Out of all the ways to start the morning, fending off a horde of Grimm was not the first thing to come to mind. However, Ruby wouldn't want it any other way.
She tightened her grip on her beloved Crescent Rose to control her shaking. As always, she felt excitement in being on the battlefield but today she also felt something else...fear? That couldn't be it, she's slain more Grimm than this rabble so why was she so tense?
Ruby heard the moan of the injured Huntress behind her that she had just saved from the jaws of a Beowolf. She was bleeding, and since everyone's aura reactivated at different times Ruby couldn't tell if her Aura would be healing her anytime soon. She needs to see a doctor, quick. Right, better not screw this up. Ruby's mind went back to the harsh words that Roman had thrown at her during their final confrontation, You want to be a hero? Then hurry up and die like every other Huntsman in history! Ruby gulped down those depressing thoughts. She knew that Roman was a fool for thinking he could survive by working with those that wanted to destroy humanity, and in the end, his own anger and bitterness brought about his own undoing.
Even still, his words cut an old wound that had yet to heal. Watch me mom, no one's dying today.
She took a running start and activated her Semblance. Rose petals flew across where she ran as she swung her Crescent Rose at an Ursa and cleaved it in two. She fired a round to ricochet towards her next target, three Beowolves charging straight at her. She pointed Crescent Rose towards the ground and fired. The three beast stopped, confused as to where their 'prey' went. Up in the air, Ruby switched her magazine to Gravity Dust ammo. She needed to clear the area of Grimm as quickly as possible and Gravity Dust would do just the trick without her having to use too much aura. She fired a round towards the sky and switch Crescent Rose to it's 'War Scythe' mode, spinning rapidly towards her dazed enemies.
The force of the impact carved all three Beowolves in two, along with cutting some of the ground. Not to miss a beat, Ruby fired another round, spinning towards the main horde of Grimm stampeding towards her. None of their hides were thick enough to survive the onslaught. The decapitated Beowolves, dismembered Ursas and shredded Creeps fell one after the other. Severed heads and limbs flew across the sky as the Grimm fell to Ruby and Crescent Rose's 'dance of death'. As she finished killing the last of the stampede, Ruby saw that there were only six more Grimm to go. One of which was a Beowolf running towards the wounded Huntress.
Oh no you don't!
Ruby activate her Semblance and ran as fast as she could towards the Grimm. She pierced her weapon through the monster's back as it was getting ready to lunge.
5…
She heard a growl coming from behind her. Another Beowolf lunged at her but she jabbed the end of Crescent Rose into the creature's mouth before it could get too close.
4…
Ruby fired a round and twirled Crescent Rose, shredding both Beowolves repeatedly. Another Beowolf tried to claw at her but she ducked as it moved right past her. She turned Crescent Rose back into it's 'Harvest' mode and hooked the Grimm by the neck with it and fired another round, beheading the beast.
3…
She heard a roar approaching and saw a Creep jumping towards her. She fired another round into the ground to send her to the air. The Creep jumped towards her as she predicted, probably thinking that she would make for an easier target in the air, only to be meet with a scythe to the face.
2…
She backflipped off the Creep's corpse and kicked the Ursa that was roaring at her into the ground. On top of the Ursa, Ruby jammed the end of Crescent Rose into the creature's 'eye', silencing it's roar forever.
1…
She switched her magazine back to normal ammunition, she wouldn't be needing Gravity Dust to finish the last one off. She saw from the corner of her eye that the last Beowolf hadn't moved from its hiding spot, probably thinking that the shade hide him well. She turned her gaze towards the wounded Huntress as she fired, a pitiful whimper being the sound's only reply.
0…
With all the Grimm gone Ruby ran towards the wounded Huntress to see the extent of her injuries. She had a few small cuts and bruises on her arms and face but the bite mark on her shoulder looked deep. She was sweating a lot and seemed to be slipping into unconsciousness. She needed to see a doctor, as quickly as possible. "Don't worry, you're going to be alright." Ruby could hear the hoarseness in her own voice as she put the injured Huntress on her back. She gulped down her fears. She was going to have to be focused and most of all, fast.
