I do not own RWBY
Ruby Rose, the demonic reaper of Beacon, youngest huntress in history, and only daughter of Qrow Branwen was currently suffering. Not only was Adam still flying high on amusement, but she could almost feel his smugness. Usually, she would be able to deal with the man's smug expressions but it was far to easy for her heart to decide that it looked good on him. Or was it her teenage hormones that had made the decision. She was losing her mind; when she lost her cool with Roman and Neo she'd been able to avoid them for a bit. It was the only thing that had kept her sanity in check. Avoiding Adam wasn't really an option nor did she want to avoid him, she just wished that he'd stop smirking at her.
She'd only given him a single compliment but it was enough to make him happy; had Roman and Neo been that happy when she made stupid comments? Glancing over at Adam where he was talking to Dakota, she frowned. At this point Cardin usually came in and taunted her making her feel better or more relaxed at least. Shifting on her feet, she looked down at the ground. When she regained her memories she'd promised to live for herself but she'd only lived for those around her. Every selfish action she'd taken had been for others unless she counted the whole taking over the world thing. That plan was out too since she didn't want Atlas. It was nice that her hate of cold climates were able to kill her dream of ruling the entire world. If Atlas was too cold then Vacuo was too hot, that left only Vale or Mistral. No offense to Vale but it was boring; along with being Ozpin's territory. That left only Mistral.
According to Nic the city was quite literally a den of criminals. She could work with that, after all she already had Roman and Neo on her side. However they might leave her when she told them about her change in plans. Maybe promising them the world wasn't her best idea. Then again Roman was far more clever than most people gave him credit for so he'd most likely already realized that she might change her plans. Besides conquering a Kingdom was far simpler than conquering the world; there was also the fact that if she only aimed for Mistral she might avoid Ozpin's war with Salem. Considering the Relic of Knowledge was under Haven that was probably a fools hope.
"You're quiet today," Adam said. Moving to walk beside her, he internally pouted when she didn't even glance at him. Was she upset that he'd been so smug? He'd only been teasing her.
"I'm thinking," she admitted. Looking up at him, the girl sighed before smiling. As one of the leaders of the White Fang maybe he could help her with her issues. She doubted he would help her for free though but she wouldn't know unless she asked "Does the White Fang have any bases in Mistral?"
"We're based out of Mistral since it has a direct ship route to Menagerie," he said bluntly. The curiosity he felt at her question. He'd already decided that the White Fang would help his fellow students of Raven without question, but even that had a limit. There was no way he'd let her use his people without question.
"Can you tell me about the Kingdom?"
Interest flashed through his gaze at her question. Just what was this girl planning and how would it benefit his people? She was different from Cinder who had demanded his help without hesitation. Instead Ruby was only asking him for information although he didn't know if the woman was simply unwilling to ask for his support or if she didn't trust him. He was willing to bet it was the second option, there was no way she trusted him at all.
"Maybe," he said. The amusement in his tone hid the interest he felt. Eyeing her closely he couldn't see a single thing that made her similar to Blake. The cat faunus had always let him be in charge and never pushed him to even think or challenged him at all until she left to attend Beacon. It was refreshing how different she was from Blake. Turning all his attention to her he ordered, "Tell me what you're plotting."
Something flashed in her gaze at the order. Tilting her head she stilled completely her eyes locked onto him as she considered his words. If she told him then he might try to stop her but if she didn't then she might lose an opportunity. There was also the fact he wasn't asking her instead he was giving an order that he expected her to follow. Most of the time people just asked for her plots they never ordered her to tell them the truth then got angry when she hid the truth. Shifting she felt her fingers twitch, why did she feel warm?
"I'm going to make it mine," she stated. There was no hesitation in her words, she had every confidence that the Kingdom would be hers.
Raising an eyebrow, he smirked. So this was what she hid behind that polite little mask of hers. This was the darkness that he'd felt when they were trying to tear each other apart. From the moment he'd met Cardin at Beacon it had lingered in the back of his mind; there was no way that someone like that man would follow a saint. There was something in him that believed she could accomplish her goal. He supposed it was the determined fire in her eyes or the way she spoke. It reminded him of himself before betrayal and exhaustion made him hesitate.
"Ambitious little thing aren't you," he teased. He didn't mind if this was the kind of person that his teacher brought into their family. Reaching out slowly, he gave her ample time to move away from her before laying a gentle hand on her head. Ruffling her hair, he said, "let's have a rematch tonight. If you impress me I'll give you a reward."
His voice was a purr as he spoke, it was enough to break what little self control she had left. Raising an eyebrow she offered him a cocky smirk saying, "Let's have some fun."
