Warning: May contain spoilers for RWBY Volumes 2 and 3. Once again, just to be safe, this story will contain eventual character death.
Special thanks to the amazing LightZephyr for helping out in the editing of this chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to RWBY, nor do I, in any way, shape or form, intend to pretend that I do.
The chaos that the city of Vale was in was, slowly but surely, dissipating; much like how all of the Grimm were disappearing as they were, one by one, killed by the multitude of hunters and huntresses. Among the people trying to keep them at bay were the huntresses-in-training of team RWBY from Beacon Academy.
As the number of Grimm was quick to fall, Ruby, Weiss and Yang made their way to the fourth member of their team, the only one of the four still fighting. While none of them were seriously injured, the battle had taken a significant toll on their bodies.
"That should be the last of them," Blake muttered, impaling an Ursa in the head with her Gambol Shroud before the body started to disintegrate into uncountable, tiny particles that scattered in the wind. Looking around, the raven haired girl saw that the last remaining Grimm were being surrounded and killed by machines and fellow hunters alike, lifting an invisible weight off her chest.
"We did good…" Yang breathed out, allowing herself to fall back and lie sprawled out in the charred grass. After a few seconds of silence, she piped up again, "Now what?"
"I don't know about any of you, but I could go with a warm shower and a nice rest," Weiss replied, dusting off her clothes while simultaneously borrowing her shoulder to Blake to help her stand upright.
With a silent nod of agreement, Blake followed Weiss as the two of them started to make their way back to Beacon Academy. Seeing that the decision had been made for her, and not being able to disagree with the heiress, Yang got back on her feet with grunt before following the duo.
"Yeah! Let's—" Ruby added enthusiastically before something in the corner of her eyes caught her attention, making the brunette stop mid-stride in favor of turning around.
"Rubes?" Yang called out to her little sister, noticing that the brunette was lagging behind. Hearing the blonde's voice, both Blake and Weiss turned to look in Ruby's direction as well with a mix of exhaustion, curiosity and, in the latter's case, mild irritation.
"You guys go on ahead, I thought I saw something!" Ruby shouted over her shoulder before sprinting into one of the many dark alleys of the city. Before she was out of earshot, however, the leader of team RWBY added, "I'll catch up with you in our room later!"
The remaining members of team RWBY watched in slight confusion as their leader left them, not knowing what else they could say or do in the situation.
"What's gotten into her?" Weiss wondered out loud, being the first to speak and break the silence after Ruby left.
"I don't know…" Blake muttered, letting out a wide yawn soon after before gently pushing Weiss forward, "Come on, that suggestion of a good night's sleep of yours is really tempting…"
With that, Blake and Weiss resumed walking back to the airport, both clearly content that the day was finally over.
Yang, on the other hand, lingered behind for a little while longer, her face being a mix of both worry and exhaustion.
"Don't stay out too long…"
After a few seconds, Yang decided that Ruby was more than capable of taking care of herself and turned on her heel to regroup with her teammates.
"Wait!" Ruby shouted, forcing her legs to move even faster as the figure in front of her turned the corner.
Ruby knew that she wasn't imagining things; she really did see somebody earlier run into the alley.
Her suspicions were confirmed when she looked up and saw the person in question turn the corner in a sharp turn.
And Ruby was sure that she saw a limp in the person's stride.
"I won't hurt you, I promise!" Ruby tried again, now feeling her legs burn as the exhaustion from the earlier battle was starting to take its toll on her.
Jumping over several fallen crates in one leap, Ruby turned yet another corner and skidded to a halt, barely managing to stop herself from falling. She had caught up with the person she knew she had been chasing for the past ten minutes.
And she wasn't what Ruby had expected in the slightest.
The person that Ruby had been chasing, clearly a girl, was significantly shorter than she was, the huntress-in-training to wonder just how old she was. The girl's black hair was muddied and matted and, Ruby finally noted as she paid more attention to the girl, she was holding on to her knee with her eyes closed tight.
