…Continued from last chapter

Shinji, Misato, and the three remaining members of team RWBY sat at the kitchen table. Misato, foregoing her usual beverage choice of beer, put on a pot of coffee. This was serious, and she wanted to be sober to hear what Yang had to say about her younger sister. Yang cleared her throat, "Before I tell you about my sister, there's something you need to know about me. When I was born, my mom left my dad. I…never knew her. My dad was pretty heartbroken about it. He and my mom were on a team with my uncle Qrow and Summer Rose, Ruby's mom."

"So, you're half-sisters," said Misato.

"That's right. Summer came and filled the void that my mom had left. She was like…the best mom. Ruby and I were always sad whenever she had to go on missions. Then one day…"

"Oh, hello Qrow," Taiyang Xiao Long greeted his brother in law warmly, but Qrow didn't return the warmth. "Tai…your wife…she's…not coming back." Tai frowned, "You mean Raven? I know she's probably not coming back. Not sure why she left. I'm…sure she must have her reasons."

"No. Summer…Summer's not coming back."

"Why not? Was she tired of me? Did she not like me? Gah! Why couldn't my wives just talk to me when they have a problem?!"

"Tai!" Qrow's sharp tone got Tai's attention. Qrow took a deep breath as he continued, "Your wife…loved you. She didn't abandon you…at least, not on purpose." Tai's eyes widened in horror and sorrow. He knew what Qrow meant. "How?" he asked.

"Not sure," replied Qrow. He produced a piece of what fabric with red stains on it. Tai instantly recognized it as a piece from Summer's huntress outfit. "Eaten whole?" asked Tai.

"Could be." At that moment, a young Ruby Rose skipped merrily towards them. "Hi unka Cwow!" she said happily. Tai knelt down so he was eye level with his sweet daughter. "Sweetie, there's something I need to tell you. Mommy…Mommy's gone."

"Gone?" repeated Ruby, "When's she gonna come back?"

"Tai…please," said Qrow. He knelt down next to Tai, "Pipsqueak…your mom…she can't come back. You know the Grimm?"

"Scary monsters," said Ruby. Qrow sighed, "Yeah well…one of those scary monsters took your mommy away."

"No! They didn't take mommy away! They didn't! They didn't!" Ruby started to cry. Tai and Qrow looked at each other. Ruby was way too young to understand the gravity of death. Yang was old enough, but probably wouldn't take the news any better. Ruby angrily stomped her foot on the ground. "Mommy's coming back! She'd never leave me!"

"I…had no idea," said Weiss.

"It's understandable, though," said Blake, "How did you react?"

"Pretty much the same way as Ruby," said Yang, "I understood that she was gone, but I didn't want it to be true. Anyways, when Ruby got older, she decided she wanted to be a huntress, so that others wouldn't have to go through what she went through."

"Is that why she's so reckless?" asked Weiss.

"Yeah, she doesn't want to lose anyone else. She's never been a death-seeker per se, but she wants to make sure the people she cares about are safe, whatever the cost." Everyone sat in silence for a few minutes, then Blake spoke. "I know when I first met Ruby; she wasn't really keen on making friends. Is she afraid she'll get hurt if she gets too close to anyone?"

"Hedgehog's dilemma," said Misato.

"Huh?" said Yang.

"See, with hedgehogs, they need to keep each other at a distance so they don't hurt each other with their quills. Humans are similar in that way: the closer we are, the more we hurt each other. In Ruby's case, getting close to all of you means she'll probably be hurt when one of you is taken away from her." Yang stared at her coffee, deep in thought. Weiss and Blake both shot glances towards their room, wondering about the state of their leader. Misato sat back and pondered everything Yang had told her, and what it meant for caring for these children. Finally, Yang spoke, "Y'know, being close to others can hurt, but isn't that one of the ways we grow? I mean, I was heartbroken when I lost stepmom, but because I went through that, I'm a stronger person now, and I think Ruby's a stronger person too."

"She still has some growing to do," said Weiss.

"Yeah. We all do. I think that's why Ozpin puts his students in teams. Everyone brings out the best in each other." Yang stole a quick glance towards their bedroom. "Guess I'd better check on our leader, huh?" She stood up and gently knocked on the door. Not hearing an answer, she opened it a crack and could see her younger sister sitting on the floor. Her face was dirty from crying so much, and it was clear that she was still troubled, but she had calmed down. "Hey sis," said Yang. Ruby looked up. "Hey," she returned to greeting quietly.

"You doing OK?" asked Yang.

"Better," said Ruby, "Look, I'm sorry I blew up like that. I'm just…worried about what might happen. Rei has such a disregard for her own life, and Shinji…"

"You don't know that," said Yang, "Maybe Shinji's just had a hard life and doesn't have a reason for living." Ruby sighed, "I know. I just…don't like losing people."

"No one does. It's hard. You still mad at mom?"

"Sometimes, but I remember that it wasn't her fault. I wish I knew what took her away." Tears came to Ruby's eyes. "Yeah," said Yang, "Me too." Yang hugged her sister tightly, and the two of them cried softly. Eventually, a knock was heard at the door. "Come in," said Ruby. Blake, Weiss, and Shinji all came in. "You OK?" asked Blake.

