Red Like Roses (4)
A/N: Guten Tag, ladies and gentle- turtles. I would like to take this moment to thank each and every one of you who have followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. It means so much to me and let's me know that you enjoyed this story. Thank you all so much ;u; Anywhore, let's get on with the story, no?
~Yellow beauty burns gold~
Ruby, now 6 years old, watched as her guardian moved around the kitchen. A bright smile was on her face at the thought of the woman's cooking. It had been a little over a year since she had been found and rescued by this woman. She had pretty yellow hair and soft caramel eyes. Her skin was a fair but not pale. She gave off a motherly vibe that instantly made the young girl attracted to her. "Is it ready yet?" Ruby bounced in her seat. She heard the soft ringing of the woman's laugh. "Not yet little one. It is almost ready. Why don't you go play outside while it cooks?" the lady suggested with a soft smile. Ruby nodded and slid out of her chair. The young girl was about to go get ready when she heard a firm knock on the door.
The woman came out of the kitchen and opened the door cautiously. "Qrow!" she laughed hugging the man firmly. Ruby gave the man a strange look. She had not seen him before. How did he know her new guardian? Who exactly was he? "This must be that little girl you talked about," he chuckled warmly. Ruby clutched on to the long dark green skirt of her "adoptive" mom. "I have to talk to you," Qrow sighed with a crestfallen expression. The woman nodded and shooed off Ruby. At first the small girl was against the idea completely until she received a pleading look.
Reluctantly, Ruby unhanded the fabric and walked into another room that housed hand- made dolls, showing signs of wear and tear. She aimlessly played with them, her mind too filled with curiosity and wonder to really pay attention. She didn't bother to register to soft click of the door as her caretaker walked in. "Ruby," the blonde woman started with a thick swallow as she tried to mask her pained expression.
Ruby stared with confused silver eyes. "Ruby, my dear, I love you as if your were my own. You are the best daughter I could have asked for but now it is time that we must be separated." The words had thrown her into more confusion but she still felt the same hurt. Had she done something wrong? Was she just not wanted anymore? Tears bubbled at the corners of her eyes as her lips pursed. "Little one, it is for your own good. This forest is not safe for such a small child. So, Qrow has decided to take you in and train you until you can take care of yourself." The woman let out a shaky sigh. "But in order for you to reach your full potential, you must forget about everything that has happened in the past 4 years, including that of your birth mother."
Tears spilled continuously down the child's cheeks. She didn't want to forget. She didn't want to leave. She felt a hand press up against her forehead and the soft whisper of an apology before she blacked out.
Ruby walked down the hall with a sharp click of her heels against the tiled floor. Her blood red cape fluttered behind her in her quick stride. Her usually happy, cheerful face was contorted into that of determination. So much so that students parted the hallways for the pint-sized HCSS wielder. Not too far behind her, Jaune quietly followed, worried about his first friend since arriving to Beacon. He wasn't used to the all too serious look and vibe that the girl gave off nowadays and was obviously worried. It was clear that she was hiding something. Whenever she would try and hide something her hand makes the slightest twitch and she starts getting nervous, as he had discovered during their time at the school.
Jaune being Jaune, he couldn't continue to watch as Ruby troubled herself with some kind of conflict. It just didn't seem right. After all, she had been there to save his butt more times than he could count, at least when Pyrrha wasn't around to do that simple task for her. She was the first and only person to talk to him, considering the fact that they were both late to class, the first day of school. She was the one who gave him advice when he was questioning his worth of his leadership status. If anything, he felt that it was only right to try and return the favor. So, the blond swallowed up his nerves and caught up to the girl, tapping her on the shoulder.
Ruby jumped slightly as she was once again ripped from her thoughts. Her silver eyes met with deep blue ones. "Oh hey Jaune, what's up," she asked nervously, knowing that she was practically screaming she was hiding something. Jaune gave a friendly smile. "Are you ok Ruby? You're a bit tense. Something you need to talk about?" he pressed cautiously, not wanting to end up on the other side of Crescent Rose.
Ruby hesitated for a second, biting the inside of her lip. Could she really tell Jaune what's been eating her up? One part of her mind screamed at her for even asking such a foolish question. This was Jaune Arc! Her best friend! Of course she could tell him! But then there was the other part of her mind. The part that told her to trust no one but those who already know. She decided to go with the trustworthy part of her mind and grabbed Jaune's arm. "Can we go talk in private? I don't want anybody else knowing about this other than those who already know…" Ruby sighed.