Her knee, much to Ruby's horror, was twisted in an unnatural and clearly painful way.
Ruby, not knowing whether to go and comfort the girl or go look for help, was rooted to the spot until the injured girl finally noticed her. Ruby expected the girl to ask her for help, bring her to the medical team that was still on standby in the city center or even ask her to leave her altogether.
What Ruby didn't expect was for the short girl to scramble to her feet, hissing loudly in pain, and trying her best to get away from the brunette, even if that meant that she had to crawl to do so.
"Wait!" Ruby cried out when she realized what the girl was doing. While Ruby didn't know a lot about healing broken bones, she knew that moving as much as the unknown girl was couldn't be good for her leg.
Deciding on her course of action without hesitation, Ruby pushed off the concrete and felt the breeze diverge around her body as she darted forward. Moving at blistering speeds, Ruby would have easily run past the injured girl had Ruby not spun around with the help of Crescent Rose.
The brunette's spontaneous action had at least one good effect: she was finally able to talk to the girl she had been chasing for the last ten minutes face-to-face.
"Please. I won't hurt you, I promise!" Ruby pleaded, folding and tucking away her scythe to emphasize her point. Careful so as to not startle the small girl, Ruby knelt down in front of her to take a better look at the leg, "Hm… this doesn't look good. There's a medical team not far from here, come on. I'll carry you."
Without wasting another second, the brunette turned around to try and get the girl on her back. Much to her surprise, the only response that Ruby got was a strained and pained hiss.
"I promise I won't hurt you, but we need to hurry to get that leg of yours healed!" Ruby pleaded, knowing that they had to hurry.
Perhaps it was the look in Ruby's eyes that did it, or perhaps it was the desperation in the brunette's voice. It could even be that the pain in her leg was finally getting to her, forcing her to make a decision that she normally would not have made. Whichever one it was, Ruby did not know, but she found herself smiling when she felt the girl climb on her back slowly, almost hesitantly so.
That was until the brunette noted just how light the girl was as she hurried back.
"I didn't get to introduce myself yet, have I?" Ruby chuckled awkwardly after a few minutes of silence. Ruby still had to find the main streets, and was surprised to find out just how far she had chased the girl on her back. With a light shrug to get back to the present, Ruby continued, "My name is Ruby, nice to meet you… um…"
Turning her head as far around as possible without possibly disturbing the girl on her back, Ruby saw that the girl had fallen asleep. Somehow, however, this did not surprise her.
'I can't imagine what she must have gone through…' Ruby thought with a smile on her face as she returned her focus on walking.
After a few seconds, however, another thought crossed Ruby's mind.
'If only we stopped the Grimm sooner, then she wouldn't be hurt like this. Then nobody would have—'
"Miss Rose?"
The familiar voice shook Ruby back to reality, and as the brunette looked around in shock she couldn't help but wonder how she had reached her destination without even realizing it.
Looking around to find the source of the voice that had called her, the young huntress-in-training soon found the green eyes of Glynda Goodwitch on her. Startled, Ruby jumped back slightly, doing her best not to fall or drop the girl on her back.
"What are you still doing here? Everybody was supposed to return to Beacon Academy as soon as the fighting was over," Glynda asked Ruby before her eyes focused on the girl on Ruby's back and her gaze noticeably softened, "Who is that?"
"This is… uh…" Ruby trailed off as she finally realized that she didn't even know the girl's name. Instead of answering her teacher's question, Ruby decided to move right down to the main problem; or what she felt was the main problem, "She lost consciousness before I could ask her. I think she is one of the civilians here who got hurt in the invasion. She needs help! Her leg is—"
"Get in the airship and bring her to the infirmary," Glynda ordered, interrupting Ruby's sentence as she pointed to a nearby airship, "There are more victims than the hospitals here can manage, so Professor Ozpin told me to send any remaining injured to Beacon."