(Pyrrha)
Her body was weak. The difference between now and before Ozpin had shoved her into an untested machine was so apparent it almost hurt. Narrowing her eyes at her hands she hated how much they were shaking. How was she supposed to grip her sword? There had been so many tests since she woke up that she almost couldn't think. The first thing she needed to do was build her strength back up, then she would worry about everything else. She'd lost so much time that could've been spent keeping her team together.
She needed to be strong again or everything would be for nothing. Narrowing her gaze, she glanced at the crutches beside her bed before wincing a little bit. Even the thought of using them hurt her pride. Sitting up slowly she eyed the room Weiss had given her without hesitation. She'd never thought that Weiss would be so soft but the new CEO of the SDC was treating her as if she was family. It was strange given how cold the woman used to be around everyone that wasn't on her team. Still, she didn't mind the treatment, it was actually kind of nice. She had a feeling if Weiss ever found out what she was thinking the girl would never let it go.
"Good to see you're awake."
Standing in her doorway the man seemed amused at her annoyance, although given it was Cardin she wasn't that surprised. Glancing at Jaune who had curled up on the edge of her bed - she was just thankful that he was finally sleeping – she aimed a warning look at Cardin. If he woke the blonde she would hurt him even with this weak body. While she might be upset at her knight, she wasn't about to repay his loyalty with scorn.
"Cardin," she greeded. The cold tone was enough to make him smirk.
"We're meeting Ruby in Mistral soon," he said. The statement caused her to brighten for a moment but his smirk was enough to bring her back to reality. There was a lot of sadism in his expression. Paling a bit she winced when he said, "We'll start working on getting your strength back tomorrow."
It was too late to go back into a coma, wasn't it?
(Adam)
"Any rules?"
Shaking his head the faunus eyed her closely as she stretched her arms above her head. The glint in her eyes hadn't changed since he issued the challenge nor had her eager grin faded. If he didn't know exactly how she treated battle he would've thought she was simply playing around. She might be amused with the situation but she was ready to fight. Without a doubt, she belonged on a battlefield although that didn't mean she was good enough to stand a chance against him. This time he wasn't going to hold back.
Dropping her arms she bounced for a moment before vanishing in a burst of speed that had nothing to do with her semblance. Narrowing his gaze he raised his arm blocking her kick, that didn't mean the action was weak, without his aura it would've broken his arm. So, he wasn't the only one taking this seriously. Throwing her away he unsheathed his sword in a quick slash that she used as a platform to flip away from him. She was faster than he'd thought she was without her semblance; still, she was holding back. Going on the offensive he smirked a bit when her eyes widened.
Raven had taught him to wield a sword, but he'd never expected to find a family with the people that she brought into his life. This girl wasn't someone that he knew nor did he have a reason to trust her. As an outlier she was a danger to the people he protected; she'd already fought against his people in Vale. Still, he didn't mind being around her since unlike Blake she didn't pretend to be something she wasn't.
She was selfish, cruel, and strong. Not only had she fought Viper to a standstill while poisoned – it was impressive even if she hadn't been poisoned – but she'd also proven her loyalty when made the choice to listen to Blake. That didn't make her any less of a monster or demon as he'd heard her called, however that didn't matter to him. Monsters had created the foundation of change for hundreds of years. Just because she was a fellow monster didn't mean he would trust her. Still seeing that challenging, wicked, smirk on her face was enough to warm something inside him.
Even now comparing her to Blake he saw just how different they were. For one, the chances of Ruby allowing someone precious to her to get hurt wasn't even an option. If he'd had someone like her beside him since the start maybe he wouldn't be so exhausted. Maybe the fight against those that oppressed them would be over or at the least, he wouldn't feel shouldered with the fate of his entire race. If she'd been his partner, no… if she became his partner now, he might be able to change the tide of his fight. At least that was how his heart felt.
The sea of petals that floated around her as she charged forward recklessly were the same color as blood. Red was a color that suited her. Blocking her blade he raised an eyebrow at the wild laugh that left her lips; this girl was insane. The sound almost distracted him from the torrent of petals that followed her action; it was his instincts that saved him from being torn apart by the razor sharp petals. Kicking off the ground he held back a chuckle when the petals cut the trees around them into pieces. What a destructive girl, well, it wasn't like he minded that part of her. A blur of red caught his attention only seconds before she was grabbing his collar. The dagger pressed against his neck didn't distract him at all from her flushed cheeks.
"I win!"
The excited announcement caused his hand to tighten around his weapon. If he was a nice guy he might've let her win just for the cute expression she was showing him, too bad he wasn't one. In battle using every advantage to win was only expected and he'd in no way forgotten her flustered actions at the inn. Letting his hand reds on her hip gave him the opportunity to feel her tense completely. Almost instantly her lightly flushed cheeks turned a bright scarlet as her hand began to shake.
