Wow, this is the longest one-shot I have ever written! And I love it!
Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. That is Rooster Teeth and Monty Oum (bless this man).
Five Times Someone Noticed Something Different About Ruby…
+1
"Ruby?"
The little girl turned her head away from the window she was staring out to look at her older sister. She tilted her head in question.
The blonde's bright smile clashed with her sad lilac eyes. "Are you hungry? I can make lunch."
Ruby nodded and slid off her bed, walking up to the doorway and grabbing Yang's hand. Looking up at her sister with wide silver eyes.
Yang ran a hand through her little sister's long black and red hair before they walked down the hall.
They passed by the only open door, Yang covered the side of Ruby's vision of the room. But lilac eyes glanced in.
Their dad, Taiyang, was passed out on his bed with beer cans littered on his bed. His snores echoed through Yang's ears as they quickly walked by.
Their family was broken.
Mom is never coming back.
Dad is drinking the nasty cans they weren't allowed to touch.
Uncle Qrow is drinking from the smelly glass bottles more than usual.
Ruby won't talk.
And Yang is the one trying to keep everyone together.
The sisters walked into the kitchen and Yang kneeled in front of Ruby.
"Hey, Rubbles," The blonde grinned. "Can you do me a favor and get the bread? I'm making sandwiches."
The young Rose nodded and started scooting a chair towards the counter. Yang watched out of the corner of her eye as she pulled other ingredients from the refrigerator.
She put the items on the counter and turned to see Ruby holding the package of bread out to her. A tiny smile on her face.
"Thanks, Ruby," Yang took the bread and put it with the other ingredients. "Go sit at the table and I'll make lunch."
The younger sister frowned, her jaw shifted. Like she was going to say something and, for a moment, hope built up in Yang's chest.
Then Ruby turned around and walked towards the table.
Yang sighed and turned back to making lunch. She grabbed two plates and a butterknife. Using the chair her younger sister brought over, Yang started making lunch.
The sandwiches were the same; lettuce, tomato, turkey, and mayo. Ruby's was cut in triangles with strawberries on the side, while Yang's wasn't cut and had chips on the side.
The older sibling placed the plates on the table. She put all the leftover ingredients away and made two cups of milk.
Once Yang sat down Ruby started eating, going for the strawberries.
At least somethings don't change.
Footsteps echoed down the hall and a blurry-eyed Taiyang appeared around the corner.
"Hey, girls," He yawned and gently patted Ruby's head while walking towards the fridge. "Eating lunch?"
"Yep, made it myself," Yang mumbled around her food.
There was a sad glint in their Dad's eyes as he grabbed another beer can. His blue eyes landed on Ruby, who was looking up at him.
Looking exactly like Summer.
"I'll be in my room if you two need me," He mumbled before disappearing down the hall.
Ruby looked down, holding a strand of red-tipped hair.
That night, Yang cried when Ruby handed her a pair of scissors and the little girl's first words after her mom's death was asking her older sister to cut her hair.
The next morning, Yang woke up to a short-haired Ruby attempting to read out loud.
+2
Team JNRR (she will fight Ren on this!) walked through the dense forest of Mistral.
They had recently gotten new outfits after saving a village from a pack of Beowulves. Well, Jaune didn't. Something about "my armor protecting his clothing you guys should take note."
Which Nora thought was stupid.
BUT ANYWAY!
They were looking for an Ursa nest that had recently started terrorizing another village Team JNRR came across. They were feeling better with new and clean clothing.
The problem was they COULDN'T FIND THE STUPID NEST!
Nora was starting to get frustrated and so was everyone else.
"Hey," Ruby spoke up. "How about I use my Semblance to scout ahead?"
The trigger-happy redhead paused and blinked.
That...was the first time Ruby suggested they split up.
"No, we stick together. It's safer in numbers," Jaune imminently shut the idea down. "We'll keep searching. Together."
Ruby gave a nod while Ren and Nora exchanged a look.
JNR have been concerned about their cloaked friend since they reached Mistral lands.
Sure, she was still optimistic and happy and Ruby, but she's changed.
Less naive, a bit more twitchy, mature, and probably some other things Nora hasn't even notice!
While the boys might not be light enough sleepers, Nora knows Ruby snaps awake at any little noise.
The girl needs some sleep and Nora isn't afraid to knock her out with Magnhild. Ignoring the slight head trauma, she'll have a nice nights rest!
Team JNRR kept searching for another few hours before Jaune finally snapped.
"Okay, fine. Ruby, scout ahead."
"You got it!" The cloaked teen grinned before turning into a pile of rose petals and zooming away.
