"Hey. Hey red girl. Time to stop taking up space in my room, now."
…
"Oh for #!%^'s sake…WAKE. UP!"
Ruby coughed frantically as she sat bolt upright, somewhat surprised that her lungs weren't full of water. Oh, and she wasn't dead, either! Two surprises already, and she'd barely woken up yet.
"Huh, that actually worked," the sharp voice mused. "I mean, of course it worked! Why wouldn't it?"
Still more than a little disoriented for far too many reasons, Ruby decided to take her bearings. From the looks of it, this was someone's bedroom, though the over-abundance of white made it look more like a clinic. The room's furniture, including a bedside table, wardrobe and armchair, seemed to have been scavenged randomly from many different sources, giving the room a very eclectic feel.
"Hmph, don't tell me you're a mute? Like I don't have enough $%^ to deal with…"
Finally, Ruby's eyes came to rest on the room's owner. Dressed in a blinding white frock, the girl just seemed to ooze nobility, from where she put her hands to her position in the armchair. Wait…was she chewing a toothpick? How odd. Her mid-length hair, too, seemed out of place on a noblewoman, and even to Ruby's untrained eye, it looked like it had been cut by the girl herself.
Wait a minute…haven't I seen her somewhere before?
The girl recoiled as Ruby leaned closer, studying her face intently.
"…are you done?"
"Oh! Um, sorry about that!" Ruby apologised hastily. "It's just…you seem kind of familiar."
The girl raised a sceptical eyebrow.
"You must be mistaken. Wherever you're from, I've never been there."
"Huh? How do you know?"
"Because, when I found you half-dead outside the shop, you were covered in sand," the girl explained testily. "And while Traverse Town has many things, a beach is not one of them."
"…Traverse Town?"
The girl rolled her eyes.
"I've got to explain everything, then? Fine. Traverse Town is the garbage dump of the universe. When worlds are consumed by the Heartless, some of its inhabitants end up here. Lucky us."
"W-wuh? Heartless? Consumed worlds? What are you-"
The girl put a finger to her lips, and for the first time, her expression softened.
"Look, I…I know things must be confusing for you right now. Maybe I don't know exactly what you've been through, but I've seen hundreds of others land here with that same look…like they can't believe the apocalypse left without them."
The girl took the toothpick from her mouth and leaned forward, rolling it between her palms.
"It gets easier, though. Maybe you won't like it, and maybe you'll always be torn up about what happened, but it will get easier. Then, after the dust has settled, you might just live a normal life again."
The room was silent as Ruby tried to digest the girl's words. She didn't have much success.
"It's Weiss."
Ruby looked up.
"My name," Weiss explained. "If you're going to be staying with me a while longer, you may want to get it memorised."
"Oh, sure…and, um, I'm Ruby! Ruby Rose! It's…nice to meet you?"
"I wish I could say the same," Weiss said, frowning. "Everything's been going crazy since I took you in. The Heartless are acting up, I can't get through to my uncle, and as if that wasn't bad enough, I'm almost out of toothpicks!"
"Toothpicks? Why would that- you know what? Forget it. You said something about the 'Heartless'?"
"That's what we call the shadowy creatures that invade the worlds. Didn't you see them?"
"I don't…think so?" Ruby said uncertainly, casting her mind back. "I mean, there was a storm, and I almost drowned, I think? Was there really anything else...?"
"Considering how much water you coughed up when I found you, I'm thinking you very much did drown," Weiss commented with distaste. "Please try not to do that again, by the way. My shoes haven't looked the same since."
"Wait, so if I drowned…did you give me CPR or something?"
"Huh? CPR? The $^& is that?"
"You know, like mouth to mouth?"
"Isn't that called 'kissing'?"
"No, it's a different thing! See, you kinda blow air in someone's mouth-"
"Okay, stop. Stop right there. That sounds gross and unsanitary, and either way, I don't care."
"So what did you do?"
"A cure spell, duh. What, don't tell me your world didn't have magic?"
Ruby gasped excitedly.
"Magic is real?!"
"Oh for the love of-"
"Can you show me some? How does it work? Can you make it go through weapons? Is it like making fire and stuff, or is it more subtle than that? Please, you've got to-"
"Now hang on there, kid. I haven't got to do anything. I've already saved your life, so if anything, you owe me favours, not the other way around."
Weiss huffed.
"Not that I was going to hold it against you, but really? Not even a thank you?"
Ruby guiltily averted her gaze.
"I…I'm sorry. I guess I just got caught up in the excitement. Thank you very much for saving me, Weiss, and if there's anything I can do to repay you, then just say the word and I'll get right on it!"
Weiss' expression softened once more, her head nodding in approval.
"See? Much better. As for if you can help me…well, we may come back to that. I still don't know you very well, so until I get more of a feel on what you can do, I'd rather not suggest any tasks."
