"Well?" Weiss crossed her arms, scowling at the hoodie-clad younger girl in front of her. "That monster could have killed both of us, and if you've been keeping them a secret, then you're going to be in big trouble! People who keep secrets that get other people hurt or killed get locked away, Ruby. I wonder how you'll look in prison orange."
Ruby's weapon clattered to the ground, the girl backing into the table behind her, muttering under her breath, her head jerking from side to side, looking left and right, anywhere but straight at Weiss but mostly at the door.
A shiver ran down Weiss's spine at the realization that Ruby Rose, who had jumped to her defense against a monster without a second thought, was terrified of her.
Weiss had been called many things. Graceful, intelligent, attractive, talented. Never before would she have described herself with the word 'bully.'
Just.
Like.
Him.
Unconsciously Weiss rubbed at her left wrist as her mind cast around desperately for what to do next.
"I..." Suddenly the white-haired girl's mouth was drier than the depths of the most desolate desert on Remnant. "I'm sorry, Ruby, I didn't mean… I didn't mean to yell at you, I was just… I was frightened by the monster, and I thought…. I'm not sure what I thought," Weiss finished weakly, sitting on the table next to Ruby.
"Nobody's ever seen them before," whispered Ruby.'
"How could they not? It's right there!" Weiss said, shaking her head and jabbing a finger at where the monster… had been? While she'd been talking to Ruby, the monster's corpse had, what, evaporated? "I don't… but it was… I saw it!"
"When a Grimm dies, they just sort of… evaporate, like dry ice or something. Most people can't even see them or touch them, and most of them aren't big enough or strong enough to attack people like that one attacked you. I, I've been fighting them, all alone for my entire life, and, and nobody but you has ever really seen one of them before," Ruby sobbed, collapsing against Weiss. "And you hate me."
The white-haired girl sighed. "Ruby, I don't hate you." Weiss wasn't really good at the whole empathy thing; frankly, she was downright terrible, but it was obvious that Ruby needed some form of reassurance. She wrapped her arms around Ruby's shoulders, in a vague hope that it would be comforting. "I was angry and scared, and I lashed out at you when I shouldn't have." An uncomfortable thought crossed Weiss's mind. There were rumors around school that Ruby had been institutionalized at one point… "Why don't you explain everything to me, from the beginning. Take your time. I, I know what it's like not to be believed."
"O-okay," Ruby sniffed, wiping her face on the sleeve on her hoodie. "But not here. Would you, could we go to my house? I've got, well, I've got all my books and stuff there. Do you, do you have the cash for bus fare? We, we've missed the school bus, but the city bus goes out by my house. Uh, it's a long ride, though. And kind of a walk from the stop to my house." She winced; she wasn't exactly selling coming to her house, was she?
Weiss rolled her eyes. "No, Ruby, I don't have the cash for bus fare."
"I can lend you some-"
"I have a car."
Ruby's arms were wrapped tightly around herself as Weiss drove them down the heavily forested road outside of town to Ruby's house. What was she thinking? Yeah, she knew who Weiss was, but she was just a face in the crowd, a total stranger, and here Ruby was, was about to explain everything to her? She shivered. Maybe, maybe it wasn't too late to call it off, have Weiss drop her off at the side of the road. They were only a couple of miles from Ruby's house, she could walk that far if she had to.
No, no, if Ruby explained now, not at school, she could keep Weiss from freaking out about, well, everything. Weiss had seen the Ghoul, right? And, and not been scared, not really. Weiss had seemed angrier at getting attacked by the Grimm than anything, so mad that she'd even attacked it with a chair, and then part of a chair. Okay, she'd yelled at Ruby afterward, but she hadn't meant anything by it, right? Anybody would want answers after getting attacked by a monster out of nowhere, right? Besides, Weiss already knew Ruby's address.
"We're here." Ruby blinked and looked up. While she'd been trying to convince herself that this was a good idea, Weiss had brought the car to a stop in front of a heavy metal farm gate, suspended between a pair of titanic oak trees. "I don't see a house; I assume it's farther up the road?"
Ruby laughed. "Oh, good grief. Your GPS brought us in the back way onto my dad's property. You'll have to turn around; that gate doesn't work."
Weiss bit off a curse and put the car in reverse, twisting around in her seat to look out the rear window as she backed them out, looking for somewhere to turn around.
