"Look up, Ruby. It's the moon!"
A four year old girl in a red hood was sitting in te lap of an older woman in a white hood, and both of them gazed up towards the moon with their silver eyes glistening from it's brilliance.
"It's so pretty, Mommy."
"Mhm." The woman smiled as she lightly pulled her daughter closer to her. "Even the shattered side of it feels somewhat amazing to see. It gives a bit more of a reflection upon our world, I think."
"Huh?"
The woman smiled kindly as she calmly looked down towards Ruby. "The world can feel like it's broken beyond all repair sometimes. But every once and a while, with increasing frequency, there's these experiences that do their best to make everything feel whole again." She lightly kissed the top of Ruby's head. "For me, it's you, Ruby. Having you here makes the entire world feel whole to me."
Ruby smiled and raised her arms. "You make the world feel whole too, Mommy!"
"That's so nice of you to say, sweetie!"
"Hey. What nonsense are you spewing to your daughter this time, Summer?"
The woman known as Summer lightly blinked at the sound of the voice, turning around to see a black haired woman with blood red eyes walking up to her with a hand on her hip, her expression mostly aloof. Greatly contrasting the bundle of blond sunshine running past her and right into Summer, surprising both her and Ruby from how sudden it was.
"Hi!"
"Oh, hello Yang!" Summer chuckled as she lightly caressed the top of Yang's head, bringing her into a hug as she looked at the other woman. "Raven, you decided to join us after all?"
"Only because the brat pestered me about it." Raven muttered as she fully moved up to where the others were, folding her arms. "What are you even talking about, anyway?"
"Mommy said I make her world feel whole, and I said she makes the world feel whole, too!" Ruby exclaimed with bright shining eyes. Raven stared dully at the younger girl for a moment, then turned towards Summer.
"You really need to stop feeding her these half-baked naïve ideas. They'll stunt her growth."
"Well! Excuse me for wanting to think of the positive sides in life." Summer retorted with a huff.
"That doesn't mean you turn a blind eye to the negatives, that's how fools get killed."
"Thinking solely of the negatives just gives you a purely bitter view on life, though. I don't want Ruby or Yang thinking this way."
"What? Realistically?"
"There's being realistic and there's being a complete downer for the sake of it." Summer raised an eyebrow. "Guess which one you are, Raven."
Raven smirked. "What, I can't be a realistic downer?"
"Ah, so you'd rather stay a killjoy."
"Yes. I experience the joy of not being killed."
"That wordplay doesn't work and you know it!"
Yang and Ruby blinked as their mothers had another spat amongst themselves. Yet somehow, they were able to sense that neither side held any actual negative intent with their words towards one another. They were mostly mild jabs at best.
"What are they talking about?" Ruby asked Yang, who shrugged somewhat absentmindedly.
"I dunno. They don't seem mad."
Summer and Raven sighed as the latter eventually seated herself next to the former. "Alright, let's say I play your game for a bit. Tell me, O' wise one, how do I stop being such a total grouch, as you seem to accuse me of being?"
"You have entered the mentorship of Grand Master Summer." The woman playfully smiled with a mild bow. "I'd be happy to teach you more on the positive views of life."
Raven sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "I've made a terrible mistake."
"Oh come on! I haven't even started yet!"
"Yes you have. Ever since we first met."
"Still!" Summer sighed, then turned to Ruby and Yang with a smile. "Ruby, Yang. Even though many say Remnant can be a rough place to live, there's plenty it has to offer that can fully enrich your life."
"Really?" They both exclaimed in unison.
"That's right. There's plenty of amazing things to see within a world like ours. Like the moon, for example! Look at how beautiful it is!" Summer gestured to Remnant's moon.
"The thing is shattered, Summer." Raven deadpanned.
"There's a certain beauty in that as well. That means that there's always something to make you feel whole, even when a part of you shatters."
"Oh brother."
"No, Qrow's not here right now. Do you want to go get him?"
"You think you're so funny, don't you?"