Right, this isn't like...this isn't like…, flashes of dismembered mechanical limbs and a red-haired Huntress gasping for air from an arrow through her heart crept into her mind. She shook those dark thoughts into the back of her mind. C'mon, get a grip! Ruby let out a breath she didn't know she was holding as she started running towards the nearest town that she knew of, Camellia. According to Professor Lionheart, Camellia was the town that Cinder grew up in so Ruby decided that her, Weiss and Yang would go there to get as much information on Cinder as they could to hopefully figure out what her and Salem's next plan would be for Mistral.
Along the road going there Ruby saw smoke out in the distance. She would have dismissed it as forest fire if it weren't for the Huntsman that ran past them from that direction at super speed. The fear that Ruby saw on his face as he ran right by them was something she saw too many times on the faces of civilians, the Creatures of Grimm. Fear entered into the pit of Ruby's stomach. She had a sick feeling that there were others near the smoke, others not so fortunate to be blessed with super speed as their Semblance. Ruby ran straight towards the path that the Huntsman ran away from. She didn't know if Weiss or Yang was following her as she ran, all she did was pray that she made it on time.
And made it on time she did, as Ruby ran inside the town of Camellia to find the nearest infirmary. After asking a few townspeople for directions she found it and gave the wounded Huntress to the nearest doctor.
Ruby sat down and waited for one of the doctors to come back and tell her of the Huntress' condition. After she had made a prayer for the Huntress' speedy recovery, she saw three Hunters running towards a Faunus with cat ears walking on crutches. From their appearance, they all seemed to be first year students. All of them were smiling and talking about how they couldn't wait to get back to their next mission. Ruby couldn't help but smile at their antics, being reminded of whenever her or anyone else on her team would be sent to the doctors after a mission and come out ready to do another one. Her smile wavered and eyes began to water as her mind lingered on her team's early days in Beacon. The ones where they were still allowed to be kids in an unforgiving world rather than be saddled with the world's burden before they were ready. She wiped away the tears forming in her eyes as she pulled out an old photo. It was the one Professor Ozpin took of her team after their initiation, the tear marks over the photo made it look older than it actually was. 'New Friends!' it said on the top. Ruby's eyes wandered to the teammate that she hadn't seen since the Vytal Tournament.
Where are you, Blake? Well, I hope you're safe, wherever you are…
"Excuse me, miss?"
Ruby shot up and put her photo back in her "girl pocket" as she place her attention to the doctor standing in front of her. She didn't notice how long she was staring at the photo. "I-I'm sorry, yes?"
"The patient you sent to us has woken up now. Thankfully, her wounds were relatively minor and with her Aura reactivated she is expected to make a full recovery. She said that she would like to see the person that saved her, if that's okay with you miss."
"Oh, uh, sure. Thanks a lot doc, er, I mean, thank you so very much doctor!"
The doctor laughed, "Don't worry, just doc is fine."
"Right, well, um, thanks again." Ruby briskly walked to see how the now healing Huntress was doing. Ruby went inside and saw her lying in bed. Now that Ruby had a good look at her, she didn't seem that much older than her, probably a second year at most. As the other Huntress noticed Ruby walking inside, she kept staring at her wide-eyed even as Ruby sat down. Ruby had a sweat on her brow as she coughed awkwardly, still not used to people staring at her. "Right, well, the doctor said that thankfully there wasn't anything to worry about and you're expected to-", the now healing Huntress flung her arms around Ruby as she wept.
"Thank you...Thank you…", she said in-between her tears. Ruby was initially shocked but returned the hug with a smile. Ruby started humming a tune that Yang would always sing to her whenever she had another one of her nightmares. After a while, the injured Huntress began to calm down and let go of Ruby.
