Chapter 21

A Simple More Honest Soul

"Remember, children. While the rest of the world celebrates peace and tranquility like never before, we huntsmen and huntresses are upholding that peace and tranquility with our lives. What you do outside the walls will go unnoticed by the general populous. You will protect those who you've never met regardless of nationality or ethnicity.

Do not dishonor the memory of the men and women who gave their lives for your safety when you never learned their names. The same shall be done to you.

Tomorrow you leave the safety of the City of Vale because of Grimm. They are the sole reason why this academy and so many others like it exist. Countless civilizations have fallen to the soulless beasts and soon you will meet the nightmares of Remnant first hand in their domain.

It will take an honest soul to defeat the darkness. Never forget the soul that was given to you is your greatest weapon against Grimm.

I pray you all return safely, children. God bless..."

"It isn't fair!" Yang shouted as she slammed the door open before entering. She hurled a backpack across the room narrowly missing Zwei who took shelter under a bed, and both Weiss and Blake kept their distance as the temperature rose and the blonde's eye color changed to red.

"We know," Weiss chided, "but throwing things and punching holes in the walls isn't going to help matters."

"Yeah well it makes me feel better!" From the look in wild her eyes Blake guessed her partner was deciding how much effort it would take to throw the dainty heiress out the window.

'Probably not much,' she guessed.

"Yang, stop," she commanded before things got out of hand. "This isn't helping our situation or Ruby's."

At the mention of her sister Yang paused and the temperature dropped.

"Weiss and I are just as upset as you are but you heard Ozpin yesterday. There's nothing we can do."

The blonde took a seat at the desk with her shoulders slumped. She glanced over to her sister's empty bunk before closing her eyes. "It just didn't feel right being there without, Ruby," her voice cracked. "You have no idea how long she's been waiting for those speeches, and I didn't realize it until we were standing in the auditorium, but so have I..."

Hearing Yang's mournful voice hurt her teammates more than she could've know. She had always been the tough one of the team, and neither girl could help but look up to her even if they were the same age. No one would ever confuse Yang as the level-headed member of the team, but there was no doubt she was its heart.

It drove her mad knowing that she and her sister weren't aura matches. If they were she would've been willing to give as much as she had and more. It wouldn't heal all of Ruby's injuries or restore all her aura, but it would be something that she certainly didn't have currently.

Blake took a seat on her bed and sighed. "Let's face it, we've all been looking forward to today almost as much as Ruby. We've waited a long time to get our first mission, and we've been through things that would kill most people. To say today was disappointing would be an understatement."

Weiss looked at her friends through misty eyes remembering everything they had fought through together since initiation, and all the years a rapier had been in her hand.

"It was a bitter pill to swallow to say the least," she choked, sitting down, "but I can only imagine how Ruby feels not even being there."

Blake looked up surprised to hear she was putting her partner before herself then immediately scolded herself. The girl sitting across from her wasn't the heartless monster she had grown up despising, and neither was she the self-absorbed, thoughtless heiress she still occasionally mistook her as.

"Well said, Weiss," she said as an apology.

The girl across from her nodded, thankful for her support. "I'm just glad she didn't have to sit through Ozpin's speeches or the ceremony. I don't think she could've handled it."

Yang's head dipped low so that her mane covered her face, reminding Blake of her leader with her hood.

"Speaking of which," she noticed the time, "it's getting late. We should go see Ruby. I know it's going to hurt, but she'll want to know what it was like."

Yang stood up abruptly letting the chair fall to the floor and making Zwei jump into Weiss' arms. She stalked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

"I think we should give her a minute."

"You think?" Weiss asked sarcastically.

"I know one thing for sure though." She cast the other girl a knowing sideways glance.

"What's that?"

"Whoever hurt Ruby is going to wish they were never born when Yang gets done with them."

Weiss nodded but her mind wandered back to her partner's bloody feet and broken spirit.

'When I find whoever did this, Ruby, they're going to wish Yang had found them first...'

Ruby had given up hope that the rain would quit falling so she had asked for the blinds to closed for the day. The dark skies hadn't been helping her mood. She could still hear the faint sound of raindrops hitting her window, but other than that she was cut off from the outside the world.

When the nurses brought her meals, Ruby's only ever response was a sullen 'Thank you', and after several attempts of making small talk with their patient failed most of the staff had given up but were still as polite as could be. She didn't mean to be rude or anti-social, especially not to such nice people, but what did you talk about when you were missing the biggest day of your life? She just wanted to be left alone...