Finally, they made their way through the front gate and in front of the house. Ruby tried not to cringe as Weiss looked up at her home. It was an old farmhouse and looked it, dating back to the days when farming families had lots of kids to help work the farm. Now it was a relic, the fields that had surrounded it overgrown and wild, already beginning to be reclaimed by the forest. She supposed that one day, the house itself would fall under the verdant assault.
Gingerly Ruby opened the door and hopped out. Weiss's car was so pristine and new, she'd almost felt as if she was desecrating it with her mere presence, but all Weiss had said as they got into the car was to ask for Ruby's address and remind her to buckle up. "Come on," Ruby said, trying to sound more confident than she felt. "My, uh, workshop is set up in a corner of the old barn."
The battered weather-worn appearance of the barn gave Weiss serious doubts about its structural integrity. Inside, Ruby led her into what had probably once been a tack room but now looked like someone had set off an explosion in a conspiracy theorist's lair. Photographs and sketches and maps with all sorts of things written on them covered the walls. Papers and notebooks and old heavy leather-bound books were stacked on every conceivable surface. The only really clear spots were a framed copy of a movie poster Weiss recognized on the back of the door and what looked like a memorial shrine tucked into one corner. Even the lone chair was full of stuff until Ruby cleaned it off and gestured for Weiss to sit, hopping up on a table. "So, uh, do you want coffee, or maybe some water?"
Weiss quirked an eyebrow. "There's running water out here?"
"Yep," Ruby answered nervously. "Grandpa used to build all sorts of stuff out here until he died. I, uh, I used his old workshop to make Requiem's Whisper," she finished, hopping off the table and fussing with the coffee pot once she'd unearthed it from the debris.
Weiss sipped the end result carefully, watching Ruby as she fidgeted with her own cup. She was in no hurry. Eventually, the brunette sighed. "I've been seeing them my whole life, really. When I was little, everyone thought it was just the monster under the bed getting a little out of control, that I'd grow out of it, you know? But it didn't stop, it got worse. I kept seeing bigger and scarier ones, but I learned not to tell anyone because nobody ever believed me. Well, almost nobody.
"Before, before grandpa died a couple of years ago and left this place to my dad, we lived in town. Growing up, my best friend was a girl named Penny who lived just down the street. She was the one person who didn't call me weird for saying I saw the Grimm.
"One day, we were playing in her backyard, and, um, a Grimm, a big one, maybe a Ghoul, I don't know, came out from under the bushes. They can do that, some of them, contort and compress themselves to squeeze into places you wouldn't believe. It crept over to her, and stood there, caressing her face with its claws. Penny just sat there, holding my hands and telling me not to be afraid of it, that being afraid of it gave it power over me, but I was still scared. I just sat there, frozen with fear, listening to her voice. And then it gave me a freaky sort of smile and ripped her throat out. It was the first time I'd ever seen one really hurt someone.
"I sat there, covered in her blood, not even screaming or anything, just sat there while it jumped over the fence. Her mother found us just like that.
"That's when I started hunting them. I read old books about demons and monsters, studied their movements, where they nested, where they hung around people to pester them, everything. I tried things on the little ones first, then I moved onto bigger, meaner prey. I got bolder and bolder, set traps, made weapons, eventually, well," the brunette gestured at her backpack, where the weapon she'd used to fight the Grim was stowed, once again in its compact form.
"Mm. But no-one ever sees them, no matter what they do?" Weiss sipped her coffee carefully. Messy this place might be, but Ruby could make a good cup of coffee.
"Yeah. The little ones harass people, trip them, make them drop things, scratch them so someone will scratch their face without even thinking about it." Ruby sighed. "The big ones, well..." Ruby's eyes turned toward the memorial in the corner and Weiss understood.
"She wasn't their last victim, was she?"
"No. I saw them trip someone once, made her fall down a flight of stairs. She broke her arm. And I'm not sure about this, but there was someone that was being stalked by one. It, it just kept harassing him, getting bigger and bolder. Eventually, he fell from the roof of his apartment building, I'm not sure if he jumped or was pushed."