"Feeling better?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah, um, sorry", the older Huntress blushed from embarrassment, "I just wasn't expecting anyone to come rescue me. Not after my partner...", the older Huntress had a dazed look in her eyes as tears began to form in her eyes again.
Ruby started rubbing the older Huntress' back to calm her down. "Hey, hey, don't worry. If you want to talk about it I'll listen, er, that is if you want to. I mean, if you don't that's cool. Wait, wait, wait! Not 'cool' cool, just, y'know, if it wasn't a bother or anythin'...", Ruby started twiddling her fingers and muttered to herself, trying to find the right words to say. The older Huntress giggled at her rescuer's awkwardness.
"Don't worry, you're far from a bother. It's just…", the older Huntress sighed.
"...Um, you're partner. Did he have a Super Speed Semblance by any chance?"
The older Huntress bawled her fist in anger, "Yeah, and he made damn good use of it...Wait, you saw him?!"
"Er, yeah. He ran right past us as we we're getting to this town. When I saw the look on his face I thought that he left someone behind-Wait, I mean…". Ruby saw the hurt look in the older Huntress' face after she said that. Way to go dolt. Open mouth, insert foot. Ruby mentally kicked herself and tried thinking of ways she could reduce the damage she had already done.
The older Huntress sighed, "It's fine."
"Huh?"
"It's fine. If he's gonna be like this all the time, then good riddance is what I say. I'm better off without him anyways." Ruby could tell from the conflicted look on the older Huntress' face that there was way more to the story than that. Tread lightly dolt. Don't make her feel worse because of you're "amazing" social etiquette...I've been hanging around Weiss too much.
"So, um...has something like this happened before?", Ruby put her palm on her face after she realized what she had asked. Amazing response! Give this girl a prize!
The older Huntress placed her hand on Ruby's shoulder. Ruby looked up and saw that the older Huntress was smiling. "Don't worry, it's fine. And as for your question, yes, this has happened quite a few times actually." She turned her head to look at the wall and started talking in a deeper voice trying to sound like a guy. "I'm so sorry Yin, but it's in my nature to run. It's my Semblance after all. Don't worry Yin, next time I won't run away. I had to run away Yin, the Mafia knew how much you meant to me. It was for your own safety and plus, they're my choices to make anyways." She turned back to Ruby and waved her pointer finger in the air. "And y'know what? The jerk's onto something. He's got his choices to make and I've got mine, and I've chosen to kick his sorry butt off the team because frankly, he's more trouble than he's worth. Why should I always stick my neck out for him, hoping that he'll get better, only to have him do the same crap all over again?!"
Ruby saw that the older Huntress, no, Yin was breathing heavily from her rant and was on the verge of tears again. Ruby had quite a few things to process from her passionate speech. First, wow, I didn't even ask for her name yet, way to go dolt. Second, Mafia? I don't even know if I should ask. And third…
Ruby pulled Yin into a hug. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset." Ruby started humming the familiar tune that had filled her childhood. Ruby noticed that Yin was starting to calm down.
Yin wiped the tears from her eyes, "Thanks, and sorry about that. Guess I got carried away talking about my team's 'problem child'. Er, don't ask about that Mafia part, it's a long story."
Ruby smiled, "Don't worry about it. I kinda get where you're coming from, well except for the Mafia part anyways."
"You got a problem child too?"
"Well I wouldn't put it like that, if anything I guess I would fit that bill. But we do have a teammate that's...quirky, in a similar way as your's. She's still in a place where she thinks that running away is in her nature and that she can't change it. Now I've always believed that a Semblance is formed by how you're raised rather than be given to you since you were born, so I never really brought into that. Anyways, I haven't seen her in awhile but wherever she is I want to let her know that whatever problem she may have I'll be there to help...but I can't do that if she keeps pushing us away."
Yin put her hands on Ruby's shoulder. "I'm sorry to hear that. I get what you're saying though, um…"
"Oh, Ruby. My name's Ruby."