Jaune was taken back. What was so bad that she didn't want anyone else knowing? The blond had a feeling it had something to do with that mission in the mountains she had, but pushed the thought away. He silently watched as the girl peaked carefully around back hallways and openings to balconies. Deciding the coast was clear she leaned against the wall with her arms closed.
"I haven't told anyone about any of this yet so I expect you to do the same Jaune. The only people who know are Professor Ozpin, Ms. Goodwitch, and my Uncle Qrow I believe…" she started off, her voice in a hushed tone. She began to explain the situation, which included how Ozpin knew about her birth; the sudden appearance of locked away memories, the weird book she found in the library with her insignia on it, and the confusion that went along with it. She also couldn't help but express the slight fear of the unknown that she withheld.
The blond boy just listened silently to his friend's confession, suddenly understanding her peculiar behavior lately. She finished her explanation feeling suddenly lighter. "Promise me you won't tell anyone? I was going to confront Ozpin about it and hope that he let me go back to the snowy mountains to get some kind of clue," Ruby sighed. "I won't tell. But you have to at least let me help. I want to assist you in any way I can Ruby," Jaune gave as serious look. Ruby looked as if she wanted to protest but quickly settled for nodding silently.
Jaune smiled contentedly before a loud explosion went off. Suddenly, Ozpin's face appeared on the TV screen with a grave expression. "We have been breached. All students prepare for battle if necessary. But until given further instruction report to your dormitories immediately" He warned. The two teens looked confused but did as they were told, rushing off to their dorms. "Search this wing while the others search the other one. The brat has got to be here somewhere," a strong feminine hiss ordered. Jaune and Ruby stopped abruptly and looked for an escape route.
As Ruby frantically searched, her eyes landed on a duct, large enough for Jaune to fit and for them to stay hidden. She alerted her tall friend, who nodded and began to silently crawl into the shoot behind her. They crawled as quickly and quietly as possible, trying not to attract any attention to them. Both teens let out a sigh of relief as soon as they had gotten far enough. They continued to search for the way towards the dorms until the intercom came on.
"Students prepare to fight. I repeat be prepared to fight." This time it was Glynda's voice. Jaune and Ruby sent each shocked looks as they heard the familiar sounds of their teammates. They followed the sound and hopped out of the duct quickly. "Guys? Where have you two been? Why did you two fall out of the vents?" Yang asked surprised. "Long story. Anyway, you heard the announcement right?" Ruby brushed off quickly grabbing her beloved scythe. "Yes we did. Let's go,"Weiss ran out of the door as the others followed.
Roman and Cinder smirked as they spotted their target. She was currently taking down a large group of their men. She was in plain sight, at least from where they were. Adam stood with a slightly troubled expression, as if he didn't really want to do this. "Grab her," Cinder ordered as the two men deployed. A blast shot them down before they could get far. "Not on our watch,"A stern voice growled. Out from the shadows, two figures appeared. Blake and Yang growled at their opponents. Adam flinched slightly at the sight of Blake as Yang smirked sadistically at Roman. "You aren't getting anywhere near my sister," the blonde powered up her weapon, Ember Cecelia. Blake gripped Gambol Shroud tightly.
As the two girls attacked, Cinder drew a bright shield at an oncoming attack. "Nice try," she smirked darkly. The blonde huntress was not shocked but did show signs of slight worry. It wasn't like she didn't trust the students. She knew just as well as the other teachers and Ozpin himself that these students were more than capable of handling things. She knew that they would die before they let anyone get to the true reason for this attack. But she was scared that either they would die protecting the target or the target would get captured because they were missing something. She pushed back her worry and pulled out her spell book. Sending a slight glance towards the girls, she charged towards the black haired sorceress.
Ruby set off another set of rounds towards the enemy's henchmen. She was glad she restocked her ammunition earlier this week as she emptied yet another one. Suddenly a sharp pain shot up her collar bone as she suddenly feel. Crescent Rose slipped from her grasp in the process as numbness washed over her. Her eyes were wide in surprise.
She couldn't even move.