Weiss shivered. No wonder Ruby was such a mess if she'd been living with this for years. "Fine. Now listen, Ruby: You are not crazy. You see things no-one else does, but imagine if you were the only person that could hear in a world full of deaf people. They'd probably think there was something wrong with you. I've seen one too, I fought it." Weiss stood, and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder, making the younger girl look up at her. "Now, who are you?"
"I'm, I'm Ruby Rose?" Ruby answered, the confusion in her voice making the statement a question.
"And what do you do?"
"I… hunt monsters."
"Wrong," Weiss snapped. "You don't just hunt them, you kill them. Say it."
"I… kill monsters."
"Again, like you mean it."
"I kill monsters."
"Again."
"I kill monsters."
"Now, say them both together. Who are you, and what do you do?"
"I'm Ruby Rose, and I kill monsters." Ruby's voice had gotten less shaky with every repetition until she was grinning at Weiss.
"Louder."
"I'm Ruby Rose, and I kill monsters!" Ruby half-shouted and Weiss was amazed at the way Ruby was transformed just by saying it out loud. It was almost as if the other girl had been under a terrible curse, lifted only by shouting the secret she most desperately tried to keep.
"That's right. And a good hunter knows how to blend in, to not be seen until it's time to strike." Weiss sighed, there was probably no good way to say what she needed to say next. "Ruby, at school, everyone thinks you're… weird because of the way you act. I take it the reason behind some of your odd behavior is hunting Grimm? Okay, you need to work on that. If you're acting strange people are going to notice, and one thing you don't want when hunting monsters no-one else can see is being noticed. Not only because they could get in the way, but bringing prey near monsters means they could get hurt."
Ruby opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Weiss continued. "Ruby, I believe you, but until we can convince someone else, we have to keep this quiet. I'll help you blend in a little better, maybe apply some organization to this rat's nest, and you, you're going to teach me what you know about Grimm, about fighting them." Weiss took the hand from Ruby's shoulder, grabbing what looked like an oddly-decorated cutlass from the table and holding it up.
"Because it's not just you anymore. Now I kill monsters too."
Ruby sat there, mouth open, and before Weiss could object, she'd jumped off the table and had her arms wrapped around the white-haired girl, the sword clattering to the ground, muttering the words, "Thank you," over and over again. Finally, Ruby pulled away, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her hoodie, and said, "But, but aren't you scared, Weiss? Aren't, aren't you afraid to fight them?"
"Terrified. But that doesn't mean I'm not angry, that I won't fight with you. Now, first thing: Your hoodie."
"Yeah, what about it?"
"It's got to go, at least at school."
"Say what?" Ruby wrapped her arms around herself, clutching at the fabric. "But, but it keeps me safe."
"You don't need that to be safe. You're a fearsome monster-killer, remember? Besides, wearing that instead of the school uniform jacket makes you stand out. Think of it as… protective camouflage, blending in with your prey's prey until it's time to strike. Now, off it comes."
After Weiss had pulled the baggy hoodie off and Weiss got a really good look at her, she couldn't help but think that Ruby was really rather pretty. Something of a late bloomer, perhaps, but Weiss wouldn't be surprised if Ruby was turning heads in a few years. "Okay, now where's your jacket?"
"In, in my room, in the closet, I think," Ruby said nervously, wrapping her arms around herself again.
"We'll find it. Now, arms by your side. And no looking down. Head up, eyes open. How else are you going to spot your prey? Stand up straight as well, no slouching. Remember, you're just a normal girl like everyone else. There, that's better. Ah, ah, ah, no clenching your hands either."
As they stood there, looking at each other, a voice came from the doors to the barn. "Ruby, are you out here? Is someone with you? I didn't recognize the car out front."
Glancing at Weiss, Ruby yelled back, "Yeah, me and Weiss are in here. She gave me a ride home."
A head bearing a familiar mane of blonde hair peered through the door. "Oh come on, why would Weiss Schn-oh. Uh, hi, Weiss, didn't expect to see you here, Ruby never brings people over. Are you staying for dinner?"
"I should-" Weiss said, but Ruby interrupted. "Oh come on, Weiss, stay. It's dad's night to cook, and he's made a pot of his awesome all-day chili." And then Ruby decided to deploy the ultimate weapon.
Puppy-dog eyes. How could Weiss be expected to resist puppy-dog eyes? It was totally unfair, probably against the Geneva convention or something like that. "Fine," Weiss relented, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
"Great, I guess. I'll go set an extra place for dinner. Oh, Blake's going to be here too," Yang tossed back at them before she shut the door to the barn.
