Ex Chapter 3: Curiosity Killed the Cat

It was a dark and rainy night in Vale. While most students were already asleep, Team RWBY and WOLF were wide awake in their dorm, with Ruby busy telling a scary story to them, one that has been trending around Beacon for a while.

Ruby: "The mirror in front of the storage room on the first floor of the Beacon Academy dorm is cursed. Do not look into it late at night. The devil resides inside it. Those who look into it are dragged inside... WAH!!"  She lunged at Weiss to amplify the scare factor. It didn't work that well however as everyone was quiet and staring at her.  "And they you never come back. It's scary, right?"

Winter: "Not really."

Summer: "Nope."

Weiss: "If you're a child, maybe. Sure, it's scary."

Yang: "Not even Zwei was frightened by that tired old story, right Zwei?"  She asked the little corgi, who barked in response and hopped into her lap. Setsuna then tapped Yang on the shoulder. The blonde looked at her to see her pointing towards Spring and Autumn, who seemed to be... shaking.  "You two are scared, aren't you?"

Spring: "EEP!"  She instantly latched onto the arm of her brother Akito, who sighed and pat her head.

Autumn: "M-Me? Scared of such a fake story?? H-HMPH! Don't be ridiculous!"  She crossed her arms and pointed her nose upwards in an obvious attempt to look offended.

Akito: "Sis. Stop trying to act like Weiss."

Weiss and Autumn: "Hey!"

Weiss: "Anyways."  She looked back at Ruby.  "Screaming at the end is an old trick too."

Ruby: "It's not old! It's a recent story! Ace literally told me about it this evening!"

Weiss: "He's probably sayin that to mess with you!"  But then, the feline Faunus, who was quiet this entire time, spoke up while not removing her eyes from her book.

Blake: "I've heard the story about that mirror too."  Everyone looked at her.

Akito: "You did?"

Blake: "Yeah. People are talking about it a lot. A couple of kids are actually missing."

Winter: "Wait... So it's actually true...?"  She questioned as Weiss, Summer and Autumn's eyes widened in surprise while Spring just hugged her brother's arm tighter

Ruby: "See? I told you!"

Blake: "I don't know. Maybe people just need a story to get their minds off things. The Grimm have been far more active lately since the Breach, so people are antsy."

Akito: "I mean, you do have a point. But at this point, if it was a Grimm, then I wouldn't be surprised since they're getting more and more terrifying. Trust me. Setsu can vow for that one."  He said to which the Arctic Wolf girl nodded with a Troubled expression.

Blake: "Scary stories are just fairy tales designed to make people jumpier than usual."

Yang: "Hey, Blake..."  The feline looked towards her teammates, who were looking at her with sweat drops present. Then, she said the words...  "Zwei's near you." 

Blake blinked before she slowly looked to her right and just as she said, the black and white corgi was right next to her, his face close to hers. With her instincts immediately activating, Blake squealed as she instantly leaped out of her bed and onto Akito's before she hugged his side tightly and buried her head into his neck.

Blake: "Keep it away from me!!"

Akito: "Seems like someone's especially Antsy..."  He deadpanned.

Blake: "S-Shut up, idiot!"  She protested as everyone else watched with an even bigger sweat drop while Zwei just barked.

>Time Skip<

Later the night, everyone had finally fallen asleep... except for Blake. She was actually having trouble sleeping, mainly after the scary story Ruby told her. Even though she hated to admit it, that story did leave her quite wary. Now that she was frustrated, she decided to go and look for herself. After getting Gambol Shroud for defense, she made her way out of the dorm, being as stealthy as a cat. However, the quiet noise from the door awakened Zwei. He looked up, only to see Blake gesture towards him to stay quiet, before she left.

Blake found herself standing in the first floor of Beacon Academy's Dorm building, and just like the story, she found the Mirror on the all in front of the Storage room door. There was also a single window on the wall opposite to the door that allowed the moon light to shine in. A small rustle noise, followed by the relatively eerie atmosphere of the area caused the ravenette to sweat drop out of uneasiness.

Blake's thoughts: "I can't believe that story's keeping me awake. Do I want to escape reality that badly?"  She began to approach the mirror.  "But if it is true, it's a serious problem and someone should check it out. This isn't an escape from reality. It's just a precaution."  As she continued to silently approach the mirror, footsteps behind her startled her, followed by a familiar voice.

