The next morning Ruby woke up. She rubbed her eyes and headed for the shower. She made sure to get up earlier than normal. She wanted to take the guys to breakfast before they went out to hunt Grimm.
She headed outside expecting that she would have to wait but the seven boys were already outside waiting. They looked clean and ready for battle. A couple of them had knee pads on and Ruby almost wanted to laugh. She wasn't surprised because most of them probably didn't know the first thing about fighting Grimm.
"Wow. Are you guys ready?" she asked.
All of them nodded. They looked nervous.
"Let's go to the bulletin board and get some breakfast. I saw a breakfast and coffee café a few days ago."
They all looked at each other.
"We have no money," one of them said.
"I never said you had to pay. You have to do me a favor though… Eat until you're comfortable. I don't want any of you puking when we are fighting, ok?"
The boys nodded.
"Alright, let's go."
They made it to the board and it was filled with multiple sheets of paper. Ruby and Roman looked at each other. Ruby hadn't noticed but today she did. The people in Vale had been tacking more and more papers every day. She smiled because there was eight of them. Even if the seven of them weren't trained, it would make her jobs easier.
"Alright then… We are going to be busy today. Let's do all of them."
"Are… are you serious?" one of them asked.
"Yea. I do about seven by myself a day. I don't see why we couldn't do twenty-two of them."
"We don't know how to fight."
Ruby turned to face them, "Let's eat and I'll tell you what we are going to do."
X
X
The boys ordered three breakfast sandwiches each with coffee and orange juice. Ruby had no problem paying the seven hundred Lien it took to feed them. They laughed and joked with Ruby. She couldn't help but enjoy herself.
"Well, what are going to do?" one of them asked.
"I'd like to know your names first."
"Soren."
"Bloo."
"Rocky."
"Max."
"Blare."
"Cane."
"Roman."
Ruby hid the grin on her face when Roman announced his name.
"Well, there's seven of you... Plus me, so that makes eight. Does anyone have any combat experience?"
Bloo raised his hand.
"Against a person or a Grimm?"
"Both. It was a small bird Grimm but I beat it."
Ruby shrugged and nodded with approval.
Better than nothing.
"You have any weapons?" she asked next.
They all shook their heads. She picked up the papers and began reading the missions.
"We'll do the hardest one first. That will the rest of them seem easy. Also, at the end of the day you'll always be more tired. Get the hardest out of the way."
"That makes a lot of sense," Cane said shrugging.
"Do any of you have semblances that you're aware of?" Ruby asked.
They all shook their heads.
"I can help you unlock them. Everyone in the world has the potential to use it. It just takes practice. If I show you, you must only use it for good. If I hear that you used it for something wrong then I will beat you myself."
They looked nervous all of the sudden.
"I have super speed."
"That sounds..." Soren looked away.
"It sounds unbelievably underwhelming but sometimes speed is the difference between life and death. You can speak your mind."
"Well, why are you dressed like that? I thought you would have more armor," Max asked.
"I have a friend who is a healer. He wears a chest plate. Another friend wears some metal armor on her legs. That mostly has to do with her magnetic semblance though. It all depends on the fighter. My friend wears heels and a dress. You wouldn't think by looking at her but she is a tough fighter herself."
"You have anymore friends?" Roman asked.
Ruby nodded, "I do. My sister is a hand to hand combat fighter. The more she is hit the more powerful she becomes. My other friend is Faunus and she can make clones. She can even use Dust to make elemental clones. Another uses a grenade launcher hammer and she becomes powered by lightning. My last one is almost like a ninja! He can mask emotions from Grimm to make the person invisible."
"Wow," Roman said in complete awe.
"I have more friends but those are the ones I am with all the time usually. Well, are you guys ready for some weapon shopping?!" Ruby cried in excitement.
They all looked at each other nervously but they were smiling.
"Let's go!"
X
X
"Since none of you have much knowledge on how to use any weapons, the sword is the best. I like classic weapons."
They stared at her.
"My healer friend uses a sword that isn't a gun so you will be fine."
"How do you unlock our semblances?" Blare asked.
"Oh yea!"
Ruby walked over to him and placed a hand on his chest over his heart.
"Close your eyes."
Blare did as she asked. After a minute she stepped away from him.
"Oooo, your aura is kind of icy."
"Icy?" Blare asked.
Ruby nodded.
She did everyone else. They each had a different feel. She came to Roman last.
"Are you ready?"
He nodded without a word.
Ruby placed her hand on his chest over his heart. She felt it pounding in his chest and she started blushing. Everyone else was cool and calm but he seemed nervous. Roman closed his eyes and Ruby followed suit. She suddenly felt a warming sensation throughout her hand and arm that was connected to his chest.
Ruby pulled away,
"Fire."
Roman looked at her, "What?"
"You have a fire based semblance. I recognize the feeling. When my sister powers up, she emits heat. Since we have been in school it has gotten stronger."
"Wow... Fire..."
"Where is this mission at?" Max asked.
"It's a few miles from here. It's in the Water Fall Forest."