Sitting in bed had grown tiresome for her so she now sat in a wheelchair reading. It was uncomfortable but it was better than being confined to the same bed for days, and neither she nor the doctors were exactly wasn't sure how much longer she'd be in the infirmary. Her feet had to be monitored for infection so they wanted to keep her close for twenty-four hour observation. A red dust infection was an especially painful way to die.

While Ruby skipped the pages of her book, she had already thrown an assortment of huntsmen and weapon magazines in the trash as they reminded her of what she was missing. Even if she could've gone to the ceremony she would have felt out of place and unwelcome.

A pair of rose petals floated across the room and Ruby mentally scolded herself. Her aura was low enough already without her unintentionally using more.

*THUMP! THUMP!*

A knock at the door startled her, causing her to drop her book and more rose petals to scatter. "Come in," she muttered, annoyed at the world. The door squeaked open and her sister poked her head in with Blake and Weiss a moment after.

"Oh! Hey guys," Ruby called, struggling to pick up the fallen book. "I was starting to think you wouldn't come tonight. Visiting hours are almost over, and y'all are breaking curfew." They entered the room but stared back at her obviously not caring about either, especially not curfew which truthfully most students didn't seem to know about and was rarely if ever enforced. Though since the breach and attack of the CCT rules and security had tightened, particularly for visiting students.

She coughed awkwardly before letting out a groan. "Ugh, so how was the ceremony?"

Yang ignored her and reached down to retrieve the book but received a silver eyed glare.

"No," Ruby commanded, her gaze softening. "Let me get it, sis, please..."

As their leader she felt compelled to prove she wasn't useless, and Yang backed away understanding. Not wanting to watch her sister grimace and struggle however, she turned her head to the supportive faces of her teammates who squeezed both her hands.

Finally, Ruby got her fingers around the book and held it up victoriously before wheeling herself back to the bed. The transfer was slow and painful, but she eventually got under the sheets out of breath.

"So how was it?" she repeated as if nothing happened and she wasn't gasping for air.

"Boring." Yang shrugged. "How're you feeling, Rubes?"

"I'm not as sore and my shoulder's feeling better. I think my aura might finally be kicking in."

'Too bad it keeps floating away,' she kept to herself.

"What about your feet?" Yang asked worried. Her sister was used to sore muscles due to her semblance, but her practically threadbare feet were more much more serious. Her aura should've been taking care of that first.

"Nothing's changed," Ruby admitted quietly. "The glass cut me deep, and red dust burns don't heal overnight."

"You'll get better, sis." Yang's hand graze Ruby's feet. "And we're here with you every step of the way."

Ruby nodded. "Thanks. Looks like it's going to be a little while 'til we can go shopping, Weiss."

"Don't worry about that," her partner comforted, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "The malls and food courts will still be there when you get out."

At the mention of food, a stomach growled and an empty tray off to the side caught Yang's attention. "You barely touched your dinner, Rubes," she said concerned.

"I wasn't hungry..."

"But you love cookies and milk!" Weiss cried in disbelief, her partner normally eating her dessert on sight.

"I just didn't feel like eating so help yourselves. After the ceremony you're probably hungry..."

"You need to keep up your strength," Blake pointed out, speaking for the first time since entering the room. What worried her more was that she could smell the contents of what had once been Ruby's lunch in the trashcan.

She pulled the covers up and nodded but was otherwise silent.

'This calls for the big guns,' Yang thought to herself. She set the backpack she'd been carrying down and let a furry friend out to play.

"Zwei!" Ruby cried as the corgi jumped into her arms happy to be reunited again after so long apart.

Yang's aura flared as she watched her sister giggle hysterically as Zwei stuck his tongue up her nose. Ever since their dad and uncle brought him home late one night he had always found a way to cheer her up.

"He wants you to get better," Weiss said, translating his yips. Yang quickly hushed him so the hospital staff didn't hear.

"Thanks, Zwei," Ruby chuckled, hugging him tight. "I'm feeling better already."

Blake scooted past her teammates wanting as far away from the faunus-eating beast as possible and took a seat in the corner where a pile of books were stacked on the ground.

Of the pile of books a few were her own or Weiss' that they'd lent to her, but mostly they belonged to their leader. They'd been buried on her side of the closet until yesterday, and were on a wide assortment of topics ranging from world history, Weiss' particular favorite and were to be treated with the utmost care, all the way to travel guides her sister had picked up due to the alluring beaches inside. Mostly they were fairy tales or fictitious adventures of romanticized huntsmen and huntresses, which Blake helped contribute to but her's tended to especially emphasize the romantic-ized aspects of two people stuck on the front lines with only each other to keep each other company.