"Right, Ruby. My name's Yin, but, you already got that. Anyways, I get what you're saying Ruby but things just aren't that simple. Putting others first is what Hunters do but if we can't take care of ourselves then what good are we? We can't help the people we care about if they just keep hurting us in the process. Sometimes, it's just better to let go and hope they can solve their problems by themselves."
"But…", Ruby knew that what Yin was saying had some truth to it. In fact, thoughts like these crept into her mind sometimes only for her to try her best to silence them. The thought of not helping someone she knew she could help made her stomach turn and being told to wait before she could help was the one thing she could not stand...so it infuriated her that it felt like it was all she could do. Too many people have already paid the ultimate price for her failures, she wasn't going to let another loved one down again, "...I'm sorry Yin, but I don't believe that. Helping those that can't help themselves is what a Hunter does, it's why we're here, and I'm not going to go back on that, no matter how hard it is."
Yin looked saddened by what she heard, "Then you're a lot stronger than I am. Just...take care of yourself okay? There are going to be times where things just don't work out like we want them to."
"...Yeah, I know." Ruby rose from her seat and reached out her hand for Yin to shake it. "Well, it was nice meeting you Yin, but I should get back to the rest of my team."
Yin shook Ruby's hand, "Likewise, and thanks for saving me again."
After Ruby left the infirmary, she called Yang and Weiss, telling them that she was already in Camellia and that she already made reservations at an inn for the three of them. This mission would most likely take a few days to complete so they would have to have a place to stay for the time being.
Ruby relaxed on the ground on the back of the inn as she heard all too familiar footsteps approaching.
"You're up early." Yang smiled to her sister.
Ruby smiled, "Hey sis."
"Boop." Yang lets her hair down and tickles her little sister's nose with it. Ruby giggles affectionately at her big sister's antic. She could smell all of the shampoo that Yang used on her hair. She was glad, it took almost a month for her and their dad to get Yang to clean herself up after Beacon fell. She had no problem helping her big sister but she was glad that Yang was getting back to acting more like herself.
Ruby looked solemely at the cast wrapped around Yang's new arm. Her new real arm. The day after Weiss and Yang had arrived in Mistral, Ozpin, now sharing bodies with Jaune, had told Yang that he had enough magic within him to restore her arm. Ruby was beyond excited when she heard this news. She couldn't thank General Ironwood enough for giving Yang her new mechanical arm but to hear that Yang could get her old arm back was a blessing. She didn't see that same kind of excitement in Yang's face when she looked at her. Ruby could only guess of all the things going on in her sister's head at that moment but she most certainly was not feeling excited.
Ruby's heart broke when she saw her big sister, who she had looked up to her whole life and had looked out for her when no one else could, in agony over whether she deserves to have her arm back. Ruby had given her big sister a hug, telling her that everything was going to be alright. Yang kissed her little sister on the forehead and tousled her hair. If it was to help her little sister, then she would put all of her other hang-ups to the side. She would accept the arm gladly.
Yang noticed Ruby staring at her new arm. She closed her eyes and smiled as she tousled her sister's head with it, much to Ruby's dismay.
Ruby saw her sister's eyes change red and her sunny smile turn into a malicious smirk. Uh oh. Yang picked her baby sister up and gave her what Ruby liked to call "I'm super duper mad but also proud of you bear hugs". Like all the other times, this was a fight that Ruby could never win against and would have to resort to whimpering "uncle" in order to get out of.
"So how's my favorite baby sis doing this morning? The last time I saw her she was running off to God knows where without so much as a word to your's truly. I wonder what she has to say for herself?"
"I'm really sorry." Ruby whimpered and she weakly flailed, trying to get free of Yang's death grip.
"The next time this happens my favorite baby sis will want me to be to be there for her so I can look out for her, right?"
"Well, I think I did a good job-", Yang's bear hug tightened, "I mean yes! Uncle! Uncle!"
Yang finally let go of her little sister, thinking she finally got the message. She laughed at seeing Ruby rubbing and stretching her back.
