Chapter 38:
"As much as we appreciate your hospitality, General," said Ayumu in his normal, pleasant tone, "we are late for our appointment with Professor Ozpin."
"Your appointment is with me now," said Ironwood, staring sternly at the two boys who sat at the featureless, metal table. Ironwood stood at the table's opposite end. Flanking him on either side were six of the latest generation Atlesian Knights, three to either side of him, their Dust rifles trained unerringly on the boys.
Ayumu tilted his head, then raised a single finger up to scratch it. "If you say so, General," he said.
Ironwood suppressed the urge to growl at the boy's nonchalant response to this situation. In fact, both boys were manifestly unimpressed by the visible threat of the weapons trained on them, or the imposing man standing in front of them.
"Well then...what is it you wish to speak of?" asked Ayumu. "As much as I enjoy your efforts to be intimidating, I'm afraid they're a bit wasted on us."
"Don't hold it against yourself," added Gin with a small smirk. "We're just used to worse."
This time, Ironwood did growl. "It seems to me that you two are unaware of your situation," he said.
"Well...let me see if my assessment is accurate," said Ayumu. "We are currently on board your airship, in one of its interrogation rooms, with six of your androids trained on us, not to mention yourself, a most formidable warrior in your own right, last I heard. You also have something of a reputation for the lengths to which you will go to deal with what you perceive as a threat to your Kingdom."
"And your assessment is off," said Ironwood. "I will go to great lengths to protect the world, not just Atlas."
"That's a pretty grandiose assumption," mused Gin. "Are you sure you're not overreaching?"
"That's not for you to question," growled Ironwood.
"If you say so," said Gin with an indifferent shrug.
"Which begs the question of why you have brought us here," said Ayumu. "If you went through the effort of taking us into custody, it is because you either view us as potential assets, or...as being among the threats you are protecting the world against." He met Ironwood's agitated expression with one of unflinching serenity. "Given the treatment we've received, I assume you perceive us to be the latter."
"That has yet to be determined conclusively," said Ironwood, pulling a scroll out of his pocket and opening it up into its tablet mode. "Your presence at the scene of the crime the other day is quite worrisome." He tossed the tablet onto the table before the two boys, allowing them to see the screen, which displayed fuzzy, corrupted pictures of their faces in the midst of intense motion.
"Ah...these must be from when we destroyed the White Fang's base in Mountain Glenn," observed Ayumu.
"Huh, Ozpin told us you weren't able to recover anything from their data recorders," noted Gin just as casually.
"It took time," said Ironwood, "and a lot of work. Most of the data was unsalvageable. But these were among what little we recovered. Thanks to that, we have definitive proof of your participation in the destruction of Atlesian Military property."
Both boys blinked in surprise at that. "Well...I suppose having stolen them doesn't legally make them the White Fang's property," said Gin with a chuckle. "Considering the circumstances, as excuses go, it's pretty shaky. But I guess shaky excuses are enough for the likes of us."
Once again, Ironwood found himself fighting down a growl at the unruffled behavior of the two boys.
"I apologize for us not being suitably intimidated," said Ayumu as pleasantly as ever. "Please be assured, it's no failing on your part. We are just used to someone much better at it."
"Of that...I am well aware," said Ironwood, his eyes narrowing. He reached out and took up the scroll again. "Imagine my surprise, when a supposedly dead Beacon student reappeared in the company of two boys, boys with extensive criminal histories." He showed them the scroll again, this time showing crystal-clear images of their faces. One picture was of Ayumu being confronted by what looked like a small group of police officers. The other was a picture of Gin standing over bloody and battered bodies, blood trickling off his fingers.
"Furthermore, both of these boys have continually avoided arrest," added Ironwood, "largely because they have been taken in as the students of one of the, if not the most dangerous criminal in all of Remnant." Ironwood brought up another picture, this one of Yu Yuen, actually posing shamelessly for the camera, and flashing the photographer a V-sign, with a smug grin on his face.
Ayumu and Gin stared at the scroll with deadpan expressions.
Ironwood closed his scroll and pocketed it once more. "You..." He pointed sharply at Ayumu. "...are officially wanted across all four Kingdoms for defaulting your debt to the Schnee Dust Company. And you..." He switched the direction of his point to Gin. "...are a notorious marauder wanted for multiple crimes of theft, assault, manslaughter, and murder."
Gin and Ayumu shared a look before shrugging in unison. "Can't argue with that," said Gin.
"It would seem that the Atlesian Military's intelligence network is quite effective in its work," observed Ayumu. "Though, I imagine that your rumored ties to the Schnee Dust Company helped, in my case."
This time, Ironwood was unable to completely suppress his growl at the boys' seeming indifference to his efforts to intimidate them.
