Chapter 7: A breaking point

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It had been a long and arduous road for Weiss

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It had been a long and arduous road for Weiss. The crushing weight of expectations coupled with the immense pressure of keeping up appearances had bred a burning desire for freedom that had led her to shatter the chains that had always shackled her. Now, her efforts would be validated as she prepared to take the first step in her quest to rewrite her family's name and carve out her own path as a warrior capable of-

"...and the leader of team RWBY will be Ruby Rose."

Wait, what?

Ruby? THAT Ruby?

"This has to be a mistake."

Weiss realized all too late that she had allowed her thoughts to slip her mind and escape through her lips. She stood there awkwardly as the other three members of her team and headmaster Ozpin looked at her with expecting eyes, all waiting for her to elaborate. The girl was flustered; she had blurted out some words that already felt like they belonged to someone else. In truth, she didn't really understand exactly why she found Ruby to be so...bothersome. Even then, looking at her bewildered expression, Weiss couldn't quite bring herself to resent the girl, but something inside of her couldn't accept her as a leader; that much was certain. Taking a deep breath, Weiss channeled what she called her 'inner Schnee':

"Though I have no ill will against Miss Rose, I also won't allow a team I'm a member of to be headed by a reckless and immature leader."

Weiss had expected Ruby to snap back at her comments but, to her surprise, she just seemed slightly hurt. Weiss felt a knot tightening in her stomach. However, before she could address Ruby directly, Yang chimed in, clearly upset at Weiss: "You're really going to question a decision made by THE Ozpin, the guy who's arguably the best huntsman in history? Plus, if my memory serves me right, it was my little sis who came up with the whole plan to take down the Nevermore AND she was the one to deliver the final blow. All you did was support her with some runes."

Although she knew Yang was right in many of the things she had said, Weiss gripped her fists and clenched her teeth. Before she could retort, she saw Blake grabbing Yang by the shoulder and walking forward.

"Those runes also saved your life, remember?" – Yang appeared mildly irritated at being reminded of the fact – "I don't think we should fight over the title of leader in any case, but I don't see the problem with Ruby. I don't know much about her, but she displayed great combat skills and strategic abilities in our fight against the Nevermore. As long as she's competent enough, we can focus on improving ourselves and try to work together."

Weiss answered right away, "See, that's the problem! You don't know her. But I do. I saw how she fights and what fighting means to her. I don't want the person who considers fighting as just some sort of power fantasy or 'fun' activity to be telling me what to do. I want a leader that takes our war against the Grimm seriously, one that understands that a single mistake means death!"

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