Akito: "You know, you're not as stealthy as you think you are."  In an instant, she turned around to see her very own boyfriend standing there, with Alpha collapsed on his arm.

Blake: "Akito!?"

Akito: "Your one and only, kitten"

Blake: "What are you doing here?"

Akito: "Making sure you don't do anything stupid. And before you say anything, yes, the others are still asleep."  The ravenette sighed.

Blake: "You..."

Akito: "Hey, I thought we always stick together, am I right?"  He gave her a grin as he held up a thumbs up to her. She blushed slightly but chuckled and shook her head with a small smile.

Blake: "You dork... C'mon."  Now together, they both approached the mirror together. Blake was the one to get closer to it and reach out before dragging her finger against the surface of it. But nothing happened.  "I guess it is just a story after all."

Akito: "Hey."  She turned around and looked at him, only to see him pick up something from the ground. It was... a Book of Ninjas of Love.  "Did you drop this?"  In an instant, Blake's face turned slightly red.

Blake: "N-No?? What's this book doing here...?"

Akito: "Huh... Maybe it's from one of the kids that went missing?"  He theorized which send a devastating chill down the feline's spine.

She didn't want to admit it but... what he said did kind of make sense. However, as if to prove them both right, a sudden raspy voice caught them both off guard. It sounded kind of like... Blake...

???: "Keeping a secret again, Blake? Despicable... Despicable..." 

Both Faunus were startled but the moment they looked in the mirror, they saw what looked like a black cat sitting on the window. They both quickly turned to it, but it was gone.

Blake: "W-What...?"

Akito: "Okay.. What the fuck was... That!?"

He yelled in surprise as the book in his hand suddenly erupted into a black goo-like substance before lashing out at the male, in an attempt to capture him. Thinking fast, Akito quickly converted Alpha into its GN Sword form and slashed at the substance causing it to subside.

Blake: "Akito! Are you-Kyah!!"

Akito: "Huh?"  He instantly turned around, spotting a terrified Blake, being dragged into the mirror itself by multiple hands which had emerged from it. The female's eyes were wide in shock, horror and terror. She desperately tried to struggle and to yell, but the a hand covered her mouth and they were much stronger than she was. All she could do is reach out for her boyfriend in a desperate manner.  "Blake!"

He was about to jump in, when the same cat appeared, this time as a ghastly entity that emerged from the Mirror and stared deathly at the female.

???: "Do you think that ribbon hides everything?"

Akito: "Shut the hell up and let MY girlfriend go!"  He yelled as he sped up towards her, his Alpha's blade rotating upwards to the point the GN Sword became an actual normal sword. With a couple of swift slashes to the Shadow Cat, the hands lost their grip and Blake fell forwards into his chest.  "Are you okay..?"  He protectively held her as they both dashed away.

Blake: "I-I'm fine.."  She reassured, though her tone was slightly shaken up.  "But that Cat... Is it a Grimm??"

Akito: "No clue... I've never seen a Grimm like it before. Let alone one that can talk..."

???: "It's no use, Blake."  They both looked back towards the mirror, seeing the Shadow tower over them from the Mirror.  "Your secret will keep getting in your way. Will you go running to that cowardly father of yours every time it does?"

Blake's thoughts: "How does it know what I said to my father...?"

???: "It's so silly, Blake... Why not go home and abandon this one like you do to all of your allies? To that place where there are no secrets." 

Blake's eyes widened as her hands began to tremble, attempting to keep her hold on Gambol Shroud as the Shadow created a swirl of blackened substance around the two. But Akito kept her close, his arm still wrapped around her waist tightly as he gritted his teeth.

Blake: "W-What are you talking about...? I'd never abandon Akito or any of my friends!"

???: "Why hide it? You felt so safe there. Safe. In that man's arms." 

At Akito gritted his teeth, the enclosure began to close in, in an attempt to trap the two. Blake could feel a sharp heat on her neck, feeling blood from some scratches that magically appeared on her neck, drip down. Even in the comfort of Akito's embrace, she felt afraid. Neither of them could do anything like this...

Then all of a sudden, an object rammed into the two, pushing them both out of the enclosure and onto the ground with a grunt. The one who did it, was Zwei.

Akito: "Zwei!?"

Zwei: "Arff!"  He responded before he licked the terrified Blake's cheek in affection. But then, they both realized something... The Shadow that was talking to them... was backing away and trembling.

???: "K-Keep him away from me...!"