Stealthily moving her own books to the top for Ruby to see, thinking perhaps she'd enjoy an extra layer of companionship to her stories as she did starting about her age, Blake noticed a worn black leather Bible with a bookmark in the middle meaning she was some ways through. A name was printed in red at the bottom of the cover, but due to its age and obvious usage throughout the years it was difficult to make out even for her sharp eyes which could read even in the dark.

'Summer Rose...' Just reading the name caused her ears to pin back, and she shuffled her books just below it respectfully.

"Thanks, Zwei," Ruby said again when he was done cleaning her face. "I'm sorry you couldn't stay with me last night, but dogs aren't allowed in the hospital."

"Or the rest of the school for that matter," Blake muttered.

Zwei didn't seem upset however and just curled up into a ball in Ruby's lap.

"So," she said getting serious again. "Tell me the truth. What was it like?"

Yang started to play with her hair while Weiss took a sudden interest in her manicured nails, and hiding behind a book Blake left them to fend for themselves.

"Come on, guys. I'm a big girl. Just tell me." The pair glared at the traitor in the corner then back to each other, and somehow the heiress was elected as speaker.

She sighed and looked her partner in the eyes. "It was everything we've been waiting for and more, Ruby."

The caped-girl nodded, hurt but also thankful for her honestly. "Who all was there?"

"All of Beacon's staff of course, a few teachers from the visiting schools, and even a few active huntsmen."

Ruby turned to Yang who knew what she was about to ask. "Sorry, sis. No one we know was there." Both their heads dipped disappointed.

Blake wasn't too sure who they were talking about, perhaps their dad or uncle maybe, but she remembered one person who had been. "We saw Penny there."

"Really?" Ruby asked, surprised she'd be in such a crowded place. "What for?"

"Well she is a huntress in-training," Weiss said, tapping her partner on the noggin. "It was practically the first thing she told us after plowing into me." She suddenly grabbed her head as if remembering the migraine the unusual and rather offbeat girl had given her.

"Oh right, I forgot..." She hadn't told them Penny's secret, and thought to steer the conversation away from her.

"She asked about you, and we told her you were in the hospital," her voice rose. "We asked if she'd come visit you but Penny said she couldn't and didn't even give us a reason why. Some friend she is."

"It's okay, Weiss. I understand."

The heiress watched for any facial movement that may give her a hint of what happened between the two the previous week, but Ruby just smiled as if remembering something pleasant. Until the night before last, Weiss had never seen her partner look worse than their meetup just prior to the Paladin incident. Ruby had refused to talk about it then, and whatever happened stayed between them no matter how much she pried.

"Maybe you scared her off," Blake commented.

"I what?!"

"You were pretty cold to her."

"I was perfectly ladylike in every way."

"Could have fooled me, princess. Jealous much?" Yang's quip earned her an icy stare, and Weiss huffed in a rather unladylike manner. She knew they were right, but Ruby was her partner, and she just couldn't help but be mistrustful of Penny and her strange behavior...

"Anyway," Ruby said, wanting to move on before she inevitably let something slip. "What else happened?"

For the next hour Yang and Weiss did their best to answer all of her questions while Blake sat silently in the corner. Ruby was mostly interested in what the huntsmen had to say and they repeated what parts of the speeches they could remember. For some reason the dessert table was also a topic of discussion, and the pair seemed all too willing to describe in great detail what everyone had been wearing and even what color the room had been decorated in. Eventually when she could hold back her yawns any longer her eyes began to droop.

"Maybe we should go," Weiss said. "Looks like you can barely keep awake, Ruby.

"Hmm?" Her eyes opened at the sound of her name. "No that's alright. You can stay. Keep talking about whatever it was you were talking about."

"She's right, sis." Yang laughed. "You're tired and you need your rest."

Ruby frowned but was too tired and sleepy to fight them. Weiss cradled a sleeping Zwei and placed him back in the backpack while Yang messed up her sister's hair.

"Quit it," she whined.

"We'll come see you tomorrow, Rubes. We may be just a little late though. We asked Ozpin if he'd speak with us and he said yes. Maybe we can convince him to let us go on a make up mission or something."

"What?"