"Aw…"
"Then again…there may be one thing…"
Ruby's expression lit up like a light bulb.
"Yeeees, Weiss?"
"Do you…know how to cook?"
Ruby blinked.
"I can make an omelette?"
"Good enough. If you go down a floor, you should see a hatch by the counter. Open it, head down again, and you'll find yourself in the kitchen slash dining area. It's not very large, so you shouldn't have much trouble finding things. Any questions?"
"Nope, that should be a piece of cake!"
"Good, but before you go, you really need to-"
Naturally, in her excited state, Ruby barely noticed what Weiss was saying as she let her covers drop.
"…oh," Ruby murmured, hurriedly pulling the covers back on.
"Yes, 'oh'," Weiss said, sighing in exasperation. "You know what? I'll go downstairs and get the cooking started, and while I'm doing that, you need to pick out something to wear. That is, unless you have some strange attachment to your birthday suit…?"
Ruby shook her head, too embarrassed to speak.
"Didn't think so. Since you're a little shorter than me, I would recommend sticking to the left side of the wardrobe - that's where I keep my older clothes, you see. Oh, and do try and find something practical. As much as I like my formal gowns, I like them even more when they're not being worn by strangers, if you catch my drift."
Returning the toothpick to her mouth, Weiss stood up from the chair and made her way over to the ladder, but as she motioned to go down, Ruby piped up.
"Uh…Weiss?"
"Hm? What now?"
"I'd just like to say thank you…again, I guess. I know I said I'd pay you back, but you still saved my life, and…I don't know. I guess you just didn't really have to do all this?"
"Then what was I to do? Leave you to die alone in a cold, dark back alley of Traverse Town?"
Weiss shook her head.
"Uncle Cid raised me better than that."
CLACK. CLACK. CLACK.
"Could you make any more noise?" Weiss rattled off irritably, searching meticulously through her cupboard.
"It's these boots! They're just…louder than I'm used to!"
"Right, right, give me a moment…"
Hypocritically creating quite a clamour as she finished retrieving the various pans and plates, Weiss leant back on the kitchen top, turning her appraising gaze to Ruby's new outfit. As she'd suggested, Ruby had kept to the left side of the wardrobe but, embarrassingly, she'd managed to dig up something a little too old. Bearing no colours but black and red, the outfit called back to Weiss' short-lived 'goth' phase, complete with corset and knee-high boots.
"Hmph. Can't say I was expecting that. Does it fit?"
"Yup! But, uh, are you sure I'm alright wearing it? I could just get something from a clothes shop-"
"No no, if you like it, then keep it. To tell you the truth, I haven't worn the thing for a few years, and my tastes have…changed somewhat in the meantime."
"Well, if you say so, Weiss…" Ruby said dubiously. "It just feels like I'm doing a lot of taking right now and not a lot of giving."
"Then you can start by making that omelette, can't you?"
"But…the outfit?"
"Oh, please. Like I would let you wear anything that wasn't machine washable."
"Eh? Machine what now?"
"Just…never mind. My point is, as long as you aren't trying to ruin it, it'll probably be fine. Now, I'm going upstairs to take care of some things, so just call me down when you're done, okay?"
"Um, sure! It won't take long, though, even if I have to find the ingredients. Omelettes are easy."
"Good, then I can expect the kitchen to not be a complete mess by the time you're done."
"So, a partial mess is fair game?"
Weiss rolled her eyes.
"Just make the $%^~ &* food, Ruby. I'll worry about the rest."
And with that, Weiss made her way back to the upper floors, leaving Ruby to her own devices.
I wonder how she does that symbol thing? Eh, questions for later. Now where to find the eggs…?
Ruby looked around for a moment, taking stock of her surroundings. Unlike the rest of the building, the kitchen was more obviously converted from a basement of some kind, and if not for the lovely chandelier hanging from the ceiling, it would have seemed a rather sorry place. Still, as much as the dank stone walls and chill gave it a dungeon-like feel, the rows of kitchen equipment and a simple dining set gave the room points for utility if not appearance.
Now if only she could figure out what any of this did.
There's some cupboards up here…maybe that's where she keeps the eggs?
Having worked with a far more basic set-up back home, Ruby was a little out of her element, and the sheer quantity of ingredients certainly didn't help matters. She wasn't entirely sure what most of it even was, but on the third cupboard, she recognised what she hoped was an egg carton. Of course, even this was unfamiliar; gingerly taking it out and inspecting the contents, Ruby found that these particular eggs were almost three times as large as the ones from back home.
You know, as much as I like animals, I'm not sure I'd like to meet the kind of bird that lays an egg this big. Anyway, what am I doing with this, exactly?
