Two Sides to a Coin Ch. 10: Strength

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Ruby splashed water into her exposed eyes, and sighed. She had spent much of the last two days crying, and that ruined her eyes. Her right one was completely bloodshot and almost pure red, while her left eye only managed to maintain hints of black from before. Ruby had come to the days end with nothing but sadness and a feeling of heaviness.

For the first time in seven years, she had to explain herself in some formal capacity. The first time she had been too young, this time she was too scared. It hurt to relive the past, but Ruby understood why Yang had to do it. She always did.

She finally put her mask and gloves back on, and reentered the dorm room. Weiss was sitting awkwardly on her bed, and Blake was just reading a book, even though her eyes remained above the top of the book. Yang was patiently awaiting her sister to exit the dorm, just in case Ruby still needed her. But the little girl in the red hood just took a seat on her bed, and curled up.

Blake watched the whole scene silently. Ruby had closed her eyes, but she was already fretting. Blake couldn't even imagine what it was that Ruby felt at that moment. Her eyes were red, her throat must have been dry, and the condition of her heart was really unknown to all of them. Emotional pain, as Blake had come to learn, hurt more then anything else. It drained you of your physical energy and took an even bigger toll on you mentally.

Blake had so far remained relatively out of the line of fire. Ruby's sudden mood swings and Onyx's aggression had only affected Yang, who was the one person that could comfort her, and Weiss, who was the only one foolish enough to want to learn what it was that Ruby had hidden. Blake had decided to let Ruby be, as that seemed to be what Ruby wanted most.

Now, Ruby was a wreck. Her secret had been revealed, her emotions were played with, and it seemed as though Ruby couldn't take much more of it. Unfortunately, it had taken a toll on more people then just Ruby.

Ruby was going to resume classes the next day {as she really couldn't afford to miss much more}, and that would mean she had her first class with just Weiss. No one else from RWBY, just Weiss. It was the only time for her plan to take effect.

The Next Morning

Ruby was the first to wake. Her dreams had been plagued by memories, making them feel more like nightmares then dreams. But, much to her luck, Ruby didn't cry. If she had cried much more, then her eyes may have fallen out. It might be an improvement, Ruby thought grimly. Onyx chose not to reply, giving Ruby a small feeling of relief.

She dragged herself into the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She went to turn it up hot at first, but then went back towards the colder water. After getting that setup, Ruby tossed her gloves and mask aside, and pulled off her clothes.

She stepped inside of the cold water, and tensed up. Her body slowly adjusted to the temperature, and Ruby eased herself into the water. She felt her body react poorly to the cold, and she started to shake. Ruby wanted to turn the water up, but while the water was cold she wasn't thinking of Onyx. When she wasn't thinking of Onyx, things were better. No matter how much she had to endure, she didn't want to think of Onyx.

After 10 minutes of dealing with the cold, Ruby shut the water off. She stepped out of it, and dried herself off with a towel. She made sure to put on her bra and underwear, and then carried the rest with her.

She walked into the dorm, and saw that Weiss and Yang had woken up from the alarm clock, and Blake had most likely woken up prior to that.

"Hey guys," Ruby said.

"Way to dress Rubes," Yang teased. "I feel as though I should have some lien on me."

"Way to call your little sister a stripper," Blake said. Ruby smiled, and took a seat. She started by putting on her skirt, then her leggings, then boots, and finally her cloak. Ruby then stood up, and placed her mask and gloves on the bed. Ruby stared down into them, and slowly stroked her face. The burns and scars didn't hurt, but the fur did. Every time her hand went over one of the fur strands, her face was set ablaze. But she didn't mind the pain. It wasn't anything worse then what she had felt before.

Ruby finally put the mask and gloves on, and looked around at the alarm clock. Luckily for her, Weiss had gotten ready as soon as she could.

"We should get going," Ruby said, pointing at the door. Weiss nodded, and stood up. "We'll see you later."

"Bye girls," Yang called out. "And Ruby." Ruby stopped before she left, and turned to face her older sister. "If you get any bad feelings, call me. I'll be over there as fast as I can. Weiss, if she gets any bad feelings, you've seen what I do. You can repeat that, right?" Weiss nodded. "Good. You'll know what to do to hold her over."

"Thanks Yang," Ruby said. She turned and left the room, and not for the first time knew that she would be dead without Yang.

Yang watched as Weiss closed the door, and she sighed. Any concerned older sibling would be concerned every time their younger sibling left the room, but Yang was never afraid for Ruby's physical safety. Ruby had things so rough, that it was hard for Yang not to be worried.

"Well, time to study," Yang said. If it were just up to Yang, her grades would fluctuate between flunking and barely passing. Yang didn't like having to know things, she just wanted to hit things. But since she had to keep up her grades to stay in school, and she had to stay in school to stay with Ruby, Yang fought for B's. It was hard, but Blake was willing to help.

Yang opened up one of her books, and started to slowly comb through it. She picked out the important pieces of knowledge, and marked it down. She did this for about 20 minutes before everything was marked.

"That was easy," Yang said easily. "Man, I should study more."

"No you shouldn't," Blake contributed. Yang smiled, and rolled over. "So Yang," Blake started. "How're you doing?"

"Just fine pussy cat," Yang teased. "Just fine."

"Yang," Blake said, her voice completely monotone. "You have to talk." Yang leaned up, and looked over at Blake.

"About what?" Yang tried. Blake finally stood up and walked over to Yang's bed. She sat down besides Yang, and stared her in the eyes.

"Your sister has been a complete mess these past few months," Blake started. "She's killed, had Onyx toy with her, her secret's been revealed, and her past exposed. Each time Ruby breaks down, she turns to you. I get it, you want to be there for your sister. Even more so, I understand that you have to do so. Ruby has no one else to turn too, so she turns to the only person that she knows that she can. But Yang, you're not made of steel. You're not invulnerable and I'm not Ruby. You can break down."