"Do you think it's a wise idea to let her go off like that?" Ren calmly asked their leader.
"No," Jaune sighed and ran a hand over his face. "But if we want to get rid of that nest today it's what we have to do."
There was a sound of familiar gun fire and even more familiar roars of Grimm.
"Let's go," The three teammates pulled out their weapons and ran towards the noise.
Nora really hoped Ruby would be okay.
+3
"Hey, Weiss! I wanna show you what I can do with my Semblance now!"
Blue eyes turned to Ruby, who was bouncing in the doorway that lead to the training grounds outside. Her grin was large and bright, so...Ruby. She couldn't stand still in her excitement.
Still so Ruby.
"Sure, I'll meet you outside," Weiss flashed a smile, a genuine smile.
"Okay!" The teen chirped and went back outside, her tattered cloak fluttering behind her.
The former-heiress frowned at the sight. She knew cloaks worn out easily, but Ruby always took such good care of it…
What happened on Team RNJR's quest to Mistral?
Weiss stood up from her chair and walked outside. She saw Yang and Ruby waiting, quickly meeting up with the sisters.
"So you guys know I leave a trail of rose petals when I activate my Semblance," Ruby was getting straight to the point.
"Yeah,: Yang chuckled while Weiss nodded.
"Well, now I can do this!"
Where their leader had stood there was now a pile of floating rose petals. It stayed there for a second before zooming around the two.
"Ruby, that's amazing!" Yang yelled as their leader zoomed around the grounds.
Suddenly, the ball of rose petals changed direction and started zooming towards the two.
Weiss' eyes widened and she took a step back. "Ruby, wait-"
The two watched in shock as the ball separated into three smaller piles. They were in awe as two piles flew around them and one over.
Weiss and Yang turned around as the piles converged, the petals disappeared to reveal their grinning Ruby.
"And with a bit of force I can fly with my Semblance!"
The former heiress grinned.
Her partner was growing.
+4
Yang gritted her teeth to keep from yawning, it failed and she let out a long breath.
Her lilac eyes scanned around her room. It was mostly bare with the usual bedroom commodities; bed, nightstand, dresser, and a few pictures.
Yang couldn't sleep. That was simple. The reason was her nightmares. Those were less simple.
Of course, the nightmares are about when she lost her arm. About her small fear of Adam coming back for her or her friends.
The blonde clenched her robotic hand tightly, hearing the gentle clank of the metal against metal. She stared at the prosthetic before sighing and unclenching her fist.
Something made a noise on the other side of her door and Yang snapped her head up, tensing.
There were footsteps, quiet enough to not wake up someone who was sleeping. But just loud enough for anyone awake to hear.
She waited for the person to walk past her door before standing up and quietly opening it.
A flash of red disappeared down the stairs.
Yang frowned. WHat was Ruby doing up this late? She went to bed before Weiss and that was saying something.
Lilac eyes noticed the kitchen light on and walked down stairs, doing her best to be quiet.
The older sibling watched from the entrance way as her baby sister splashed some water on her face.
Ruby sighed before reaching into the cupboard and pulled out a glass.
"Ruby?"
The younger sibling jumped at the voice and spun around, hand reaching towards the spot Crescent Rose usually was. Only to catch empty air.
"Yang?" Ruby relaxed and turned back to the sink, filling her glass. "What are you doing up?"
"I could ask you the samething," Yang took a moment to actually look at her sister.
Ruby was pale, even more than she usually was. She kind of looked like the ghost of Little Red Riding Hood. The cloaked teen was skinnier than before and not the exercise-all-the-time type od skinny. It's the always-moving-and-lack-of-food type of skinny. If Yang looked close enough, she could see hints of foundation under dull silver eyes. Hiding eyebags, no doubt.
How could Yang let this happen to her baby sister?
Ruby shrugged as she took a sip of her water. "Hod to be easy to wake up in case Grimm attacked when we slept, small noises always wake me up."
Yang narrowed her eyes, there was more to that sentence.
With a sigh, the blonde walked forward and pulled Ruby into a hug.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you," she whispered.
Small arms returned the hug. "I'm just happy that you're here, sis."
+5
Black cat ears twitched as Blake heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.
"Hi, Blake!"
The cat Faunus smiled. "Ruby, going somewhere?"
After the battle of Haven and reunion of Team RWBY, it was decided that they would take the relic to Atlas. They were taking a few days prepare for the train ride to Argus.
"A weapon shop just down the road, I have to make sure my sweetheart is in tiptop shape!" Ruby grinned as she grabbed the front door handle.
"Can I go with?" Blake asked as she set her book down.