"The point is that you are both in a situation where I am perfectly justified in taking you into custody," said Ironwood, beginning to pace back and forth. As his movements took him in front of the trio of androids on one side of the room, their rifles immediately lowered, so that he wasn't in the line of fire, only to snap back up to train on the boys the instant he turned around and walked away, the trio on the other side of the room behaving in the same manner. "Furthermore, it would be a simple matter to hand you over to the authorities, so that you can be dealt with. However...I am willing to consider leniency, provided you cooperate."
Once again, neither of the boys showed much reaction at all, merely trading glances before Gin leaned back and folded his arms across his chest. "What cooperation did you have in mind?" he asked.
Ironwood smiled and stopped at the center of the other side of the table. "What I require is information on your teacher," he said.
"Oh...is that all?" asked Ayumu.
"Though your criminal histories are extensive, his is far worse by an order of magnitude, therefore..." Ironwood trailed off as his mind caught up to the nature of Ayumu's nonchalant response, which was nonchalant for different reasons this time. "What?"
"Well...that's understandable," said Gin. "Master Yu is an asshole of the highest order."
"If there's one thing he excels at, amongst all the things he excels at, it's making enemies," added Ayumu simply.
"So you'll cooperate," said Ironwood, relaxing slightly.
"Well...I'm not sure about that," demurred Ayumu.
In an instant, the tension returned to Ironwood's posture. "You're willing to put your lives and futures at risk for this man."
"That has nothing to do with it," said Gin with a yawn, stretching his arms over his head and making the joints pop. "Truth be told, one of the reasons we train so hard under him is because, someday, we want to kill him ourselves."
"That said, we don't have exclusive claim to that desire," added Ayumu. "If there was anyone else with the motive or the means to kill Master Yu, we certainly won't begrudge them doing so."
"The problem is that, while you undoubtedly don't lack the former, you definitely lack the latter," said Gin. "The information we could share with you wouldn't help."
"Sadly, most of it would not give you any advantage against him," said Ayumu. "If anything, it would only provide you with false confidence that is likely to get your men killed, and your materiel destroyed, should you try to act on it."
"And a lot of the things we could tell you about what he can do would probably seem like gross exaggerations," added Gin. "I know I wouldn't have believed them, if I hadn't experienced them for myself."
"So...we apologize for our reluctance to share," said Ayumu. "It is not out of loyalty for our master, for we have none, and he does not value loyalty in the slightest. Rather, we do it because we do not wish for you to put the lives of your people in danger by overestimating any kind of advantage you might gain from our information, assuming it will provide any advantage at all."
Ironwood snarled wordlessly. "That is not your judgment to make," he ground out. "I order you to tell me everything you know! If you do not, I will have you both in chains, and on the next airship to Mistral in less than an hour!"
Once again, Ayumu and Gin didn't so much as flinch before the General's fury or his threat. They turned to regard one another. Gin silently raised an eyebrow. Ayumu canted his head slightly. Gin sighed in resignation and shrugged helplessly before turning back to Ironwood. "If you're really that determined, let's give you a sample, and see how well you can process it."
"What do you-?" Ironwood began to ask before snapping his mouth shut and reeling back. In that instant, his combat instincts and experience, cultivated across years spent fighting for the military, and as a Huntsman, screamed danger. Certain that Gin was about to attack, he backed all the way up to the door, his hand blurring into his jacket and closing around the handle of his revolver, ready to add to the shots the Knights would fire.
Except that the androids didn't move at all. Ironwood froze in place, looking back and forth between the two trios of Knights, noticing that they did not react to the threat at all. Looking back at Gin, he saw that the boy hadn't moved a muscle since meeting Ironwood's eyes.
"What...?"
"What you felt goes by many names," said Ayumu. "You might call it bloodlust or killing intent. Our master refers to it as sakki. Gin projected his bloodlust at you, which caused you to feel the threat of attack, because, almost always, sakki precedes or accompanies an actual attack."
"What of it?" said Ironwood, trying to ignore the sweat beading his brow as he slowly lowered his hand and rose out of his crouch. "Are you trying to intimidate me?"
"Hardly," said Gin. "This is less about how you reacted and more about how they didn't react." He inclined his head towards one row of the Knights.
Ironwood looked at the androids, frowning.
"Androids are wondrous pieces of technology," said Ayumu. "I imagine you favor them a great deal. They do not require training. Nor do they require food or rest. They simply require a power supply and, when not in use, they can be switched off. They do not require the basic living needs regular soldiers would, so they can be stored more compactly, in greater numbers, and at less expense. Furthermore, not being subject to emotions, they can be relied upon to follow their programming. They will obey any order issued by one who holds their control, and are incapable of questioning or defying it."