"Yeah, yeah, very funny." Needless to say, Ruby was not amused by her sister's abrasive show of affection. She stopped stretching when she realized that a certain heiress was not present for their little shenanigans. "Where's Weiss?"
Yang put her hand against her chest in mock horror, "My baby sister Ruby, are you implying that my company is not enough and that you require the company of an Arctic sloth?"
"Ha ha ha, very funny." Weiss deadpanned as she entered from the inn with a tray carrying three coffee mugs. "Sloths don't give their friends coffee, so I guess you two won't be getting any."
Ruby gasped in horror, "No, no, no! Yang didn't mean it!," she stared sternly at her big sister with her cheeks puffed out, "You didn't mean it, right sis?" Yang guessed that it was supposed to show how serious she was, but the puffed cheeks kind of ruined the image. She grinned regardless, more than happy to play along. She walked over to Weiss with a fake pitiful look in her eyes and outstretched arms, "Oh great and powerful Princess Schnee, a lowly commoner like me does not know what she speaks. Will you ever forgive me?" Yang held out her hands together, puffed out her lips and batted her eyes for added effect.
Weiss looked to the side, trying to suppress her laughter. "You two are hopeless. Here." She handed Yang her cup of coffee, not wanting to lose her composure because she knew that Yang would persist until Weiss caved in.
"Oh thank you you're highness!" Yang picked Weiss up in a big bear-hug and repeatedly kissed her cheeks. Weiss struggled to keep the tray from falling and failing to get herself off of Yang's death-grip. "Ack, gross, Yang!"
Yang decided to let the "Arctic sloth" down, having enough fun messing with her for now.
"You better not have gotten coffee on my dress. Ruby, does it look okay?"
"Uhhh…," Ruby looked at her sister who put a finger over her lips, "Yeah." Weiss glared at her and then at Yang, it seemed that Ruby's very convincing lie wasn't convincing enough. Weiss sighed and just shook her head. It was too early for her to go on a tirade about how insane the sisters were and she wasn't going to get a new dress just to have them ruin that too. I guess some things never change. Weiss smiled to herself, wondering if she was getting too soft if she's letting the sisters off the hook easily. Must still be tired, I'll give them a piece of my mind later. She went over to give Ruby her coffee.
"Ummm…"
Weiss rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, I put a blasphemous amounts of cream and sugar, just for you."
"Oh thank you your highnes-!" Ruby tried to give her a hug but was stopped by Weiss' hand over her face. "Don't push it, dolt."
Ruby giggled at the nickname that Weiss had given her. It felt so long since she last heard it. I missed you. She thanked Weiss and took her cup of coffee.
"I can't believe we're actually in Mistral." Yang said as she looked out at the horizon.
"This your first time being here?" Weiss asked.
Ruby responded, "Yeah, for the both of us. Dad and Drunkle Qrow loved talking about all the missions they took together here after they graduated."
Weiss smiled, "Well, I guess it's all of our turns now." Her smile slowly faded when she remembered what Yang's birth mother told them, You kids might as well be the spitting image of my old team. It's adorable. Weiss never held any respect for the woman that left her own daughter, true, but what she had told them has been eerily true so far in their journey. The notable absence of a certain cat faunus made things eerier still. Weiss looked over and saw Yang's new arm trembling.
Ruby lowered her head, "...Not all of us. I wish Blake were here."
Ruby flinched from the sound of glass breaking and saw that her big sister was clenching her fist from where her cup used to be as coffee dripped from her hand. She saw that Yang was trembling and her eyes glowing red. Ruby placed her hand over her sister's back and started rubbing it. Yang flinched from the contact but started to relax and slowed her breathing.
This was not the first time something like this has happened.
Ruby would do this to calm Yang down whenever she experienced one of her panic attacks.
Yang's trembling finally subsided and she let out a sigh. Yang sat up and said, "I'm going for a walk. I'll see ya guys later."
Ruby got up as Yang started walking away but there was a tug on her arm. "Weiss?"