"Thank you, Professor!" Ruby exclaimed happily before boarding the airship, making sure to carry the injured girl carefully enough so as to not hurt her.
Once in the airship, and having made sure that the girl was safely strapped in, Ruby watched the figure of the sleeping girl with a soft smile on her face.
'You're going to be fine.'
"That test was brutal!" Yang groaned as she was the last of team RWBY to step out of the classroom, finding Ruby, Weiss and Blake waiting for her, "Shouldn't we at least be given a break after protecting Vale from all those Grimm two days ago?"
"It wasn't that hard," Blake shrugged as she readjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder, "We've had worse exams before."
"Yes, remember that exam that—" Weiss began before cutting herself off. She saw something move in the corner of her eye, and this made the white-haired heiress stop mid-stride. Noticing the sudden change in Weiss' pace, both Blake and Yang stopped and turned in her direction to see Weiss turning to the fourth member of their team, "What are you waiting for? You're usually the one who rushes out of the classroom the moment the test finishes; what's wrong?"
"Sorry guys, but you can go on ahead without me," Ruby muttered before turning around and walking in the opposite direction without another word.
The remaining members of team RWBY found themselves in a prolonged period of silence until Weiss turned to Yang.
"Is it just me or is your sister acting weird?" Weiss asked the blonde, "Weirder than normal, I mean. No offence."
"None taken…" Yang breathed out as she was still watching her sister walk in the distance, "She is acting differently than usual; do you think that she is hiding something from us?"
"She's probably still tired; remember that we just came back from Mt. Glenn, fought some members of the White Fang and the Grimm and had this test. This all happened in less than a week's time," Blake pointed out, slightly startling herself as she only then realized just how much had happened in that week. Judging from the looks on both Weiss' and Yang's face, Blake knew that they didn't realize this until she pointed it out either.
"We should probably go after her to make sure that she is fine," Yang urged the other two on, both Blake and Weiss nodding in agreement.
Following the girl clad in red and black, the three of them soon found themselves standing just outside of the infirmary. Ruby's voice could be heard clearly through the closed doors, even without trying hard to listen through the closed doors.
"I'm glad to see that you're feeling a lot better now!"
Before either Blake or Yang could stop her, Weiss had opened the door and stepped inside, "Ruby Rose!"
"Weiss!"
"What are you doing?!"
"Ah, Weiss! Yang and Blake are here, too! Perfect timing!" Ruby smiled, seemingly not affected by the fact that she had been followed. Grabbing Blake and Weiss by the wrist, Ruby dragged the two of them inside as Yang casually followed her sister, "Come on come on! There's someone I want you guys to meet!"
"Really now?" Weiss asked, almost skeptical as Ruby dragged her to the hospital bed on the far end of the infirmary, "And this person is here of all places?"
"Yes!" Ruby grinned as she stood in front of the bed of a raven haired girl. The girl had a glint in her eyes that both Blake and Yang saw but, when they tried to see it again, was replaced with a bright and radiating smile. Both girls shrugged it off as a result.
"And who exactly is she, Ruby?" Weiss asked, bringing Blake and Yang back to the infirmary as their leader turned to the bedridden girl that, much to the girls of team RWBY's surprise, seemed to be even shorter than both Ruby and Weiss were.
"She's the girl I saw back in Vale," Ruby explained as she introduced the girl to her friends, "She injured her leg and I brought her here. Her name is—"
Before Ruby could finish her sentence, she had a scroll forcefully shoved in her face, cutting her off. Not flinching at the sudden action, unlike all three of her teammates, Ruby took the scroll and read the word that was shown on the screen.
"'Rupia'? Is that your name?" Ruby asked the bedridden girl, to which she received an affirmative nod in response. Ruby smiled at that answer, clearly content, but couldn't help but mutter under her breath, "I was sure her name was 'Neo'…"
"What was that?" Blake asked, directing her question to Ruby as Weiss and Yang tried talking with Neo, being the only one to have heard Ruby say anything.