Akito: "It's... afraid of Zwei..?"

Blake: "Of course!"  He looked at her as she came to realization.  "It doesn't know me. It's just a reflection of my thoughts. It's actually a tiny Grimm!"  She concluded. She was right.

The shadow before them began to contract and turned into a tiny Spider Grimm. It made all the sense now... This type of Grimm, the Spider Grimm, could cause targets to hallucinate a reflection of their thoughts and fears and this one chose to do so through a Mirror. It even mimicked Blake's own voice to speak to her.

Akito: "A Grimm can do that... That's terrifying..."  He muttered in shock as Blake, who was now pissed beyond belief stood up and glared at the Spider Grimm before she gripped Gambol Shroud tightly and swiftly ended it in one swift strike.

Blake: "Sayonara!"

The area went silent for a good moment as the two were taking time to reflect on what just happened. Then...

Akito: "Blake..."  She slowly looked at him.  "You won't abandon me... right...?"  He asked in a quiet and unsure tone that took the female by surprise. In an instant, she quickly went over to his side and hugged him tightly.

Blake: "Of course not! That Grimm was just saying that to mess with us and tear us apart... I promise I won't ever leave you, Akito...Because,  I really love you."  She muttered as she looked up at him. The male was silent until he leaned down, pressing his forehead against hers.

Akito: "I love you too, Blake. And... sorry for taking that Grimm's words into consideration..."

Blake: "Don't be. I nearly did too."  She smiled up at him to which he couldn't help but smile too.

Akito: "Well... I guess this would be a good time to do this."  He said, which confused the cat Faunus. Akito reached into his back pocket before he pulled out a certain book, which caused Blake's eyes to widen in surprise.

Blake: "Ninjas of Love!? The newest installment!?"

Akito: "I was waiting for the moment to give you this gift. Turns out, now is that time."  He said. Although the female had a light blush on her face, a warm smile crossed her lips as she embraced the book and leaned into the man's chest.

Blake: "Thank you, Akito... I'll cherish this gift."

Akito: "Heh, don't sweat it, Kitten."

A wave of silence washed over them as Blake looked up to him and instantly the two stared into each other's eyes, with the sounds of the rain outside being the only noise. It didn't take long as the two Faunus had locked lips together and engaged in a powerful embrace.

After a night like tonight... something like this was well needed... not only for relaxing after the adrenaline rush but for reassurance.

>Later<

After everything, and with Blake hiding her new book in her kimono, they returned to the Dorm Room with Zwei in toe, where they had found that the others were wide awake. Soon, they told everyone what happened.

Yang: "Really? A Spider Grimm."

Summer: "But how does a Grimm even get into the school?"

Weiss: "Perhaps it crept in after the train accident... We should notify the faculty."

Akito: "I've already contacted Ozpin about it and sent a message to Ironwood through Exia. They'll be sweeping the entire school and Vale for any stragglers."

Autumn: "Hah! See? It wasn't any ghost! And you all were saying I was scared. Hahaha!"  She continued to laugh in a smug manner before Setsuna slowly creeped up behind her and...

Setsuna: "Boo!"

Autumn: "KYAH!!!"  She squealed and instantly leaped into her brother's arms. Summer, Winter and Spring all began to laugh at their sister while Akito only deadpanned at them and shook his head before he looked towards Blake.

Ruby: "And don't forget to smile!"

Blake: "O-Okay.."

Over on Weiss' bed, Ruby was doing her best to get Blake to not be afraid of Zwei, especially since he did save both her and Akito. But Blake... didn't seem to be making too much progress. However, she didn't run away this time.

Yang: "You know... you shouldn't push yourself too hard, Blake."

Ruby: "She's fine! They will be friends!"  The way Blake was trembling made it feel like the entire bed was shaking. She was slowly trying to pet Zwei, her hand shaking like its temperature had hit absolute zero.

Blake: "C... C... C... Cu... Cu... Cu... Cu... Cu... Cute..."

Akito: "Do you need help, Babe...?"

Blake: "I-I-I'm f-fine! T-Totally f-f-fine!"

*CHOMP*

Blake: "HYYAAA!!!"

Yang: "See, he bit her."

Blake: "HOLD ME AKITO!!!"  She squealed and instantly tackled her boyfriend, causing the two of them to fall off the bed backwards. As everyone just stared in silence, the only thing said... was a small happy bark from Zwei.

Zwei: "Arff!"

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