"Blake," Yang said. "Look, it hurts to have Ruby be hurt so often. But I've grown to adapt to it. Believe me, I'm fine."

"Stop with the stoic bullshit," Blake said. "Everyone needs to break down. It's not natural not to feel at all." That did it. Hearing those words brought Yang to a point that she reached so soon, that it felt irrational.

"Not to feel at all?" Yang said angrily. Her temperature started to rise almost instantly, and her eyes began to flicker between lilac and red. "Are you saying that I don't feel? I am watching my sister be torn to pieces everyday by herself. Every time that something happens, it's not her it's Onyx. Every, single, fucking, day that damn thing goes in and makes my sister feel like shit. And you're saying I don't feel? I hurt every damn time Blake." Yang felt her speech break, and she tried to shake it off. "I hurt always. It... It... It doesn't get easier." Yang finally came to a dead stop. All of the heat disappeared, and her eyes came crashing down form red to lilac.

Yang finally grabbed onto Blake's shoulders, and let her head hang.

"It hurts so much," Yang said, tears forming in her eyes. "I just feel so helpless. Ruby's being torn apart on the inside, and it's the one thing I can't ever protect her from." Blake held Yang in a hug, and started to rub her back. That was the last straw for Yang. Her strong will finally broke, and she started to cry.

"It's okay Yang," Blake said. "It's okay. Let it all out." Yang continued to sob, and finally laid down in Blake's lap. Yang didn't talk, just cried. Years and years of emotional heartbreak had finally done it. But, as far as Blake and Yang was concerned, it was better to do it now rather then when Ruby needed her. And no matter what Yang said, Blake knew that it wasn't going to take much more to get the blonde to break.

After a few more minutes of that, Blake patted Yang on the back.

"We should get you cleaned up," Blake said. "A nice and warm shower will do you wonders right now." Yang nodded, and let Blake help her up. The Faunus slowly dragged her over, and lead her into the bathroom. Blake turned to leave, but Yang put a hand on her shoulder.

"Why're you doing this?" Yang asked.

"We all have to play a part," Blake said simply. "We're a team." Yang paused for a long time, and then smiled at Blake.

"Thank you," Yang said softly.

"Any time," Blake replied in an equally soft tone. Blake finally closed the door, and Yang got into the shower. The Faunus just slid down the door, and sighed. It was going to be a rough four years.

Ruby and Weiss

The bell finally rung, and both girls stood up to leave. Ruby couldn't get out of there fast enough. Almost everyone took an odd glance at Ruby, and she knew why. The stories of her ripping Grimm to pieces, what she did to CRDL, and suddenly she was sick enough to stay out of class. No one picked Ruby for one to get a cold and stay in the dorm, so it had to be serious.

Ruby didn't like the looks. They reminded her of what remained beneath the mask. It made things difficult, very difficult. Ruby had to try to leave as soon as possible, but it seemed as though fate wasn't on her side.

"Ms. Rose," the professor, an inspired man by the name of Peach, called out. "If you would please stay here for a moment, I wish to discuss an assignment."

"Oh," Ruby said, slightly crushed. "Okay." Weiss rubbed Ruby's arm, and looked her in the eye.

"I'll be right outside," Weiss reassured her. She left the room, and Ruby waited for the rest of the students to clear out. Peach leaned on his desk, and looked the younger girl down.

"So what'd you want to talk about?" Ruby asked casually.

"I wanted to talk about your Nature and Grimm paper," Peach said. Ruby paused for a moment to search for it, but then remembered that she had turned in the paper earlier in the week.

"What about it?" Ruby asked.

"Don't get me wrong, Ms. Rose, it was remarkable. But, I'm not so sure as to how exactly you were able to write the way you did. You perfectly tied your subject Grimm, a Beowolf, to the environment preferences. You brought up some really amazing points, things that I would expect from a straight A student. Except for one thing, you're not a straight A student. You're perfectly capable in the classroom, but you're not at the level that some of the other people are. So how was it that you were able to do this?"

"I know this subject well, I guess?" Ruby said, shrugging off the question. Peach nodded, and looked over at Ruby.

"Be sure to cover the assigned readings," Peach said. Ruby nodded, and waved goodbye to the professor. As soon as she got outside, Ruby breathed a sigh of relief.

Weiss saw Ruby, and walked over to her. The heiress didn't say a word, just raised her eyebrow.

"He wanted to go over my assignment," Ruby said. "Said I did too good on it." Weiss just nodded, and started to walk back towards the dorm. After a little while, Weiss watched Peach close the door behind them. Instantly, Weiss put her hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Hang on for a minute," Weiss said. Ruby turned back towards Weiss, and sighed.

"Do you need to use the bathroom?" Ruby asked.

"What?" Weiss asked in a horrified tone. "No! I just wanted to clarify something with you."

"Here?" Ruby asked. "Without Yang?"

"I don't think you'll need Yang," Weiss said softly. "I just wanted to tell you what I meant when I said that I loved you." Ruby felt her heart drop, and her face started to heat up.

"Here?" Ruby repeated.

"Ruby," Weiss said, keeping up a softer tone that she had heard Yang use. "It seems hard to believe that I could love you, just because you always kept your distance. But, you always seemed so lonely. And I guess that was just something I felt with you. I talked to you and realized that you were lonely, but you were also very sweet and you wanted friends." Ruby nodded, and choked back a tear. But for once, it was a happy tear.

"Okay," Ruby said. She just kept walking, and didn't want to talk about it more. Onyx had been good that day, but Ruby wasn't ready to push her luck.

Not in the slightest.

End: Questions, comments, follows, favorites, and feedback is appreciated.