"I think she needs some space." Weiss saw the puppy-dog eyes look on Ruby's face. "Don't give me that, I'm just saying to give her a little time by herself. I know you have some things to tell her but...wait a little bit okay?" And well, I have some things to tell you too.
Ruby was ambivalent on this. She hated waiting and wanted to help her sister now but she could tell by Weiss' expression that she was confident in what she was saying. If her partner knew what she was talking about, then she would have to trust her. "Fine." Ruby pouted.
Ruby sat back down. She saw the look on Weiss' face that she liked to call the "I don't know how to say what's on my mind so I'll call you a dolt first" face. Ruby snickered.
"What's so funny, dolt?"
Ruby laughed. Weiss started rolling her eyes before she started laughing herself. Neither could say why exactly but they both felt a big weight off of their shoulders. It had felt so long since they had seen each other
Ruby coughed, trying to calm herself down. "So, how you liking Mistral?" Ruby asked, deciding to at least start somewhere before learning what was on Weiss' mind.
Weiss snorted. She blushed as she covered her mouth with her hand, embarrassed over her "unlady-like" action. She heard Ruby chuckling and she gave her a light shove. "Dolt. And as for your question, I like it. I like it more than my first time in Vale. It felt too hot when I first came in…"
"Is that why you were so crabby when we first met." Ruby said with a cheeky smile.
"No, I have a doofus that ran into me to thank for that."
"Hey, I have a doofus that put Durst powder in my nose which got me the nickname 'Crater Face', Princess."
"Well, Crater Face, if you had spend just as much time paying attention as you were mouthing off then that might not have happened.'"
"Uuug, not this again. Look it was an acciden-" She saw that Weiss had a smile in her face and was trying to suppress her laughter. She was being played.
Ruby stuck her tongue out at her. Since when had the "Ice Queen" started developing a sense of humor?
They both busted out laughing again. They knew that they were acting childish but this was just how they liked communicating to each other. It was how they always liked to talk to each other.
"I missed you." Ruby said.
Weiss stopped her laughter to look at Ruby. She's serious. Weiss knew that unlike herself, Ruby had not trouble speaking what was on her mind, but she was still unused to hearing that people liked her company. She noticed that they had been staring at each other and she looked away, embarrassed. "Well I didn't miss you. I knew that you were fine and you should have thought the same about me."
Weiss saw that Ruby had a mischievous smile from the back of her eye. "Mmm, is that why you were all over me back at the house?"
Weiss turned around, stammering for the right words with a blush on her face. "D-Dolt! I was not!"
"Oh I missed you sooo much." Ruby said, mocking Weiss' voice. Weiss tried to push Ruby but it was just a light shove which got Ruby laughing.
"Ugh, you're impossible. I can't believe I left Atlas for this."
Ruby stared at the floor. "...I'm sorry. I should've been there to help you when you're father picked you up."
Weiss looked at Ruby and sighed. She was glad to hear that her best friend cared about her but she didn't want to see her beat herself up over something that she couldn't control. "Dolt, there wasn't anything you could've done so don't beat yourself up over it."
Ruby looked away in shame. That just made her feel worse, that she couldn't help her friend when she was at her lowest point.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Weiss said as she placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder. "You did you're best Ruby, we all did, so cheer up. I can't have my best friend feeling down when we're supposed to be celebrating."
"Yeah, I…". Ruby gasped at hearing what Weiss said. She hugged her and squeed, "You admitted it! I knew it, we really are VBBFFAEs!"
"No you dunce, we're not...wait what?"
"Very Bestest Best Friends Forever And Ever!"
Weiss looked aghast. "Excuse me while I vomit."
Ruby chucked. "Well, we can't fully celebrate until Blake comes back. Then it'll be a party."
Weiss looked away. "Uh, yeah, a party."
"You...don't want her to come back?"