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Ruby replied quickly, mentally scolding herself for forgetting about Blake's sensitive hearing. Blake frowned at the response, but didn't go further in asking Ruby about it; something that Ruby was very grateful for.
"So how are you feeling, Rupia?" Yang asked Neo cheerfully but with an undertone of concern in her voice.
Neo, much to the girls' surprise, motioned for Ruby to return her scroll to her rather than answer Yang's question directly. Once the device was back in her hands, Neo typed quickly before showing the screen to the four curious, waiting girls.
"I'm recovering just fine, thank you for asking! Sorry that I am answering your question like this, but I can't talk yet; my throat still hurts from one of the Grimm that attacked me."
"It's great that you're feeling better, but I'm sorry to hear that the Grimm hurt you," Blake muttered sympathetically, Weiss and Yang nodding in agreement, "We should probably let you rest, though. It was nice meeting you, Rupia."
"Likewise!" Neo grinned as she held up the scroll before a big yawn escaped her mouth, eliciting a giggle from Ruby.
"Let's go, Blake. Yang. Ruby." Weiss said, motioning to the respective people as she turned around and made her way out. With Blake quick to follow her and Yang not far behind, Ruby turned to face Neo one last time before leaving—
Only to find that the girl had already fallen asleep. Seeing the peaceful look on her face, Ruby couldn't help but smile.
'I hope your recover soon, Rupia!'
"You seem to be doing a lot better now," Ruby smiled as she saw Neo sitting upright in her bed, "How are you feeling?"
"Fantastic!" Neo grinned, holding up her scroll that showed her response to the brunette. After making sure that Ruby had read her reply, Neo typed out another line before showing it to her friend, "Look what I can do now."
Without any warning, Neo pushed herself off the bed to land on the ground, causing Ruby to gasp in shock before eyeing her in awe.
"Your leg! It healed!" Ruby exclaimed happily as she watched Neo hop from one leg to another to show her that she had, indeed, fully recovered from her injuries, "That's great!"
"Thank you, Ruby," Neo smiled as she sat down again, motioning for the brunette to sit down with her, "And thank you for bringing me here on that day."
"Don't mention it!" Ruby beamed as she made herself comfortable beside Neo on the bed, "I'm just sorry that I couldn't have stopped the Grimm that attacked you, you wouldn't have been hospitalized if I could."
"On the other hand, it gave us the chance to meet, right?" Neo reasoned, and Ruby had to admit that the ravenette had a point; if Neo hadn't gotten hurt, Ruby probably wouldn't have met her.
The two girls fell in a comfortable silence before Neo finally raised her scroll again.
"There is something that I have to tell you."
"You have to go, don't you?" Ruby asked, a pang of hurt audible in her voice as she turned to face Neo, the ravenette looking up in shock, "I already had a feeling that you would… you only came here to get your leg treated and the hospitals back in the city were all full after that Grimm attack. I knew you had to leave eventually…"
"That is only half of what I was going to say," Neo responded by holding up her scroll for Ruby to see. As soon as she saw that Ruby had finished reading it, Neo turned back to her scroll to finish typing out the rest of her sentence, "I will be leaving Beacon, yes, but I have a place in Vale. You're more than welcome to come visit me."
"Really?!" Ruby asked ecstatically, not ready to believe her ears. Seeing Neo nod her head in confirmation, Ruby smirked, "I'll make sure to hold you to that promise!"
"This is the place you were talking about?!" Ruby gasped in awe as soon as Neo let her in, visibly speechless as she looked around; much to Neo's amusement.
To Neo, the three room apartment wasn't anything special. It was true that she was used to worse settlements, but it was also true that Neo had spend time in bigger, more luxurious places as well. As a result, seeing Ruby run around the hallway to look around the place brought forth an emotion that Neo could not quite determine.