Weiss cocked an eyebrow at Ruby. "That, that brute is your sister?"
"Half-sister," Ruby muttered with a groan. "Same dad, different mothers."
"I see." Well, that explained how the two of them could be related, they were as different as night and day. "Wait, Blake? As in Blake Belladonna? The campus champion of brooding?"
"The very same," Ruby sighed as she picked up her hoodie, starting to pull it back on before sighing again, pulling the hoodie back off and folding it over her arm. "And also the person my sister is absolutely and totally not dating, despite them spending every possible waking moment together."
The white-haired girl's brow furrowed. "They're dating, aren't they?"
"They're totally dating; they just think they're doing an incredible job of hiding it. Guess how many meals they don't eat together in a week?"
"Not many?"
"I'm guessing the number's somewhere around eight. Breakfast every day and lunch on Sunday. About the only person that might not know is dad, and that might be because he's deliberately not paying attention. Come on, you can meet dad while I get out of my uniform."
Ruby's dad proved to be a smiling blonde man who laughed when Weiss called him sir and told her his name was Taiyang Xiao Long, but to call him Tai. "Yeah, the girls have different mothers, but, uh," Tai looked around to make sure neither of his girls was in earshot, "we don't really talk about either one of them. Yang's mother, Raven, she left not long after Yang was born. And Ruby's mom, well, she died when the girls were both little. What about your family, Weiss?"
Weiss fixed a smile on her face while she helped set the table. "My younger brother and I live in Vale with my mother, and my older sister is in the United Kingdoms armed forces."
Tai grunted, noting that Weiss didn't mention her father. Not something to ask about, then.
The chili smelled heavenly, and Weiss was just lifting the first spoonful to her lips when the front door opened. "Sorry I'm late, my dad caught me on my way out the doo-oh. What's she doing here?" Blake stood there, hands on her hips, glaring at Weiss.''
"That's my question," Yang muttered, glaring at Weiss.
"Hey, we have not one guest, but two, so let's all be nice. Although I will admit being curious about why you're here myself, Weiss." Tai gave her a bemused smile.
She answered Tai's smile with one of her own. "No mystery, sir. Ruby and I share several classes, and today Ruby voiced an interesting theory about the film we're currently discussing in Film Theory class. We were discussing that. It doesn't hurt that I was also assigned as Ruby's algebra tutor." Something she'd seen in Ruby's 'workshop' (although it more closely resembled a packrat's lair) and she smiled at the brunette. "As a matter of fact, Ruby, I noticed you have a poster from the original release of The Crimson Butterfly. I happen to have a copy of the original theatrical cut, if you're interested."
Ruby paused, the spoon in her mouth. "Thuh owigianl cut?" She swallowed and tried again. "The original cut? The one that got pulled from theaters?"
"The very same."
"Oh hell yeah! I thought they'd all been destroyed! Of course, I want to see it! How in the hell did you get your hands on one?" Ruby was looking at Weiss with stars in her eyes. "It's my favorite movie!"
"What's the big deal?" Yang asked with her mouth full, earning her a glare from Blake, whose chair was a fair bit closer to Yang's than Weiss' was to Ruby's. "It's just some dumb movie that was old before dad was born."
"Some dumb movie? Some dumb movie?!" Weiss knew she was starting to shriek and knew it. "The writer, the director, the producer, hell, three-quarters of the production staff and a sizable chunk of the studio management went to jail over it being made! It's, well, it's gloriously beautiful in the horror of its making alone. You really are a brute!"
Ruby patted Weiss on the arm. "It's okay, Weiss, I'll watch it with you."
After dinner, Ruby walked Weiss to her car. "Are you sure you're okay with the whole monster-hunting thing? It's, well, it's kinda weird, overall."
Weiss nodded. "I'm more okay with hunting them that leaving them alone to hurt people, Ruby. Now," as they reached Weiss's car, she turned and took Ruby's hand. "Two things to remember: First, you aren't alone in this, not anymore. I'm with you. And second, we want to blend in until it's time to strike. The best trap is one you spring on someone else. Now, who are you and what do you do?"
"I'm Ruby Rose. And I kill monsters."