He expected her to panic, shove him away and run. Using this infactuation she seemed to have with him against her should've had such a reaction. Her running away was only logical, but she didn't move. For a moment he wondered if she'd turned to stop; if not for her shaking hand he would've thought she'd become a statue. The conflict in her eyes was interesting to watch too.
"I bet you have pretty eyes."
He didn't even bother to try stopping the startled chuckle that left his lips. She was completely insane. Who looked at his mask and thought he'd have nice eyes? It was a tool for terrifying his enemies. Then again the idea of Ruby knowing what fear was seemed just as insane as she was. Dropping her dagger, she covered her face as if hoping he would forget her words. That wasn't going to happen.
"Is that so," he teased. Letting out a whimper that reminded him of a guilty puppy she shifted on her feet. It was the rush of aura that had his other hand wrapping around her shoulder before she could activate her semblance. His smirk never changed as she considered how to escape him without embarrassing herself. Tilting his head when she peaked from between her fingers he said, "you'll never impress me like this."
"I don't want to move…"
She really didn't want to. As a general of the White Fang his hands had to be covered in blood, yet they were warm. A nice comfortable warmth that made it hard to think of anything else now that he was this close to her. Staying here in his arms wasn't an option though was it? No, she wanted to win their little match. If it was only for a moment she could ignore her hormones. Letting her hands drop she tipped her head back trying to pretend she wasn't blushing. How could she get out of this situation and win. Her dagger was on the gound, her scythe was out of the question, that only left her hairpin. Jolting when his hand on her hip shifted she bit her lip to hold back a squeak.
Think about anything other than him that was the objective. All she needed to do was put him out of her mind. Which was easier when he wasn't touching her. Wait, she could use this. Slumping in defeat she leaned forward resting her forehead against his chest. His heartbeat sounded nice… no she had to focus. Grazing her sheathed hairpin the sound of him sighing meant he might've fallen for her act. The fact it was only half way an act was something she was going to ignore. Moving before he could stop her was easy given her semblance; grabbing his collar again she kicked his anckles sending them both crashing to the ground.
Her hairpin's sharp blade pressed against his neck as she straddled him. For a moment she thought he would be angry then he laughed. He really didn't see her as a threat did he? Pouting the instinctive urge to press the blade closer to his throat was one she barely ignored. There was part of her that thought he was mocking her. How dare he even think of mocking her when she held a blade to his neck. Just because she hadn't killed dozens didn't make her any less dangerous. Narrowing her gaze she leaned forward.
"Do you think I'm weak," she asked. Pressing the blade closer when he grew silent she wanted to see his eyes. Frowning she waited for him to admit that he saw her as a weak little girl just like so many other people; it made sense given how she looked.
"No, just insane, although I'm beginning to like your insanity," he stated. The blunt honesty wasn't something she'd been expecting nor was the grin on his face. It was only for a moment but she flinched.
He liked her! That wasn't right. She was hearing things, there was no way that he'd said that to her face. Feeling her face being to heat up she didn't notice him moving until she was on her back. Blinking slowly she vaguely wondered what happened before the man above her registered in her mind. Oh right, they'd been playing. The grip he had on her wrists was too tight to pull away from and she really didn't want to kick him since it might damage something. Still he was a little to close if she was able to feel his breath on her skin.
On the upside he smelled of cinnamon; it was kind of nice actually like a scented candle. He could stay right there, she didn't really mind. Trying to look anywhere other than him wasn't possible given how nice he was to look at. Even without seeing his eyes she would gladly stay here forever. The warmth of his fingers grazing her chin brought her back to reality long enough speak.
"This would be nicer in a bed."
"True, maybe next time," he taunted. Watching her face turn scarlet was amusing but they did need to start setting up camp. Smirking he released her before standing. Offering the girl his hand he didn't expect her to take it without hesitation. Waiting until she was standing in front of him with that amusing embarrassed face, he said, "I win by the way."
"No fair!"
Hi guys, hope your all having a good day.
I don't really have a solid update schedule mainly because I'll get an idea and be sidetracked for a few days. I also usually try to start the next chapter before posting a chapter. Anyway, I haven't decided if Ruby will be getting any powers from Anubis in this book mainly because I don't want her to be too op. Ruby will be adopting a kid in the Mistral Arc.
Speaking of the Mistral Arc I've got it broken into three major parts: arrival, expanding her power base, and taking over.
Moving on, the next chapter will have Ruby meeting Tyrian mostly fighting Tyrian and the Nucklvee dies too. After that will be Ruby's birthday, more bonding with Adam (he will stay for her birthday this time), Pyrrha getting started on her own training, Pyrrha and Jaune's relationship, Blake doing things, Ironwood's plan for Atlas, then a small time skip making Ruby reach Mistral faster.
Also, my dad refuses to let me go shopping with him anymore, I think he's worried I'll pass out again.
stay safe and have a good day
- Shyla