"However," said Gin, "all of that comes with limitations," he said. "I'm sure we could go on and on about how they don't have the ability to react organically to circumstances outside their parameters. But the real point here is that there's a glaring difference between their perception and that of a living person."
"For all their resemblance to the human form, androids are ultimately objects," said Ayumu. "In place of will and instinct, they have programming. Furthermore, the manner in which they perceive the world is likewise limited. They are only capable of perceiving physical stimuli. Unlike you, they cannot perceive intent, nor can they react to it."
"While my sakki had you feeling like you were under the threat of imminent attack, your androids didn't react to it at all," said Gin. "That's a glaring flaw and just one example of how inadequate they'd be against Master Yu, no matter how many of them you fielded against him."
"And what does this show?" asked Ironwood. "Had you actually moved to follow through on your 'intent' they would have stopped you."
"It was to show you that your understanding is too limited to make use of the information we could give you," said Ayumu. "Master Yu's true strength is such that we have yet to see or experience his true capacity. What we know of his capability is what he has merely allowed us to perceive to the limit of our capacity to follow it."
"In other words, he trains us by slowing down to our pace...or just above it really," said Gin. "But his real speed and strength are far beyond that."
"We could tell you about some of his special techniques," said Ayumu. "But he doesn't need them. Indeed, many of them are ones he created on the spot to toy with us...or help us learn something."
"We could list the tells that allow us to predict his movements to an extent," said Gin, "except that he shows those deliberately, in order to teach us how to read an opponent, so it would be of no use against him in a real battle."
"His senses are likewise on another plane," added Ayumu. "For example, from the moment we met you, we realized that nearly the entire right side of your body consists of cybernetic prosthetics."
Ironwood winced.
"You hide it with your clothes," continued Ayumu. "But there is a slight imbalance that indicates that your right side is heavier than your left and the movements of your arm and leg show minuscule inconsistencies with the movements of organic limbs."
"We also know that you have an additional twelve Knights waiting outside this room," added Gin, closing his eyes.
Ironwood blanched, sweating harder than before.
"This isn't an attempt to intimidate," said Ayumu. "It's merely to show you. Whatever we can do, our Master can do to an incomprehensibly greater degree. He can perceive events miles distant and/or through solid impediments. Indeed, if he is anywhere in the vicinity of Vale, then it is likely that he is privy to every single word that's been spoken in this room."
"The way you are now...the way your military is..." said Gin. "Right now, the only thing you'd accomplish by attempting to use any information we gave you would be to get your people slaughtered."
"We have no obligation to our Master, but we do feel an obligation to prevent the senseless loss of life," said Ayumu softly, his tone consoling. "Please understand."
"Oh...I understand all right," said Ironwood, walking back to the table. "I understand that the two of you have wasted enough of my time playing your games." Raising his right hand, he brought his fist slamming down on the table, which screeched and deformed beneath the force of his cybernetically augmented blow, the entire thing jumping off the floor from the impact. "You will cooperate...NOW!"
"We refuse," said Gin, neither he nor Ayumu flinching before the display of Ironwood's temper.
"So be it," growled Ironwood. "Then enjoy your trip to Mistral."
He turned and headed to the door, which slid open to reveal Ozpin standing there, his right hand resting atop the handle of his cane, his left holding a mug of coffee, which he sipped slowly from as he regarded Ironwood with a level gaze.
"O-Oz..." stammered Ironwood, falling back from the unexpected appearance of Beacon's Headmaster aboard his ship. "What are you doing here?"
"I have merely come to collect Mr. Ueno and Mr. Ao," said Ozpin, his calm matching that of the two boys at the other end of the room. "I am certain that it was merely an error on your part, and not a deliberate overstepping of your authority and jurisdiction, when you forcefully detained two guests of my school, and questioned them without my awareness, consent, or approval."
"Oz, this is not the time for games..." said Ironwood, the metal fingers of his hand clenching and creaking. "These two are criminals."
"These two are students," countered Ozpin. "My students...whom I approved for enrollment at Beacon, just twenty minutes ago."
Behind Ironwood, Ayumu blinked, then raised an eyebrow. Gin merely lowered his head with a quiet chuckle and a small smile.
"Wha-what...What are you doing?" said Ironwood, anger fighting its way past the confusion in his voice. "Are you out of your mind? These two are wanted criminals."
"Indeed so," said Ozpin. "However, under the auspices of my authority as Headmaster of Beacon, as recognized by the treaty of Vytal, I have granted them an unofficial pardon, under the condition of their continued enrollment at Beacon."