Weiss nodded. "We're going to see if he'll give us another mission when you're better, or at least let us catch up with the other teams."

"You'd really do that?"

"Of course, dolt." Weiss winked. "You're not the only one this affects. I can't become the perfect huntress without my partner after all." The girls didn't say it, but they also suspected the headmaster wanted to speak to them about Yang punching Cardin for gloating about getting a mission right next to her.

"Thanks, Weiss."

"Don't mention it."

"Hey, Ruby?" Blake asked, getting up and standing by the bed.

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever read this?" She handed a book over.

"'The Thief and the Butcher'," Ruby read aloud. "Nope, never heard of it. Is it yours?"

Blake shook her head. "I thought it was yours. Yang? Weiss?" They shook their heads. "That's strange..."

"What's it about? Is it good?" she asked eagerly.

"It's a pretty dark book, Ruby. That's why I was wondering if it was yours."

Ruby flipped through the pages and realized she wasn't lying. "Wow, there's a lot of blood..."

"There's more than that, trust me."

"Sounds pleasant enough." Weiss shivered. The team had learned she didn't care for blood in any capacity.

"I can't say too much without giving the plot away, but let's just say there is a reason why he's called the butcher."

"Disgusting." Weiss turned her head.

"Cool," the siblings agreed.

"It's really good." Blake nodded. "But you have to get past the gore first, and the thief's clothing, or lack thereof..."

Ruby placed the book on her bedside tray and yawned. "I'll be sure to start it later. I'm really sleepy all of a sudden." It felt as though someone was pulling her down almost through the bed.

"Then get some sleep, sis. We'll be back tomorrow."

"Alright. Night, sis," she replied, feeling a kiss on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Ruby," Blake and Weiss said together.

"Bye guys. Take care of Zwei."

The girls closed the door and Ruby could feel her eyelids falling, and before she knew it she was sleeping peacefully.

"She's out," Blake informed the team, hearing Ruby's soft, rhythmic breathing from the cracked door. "Good work, Weiss."

"Thanks, Weiss." Yang put an arm around her teammates. "I don't think she's slept in days."

The heiress smiled and dispelled her propulsion glyph.

"Always does the trick."

A visitor arrived later that night under the cover of darkness. With the caped-girl's snoring masking the sound of rain falling and the window opening, a hooded figure crawled in avoiding the blinds before sliding the window back down.

They nearly tripped over a large stack of books but after flailing their arms around they remained upright. The visitor sighed in relief. Somehow their clumsiness hadn't woken the bedridden patient.

"Sorry I'm late, Ruby," the young girl whispered, "but I had to wait until father fell asleep and the guards changed posts."

Ruby snored in response, and the visitor moved the wheelchair out of the way. She laid a hand on Ruby's foot which reflexively recoiled, and only after several quiet minutes did she tried again, more gently and this time the foot stayed in place.

"You told me this is what friends do for each other, so I'm going to repay the favor. You also told me that I have a soul, and I want to prove you right, Ruby." She hesitated suddenly nervous. "I've never done something like this before, and I'm not really sure what I'm doing, but it'll be okay, I think."

The visitor placed another hand on her feet and closed her eyes to focus her aura. A faint green glow came from her hands and a soft, electronic hum filled the room. A sharp inhale came from Ruby as her breathing stopped, and rose petals gathered around her body before being scattered across the room.

When the visitor felt that was enough she withdrew her hands and both their breathing resumed, their chests rising and falling in unison for a moment. Ruby rolled over to the side mumbling something about strawberry cookies before snoring again, having a corgi pillow under her arm which she squeezed tightly.

When she was satisfied the patient was alright, the visitor opened the window prepared to crawl out but something made her stop.

"Oh, Ruby," she remembered. "If anyone asks, I was never here..."

*hic*

(A/N: Some interesting things happened at the end of that chapter. I wonder who the "mystery" person is. She sure sounds familiar. Doesn't sound like she knows what she's doing so hopefully everything goes well. As for the book Blake had I'll leave that up to your interpretation for now. Also as far as Ozpin's speech about art and the war 80 years prior it never happened. The reason why people are named after colors and all have symbols is because that is just the world they live in. No reason needed it's just the way things are. I had thought about making the speech longer and having team RWBY sitting there for the ceremony but I figured that'd be boring and would rather have the reader miss it just like Ruby. Thank you for reading you all are amazing and it's a joy to write for all of you. Thank you for all the support and kind words. All credit goes to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who has made this story possible. God bless)

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