Ruby felt her heavy muscles refuse to move as the grunt approached her. "Target acquired," the lackey smirked in satisfaction. Ruby squeezed her eyes closed, ready for her capture. Her eyes went hazy again, catching the attention of the grunt. She suddenly disappeared along with Crescent Rose, only to reappear behind her attempted captor. She went so fast that it was as if she were a blur. All that was heard was a defeated thump as her opponent collapsed.
More attacked with vengeance and slight fear. Ruby dissolved into rose petals disappearing yet again. The men stopped, confusion sinking into their bodies. One by one, each of them fell, dealt a quick yet effective blow by something they could not see. Pyrrha spotted this from not too far away and stared in complete shock. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She knew Ruby was fast, that was her semblance, but she had no idea she was this fast! It was like she was some kind of ghost, not to be seen by the naked eye.
The only thing that set her off was the emotionless look on Ruby's face, as if she was unconscious throughout all of this. Ruby was anything but emotionless. So why did she look so dead and empty?
Blake and Yang stood shakily. Both girls were getting tired and it didn't take an idiot to see that all of this fighting was wearing them down. But they weren't the only ones. Roman and Adam looked quite exhausted as well. They knew these girls were just stalling and had tried to take them down, but somehow the battle was drawn out. Both men looked extremely irritated as they tried t find a way to end this quickly.
"What's a traitor of the White Fang doing here?" Adam spurred out in between tired breaths. Roman looked shocked but then smirked. Maybe some faunus aren't as dumb as the others He thought. "Becoming a sorceress, what else would I be doing," Blake answered as she shot a quick side glance towards Yang.
"Blake what is he talking about? You were in the White Fang?" Yang yelled loud enough for them to hear as she remembered the plan.
~Flashback~
Blake, Yang, and Weiss sat quietly in their room as they waited for their leader. She should have been back by now. Yang, being the overprotective big sister she was, was currently freaking out as she wondered about her sister's whereabouts. The room was filled with a thick silence when suddenly the alarm went off. The girls jumped in surprise as Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora all ran in. "Guys, the school is under attack," Pyrrha exclaimed, "And we can't find Jaune anywhere." Ren suddenly spoke up "And I can see that Ruby isn't here either." The girls nodded in silent worry. "Our best bet is to assume that they're together. For right now we need to think of some kind of plan for the enemy," Blake sighed, closing her book.
"I don't know why they would come to Beacon though. We don't have anything," Weiss pondered. "Not true. They're looking for Ruby. I heard one of them say it," Nora giggled. Everyone stared at the pink haired girl in shock. "Nora what exactly did they say?" Pyrrha questioned. "They were like 'We need to find that Rose girl and escape before Scarlet can get to us' then they split up on the West wing, near the classes," this caused a nod from Pyrrha. "Now that we know who they want, we need to use some kind of tactic to keep them away from Ruby. I say that we split up. Blake, you and Yang can go and look for the people behind this. Keep them busy. Blake since they don't know that we know you're a former member of the White Fang they might try and use that against you. If they do, Yang you play along until you both attack," the girls nodded with a slight smirk. "Everyone else. Fight any enemy you see. If one of us fall then the other will become back up. Keep them away from Ruby," Pyrrha restated. Everyone nodded until they heard another announcement. "Students prepare to fight. I repeat be prepared to fight." They nodded silently until their missing leaders fell from the duct.
~End of Flashback~
The two girls faked the argument long enough. They gave slight nods toward each other and vanished. Blake attacked Adam with careful agility as Yang sent a powerful punch to Roman. Both men were taken by surprise at the attacks. The blonde and the faunus both smirked as their enemies fell into a state of unconsciousness. "What do you think we should do with them?" Yang asked with her arms crossed as Blake tied up the men. "Well I think that we should bring them in to Ozpin's office for questioning. "Blake sighed, making sure her knots were secure. Both girls looked at each other before grabbing the guys and journeying through the forest.
Pyrrha continued to held on to the unconscious girl on her back. After a while her eyes had returned to normal, but she collapsed from exhaustion. Pyrrha's eyebrows were furrowed in deep thought. What was going on with Ruby? Why was she acting like this? Whatever happened to Ruby must be what those guys want. The redhead suddenly heard a loud rustling in the bushes and turned around to be faced with….
A/N: CLIFFY! D Sorry folks you won't find out until next week. It took me for freaking ever to write this but I'm pretty proud of this chapter! I 3 you all! 3 Until next chapter!