"But that only allows for certain levels of crime..." said Ironwood. "...which Ao falls under..." he admitted reluctantly. "...but Ueno is wanted under multiple severe crimes, including murder and manslaughter. Not even you have the authority to pardon those."
Ozpin's eyes narrowed. "Taking his circumstances into consideration, I have recognized his previous offenses as being classified as survival crimes. Because of that, I have the authority to issue an unofficial pardon for those as well."
"You'd go so far to protect them?" growled Ironwood.
"Well...I would go so far as to bring in capable future Huntsmen and, hopefully, enable them to do far more good than simply punishing them for their past misdeeds would accomplish," said Ozpin. "Nor would I punish them for their association with a man who has clearly controlled them through violence and intimidation."
"I wouldn't go so far as to say control," muttered Gin.
Ayumu gently elbowed him in the ribs. "Hush."
If he heard their brief exchange, Ironwood didn't bother to acknowledge it, the whole of his attention locked on Ozpin.
"Also, rather than protecting them, I am protecting you," added Ozpin, making Ironwood flinch back in surprise.
"What are you talking about?" he asked with clear disbelief.
"I would think that would be obvious," said Ozpin. "I imagine that, despite your best efforts, they have not shown any signs that they are intimidated, or even pressured by their circumstances. I assure you that it is not bravado on their parts. They are fully in control of this situation, and could take their leave of you whenever it suited them. Right now, they are merely cooperating for the sake of being polite."
Ayumu's sheepish chuckle prompted Ironwood to look back over his shoulder at the boy, seeing Ayumu grinning almost shyly and rubbing the back of his head. "Well, we are your guests, Professor," he said. "As such, we did not wish to strain your hospitality by causing an incident, if we could avoid it."
"For which, I am most grateful," said Ozpin, favoring Ayumu with a nod. He returned his attention to Ironwood. "I imagine you are skeptical, James. However, these boys have proven themselves more than equal to trained and experienced Huntsmen, and even Qrow has expressed uncertainty in his ability to best them one-on-one, much less if they acted in concert."
Ironwood tried to remain firm, but his expression faltered with that revelation.
"However, it is pointless as to whether you believe me or not," said Ozpin. "These boys are now officially students of Beacon Academy, and they are coming with me."
"The initiation!" blurted out Ironwood, grasping at the last straw he could think of. "They have not passed your initiation, so they cannot be officially enrolled."
"That is technically true," conceded Ozpin. "However, interpreting the rules listed under Beacon's charter, regarding late-term admissions, I have chosen to accept their destruction of Roman Torchwick and the White Fang's planned terrorist attack as an acceptable substitute for the usual initiation. Given the results, I doubt you could debate that they more than adequately demonstrated their capability to excel...yet another example of how unlikely it is that you could effectively confine them."
Ironwood glared at Ozpin, white-hot fury flaring in his gaze. However, Ozpin brushed aside Ironwood's anger, and instead looked past him to Ayumu and Gin. "Mr. Ao, Mr. Ueno..."
"If the General pleases," said Ayumu, nodding in the direction of the androids, whose rifles were still trained on the pair.
"James..." said Ozpin, an air of command in his tone.
With a wordless growl, Ironwood pulled out his scroll and tapped the screen with his thumb, signaling the Knights to stand down. They stepped back to the walls of the room and lowered their weapons. Ayumu and Gin both stood up and walked around the table, moving past Ironwood, while being careful not to touch him.
"I hope you realize that I will be reporting this to the Council," said Ironwood, still glaring at Ozpin.
"If you must," said Ozpin with a sigh, lowering his head.
"They won't overlook this," promised Ironwood. "You have no idea the damage you'll do to yourself and Beacon if you go through with this."
"There is risk, I'll admit," said Ozpin. "However, I believe that is worth undertaking. You would understand if you could be more openminded, James."
He turned and walked down the hallway, Ayumu and Gin following behind him.
"I apologize if we have unduly inconvenienced you, Professor," said Ayumu.
"I believe you to be worth the effort all the same," said Ozpin. "Come now, we must discuss the terms of your enrollment...as well as reassure Ms. Rose."
"Ayumu, Gin!" shouted Ruby, as the two boys stepped off the Beacon transport that had ferried them down from the looming bulk of Ironwood's warship. She rushed forward and threw her arms around Gin's shoulders in a tight hug, which he returned.
"As I promised, Ms. Rose, they are safe and sound," said Ozpin.
"I was more worried they'd bring that ship crashing down from the sky," said Ruby with a nervous giggle.
"That would have been a little much, just for the sake of escaping," said Ayumu with a chuckle.
"It would've been a lot of work for us too," said Gin. "We're good, but not that good."
Ruby giggled.