"I will be," said Ruby, "Thanks." Ruby stood up and faced Shinji. "I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I want you to know that….I care about you. I can't stand the idea that you don't think your life is worth something. It's worth a lot to me." Shinji looked away. "You…you're one of the only people that's ever said something like that to me." Yang walked up to Shinji. "All of us care about you," she said, "We don't know you very well, and we're trying to figure out how we can help you." Shinji looked at Yang and Ruby. "I…never really had someone love me. To be honest, I don't even know what love looks like." Tears began to fall down everyone's face. "You…don't know what love looks like?" asked Weiss, "That's…horrible."

"Weiss…what's wrong?" asked Blake. Weiss sighed, "I…never really knew what love was like…until I met the three of you. I know we don't always get along, but…you've all been there for me…even more than my own family."

"That's sad," said Yang. Weiss wiped tears from her eyes, "Yeah…I'm just…glad that I have you in my life." Shinji glared at the floor. "You said you don't always get along, but you're all there for each other, right?" he asked.

"That's right," said Ruby, "That's what makes us friends. We stick together, even through the hard times." At that moment Misato came in the door, "Hey, it's time for bed, OK?"

"OK," said Ruby. The five of them quickly changed into their pajamas (Shinji changed in the bathroom to respect the girl's privacy), and all of them headed off to bed.

The next day…

"Alright," said Misato, "You've all been here for a few days now. I think it's high time we got you some new clothes!"

"Awesome!" said Yang.

"I'll take all of you to the department store after school, OK?" Team RWBY all nodded in agreement. After the daily school routine had been completed, Misato dropped Shinji off at her apartment and drove the remaining teens to a clothing boutique on the north side of town. Once there, Misato gave further instructions. "OK…now the sky's not the limit, but I'm not stingy either. Just let me know what you'd like, and I'll see if I can afford it, OK?" The four girls went off to pick out some new outfits. Ruby and Weiss both found some dresses that each liked. Yang and Blake found a comfortable tank top and shorts to wear outside. Fortunately, all of the clothes they picked out left Misato with plenty of money to spare. "Hey…do you girls like to go swimming?" asked Misato.

"Sure," said Ruby, "Why?"

"Well, if you're going to go swimming, you'll need bathing suits." Ruby quickly blushed, "Oh…yeah."

"Hold on. I'll pick some out." Misato quickly left and returned with a swimming suit for each girl. "Now, I want to make sure these bathing suits fit you. We wouldn't want you to be on the beach and have you suddenly half-naked, would we?" Everyone blushed at the thought and agreed to try the bathing suits on. When the four of them emerged, all of them were sporting lots of exposed skin and completely flustered looks on their faces.

"What is this?!" asked a completely incensed Weiss.

"It…doesn't cover very much," said Ruby, blushing deeply.

"I know my normal outfit doesn't cover much, but this? This is a bit much," said Yang.

"Yeah," concurred Blake, "What? Do you think it's always summer here?"

"Actually, it is," said Misato.

"What?!" said all four girls at once.

"Yeah…didn't I tell you about second impact?"

"Yeah, you were drunk," said Weiss crossing her arms. Misato blushed, "Oh…was I? Sorry. Anyways, the second impact tilted the earth's axis, completely messing up the seasons. In short, the season's never change. While it's always summer here, other places it's always winter."

"Well, summer or not, I don't want to be seen in public like this!" said Weiss. Misato sighed, "OK, there's some more modest bathing suits if you'd like." This time, Misato let the girls pick out their own bathing suits. Once they determined that the bathing suits fit, Misato checked everything out. "By the way," said Misato, "There's also a hot spring we could go to. Um…you wouldn't be wearing your bathing suits, though."

"What will we be wearing?" asked Ruby.

"Your birthday suit." Everyone immediately blushed. "We…we'll be naked?!" asked Weiss.

"Yep. Don't worry. It's segregated by gender, so you won't have to worry about any guys seeing you indecent." The four girls all looked at each other. They had all seen each other naked before, but it was just while changing. They hadn't really just hung out without clothes before. The entire concept seemed…odd. "When…were you planning on going to the hot spring?" asked Ruby.

"Well, I've got another pilot I'm supposed to be taking care of. After she moves in with us, I was thinking we could all take a trip together." Ruby glared at the floor. She wasn't sure about this hot spring idea. Sure, she had seen her teammates naked before, but she'd also be seeing total strangers with no clothes on. It seemed….awkward to her. Ruby decided to clear those thoughts out of her mind for the time being. The five of them all returned to Misato's apartment, completely exhausted from the day's events.

Meanwhile…

"Well, Misato's going to pick me up from the airport, so I guess I won't be seeing you for a while. How dull!" A red haired teenager and a scruffy, long-haired gentleman lay on the ground together.

"I'm sure you'll find many boyfriends in Japan, Asuka."

"I'm not interested in children," said Asuka crisply, "I'm only interested in you, Kaji!" She rolled over until she was on top of Kaji. "You're only a kid, Asuka," said Kaji softly.

"I'm not a kid!" cried Asuka, "I'm not! I'm ready Kaji! I'm ready for kissing, and what comes after that! Look at me Kaji! Look at me, dammit!"

To be continued…