While her team has made it abundantly clear they aren't mad at her for running away, she still felt like she needed to make up for it.
"Sure!"
The Faunus gave a slight grin and followed her leader out of the house.
There was a small amount of silence that made Blake uncomfortable, which was sort of funny. Considering she always preferred silence.
"Did you finish packing?"
Silver eyes turned to meet amber, searching. After a while they turned back to the path in front of them.
"I had everything already packed," Ruby rolled her shoulders to move the small brown pack under her cloak into view. "Decided to spend the time fixing up my sweetheart."
Blake furrowed her eyebrows in worry. "Is there something wrong with Crescent Rose?"
"I just have to change the glass in her scope and give her a good clean," The cloaked leader gave her teammate a reassuring smile. "Other than that, she is still amazing!"
The Faunus returned the smile as the two made it to the weapon shop. Entering the shop, two pairs of eyes scanned it.
It was smaller than the weapon shop Blake knew her leader loved in Vale, but that didn't seem to stop the amount of items being sold.
"Hello, ladies," A man with graying hair grinned from behind the counter. "Looking for something specific?"
Ruby started listing off items while Blake looked at a shelf full of pistol bullets.
Should could use some extra ammunition…
Shrugging, Blake grabbed her usual brand of ammunition and walked over to the counter.
The two ladies bought their items and returned to the house.
"Do you mind if I work out here?" Ruby asked as Blake sat down and picked up her book.
"Go ahead."
After a few moments of silence with the only noise being Ruby working, the cat Faunus realized she had read the same sentence five times. Amber eyes glanced up.
It seemed that Ruby already changed the glass of her scope, leaving the cracked one on the table. Something in Blake's chest twisted when she saw the various scratch marks all over the weapon.
It was strange, seeing Crescent Rose looking like a Grimm's scratching post. Back at Beacon, the moment Ruby would notice a little nick on her "sweetheart" the leader would quickly fix it. The High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe always looking brand new under its owner's loving care.
Now the scythe really showed how many battles it has seen.
Silver eyes met amber and Blake flushed in embarrassment at being caught.
Ruby gave an apologetic smile. "I'm about to use a whetstone to sharpen the blade. Are you okay with that or do you want me to go somewhere else?"
"It's okay, I'm use to the noise when I have to sharpen Gambol Shroud."
The leader nodded and started running the whetstone over the weapon's blade. Causing a sharp noise to echo through the house.
Blake frowned when she noticed the dents in Crescent Rose's blade.
Perhaps the High-Caliber Sniper-Scythe is reflecting what its owner can't show.
...And The One Time They Did Something About It.
-1
Ruby…
Ruby.
Ruby!
RUBY!
Silver eyes jerked open, wide and full of pain. Loud gasping filled the dark room as Ruby shot up in bed.
After another few seconds of panicking Ruby took a deep breath to calm down, realizing where she was. She put a hand on the side of her head.
She was in a guest room in Jaune's sister's house, not the Vytal Colosseum.
She was in a guest room in Jaune's sister's house, not atop Beacon tower.
She's in Argus, not the wilds of Mistral.
Taking another deep breath Ruby's shoulders slumped and her fell back on the bed, signaling that the panic attack was over.
"Ruby?" A familiar voice spoke from her right and a hand gently fell on her shoulder.
The cloaked leader didn't have to look to know that her older sister was worried. She can feel the concerned lilac gaze.
"Are you okay?"
Silver eyes turned to look over the side of the bed, where her other two teammates were sleeping.
Weiss and Blake watched her, concern in both their eyes. Worried over their leader.
They could see the exact moment the mask slipped on.
"Yeah, just a nightmare," Ruby smiled, acting like she didn't just get over a panic attack. "Sorry I woke you guys up."
Three eyes met and an agreement was made between them.
Weiss and Blake started gathering blankets and pillows on the ground. While Yang slid off her side of the bed and picked up her little sister bridal style.
"Wha-Yang!" Ruby whisper-yelled as she wiggled in her older sister's grip. "Let me go!"
"Not tonight, sis," Yang grinned and flopped onto the blanket covered ground between her teammates, still hugging Ruby tight. "This is a Team RWBY cuddle pile."
The cloaked leader stopped struggling and looked a bit excited. "Really?"
"Really," Blake purred.
"Now go to sleep, dolt."
Ruby wiggled so her head rested on Yang's shoulder and the blonde's flesh arm was pulling her close. The leader felt Weiss' nails gently tracing over her back and a deep comforting purr filled the room.
Silver eyes blinked close and her breathing evened out.
Ruby didn't have nightmares that night.
Yo, is anyone else shook that Ruby is 17 in Volume 6?