"Well then, I believe it is time we moved on to other affairs," said Ozpin. "We will need to discuss the circumstances of your enrollment. I know the hour is getting late, but if you would follow me..."
Ayumu, Gin, and Ruby followed in Ozpin's wake as he led them back to Beacon Tower and his office.
In the end, it was another hour before they were finished going over all the particulars of Ayumu and Gin's enrollment into Beacon. There had been papers to fill out, and Ozpin had to schedule assessment lessons to learn the boys' respective academic levels. All told, it had been a tedious affair, one that Ruby hadn't actually needed to be present for. But she'd stayed with Ayumu and Gin all the same, partly because she wanted to be there to support them...but also because she wanted to put off what she knew was awaiting her afterwards...and that she would need the boys' support to get through it.
Now Ruby stood before the closed door of Team RWBY's...or WBY's...or RBY's, she didn't know anymore...dorm room, her dorm room, the room she hadn't set foot inside of for months, since two people that she'd considered friends and comrades had tried to murder her. On the other side of this door was her team, as well as Team JNPR (or JNR, she supposed). They would be waiting for her, waiting to hear her explanation as to why she had opted to spend the past few months letting them believe that she was dead. There were so many things to be said, to be heard, so many questions to be asked and answered.
Ruby's hand hovered inches away from the doorknob, trembling with nerves as she thought about what awaited her.
"Are you sure you want us here for this?" asked Ayumu, resting a friendly hand on her shoulder.
"Yes," said Ruby, glancing over her shoulder at Gin.
Seeing the plaintive look in her eyes, Gin smiled and stepped behind her, reaching around to rest his hand on her forehead, the cooling touch of his skin on her own calming her as it always did. Ruby basked in that sensation for a minute, taking deep breaths, feeling her heart calm. Finally, she pulled free and reached out, closing her hand around the knob. Ruby turned it, only for it to click and refuse to budge.
"Oops..." said Ruby with a nervous giggle. "I forgot that I don't have the code anymore."
Dorm room doors were locked by a code carried on students' scrolls. However, because her previous scroll had been destroyed, and her new one hadn't had her room's code installed, Ruby was essentially locked out.
Ayumu blinked and looked at the door in confusion. "I believe your sister smashed this to splinters earlier, the one across from this too. But now..."
"Yeah, Professor Goodwitch is awesome at fixing stuff," said Ruby with a giggle. "I guess I'd better knock."
She raised her hand only for the door's latch to click, and the door itself to swing open rapidly to reveal a wide-eyed Yang standing there.
"Y-Yang," said Ruby nervously.
"In...now," said Yang in the strictest tone Ruby could ever remember hearing her use.
Ruby swallowed and followed Yang into the room, Ayumu and Gin following her. Looking around, Ruby took in the sight of her old room, which looked both familiar and different.
The biggest difference was that there were now three beds instead of four. Ruby's bunk, which had been suspended by ropes from the ceiling, with its own canopy, had been removed, leaving only Weiss' bed below it. On the opposite side of the room, Blake and Yang still had their own bunks, raised up on stacks of books that, to the average glance, looked dangerously precarious, but had actually proven as solid and steady as a rock.
There were other differences, some of which Ruby could see were taking advantage of the extra space opened up by the absence of one member of the team. Others were clearly in response to the truths that had come to light this night. The painting that Weiss had brought with her had been taken down, ripped and smashed. Furthermore, Ruby could see a pile of clothes pulled out of the closet and tossed onto the floor, all of them clearly Weiss'. It seemed that Yang and Blake were preparing to evict the very memory of the heiress.
"Sit," said Yang, pointing to a single, open spot in the floor, right in the aisle between the rows formed by the beds. Ruby swallowed and settled down on her knees, sitting with her back straight as Yang planted herself firmly on Blake's bed, next to her partner, and stared sternly down at her, while Jaune, Ren, and Nora took seats on Weiss' former bunk behind her. Gin and Ayumu, to Ruby's relief, knelt down with her, arranging themselves to either side of her, and slightly behind.
"You have a lot of explaining to do," said Yang, her expression just shy of what Ruby would call a glare.
"Yeah...yeah I do," admitted Ruby.
"Do you have any idea what I went through?" demanded Yang, the volume of her voice rising, "what we went through, what Dad went through?"
"I...uh..." said Ruby, trying to work out what her response would be.
"We thought you were DEAD!" said Yang, almost screaming out the last word, lurching forward so that her face hovered barely a foot in front of Ruby's own. "We had your funeral! We got you your own gravestone, right next to Mom's."
"I know," whimpered Ruby.
"You know?" said Yang, surprised, reeling back. "How?"
"Uncle Qrow told me," said Ruby.