"Professor Ozpin pulled some strings for me to get this place, and I have some good friends who helped me out financially as well," Neo explained, though not exactly speaking the truth, while inviting Ruby to the living room, "You're more than welcome to come visit me any time you want."
"Thanks, I'll hold you to that!" Ruby grinned as she flopped down on the couch. Turning to face Neo, Ruby asked, "So how have you been, lately? I'm sorry it took me over a week to come visit you."
After Neo walked back into the room with two cups and a teapot, the two girls lost all sense of time as they conversed comfortably, or as comfortable as possible with one person typing out her responses.
It was only when Neo left to get some more tea that Ruby finally noticed the change in the color of the sun's rays.
Looking out the window, Ruby was shocked to see the setting sun in the distance, not realizing just how much time had passed since she came to visit her friend.
"It's that late already?! I'm sorry Rupia, but I have to go!" Ruby apologized, jumping on her feet and grabbing her coat. While busy putting it on, Ruby added in a frantic tone, "I promise I will come to see you again soon!"
"That's alright," Neo smiled, though the vertically challenged girl could feel a pang of hurt in her chest as she watched her friend leave, "I'll see you then."
With a nod and a smile, Ruby gathered her things before running off in the direction of the airport, leaving Neo behind in her warm apartment.
Neo, for some reason, couldn't help but stand outside to watch Ruby run until the now multicolor haired girl couldn't make out the brunette's figure in the dark anymore.
With a soft sigh, Neo went back inside, making sure that she had locked everything before deciding that she might as well enjoy that cup of tea herself anyway.
"Why hello, Neo. Good to see you that you're still alive," a calm voice came from behind her, causing a shiver to run down Neo's spine as she recognized the voice of the man.
Taking a deep breath to regain her composure, Neo forced a bright smile to form on her face before turning around. As she had expected, that man was standing right in front of her, just as she remembered him.
Roman Torchwick.
"Nice night, isn't it?" Roman asked offhandedly with a grin whilst taking leisurely strides as he neared the multi-color haired girl. Stopping just a few meters away from Neo, Roman leaned on his cane before continuing, "I couldn't help but notice that you were awfully close with our dear Little Red, weren't you?"
'He knows…' Neo gulped, unconsciously taking a step back. Despite her nervousness, she tried her best to keep it from her facial expression. She was successful at this, much to Neo's relief, as Roman didn't seem to pick up on it at all.
"But that's a good thing!" Roman exclaimed suddenly, throwing his arms into the air to emphasize his point while Neo couldn't help but gape at the man in both disbelief and confusion. Luckily for Neo, Roman had turned around, so this change in Neo's demeanor went unnoticed. As Roman was nonchalantly spinning his cane, he continued talking, "Cinder is moving on to the next phase of her plan, and you are going to play a vital role in it!"
Neo was shuffling around uneasily while listening to Roman. Why did Roman think that it is a good thing that she was spending time with Ruby?
It was right before the words left Roman's mouth that Neo finally understood what he was saying.
"We're going to make full use of your "friendship" with Little Red, Neo!" Roman grinned as he turned around to face his partner, "Take Little Red away from the main stage and finish her!"
That should wrap up the first chapter of this Tragedy/Romance twoshot of mine. Hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter's (hopefully) coming out the week of (but before the actual date of) V4's release, so keep an eye out for it!
In accordance with the color-naming rule (despite not being an actual OC, I still feel the need to bring this up): "Rupia" comes from a medical condition that is defined by Merriam-Webster as "an eruption occurring especially in tertiary syphilis consisting of vesicles having an inflamed base and filled with serous purulent or bloody fluid which dries up and forms large blackish conical crust". In addition, as this is the form that Neo takes in the Vytal tournament in the four-people team with Cinder, Emerald and Mercury, their initials will make them team CRME; this team name can be pronounced as "chrome" (stemming from the element Chromium that, in turn, has a metallic silver coating in solid form).
Take care!