Summer chuckled, then returned to the girls. "With all the amazing things to see in the world, it makes you want to go out to see and experience them for yourself. And then there's the more simple things. Like, a warm campfire. Or a bed to sleep in. A simple shower." Summer smiled. "I go out and protect these things, as they help make life more fulfilling. I want you to see the world beyond what many perceive it as. Seeing and exploring the world for yourself will not only help you better understand how to navigate and interact with it, but you'll form a better, truer emotional connection with it. One day, you'll better understand why I always strive to protect it, in order for you two to better experience the best parts of what it has to offer."
"Wooah..." Ruby and Yang's eyes widened, sparkling with wonder. Raven rolled her eyes, before she closed them and huffed.
"Alright, I guess I can concede to that."
"Wait, really? I mean, uh, thank you for understanding!" Summer stumbled a bit in surprise before managing a smile. Raven harrumphed, before focusing on the girls.
"Summer provided her own little piece of wisdom. Now it's my turn."
"Oh dear." Summer paled, which made the other women snort.
"Relax, I mean it." Raven reassured Summer, before turning to the girls. "Alright, brats, listen up. There's something very important to understand when to comes to living in a world like ours. And that in order to live well in it, you have to be strong."
"Strong?" Yang repeated quietly.
"Yes. And I don't just mean pure power. Because power without a purpose, is as good as worthless. Strength simply for the sake of it has no point." Raven shook her head. "What I mean by being strong goes beyond mere power. It's about staying determined in a world that does it's damnedest to sap your resolve away." Raven clenched her fists. "Too many times have I seen fools who seem to spout about how strong they are, only to whimper and wither once they come across a true challenge in their lives. They back down, and never get up again, abandoning their goals and ambitions in the process. That is true weakness. Being weak is one thing, but staying that way and lamenting about it without really doing anything about it is what truly infuriates me. Those that don't have a strong resolve in a world like ours, WILL die."
"Raven..." Summer muttered, but didn't truly interrupt her just yet.
Raven sighed. "Don't expect life to always make things easy for you. Some things will come easily, while for others you'll have to fight tooth and nail to earn. You have to be strong enough to weather and overcome everything and anything it throws at you." She shook her head, then looked the girls in the eyes. "Listen well, Yang. Ruby. It doesn't matter what corner of life you come from. It's all about whether you're strong or weak. Your resolve must be strong enough to strive towards your goals no matter what happens, regardless of how much the world tries to deny you. A firm resolve can make the impossible, possible. Our souls are strengthened by our strong sense of purpose. Purpose comes before power, as having a strong purpose gives that power a reason to exist."
Yang blinked quietly, as Raven eventually slowed to a stop. She was finished, it seems. Yang lightly rubbed her cheek. "Do you think I can become as strong as you, one day?"
"I'd prefer it if one day, you became stronger than me. I've spoken with Taiyang about this. I want you to be stronger and prouder than the both of us put together. That way, I'll know for sure that you'll have the strength to fight back against everything the world throws at you. Do you understand?"
"Ohhhh. Okay!"
Ruby blinked at the pair for a moment, before looking up towards the surprised Summer, who was likely expecting a lot worse. She seemed relieved that, for Raven standards, it was rather tame. Curiously, Ruby turned fully to Summer with a tilted head. "Mommy?"
"Yes, my precious budding Rose?" Summer turned to her with a smile, lifting her up slightly.
"Did you become as strong as you did so you could protect the world, and me and Yang?"
Summer smiled warmly, lightly pressing her forehead against Ruby's. "Absolutely. You both enrich my life wonderfully, so I always try to make the world a better place for you both to live in. Remnant has it's fair share of struggles that everyone has to endure at some point. And sometimes it might feel like we endure these hardships for absolutely nothing. But once you manage to succeed, you'll find that your efforts will not always be ignored or unrewarded. There will always be something, even the most simple of things, that will make all of that effort worthwhile."
"Really?"
"Really really." Summer lightly kissed the top of Ruby's head, then the top of Yang's. "For me and Taiyang, it's seeing you two smile."
Ruby and Yang's eyes sparkled at the words.
