Continued from last chapter…
"HOW DARE YOU!" screamed Yang, grabbing Rei by the shirt and pinning her to a wall.
"Yang, calm down!" said Blake. Yang glared at Rei, but complied.
"Look, we're just a little on edge right now," said Weiss, "What you've just said…it's…well…"
"Crazy?" said Rei, "Yeah, join the club. I think…it's…my semblance?"
"Huh? I don't remember any of us telling you about semblances," said Weiss.
"No, you didn't, which is why I'm thinking that I might have Ruby's memories now. I…remember…a school…that trains children to be…warriors. The headmaster…has white hair, and there's a teacher who drinks coffee a lot."
"That sounds a lot like Beacon," said Yang.
"Yes…Beacon. There's also a teacher with a thick moustache who tends to say 'blah' over and over again."
Yang snickered, "That would be professor Port."
Rei grew somber, "I…remember…a grave." That got Yang's attention.
"What did the grave say?" she asked.
"It said…Summer Rose: Thus Freely I Scatter." Yang found herself dumbstruck.
"Did Ruby tell you that?" asked Weiss.
"No," said Rei, "That's what makes this so strange. I…also remember…wetting the bed on my first night at Beacon." Rei blushed at the mention of that last revelation, "Oh, and it seems I remember being embarrassed about that. So embarrassed, in fact, that I told Yang not to tell anyone. Now I wish that I hadn't said anything."
"OK, so you have Ruby's memories now, but what does that have to do with a semblance?" asked Weiss.
"I think my semblance is…assimilation. I was close to Ruby when she died, so I took on her soul, and she is now part of me. I'm…not sure how this all works or what it all means. It seems that I still retain my memories as 'Rei Ayanami', but now I have several new memories. It's…disorienting."
"I can imagine," said Weiss.
Blake turned to Yang, "Would you like to ask Rei any question?"
"Yeah," said Yang, quickly wiping her eyes, "Why didn't you activate your aura?" Blake and Weiss quickly realized that Yang was asking a test question. If Rei knew what Yang was talking about, then it was possible she was telling the truth, but if she didn't; then there was still room for doubt. Rei put her knuckles to her chin. "Hmmm…honestly, I didn't think to use it. I guess I wasn't expecting to fight a human while we were here. I was…careless."
"Well, it can happen to even the best of huntresses," said Blake, "Sometimes, when you're in the heat of battle, you just forget to activate your aura, even though it's one of the most important aspects of fighting. Trust me; I've seen countless people fall like flies. It's not pleasant."
"But, we've been going to Beacon for two semesters now," said Weiss, "That's not something you just forget like that."
"True," said Yang, "But Blake's right. Even the best huntsman and huntresses can be caught off guard. How do you think Ruby's mom died?" Rei's eyes widened in sorrow and grief, and tears poured down her cheeks. "Oh…sorry, Ruby," said Yang.
"No…it's fine," said Rei, wiping her eyes, "It just…hurts…that's all."
"Trust me; I understand."
"And please, call me Rei. I know I may have Ruby's memories and possibly even her soul, but I also have the memories and soul of the one you call Rei Ayanami, and it's the name I'm most used to."
"Understood," said Blake. At that moment, Misato pulled up into the driveway.
"Uh…why don't you come inside for second, Rei?" said Weiss, "I'm going to talk to Misato."
"Um…OK." Rei ducked inside with the others while Weiss went to meet Misato.
"Hey, 'sup Misato?" greeted Weiss cordially.
"Why are you still up?" asked Misato crossly, "It's way passed your bed time. I expected you to be more responsible."
"Well, uh…we…couldn't sleep."
"Still thinking about Shinji?"
"Well, that's part of it."
'Oh? And what's the rest?"
"You'd…better come inside." Misato sighed and followed Weiss inside where she found the rest of team RWBY sitting on the floor with Rei joining them. She was still cradling Ruby's dead body.