Atop one of the surfaces was what Ruby vaguely recognised as a stove but, after another search, she couldn't seem to find any source of ignition.
Huh, weird. Wait a minute, what does this do?
PWOOF. At the touch of a button, one of the hobs burst aflame.
"Whoa. That's awesome!"
Filled with child-like glee, Ruby proceeded to press down the other three buttons, grinning as they sent their own hobs alight.
"Ruby!" a muffled voice called out.
Ruby gulped, looking expectantly towards the ceiling.
"Y-yes?"
"You'd better not be messing with things down there!"
"I'm not, I'm not! I promise!"
"Well good, because if I come down there and find you've burned the kitchen to the ground, there will be consequences!"
"Uh, yes ma'am!" Ruby sputtered out, quickly pressing the buttons back down and hoping beyond hope that it was some sort of on/off setup.
Fwoof.
Yeah, you and me both, fire, Ruby thought, wiping her brow. Anyway, I should probably get on with the omelette before Weiss shouts at me again.
Thankfully, whether due to the short cooking time or Weiss being otherwise preoccupied, Ruby didn't get any more admonishments from her temporary landlady, and before long, two delicious looking omelettes sat steaming on their plates.
"Weiss! Dinner's- I mean, breakfast's…lunch?"
Ruby paused, scratching her head.
"Food's done!"
Ignorant to the rules of etiquette, Ruby didn't waste time waiting for Weiss to come down and tore into her omelette with gusto. It wasn't quite like the ones back home, but there was a lot of it, and after being unconscious for a fair while, Ruby had worked up quite the appetite. In fact, by the time Weiss had come down with a folded bit of cloth, Ruby had already demolished over half of her omelette, flashing a guilty smile.
"Weiss, I-"
"Don't apologise," Weiss cut in, laying the cloth beside her plate. "The kitchen's fine, and this omelette looks good; to be honest, I'm not particularly bothered about anything else right now."
Without another word, Weiss set about eating her own omelette but, as expected, her style of eating was somewhat more…sophisticated than Ruby's. In no time at all, Ruby had completely finished, patting her stomach in satisfaction, while Weiss hadn't even started on her second half.
"So…" Ruby began, clacking her boots impatiently. "What's with the red thing?"
"Hm?" Weiss said, resting her cutlery down. "Oh, you mean this. Well…"
Pulling her seat back, Weiss picked up what had seemed like some folded cloth but, as she let it unfurl, Ruby couldn't help but gasp.
"Is that…my cloak?"
"What's left of it, at least," Weiss answered truthfully. "Like the rest of your clothes, it was practically rags when I found you, but…hm. I just got the feeling that it might be important to you."
It wasn't a perfect fix. The artful stitches Weiss had made were plain to see if one were to look close, but only for lack of fitting material; if not for that, Ruby would have said it was flawless.
"…Ruby? Are you okay?"
Ruby shook herself, realising she had been staring open-mouthed at the cloak.
"Um…can I try it on?"
"Well I certainly didn't fix it up just so you could stare at it," Weiss grumbled irritably, though her expression told a different story. Contentment over a job well done, perhaps.
Let's see, just clip through here and…there!
Ruby positively glowed as she gave a little twirl.
"I'm not even sure what to say…" she murmured dreamily. "Are you a fairy godmother in disguise, Weiss?"
"Pfft, I should think not!" Weiss replied hotly. "Still, I'm glad I was right about the cloak. There was-"
Weiss frowned.
"Ruby?"
"Hm?"
"Before, when we were talking upstairs…you said you recognised me, didn't you?"
"Kind of? I can't tell you where from, though. It's all pretty hazy."
"Well I'm afraid I can't help you with that, but…"
Weiss crossed her arms.
"I know I said I helped you before because that's how my uncle raised me, right? And believe me, that part was true. Everything else, however…I'm not so sure. I think it's that you remind me of someone. Someone I met a long time ago."
"Really? Who?"
Weiss shook her head.
"I don't know. There's…a lot of things I don't quite remember, now. Memories from when I was five, maybe six. I suppose I've just had other things on my mind."
"But I reminded you?"
"Mmhm," Weiss confirmed. "For better or worse, you feel a lot like her. I just wish I knew what that meant."
Ruby put her hands to the back of her head, looking up towards the ceiling. She was certainly very lucky to have Weiss help her like she did, but the identity of her mystery person remained…well, a mystery. If there were any clues to her identity, Ruby certainly didn't have them.
"I-"
Swsssh. Softly, every so softly, a shadow crept out from the floor, readying its claws to attack.
"Weiss, look out!"
Without thinking, Ruby pushed Weiss aside, bringing an arm up to block the shadow.
CLINK
Ruby blinked in surprise.
Wait, is that…?