"That place is dying and covered in Grimm!" Cane said looking nervous, "We can't go there."
Ruby shrugged.
"I'm going. It's up to you guys. If you wanna watch while I do that's fine but you aren't getting paid."
"Why are we going?" Roman asked.
"Someone lost a family member there. We are looking for the body."
The boys looked at each other.
"I have a body bag for it... If there's anything left anyways. They told me that no one would survive out there."
"Wow... Who is it?"
"A few Beacon students. Three came back."
"Oh."
"They were team SLVR. We are looking for the boy Laken."
X
X
The boys never expected their legs to hurt as much as they did walking through the thick forest and the rivers. Ruby of course was already used to such tasks and it didn't bother her too much. The only thing was, they were slow and they were wasting time. She really wanted to complete the rest of the missions that day.
"You really think we can do this?" Roman whispered to her.
"I do."
"What if..." he trailed off.
"I will swoop in to save the day if that's what you're asking."
Roman nodded.
"Don't worry. I took down a Nevermore before."
"You're kidding me."
Ruby grinned sheepishly, "I had help from my friend but I can take them down by myself now. Practice makes perfect."
Roman blushed and nodded quietly.
They reached their destination without any Grimm encounters. They came to a stop by a cliff and they all looked down. The area was indeed dying. Ruby had learned about Water Fall Forest in school but by the time she learned about it, it was already gone. Half of it looked like it had caught fire. There was random green grass spots but it looked like the burst of life was from dead bodies.
The area was covered in all kinds of Grimm but none were bigger than seven feet tall. Some of them growled at each other as they passed by one another. Some laid in the disappearing water fall. There were a couple in the trees and some were probably hiding. This wouldn't be a first time Ruby was sent to recover a dead body.
"Are you sure-
Ruby jumped down sliding on the rocky cliff down into the dirt. She pressed the button on her weapon and Crescent Rose opened up fully.
"Are you crazy?!" Soren yelled.
"Slightly!"
BANG!
Ruby was gone. The boys watched as she cleared out about ten Grimm within the matter of minutes. Multiple gun shots were heard and rose petals were flying around everywhere. Cane, Soren and Roman jumped in then Max decided to jump in next.
Blare, Bloo and Rocky were in last but they didn't miss any. Ruby of course had to back track and take out some of the ones they were struggling with. Roman and Bloo were doing better than the rest but she wasn't really surprised. She saw Rocky get hit in the arm and she heard the sickening crack.
The boy hollered out in pain and was there to save him. She took a hit to the back but she shook it off and headed for the top of the cliff. She laid Rocky down on the ground while he whimpered in pain. She was back down on the ground grabbing Cane's hand. She pulled him up on the cliff.
"Heal him."
"What?"
"You have enormous amounts of aura. Heal him."
"What if..."
Ruby placed a hand on his shoulder, "You will be fine and even if you can ease the pain that's better than nothing. Give it a go."
She was gone, leaving rose petals behind.
After twenty minutes, the boys were too exhausted and they were dropping like flies. She took Bloo last to the top to rest as she finished off some Grimm that just entered the area. She waved to them and disappeared into the cave behind the waterfall. The guys watched anxiously for her return.
After twenty minutes, Ruby came out looking exhausted. She was carrying a seventeen year old boy. He looked deathly sick and the guys weren't sure if he was still alive. Ruby brought the boy to the top of the cliff. She laid him on the ground.
"He's hanging on but barely. He's very sick seeing he was in there for a week or so. Cane, how are you feeling?"
"I'm ok and Rocky's arm seems better."
"If you can heal some of his wounds he might do a little better."
"Are you ok?" Roman asked looking at Ruby.
She nodded tiredly, "I tried some first aid myself but I was never skilled in that area like Jaune is."
"Jaune?"
"My healer friend. He has healed up worse things than a broken arm. He kept it all together though until he healed us completely. I always thought healers were picked because they have strong hearts. They are a rare breed."
X
X
They made back into town beat up and worn out. Laken's parent's were thrilled to see he was alive but he was in bad shape. They got him to the hospital in no time and his parents paid them the huge sum of thirty thousand Lien. The guys nearly fainted when they saw all that money.
"Here you go."
Ruby divided up the money equally between all of them.
"Damn! I could buy some clothes!"
"Right?! Let's go eat lunch!"
Ruby couldn't help but smile.
"Did you want to eat?" Roman asked her.
"No. I still have other missions to do."
The guys looked at her with guilty looks. She knew they were already tired.
"I can go finish those missions alone. Go ahead and have fun. Don't blow it all in one place."
"I want to go with you."
Ruby arched an eyebrow at Roman.
"Aren't you tired?" she asked.
"I-I am but I want to make more money."
Ruby shrugged, "Alright. Buy a snack and we'll depart in ten minutes."
I apologize for not updating yesterday. I was so busy buying groceries, paying bills, trying to nap and took my kids to see the Grinch. I totally forgot so this up be one update of two. Once again, I am sorry!