"No, I do, it's just," Weiss sighed, "I was expecting Blake to be better than that. We've already bitten her head off trying to get her to open up and trust us more but...I guess that didn't stick." Weiss' mind went back to her time at home, when her father raised the security around their estate to its absolute limit, in fear that the White Fang, and more specifically Adam Taurus, would come to finish what he started. Weiss always prided herself in her skills as a Huntress but even she admitted that Adam Taurus would be too much for her if he could defeat Yang so effortlessly. She thanked God that there had been no sightings of White Fang activity in Atlas after Beacon fell. When she had gotten to Mistral, she had assumed that Blake was with them and was surprised to hear that Blake left without a word.
Ruby put her arm around Weiss shoulder. "Well, we'll just have to bite her head off about it again. And again and again until we don't have to anymore."
"Ruby, if Blake didn't learn to trust us after what happened at Beacon, then I don't think it will ever stick. I guess...I guess we'll just have to let go of Blake, and hope that she can solve her problems by herself."
Ruby couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her own best friend saying that they should let go of one of their teammates but at the same time...she understood why she was saying this. She agreed with Weiss on expecting Blake to not run away when they needed her the most so she just always rationalized that Blake must have had a good reason. Maybe she was kidnapped or brainwashed. They knew that there were at least two bad guys that had illusion-based Semblances, maybe Blake got caught by one of them. But the more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed. The girl that Roman called "Neo" was probably dead, either eaten by the Grimm like her boss or fell to her death after Ruby had opened her parasol. Emerald and Mercury had not been seen by any of them after the Grimm invaded so the chances of Blake seeing them were slim. The more she thought about it, the less likely it seemed that Blake was forced to leave.
"Ruby, if Blake does show up then make sure you talk to her or have her talk to me. I don't want to imagine what Yang would do if she saw her before we smoothed things out."
Ruby looked to the side. Her partner was right, as usual, it would be best if they smoothed things out before they let Yang see Blake again.
Weiss smiled. "Speaking of which, I thinks she's had enough time for her walk. I'll be at the inn when you too come back."
"Right, we'll be back soon."
Yang wasn't sure where she was going but she made sure that she didn't walk too far from the inn for Ruby or Weiss to not find her. Although with Ruby's Semblance "too far" was relative. Yang looked around the crowd, admiring the wide array of fashion worn by the civilians that Mistral had to offer. One figure caught her eye. She had long dark hair and cat ears on top of it. Yang's eyes glowed red and her hair burst into flames. She hated her that she ran away from them. Hated her that she never learned to trusted them. Hated that the same thing could've happened to her baby sister and not only would there have been nothing that she could've done to help but also that Blake would've still ran away from them.
She felt someone rubbing it. She looked to see Ruby standing next to her with a worried expression on her face. Yang started to control her breathing and her Semblance subsided. She looked back at the crowd to see the black haired figure to reveal her face. It was quite different from who she thought it was. That's not her.
"Hey, is everything alright?" Ruby asked.
Yang put her hand on her head and rubbed it affectionately. "It is now. Come on, let's go back."
Back at the inn, Ruby paced back and forth outside of Yang's room. She wanted to talk to her sister about Blake but she wasn't sure of how to broach the topic without putting her foot in her mouth. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Weiss.
"Just go in there and talk to her. You're her sister, if there's anyone that will know how to talk to her, it's you."
Ruby let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "You're right. Thanks."
Ruby opened the door and saw Yang sitting down facing a desk. Yang turned around and noticed her sister. Ruby saw Yang with a wrench in her hands.
"Oh hey sis." Yang smiled.
"How you feeling?" Ruby asked.
"Doin' alright. Just trying to make Ember Celica again." Ruby could see that Yang wass turning her mechanical arm into a new Ember Celica.
"Let me help you with that." Ruby rushed to help Yang but she stopped her.
"Woah there sis. I know you love to help but I'm not a baby. Sometimes I gotta do stuff on my own."