"What…happened?" asked Misato, her face a ghostly white.
"Some thug killed her," explained Blake, "I…guess."
"That didn't sound very convincing," said Misato.
"Well…Rei?"
"Yes," said Rei, "The thug was someone who found out that I had told you my secrets. He was going to…punish me, somehow, but Ruby stood in the way, and she was killed."
"He didn't try to punish you after killing you?" asked Misato.
"That is rather strange," said Weiss.
"True, but that's not our main concern. The fact still remains that this main killed Ruby in cold blood. Rei, do you remember anything about the man who attacked you?"
"Well, he was certainly older; probably about the commander's age. He didn't have much hair, and he was well built." Weiss, Blake, and Yang looked at each other, wondering if this was more Rei or Ruby's personality speaking through Rei's voice. Of course, they hadn't told Misato about Rei's secret, and weren't sure how to explain that Ruby was allegedly residing in Rei's body. They decided to keep that to themselves for the time being. This was already more than enough for all of them to take in. Misato was clearly taking mental notes of how Rei described the assailant. When Rei finished, Misato sighed, "Does Asuka know?"
"We haven't told her yet," said Yang.
"I'm surprised we haven't woke her up," said Weiss.
"Well, I'll tell her tomorrow morning," said Misato, "And I'm taking tomorrow off from work. It seems I have an important date with someone at the local bar."
"You're going out drinking at a time like this?!" asked Weiss incredulously, "What on earth is wrong with you!"
"It's not like that," replied Misato calmly, "I…have an acquaintance there, and let's just say…I need to let off some steam." Weiss crossed her arms and scoffed in disgust, but said nothing more. "Listen Rei," Misato continued, "I'll look more into this when I can. Now, I'm sure you're all upset, but we all should get to bed, OK?"
Yang sighed, "Yeah…sure." With that, everyone wordlessly headed for bed, with Rei returning to her apartment. However, later that night, Misato was awoken to the sound of heavy sobbing. She quietly made her way to the girls' room and leaned her ear towards the door. The voice she heard was Yang's.
"She's gone, Blake!" she cried, "Why?!" Misato struggled to hold back her own tears.
"What's going on?" Asuka had been awoken by the crying as well.
"Well, Ruby was killed yesterday," explained Misato.
"Killed? Why?"
"Well, apparently, some higher-ups weren't too happy that Rei told us all those things about herself. They sent someone after her to 'punish' her, as she put it. Ruby intervened, and well…"
"She got killed?"
"Yeah." Misato quickly wiped her eyes.
"Well, that sucks. I…probably wouldn't admit this normally, but, well…I'm jealous."
"You're jealous that she died?"
"No…not that. I'm jealous that Ruby had so many friends. I…wish that I could have friends…like that."
"Maybe if you opened up more, you'll find some friends."
"Yeah, well…that doesn't come easily to everyone," said Asuka bitterly. She sighed, "Well, I'm going back to bed."
"Alright," said Misato. By this point, both Weiss and Blake had joined Yang in weeping for their fallen friend. Even if Ruby was still alive within Rei, it just wasn't the same. Misato sighed. She struggled to make sense of this seemingly cruel twist of fate, but the more she thought about it, the more unfair it seemed. Especially since the one who was supposed to protect them was seemingly nowhere to be found….
The next day…
The five residents of Misato's apartment held a quick memorial service for Ruby, after which they buried her body. Unfortunately, it was a school day. With sagging spirits, the four girls left for school with Asuka keeping her distance. The other three wondered what bothered Asuka so much. Was she just unused to seeing people grieve? Yang remembered what Asuka had said about her mother. There had to have been mourners at her mother's funeral. Did she not cry then? Yang shoved those thoughts aside as the group entered the school. When they got there, they found Hikari Horaki waiting for them.
"I'm really sorry," she said, "That's…awful. I…don't even know what to say."