"Wait! Uncle Qrow knew you were alive?" asked Yang in disbelief.
"I...I called him when I remembered," said Ruby.
"Remembered?" asked Blake, wondering what Ruby was talking about, but her voice was drowned out by Yang's indignant shout.
"So you told Uncle Qrow, but not me?" she demanded. "Uncle Qrow gets to know, but you were perfectly okay with letting me and Dad think you were dead?"
"Um...Uncle Qrow told Dad after he found out," said Ruby, barely able to raise her voice above a whisper.
"What?" gasped Yang, a sob finding its way into her voice. "Wait! You're telling me that Qrow knew...that Dad knew...that everyone in our family knew...except me?"
"Y-yeah," said Ruby reluctantly.
"How could you?" asked Yang, hurt suffusing every ounce of her tone as her eyes teared up. "You'd let me suffer like that...?"
"I...I couldn't..." said Ruby, sniffling, tears of their own beginning to well up.
"Couldn't what?" demanded Yang harshly.
"I couldn't come back...!" Ruby shouted, snapping her head up to meet Yang's gaze, "...not after what they did! I couldn't face them without doing something about myself! I wasn't about to come back and be a victim again!"
"A victim?" asked Yang.
"You only have the summary of what they did to me," growled Ruby, baring her teeth, glaring straight ahead, albeit not at Yang herself. "That whole 'mission' we went on was a setup. Weiss and Pyrrha led me away so that they could isolate me from the rest of you. They took me where they did specifically so that, when I realized what they were doing, my feelings would draw the Grimm right to the camp, and they would act as a distraction. Weiss used her ice to make it impossible for me to get away. She and Pyrrha ganged up on me, and completely overwhelmed and overpowered me. Pyrrha ripped my sweetheart from my grip, and tore her apart right in front of my eyes!"
Yang gasped, remembering hearing the statements from the recordings Ruby had sent them, and from what Weiss herself had said during their fight with Ruby, Yang had pieced together a rough idea of what had happened. But now Ruby was spelling out plainly what she'd been through...and it was horrifying.
"Pyrrha cut open my stomach," said Ruby, her hand going to where the fading line of her scar rested across her abdomen. "Weiss stabbed me in the chest. They knocked me off that cliff and left me for dead, saying it was what I deserved...just because I was invited into Beacon two years early, because I was made team leader and Weiss wasn't. She and Pyrrha decided that was good enough reason to kill me!"
Because their attention was riveted on the conversation between Ruby and Yang, no one else noticed Jaune's expression shift, confusion washing over him as he stared at the back of Ruby's head, looking as though he didn't believe what she was saying, but not for the reasons anyone would have thought.
Ruby continued. "I...I forgot who I was," she said. "When Ayumu and Gin found me, they treated my injuries and nursed me back to health. But I couldn't remember who I was. I could barely even remember my own name, much less where I came from and what happened to me. I spent over two weeks of my life without remembering anything or anyone. Weiss and Pyrrha...they took that time from me!"
"So...this was to get back at them?" asked Yang in confusion.
"Y-yes," said Ruby, "sort of..."
"Sort of...?" said Yang skeptically.
Ruby looked down, having trouble to find the words to describe her intent.
A hand rested gently on her shoulder. "If I may," said Ayumu softly, to which Ruby nodded. Ayumu looked up at Yang. "What Ruby wanted was to reclaim her sense of agency, her own empowerment, after your two former friends stripped that away from her."
"What do you mean?" asked Yang, her gaze hardening as she looked at Ayumu.
"Though it isn't quite the same, the principle is similar to that of rape," said Ayumu, prompting a gasp from everyone in the room, except for Ruby and Gin. "When it comes down to it, rape is less about the actual sex, and more about the perpetrator exercising power over the victim in the most intimate manner possible. While Ms. Schnee and Ms. Nikos' actions were not as an intimate a violation as actual rape, the overall principle is the same in that they deliberately stripped Ruby of her own power and agency, then ruthlessly exercised their own upon her. It wasn't sufficient to merely kill her. They wanted her to know they had betrayed her, how much they despised her, and they wanted to completely break her as a person before delivering the finishing blow.
"Because of that, Ruby's decision was about reclaiming her power and agency. Rather than simply return and report what had happened, she traveled with us, and trained to become strong enough to face her attackers and defeat them. It was less about returning the favor, and more about taking back what they had taken away from her. To do that, she had to invest both time and effort. The latter was quite easy, but the former could not be invested without a sacrifice."
"So that makes it okay?" asked Yang.
"Not in the slightest," admitted Ayumu cheerily. "What we are trying to say is that you are not wholly wrong to be upset that you were kept out of the loop concerning Ruby's revival, but she is not wholly wrong to have wanted to take the opportunity to empower herself, and grow from what happened to her, in direct defiance of what her enemies wanted."