Ruby looked down in shame. She felt hopeless that she couldn't help her big sister when she's done everything to help her. Yang tousled her little sister's head and smiled. "Hey, cheer up. Tell ya what, when I'm done making Ember Celica, I'll let you make her new explosive shells. I'll even 'borrow' some Dust from Weiss to help you with it, deal?"
Ruby looked up and smiled. She was glad that Yang was acting more like herself again. "Deal. So...speaking of doing stuff on her own, Blake-"
"Sis...don't…"
"We have to talk about this eventually, you know that."
"It's not important. She's not important."
"Yang, she is our teammate!"
"Was! Was out teammate!"
"I don't get why you won't just give her a chance?!"
"Why? What would've happened if that was you who lost your arm?! Do you think that Blake would be here, trying to feel sorry? No! She would still run away like the coward that she always is!"
Yang placed a hand on Ruby's head. "If that happened to you…I..."She sighed. "I can't afford to lose you. Blake's proved that she can't be trusted. I don't trust her anymore and neither should you. I don't know why you try to let her off the hook-"
"Because I love her! She was just like family to me. Like you, like Dad, like Weiss...when mom...died, did you think she was alone. Was she afraid that she wouldn't see her baby girls again. If Blake's alone then I don't want her to feel alone when she comes back-
"If she comes back."
"When. When she comes back. At least...at least Blake can come back. If there's even a small option for us to have our loved ones back together than I'm willing to do that. I don't want anyone to feel cold and alone anymore. Not for a mother to be separated from her daughter and not two teammates separated from each other. I...I still have nightmares y'know. The nightmares about mom. They've gotten worse now. At first they were about mom but now they've changed. I can't distinguish mom's voice from the faces of the people that died in the Fall of Beacon, or Penny's voice...or Pyrrha's screams...Oh God..."
"Hey, hey, come here." Yang hugged her baby sis and started drying her tears. "Don't worry sis. I'm here now. I'm so sorry. I didn't know that this was all on your mind. But don't worry, I'm here now, if you need anything I'll be there for you."
"I...just...I feel so worthless. I couldn't save Penny, I couldn't save Pyrrha, I couldn't stop Blake from leaving, I couldn't stop Weiss' father from getting her and I….sis I'm so sorry. I should've been there for you. You were at a place where I should've always been there for you but I left…"
"Hey you did it for a good reason. You did what you had to do."
"No, I didn't! I could've waited for you to recover but I didn't. I know that I did it to save Mistral but I shouldn't have put you over that. You've done everything for me and when you needed me I left. I..I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
"Shhh, shhh. Don't worry. I don't blame you. I could never blame you. I'm so proud. So proud to see you've grown up. All I want is for you to be happy and safe. That's always what I want. Look sis, I get what you're trying to say, but this is different. Mom did what she thought was the best for us and she had no idea that she wouldn't come back. She didn't have a choice. Blake did. Blake did have a choice and she choose to run. She chose to leave us behind. I get that you forgive her but that doesn't mean that we should forget what she's done. So please, if she comes back, keep that in mind."
Ruby wiped her tears away and looked at her sister. "Okay. But we don't know if she had a choice until we hear it from her so...if she comes back and it turns out that she didn't, then she's back on the team."
"And if it turns out she did but still ran then she's on her own." Yang moved out her arm that was in a cast and pulled out her pinky finger. "Promise?"
Ruby bit her lip. She didn't want the possibility of seeing a friend kicked off the team, and since she was leader she would have to do that personally. But she had already let her big sister down when she needed her the most. Yang may have forgiven her but the guilt still ate at her. Yang had done everything for her, even if it was inconvenient for Yang herself, so what right did she have to complain?
Ruby pulled out her own pinky finger and intertwined it with Yang's. "...Promise."
A/Notes: Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to know what I could do to improve or something particular that stuck out to you so if you have the time please leave a review.
As you have already noticed there were quite a few changes that I made for not only "Alone Together" but for other elements of the story. I have all the respect in the world for everyone working on CRWBY and the changes that I've done are simply the story that I want to tell.
Once again, thank you for reading and have a nice day.