"Oh barf." Raven rolled her eyes.
Summer took it in stride, shrugging. "Be a grump about it if you want, but I fully mean what I say."
"...Yeah. I guess that's one of the things I genuinely respect about you."
"And I can always count on you to be completely honest with me in return when it counts. Even when you're a grinch about it."
"Tch."
Summer gazed back towards the moon for a moment, hugging Ruby closer to her. "Girls, there's also another thing I think is important for you to know. Raven is right about another thing. This world, while filled with all sorts of incredible things to see and experience, is also filled with various extreme dangers. Far too dangerous to be faced alone. So alongside supporting each other, you should find people you can rely on to support you, especially when you come across something you can't do on your own."
"They'd better be strong as well. They should be able to stand on their own just like you. Great strength between you all individually will make you into something else entirely when put together."
Summer lightly placed a hand on her cheek. "Stronger together than on your own, yes. And just as well, exploring the world becomes much more fulfilling when it's shared with others you care for. A campfire, eating great food, seeing the sights. Many of these become even more enjoyable, worthwhile memories when you have others by your side. So it's important to find the kind of people you'd like to share those experiences with."
"Here it comes." Raven groaned with a facepalm.
"Basically, find and make plenty of friends. Both to stand by your side when things get rough, achieve great things you can't do alone, and to overall simply enjoy life with. If you do these things, I'm sure you'll build many lifelong precious memories." Summer lightly nuzzled the top of Ruby's head, causing the girl to giggle. "Do you girls think you could do that, if you tried?"
"I think so!" Yang quickly raised a hand.
"I dunno, but I'll try, Mommy." Ruby said somewhat indecisively, but Summer appreciated her honestly, lightly caressing her hair.
"That's all I ask. Now, let's just sit in silence and enjoy the ever beautiful moon for a while." With that, Summer pulled Ruby back onto her lap and pulled her into a cuddle, making the girl laugh again.
Raven watched the two of them, then looked towards her own daughter, Yang. Back to the silver eyed duo, and again back to Yang. She lightly raised her eyebrows at a thought, then sighed. She gently reached a hand out towards Yang, then briefly stopped in place, almost as if she were afraid to touch her.
Though with an annoyed grunt at her hesitation and then pushing past it, she fully reached out and placed her hand atop Yang's golden hair, surprising the girl. She quickly looked toward her mother, who in turn looked to the side, expression aloof. Yet simultaneously, she proceed to slowly caress Yang's hair, briefly wondering if she did something wrong.
It didn't seem to be the case, as Yang appeared to positively beam at this, and happily leaned her head into her hand with closed eyes and a pleasant sigh. Raven seemed surprised and confused at how sunny Yang became from a simple touch, though she brushed it off with her own closed eyes, and the smallest of smiles.
"Hmph. Showing so much joy over a mere head pat."
"I DID say to take joy out of the simple things, didn't I?" Summer playfully poked.
"Piss off."
The quartet soon went completely silent as they all stared at Remnant's shattered moon in relative silence, aside from the whistling of the wind and the occasional noise from natural night life. Moments like this didn't come often. But when they did, they were always feeling content and happy, with their hearts full and their souls warm. An overall sense of peace graced them all, and despite different perspectives on it, they enjoyed it to the fullest.
If only it could have lasted forever.
[One Year Later]
On a seemingly quiet day, quite a bit away from their local community...
A five year old little girl with a red hood was sitting on her knees as she watched the scene before her, eyes wide and brimming with tears, several drops having already running down her face. She sniffled slightly while shaking her head. Even if she was scared, even if she couldn't do much, thus hating her own helplessness, she couldn't just stay silent. So she gathered herself and shouted.
"Stop hurting Yang! She didn't do anything wrong!" Ruby shouted with a worried yet fierce look in her eyes.
In front of her, a seven year old blonde girl with pigtails grunted as she was hit in the head once again, briefly staggering backwards. She then raised her brushed face and stepped forward, wiping dirt from her cheek. "Stay back, Ruby. This is nothing."