Ayumu's eyes narrowed slightly as he met Yang's gaze. "Tell me...had you heard what had happened, what would you have done?"
"That's easy," said Yang firmly, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I would've pounded that rich bitch and that overprivileged celebrity into bloody pulps, then dragged them straight to Ozpin."
"As you would have had the right to," conceded Ayumu. "But, in doing so, you would have denied Ruby her chance to avenge herself. She would have returned to Beacon as a victim, as someone who had been taken advantage of and stripped of her own empowerment.
"While they are the only ones who directly acted upon it, is it not true that the sentiment that Ms. Schnee and Ms. Nikos harbored was fairly widespread amongst the student body?"
"Well...that's...true," admitted Blake, looking away, while Yang nodded reluctantly.
"Returning without having regained her sense of agency, Ruby would have returned to Beacon as merely a victim. Having done nothing to restore her own strength and confidence, she would have to face down those people who would probably continue to doubt her."
"It's not like beating Weiss and Pyrrha is going to change their attitudes," Blake pointed out. "If people are willing to believe something like that in spite of all the evidence to the contrary, they'll ignore more evidence of the same."
"You're right," said Ruby, taking up her defense again. "But, this way, I can face them. I can stand up to them and their stupidity. If I'd just told everyone what happened, they'd condemn Weiss and Pyrrha, not because what they did was wrong, but because they didn't succeed. Hell, they'll probably still have that attitude. But, if I came back feeling like a victim, I wouldn't be able to stand up to them myself, and I'd probably spend my time hiding behind you and Yang." She sniffed. "I feel like I would've lost the confidence to become a Huntress. The only way I could get that back was by becoming strong enough to turn the tables on those two and win."
"Oh...Ruby..." said Yang, realizing that, while her own pain had been substantial and had dragged out longer, it didn't compare to what Ruby had gone through, the sheer terror of having two people she trusted turn on her and ruthlessly...cruelly...attempt to kill her in a manner that stripped Ruby of all sense of her own empowerment. At first, she'd thought Ayumu's comparison to rape as being overly-sensational, but now she had an idea of the sense of loss Ruby must have felt.
"Yang! I'm sorry," said Ruby. "I was selfish. I didn't want to hurt you, but I did because I didn't want to feel helpless...please!" She sniffed, then sobbed, lowering her head. "Forgive me!"
She heard Yang get up off the side of the bed and stand up. A second later, a hand reached down and gently grabbed her chin, tilting Ruby's head up. Ruby found herself looking into Yang's lilac eyes. With her other hand, Yang took Ruby's arm and pulled her to her feet so that they were standing up. Then Yang pulled Ruby into a hug.
"It's not about forgiving you or not," said Yang, pressing her face into the top of Ruby's head, inhaling her scent. "It hurt...thinking that you were dead. But I give up. I don't care about that anymore."
"Yang..."
"I have you back," continued Yang, bringing a hand to the back of Ruby's head and brushing it through her hair. "That's all that matters in the end."
Ruby sniffed and broke down crying in Yang's arms, clinging to her like a rock in the midst of a storm. Yang returned the favor, tears spilling from her own eyes as she began to gently rock her little sister back and forth.
"Aww..." cooed Nora, before she was shushed by Ren.
After holding Ruby for several minutes, Yang lifted her face from Ruby's hair and looked past her at the two boys, still seated on the floor. "Thank you, both of you, for all that you did for her."
"It was our pleasure," said Ayumu cheerfully.
"I guess we have a lot to talk about," said Yang, pulling back so that she could look Ruby in the eyes.
"Yeah...yeah we do," admitted Ruby sniffing tiredly and leaning against her sister.
"But it's getting too late," Blake pointed out. "We should call it a night. We can talk tomorrow."
"Sure," said Ruby. At least Ozpin had been kind enough to give her a day to reconnect with her sister and friends, before she was swept up into a series of remedial classes and tests to try and cram the better part of a semester's worth of information into her head, before regular classes resumed.
"I think we all could use a night to recover," added Ren, sharing a glance with Jaune, whose face remained tight and drawn. Jaune nodded slowly.
"Let's get to bed," said Yang, before looking down at Ruby. "Uh...I hope you don't mind, but your pajamas aren't here anymore."
"That's okay," said Ruby with a giggle. "I picked up another set on the road."
"Well, these certainly are comfortable beds," noted Ayumu, gently bouncing up and down on his own.
"When you sleep on the hard ground for as long as we have, any bed seems super-soft," commented Gin with a wry smile. "This is the longest period of our lives we'll spend with actual beds since becoming Master Yu's students."