SLICE. Unable to react in time, the shadow felt the full force of Ruby's swing, its essence slinking back into the ground.
"What the ~ %^ is that?" Weiss asked, shakily picking herself up.
"It's a keyblade?" Ruby answered dubiously. "Or, I think that's what it's called."
"It looks extremely impractical," Weiss commented critically. "Are you sure it's a weapon?"
"It made short work of the Heartless, didn't it?"
"Hm…true. Wait a minute, what was a Heartless even doing here? This is the First District!"
"So?"
"So if there are Heartless here, something is very wrong. Come on!"
Beckoning for Ruby to follow, Weiss climbed up to the ground floor, despairing as even more Heartless came into view.
"Oh for & %^'s sake! Get out of here!"
As Ruby made her own awkward way up the ladder, keyblade still in hand, she was treated to the sight of Weiss wielding an elegant rapier as she reached the top. With a subtle movement, the rapier shot out several thin beams of ice and, in an instant, the Heartless were frozen solid.
"Wow!" Ruby exclaimed, glancing between the Heartless popsicles. "You really can do magic!"
"Not the time nor the place, Ruby!" Weiss intoned sharply, practically kicking the door open. "Actually, I'm not sure there ever will be a time or place for your gawking, but that's beside the point. We need to keep moving!"
Nodding, Ruby followed Weiss out into the town proper, trying to take in the sights as she ran. Dull grey-browns illuminated by lamplight, some railings, several sad looking houses...for a town referred to as 'the garbage dump of the universe', it actually looked kind of average. Well, maybe it'd be nicer without the Heartless popping out from the ground, but hey, nowhere was perfect.
"Gah, there's just too many!" Weiss cried in frustration. "If we go through here, we'll just get swarmed from both sides!"
Ruby looked the brown double doors up and down, wondering why exactly there were so enormous when people only got so tall.
"So…we're fighting?" she said finally, slowly twirling her keyblade.
"Unfortunately. Do you know how to use that thing?"
Ruby shifted her stance as the shadows formed a circle around them.
"Uh…not really," she admitted. "But this kills them pretty well, and it doesn't seem to mind being used like a club."
"Hmph. Just be careful, okay? The Heartless don't joke around."
"And I do?"
Weiss grimaced.
"From what I've seen so far? Yes."
"Then this is the perfect time to prove myself! Gyaaaaah!"
"Wait, Ruby, we need to-"
Weiss grumbled ineffectually as Ruby charged forward, swinging her ridiculous sword in the most amateurish way she had ever seen…and the worst part was, it was working. Something about that key was making the Heartless swarm around her, and with Weiss free from their greedy eyes, she could take the time to send some choice fireballs towards some of the testier ones.
Within a minute, the Heartless were destroyed, and while some worrying sounds started to come through from behind the door, it seemed like they were safe…at least, for a little while.
Ruby grinned, slinging the keyblade over her shoulder.
"So how was that, Weiss? Still joking around?"
"Oh, where do I even begin? Your grip was wrong, your stance left you open to all sorts of idiotic things, and most importantly, those were the weakest form of Heartless. If you charge in like that against the stronger ones, you will die."
"But I have you to back me up, right?"
"Reluctantly, yes, but that doesn't mean you get to be reckless. Now, let me see that sword of yours."
Shrugging, Ruby passed her keyblade over to Weiss, allowing her a closer inspection. Despite its name, the weapon was far more 'key' than 'blade', and if not for its effectiveness against the Heartless, Weiss would have dismissed it outright. That and, well…
"It…looks like a flower?"
"Hey, I didn't choose it!"
Most of the keyblade was a varying shade of green, perhaps to imitate vines or leaves, but just above the circular…guard? She supposed that was it was. Above the guard was a beautiful red rose, but closed, as if preparing for a coming winter.
"A peculiar weapon," she commented, handing it back to Ruby. "And given how you handled the Heartless, a dangerous one, too. You should be careful with it."
"Of course I'll be careful with it! Shouldn't you be careful with any kind of weapon?"
Weiss blinked.
"Well, yes, but…oh, never mind. Now, before we go in, remember what I said before, okay? As much as it might work out, you shouldn't wield that thing like a club. Given the length, I would recommend grasping it in two hands, planting your feet and making slow, deliberate swings. That blade has some length on it, so instead of charging in mindlessly, you should keep your distance."
Ruby pouted.
"But that's boring!"
"Be that as it may, it also won't cause your early demise. Of course, it's just a suggestion; if you want to endanger yourself more than necessary, then by all means, go ahead. I just won't necessarily be there to pull you back out."
Ruby sighed, looking down to the ground.
"Fine, fine…I'll be more careful next time."
"Good. In that case, are you ready to proceed?"
Ruby nodded.
"Then let's go. If I'm right, and I always am, we have a lot of work to do."