"Yang..."
"What, are you trying to keep her safe? What good will that do you?" A feminine voice of someone around Yang's ages taunted. They weren't alone given they had company, and everyone there seemed slightly older than herself and the youngest girl. Another blow was struck to the girl with blonde pig tails. "She should take her hits just like you are! It's only fair!"
The blonde girl was unresponsive for a moment. Then she simply stood back up fully, spits some blood out of her mouth, and glared towards her attackers.
"You done?"
Much of the other kids bravado left them in an instant. "What?!"
"I took my beatdown for the day without complaint. It's been an hour. That means we're done here, right?" The girl asked, wiping her mouth slightly. "If that's all, we're leaving. C'mon, Ruby."
"O-Okay." Ruby nodded and stood up, keeping close to Yang as she held her hand. One would noticed she closed the difference quickly, and was followed by a trail of rose petals.
"Again?! You're just going to up and walk away? You're still not gonna fight back at all?" Was the irritated response to Yang once again turning the other cheek.
Yang narrowed her lavender eyes. "If I fight back, you're all gonna get hurt. Then you'll go cry to your parents, and they'll get our Dad in trouble. I don't want Dad to get in trouble, so I'm not gonna fight back. We're just gonna leave and not make a fuss." Yang insisted as she turned with Ruby to walk away.
The children scoffed at the sisterly duo, with one of the eldest folding their arms. "So you're running away from a fight, despite how much we beat you up? Not only are you scum, you're cowardly scum, just like your mom and uncle!"
Yang stopped in place for a moment. Her normally lilac eyes briefly flashed red with fury, before reversing back to lilac with a grunt.
"What's it matter to you?" Yang looked towards them with a huff. "You're all bigger and older than me, yet you feel good about picking on somebody younger and smaller with smirks on your faces? Who's the real coward here?"
One of them grabbed her by the collar and pulled her close, though she didn't flinch.
"Where do you get off talking to us like that?"
Yang didn't say anything more, simply glaring at them.
"...Hey." One of them briefly looked towards Ruby. "Forget it. It's her turn."
"H-Huh?" Ruby lightly gasped from his startled she was from the idea.
Yang narrowed her eyes. "I thought we agreed I was the only one who takes the hits. She doesn't have to or need to. Leave her out of this." She warned quietly.
"But again, that's not fair to you, is it? Sister's should share, after all! And of course that includes taking hits!" One of them turned towards the younger girl and reached for Ruby, who already began stepping back. Suddenly they felt their arm being roughly grabbed, and squeezed painfully and tightly. "What th-ow! OW!"
"Back. Off." Yang seethed through her teeth as her eyes were blood red and her hair seemed to slightly be on fire. She did go as the older kid scurried away from her in fear. Yang stepped in front of Ruby again.
"W-Why you! That really hurt! How could you do that?!"
"Told ya you would start crying if I fought back. And even then, all I did was squeeze your arm." Yang reminded them as the glow died down. "You can make fun of me, call me names, beat me up all you like, if it'll make you leave sooner. I don't really care. But leave my sister alone."
"Let's surround them. They haven't learned their place." Most of them declared threateningly as they moved towards the sisterly duo. Ruby looked fearful, but Yang stepped in front of her with an arm outstretched and a fierce look of defiance in her eyes. Though for a moment, Ruby thought she heard something moving about through the darkness of the forest.
Once she saw glowing red eyes, her own shrank in fear as she hurriedly tugged on Yang's arm.
"Y-Y-Yang...!"
Yang's eyes widened after also seeing the glowing red eyes for herself, as she stepped back while pushing Ruby with her. The other kids didn't notice it yet.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Grimm." Yang told them quietly, her tone filled with dread as she kept pushing Ruby further and further. The others didn't seem to believe her, having not turned around.
"Nice try, but Grimm have never been around this area! You're not getting out of this with a stupid lie like that!"
"I swear I'm not lying. There's a Grimm right there, and it's not just gonna pass us by. We gotta run!"