"Quite true," agreed Ayumu.
For the time being, Ozpin had given Ayumu and Gin their own room in the dorms, until he'd settled the minutia concerning their enrollment. It was a temporary arrangement, most likely. That was fine by the boys. They both considered the idea of the two of them occupying a room meant for four people to be a bit wasteful. That...and a room twice the size that it needed to be felt unnervingly empty, when all was said and done.
"It feels odd," said Ayumu softly. "We haven't occupied a separate room from Ruby since Weathertop."
"It can't be helped," said Gin. "She'll want to stay with her sister and team. Somehow, I doubt that Ruby's sister would immediately approve of us sleeping together."
"Only because she hasn't seen how cute the two of you are together," said Ayumu with a chuckle, causing Gin's cheeks to heat up. "She'll come around soon enough, I'm sure."
"If you say so," said Gin. "I don't want to make a spectacle of it."
"Well, given Ruby's request regarding our placement, I'm sure you'll have plenty of opportunities to ensure that Ms. Xiao Long is comfortable with your relationship," said Ayumu.
Gin sighed. "Whatever, let's just go to bed."
Ayumu nodded and turned out the lights, the two boys undressing most of their clothes in the dark and slipping under the covers of their respective beds. They were asleep almost immediately, having long trained themselves to take their rest where they could find it. Despite that, even asleep, their guards did not fall and they maintained a constant subconscious awareness of their surroundings.
Because of that, Gin was awoken by a familiar presence outside their door before the person even began to knock. Getting up, Gin strode over and opened it to find Ruby, still wearing her pajamas, on the other side.
"C-can I sleep here?" asked Ruby.
"I thought you'd be more comfortable staying with your sister and friend," said Gin, tilting his head in confusion. But he stepped aside to let her into the room, and closed the door behind her regardless.
Ruby scratched her head. "It is nice," she admitted. "But comfortable..."
"What's wrong?" asked Gin.
"It's just...I can't sleep in Weiss' bed," said Ruby, "even though it's empty. It still has her scent. Just the thought of it makes me nauseous."
"I'm certain your sister would be willing to let you share her bed," pointed out Ayumu, having also awakened and sat up on his own bed.
"She was," said Ruby hesitantly. "B-but that's the problem."
"What is?" asked Gin.
"Yang's too hot," said Ruby. Despite the near total darkness, Ruby didn't need faunus night vision to know that Gin was raising an eyebrow and smirking at her. "I mean...literally! You know what I'm talking about!" Ruby puffed out her cheeks petulantly, making the boys laugh.
Ruby sighed. "Sleeping next to Yang is like sleeping next to a furnace. I thought I was going to wither up like a prune. Not only that, but she was hugging me so tight I thought she was going to squeeze my insides out like I was a tube of toothpaste."
"Well, considering the circumstances, can you blame her?" asked Gin.
"I know..." said Ruby with a sigh. "But...I just can't sleep like that. Can I please...just...stay here tonight?"
Gin sighed and lowered his head, shaking it slowly. "Well, I can't say no to you," he said.
"You'll have to learn how at some point," said Ruby, with a soft giggle. "But I'm glad you can't tonight."
"Well, let's get to bed then," said Gin. "We have to rest up while we can. After tomorrow, the next few days are going to be busy."
Ruby nodded fervently and climbed into bed next to Gin, spooning herself up against him and sighing in relief as his arms wrapped around her, his touch slowly cooling her off. One hand came up to gently rest against her forehead, and Ruby felt the last of her consciousness begin to melt away.
She knew that Yang would probably be worried when she woke up in the morning and Ruby wasn't there. But, right now, Ruby felt that the comfort she felt now was more than worth it.
I always tend to view Ironwood in an antagonistic light, a feeling that's gotten stronger since the latest volume of the show hasn't done him any favors, even though he has yet to appear on screen again. I've always felt put off by his obsession over control. Most of the things he does throughout the series, even when they're ostensibly good things (like praising Ruby for taking action against Cinder in Volume 2, or sending Yang her prosthetic arm in Volume 4), it always puts my hackles up. I just don't like the guy, not in the sense that I think he's a bad character, but that he's a character who's been designed to be unlikeable, albeit in a different way and to a lesser degree than Cinder. Because of that, even if he isn't a straight-up villain, he tends to be an antagonist in many of my stories.
We also get to see that, despite Yang's response in the previous chapter, she is not happy that she was lied to about Ruby's death. Of course, being the loving, caring older sister that she is, Yang can't really sustain that kind of anger against Ruby for long. However, that does not mean it's gone away. I'm sure that many of you will be able to guess at least one of the obvious consequences of her needing a target to direct her ire at.