"It's OK," said Yang, "You've said enough." A faint smile crossed her lips. Toji Suzuhara and Kensuke Aida had both left sympathy gifts for the remnants of team RWBY. Toji left a letter explaining how he certainly related to how the girls were feeling. While she wasn't dead, Toji's little sister was still in the hospital, and he couldn't see her very often. Kensuke had left some photos he had taken of Ruby. Yang figured that he had taken them covertly, but was impressed by their quality. They were all pictures showcasing Ruby at her happiest; enjoying lunch with her friends, getting dirty outside the school, and standing up to a bully who was harassing Rei. Yang choked back sobs and wiped tears from her eyes. These would be her only connection to her little sister; the memories. The sensei cleared his throat. "Before we begin our usual ceremony today, Rei Ayanami has informed me that one of our classmates lost her life yesterday; the young miss Ruby Rose." Several gasps of surprise erupted from the other classmates. "As such, I would like to have a moment of silence." Everyone bowed their heads and kept completely quiet, save for a bothersome fly that was buzzing by the window sill. After a few moments of calm, the day's activities resumed as normal.
Meanwhile…
Misato Katsuragi made her way to the ever-so-familiar bar. She prayed the Qrow would be there. Unfortunately, the only person she recognized was Kaji.
"Um…listen, I know this is going to sound strange, but…"
"You're still looking for your bird friend?" finished Kaji.
Misato sighed, "Yeah. Look, it's…a long story."
"Well, long story or not, I do see a bird perched outside that window." Misato looked towards the window where Kaji was pointing. Sure enough, a black crow had perched on one of it's branches. Misato's face turned beet red. What on earth was he doing here?
"Hey, you OK?" asked Kaji, "Don't tell me you're mad at me again."
"Not this time," seethed Misato. She walked up to the window, "Get your tail in here, now!" The bird seemingly understood and flew off the branch. A few moments later, a familiar drunkard made his way into the bar.
"Hey, no offence, but I'm going to need you to leave for a while," said Misato, "This is a private affair."
"Oh?" said Kaji.
"Not like that. This is much more serious."
"I understand completely. See you around." With that, Kaji left the bar as Qrow approached Misato.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Where have you been?" asked Misato disdainfully
"What kind of question is that? I've been around."
Misato angrily grabbed Qrow by the shirt collar, "If you had been doing your flipping job, Ruby wouldn't have been killed!"
Qrow sighed, "I was busy watching the other members of Ruby's team. I guess I should have followed Ruby to make sure nothing went wrong, but I can't watch all of them at once if they're separated like that."
Misato blushed, "OK, I guess I hadn't thought about that. Sorry. So, what happens now?"
"Well, normally, I'd take them back to their world, but there seems to be a unique situation with one of your friends."
"Which one?"
"I believe her name was…Rei?"
"What does Rei have to do with this?"
"I…think you need to talk to one your wards about that. I think it'd be better if you heard it from there."
"Alright then, I will. Thank you." With that, Misato left.
Speaking of Rei, she sat alone her apartment, haunted by all of the memories that had seemingly filled her head. She wished that Ruby were still alive, even if Ruby's soul seemingly resided within her. The rest of Ruby's team made her nervous. No doubt this was a lot to take in for them. So here Rei sat, lonely and confused. She longed to speak with someone; anyone. She wondered how Shinji was doing. Maybe she should go look for him? She flopped down on her bed, not really sure of what she should do next. Suddenly, her phone rang. She answered, and after a few seconds, hung up. A sigh escaped her lips; another angel had appeared.
To be continued…
Author's note: So, to clarify: Ruby's soul and Rei's soul are existing within Rei's body concurrently. This isn't like Oscar/Ozpin where Ozpin can take control of Oscar's body at will. Instead, both Rei and Ruby exist within Rei's body, and there is no way to tell which soul is which. That being said, if Rei's body were to disappear (hint hint), it's possible that hers and Ruby's souls would be separated. (Guess what's going to be happening in the next few chapters.)