"Why do you think we're seriously gonna fall for-"
"RUN AWAY!" Yang finally exclaimed, with clear desperation for them to put this all away and listen to her. And judging by the looks in their eyes, they finally believed that she was being serious.
It was unfortunately too little too late, by the time they heard the snarling.
Something large and black leapt out from the bushes, with the brightest part of it being it's glowing, blood red eyes. Yang immediately recognized it as a Grimm, specifically a Beowolf. And by the looks of it, it appeared to be an Alpha, if her uncle's descriptions were to be correct, as well as what she's read.
It had already struck.
One of the children screamed before the Beowolf pounced upon them and slashed it's claws into their body. Blood immediately decorated the ground around them as it savagely tore into it's catch, then immediately pounced again and dug it's jaws into the neck of another. Yang's eyes widened further as she forcefully pushed Ruby along.
"Run now, Ruby! RUN!" Yang shouted as she held onto Ruby, and the both of them broke into a fierce run. The other children balked at one of their own being torn apart, before they too screamed after breaking out of their trance, and tried running away from the scene.
Even more misfortune fell upon them as another large Grimm revealed itself from the shadows. A large, hulking Ursa Major roared at them, before swiping it's paws sideways, silencing them near instantly and spreading their blood across the ground, several splotches landing on the trees behind them.
Yang and Ruby breathed heavily as they ran quickly from the scene, as fast as they could. They could hear each of the children's screams being silenced one after the other, which only made Yang move faster and to make sure Ruby kept up with her. They both needed to get away from there quickly. She didn't know if they could escape to anywhere safe, but she was focused on getting them both away, as far away as possible.
Unfortunately, she had a feeling that they wouldn't be able to completely outrun them.
Both the Alpha and Major hopped out of the shadows, snarling at the sisters. Their jaws and claws were covered with the blood of their prey, and now seek to do the same to the girls. Yang snarled as she stepped in front of Ruby with her arms spread out. Both sisters had tears welling up their eyes as the two Grimm closed in on the duo.
"Ruby, stay behind me."
"Y-Yang?! Y-You can't fight them!"
"I don't have a choice! There's nowhere else to run! I have to protect you!" Yang growled as her eyes flashed red, clenching her fists. "You hear that, you dumb Grimm!? I don't care how big and scary you are, you're not hurting my sister!"
Yang gritted her teeth as she stood in front of Ruby, as both of the large Grimm roared and charged towards the two girls with a pounce. Ruby clenched her eyes closed, crying out and tugging close to Yang who, despite her own personal terror, roared feebly as she threw a punch.
The Ursa Major ended up with a massive hole punched clean through its torso.
Yang's eyes widened, refusing to believe she's the one that actually did that, while the Alpha Beowolf ended up being diagonally sliced in half in a single stroke.
Two figured appeared before them, and the sisters immediately recognized who they were.
"Dad!"
"Uncle Qrow!"
One blonde man stood outwards in front of the girls with his fist out as the dead Ursa Major slowly fell on its back, having a large hole in its torso. Meanwhile, the two halves of the deceased Alpha Beowolf fell harmlessly into the ground away from the group, no longer a threat. Both men turned towards the girls, with the blonde man being quick to run towards them and pull his daughters into a hug.
"Thank goodness we made it in time!"
"Barely." The other man sheathed his weapon, currently in scythe more, with a grumble. "We managed to save them, Taiyang. But those other kids got slaughtered. You know what this is gonna look like, don't you?"
"You don't have to tell me. I've got a pretty good idea." Taiyang muttered as well, standing up and holding the girls closer to him. "Come on, girls. Everything's okay now. You're okay. You're okay. Thank goodness you're okay..."
The man was likely muttering it for his own comfort as well as the girls, but he really did mean it, as he carried them away from the site of the attack. Qrow followed behind him, hands in his pockets as he lowered his eyes at the massively harsh ramifications of what happened.
Just in time to save their own children, but none of the others? There was absolutely no way that was going to go down well.
"Such misfortune..."
'They're allowed to walk out and about without a care in the world. Disgusting.'
