had been scolded by her new team leader, neither Blake or Yang tried to do anything, deciding it was best to resign to their fates. The two girls just sat quietly while suffering through the opera, while Ruby would use some of the stuff she brought to distract herself from the show. In the end, only Weiss fully enjoyed the opera.
Team RWBY eventually got out of the opera house, after what felt like an eternity to Yang and Blake. The four girls walked out of the building with Weiss being the only one smiling in the group.
"So? What did you guys think about it?" the heiress asked happily. "I think I chose just the perfect activity for our Team Day! I mean, who doesn't like opera?"
"Are you freaking KIDDING ME, WEISS!?" Yang yelled at her teammate with red eyes and a red face. "How the hell was THAT any fun!? That was nothing but pure torture! Easily the worst five hours of my entire life!"
Before Weiss could defend her choice for their team activity, Blake spoke up.
"I completely agree with Yang! You didn't consider any of your teammates when you decided to have our Team Day here!" the cat faunus said angrily. "What in the world made you think that this was a good idea!?"
"Well, excuse me for trying to give our team some culture!" Weiss argued. "The show that you just witnessed is one of the greatest opera shows ever created! Not only are the tickets expensive, but also incredibly hard to get! I had to use everything I had in order to get us all in there, yet neither of you two is showing any appreciation! Honestly, such great shows are wasted on the likes of you!"
"OH, SO WE'RE TOO DUMB TO APPRECIATE YOUR OVERRATED, ARROGANT GARBAGE!? IS THAT IT!?" Yang roared with her hair now glowing, showing just how angry she was. This caused the white-haired girl to shrink on herself out of fear.
"Well- I- I didn't mean-" Weiss tried to defend herself, realizing the error in what she had just said.
"I don't need to hear your excuses. You've said more than enough already," the blonde said and began to walk away with Blake following her. The cat faunus gave one last glare at the heiress, before leaving.
Now that two of their teammates had left, Weiss and Ruby were left alone near the entrance to the opera house. The fencer was staring at where Yang and Blake had just been standing not too long ago with her body frozen in shock, preventing her from moving or even speaking. It wasn't until her partner put a hand on her shoulder that she finally moved.
"Yeah, making plans for entertainment that the whole team enjoys isn't exactly all that easy, Weiss," Ruby said calmly. "It's surprisingly difficult to find something that could entertain all four of us, especially when we have such different tastes."
"That's easy for you to say!" Weiss yelled at the younger girl. "When you were in charge, we would always go to arcades, movies or amusement parks! If we didn't do something like that, we would be in the dorm, playing board games, video games or watching movies! I at least tried to give our team something different and look what it got me!"
"I will admit that it is a bit admirable that you tried to offer something new, but I think you went about it in the wrong way," the redhead explained. "I mean, a five hour opera isn't exactly something that any of us, except for you, has any experience with. It was a very risky gambit to try and have all of us enjoy it. I personally always made sure that we would be doing something that each of us would enjoy to at least some extent. After all, the whole point of a team day is for us ALL to have fun, right?"
"That's what I was trying to do!" the heiress yelled. "How is it my fault that none of you were able to appreciate what I did for you!?"
"Because you weren't thinking about OUR feelings on the matter. You were only thinking about what you personally liked and tried to get us to like it, too. That shows how little you know about your teammates, which is pretty bad for a team leader," Ruby replied before she began to walk away. "Also, if you think that everything you've been through so far has been bad, I can assure you that this is nothing yet. You still haven't faced the worst thing that comes with being a team leader."
Weiss watched her partner leave, while thinking about her warning. She couldn't believe that things could get any worse from this point on. After all, how could anything top all the humiliation and frustration she had faced so far?
The heiress didn't know it yet, but it was only a matter if time before she learned that Ruby's words were indeed true.