'After what happened, they just get to continue on like it never occurred?'
'Injustice, is what this is.'
'Absolutely unforgivable.'
They could tell the news spread quickly, as they soon discovered a day later. They were making their way home through town after a quick shopping trip, trying to keep their heads as low as they possibly can, and noticing how everyone was glaring daggers at them, especially the two girls.
Qrow found it imperative to postpone any future assignments he had for the time being so that he and Taiyang could keep a closer eye on the sisterly duo. They had a feeling that if they were left alone again, they would surely regret the consequences. So far, that was proving to be a sound decision.
'Wretched filth.'
'Why did we have to bury our children, yet those two get to live?'
'The best thing they can do to repent is to keel over and die.'
'No one's tried anything because no one here can beat those two.'
They kept hearing comments like this over and over, glaring at the quartet with deep resentment in their eyes, which made the girls shiver and seek comfort within each other. The two men stayed close to them and made sure they stayed within sight, just in case something went out of hand.
All they did was take the girls out for groceries and medicinal items-Taiyang absolutely refuses to leave them alone right now-and things haven't cooled down since the incident, with passerby that heard of the incident glaring at the girls from afar and whispering unsavory things about them, as well as the men guarding them. Some didn't whisper at all.
Qrow couldn't help but felt annoyed by this, especially given what he heard from the girls about what those other kids have been doing and saying them, and yet they never said anything before now. Of course, he correctly deduced that he and Taiyang would be the only ones to believe their word, especially at this point.
Yang's bruises didn't happen all by themselves, despite the number of times before that she insisted. How long and how many times has she taken these thrashings from the other kids so they'd leave Ruby be and Taiyang wouldn't be troubled from his work?
The fact that they didn't feel comfortable enough to confide in their father or uncle for these things shook them to their core. Especially Taiyang. He was in the house more often than Qrow was. The signs were right in front of him, yet he never paid strong attention to them, which only allowed them to fester. If Qrow hadn't snapped him out of it that day, he would have never known what would have happened until it was far too late.
It was a good thing that Taiyang was very much still in shape, if rusty. Because otherwise he would have been just a bit too slow to stop a woman from charging behind Yang and attempting to stab her with a knife. Almost instinctively, he caught her by the wrist, twirled her, and pinned her to the ground in the span of three seconds. The knife clattered to the ground, where Qrow kicked it away, then stood in front of the shocked girls.
"Hey. You gotta be careful running with sharp objects in your hands. That could have hurt my nieces." Qrow muttered dangerously towards the would-be attacker.
"Let go of me! I'm doing everyone here a favor!" She shouted in outrage as the commotion brought some attention. "I'm righting a wrong! Those two deserve to die!"
"Ma'am, please-" Taiyang tried to speak, but was immediately cut off.
"It's not fair! If all of those kids had to die on that day, they should have too!" She thrashed about, but Taiyang was immovable. Despite this, the rant had the girls hugging each other as they cowered behind Qrow. Yang appeared slightly more defiant, hugging the shaken Ruby closer to her, slightly hiding her away while glaring back at the woman.
"It wasn't our fault!"
"W-We're sorry..."
"Sorry's not going to bring them back, you wretched little-GRAH! Let me go! Let me GO!" She shouted and screamed, with a solemn Taiyang keeping hold until she eventually slowed to a stop and gave up. The authorities eventually arrived to take her in for her abrupt and violent actions, all while sending suspicious looks towards Qrow. By this point, the woman was crying as she was taken away. "Why? Why did it have to be my little girl? Why couldn't they have taken you instead? Why?!"
While she was escorted from the area, Ruby's sniffles grew louder, and Yang's hold around her grew tighter. "We're sorry...we're sorry. We're really sorry..."
'Relating to Branwens, birthed from Branwens, even merely associating with Branwens. If any of these apply, it's absolutely clear how irredeemable they are as people.'
'That clan birthed some of the worst criminals in Remnant's history. That blonde brat will be no different. Only a matter of time before Qrow shows his true colors as well.'
'And yet still, Taiyang had the girl with one, and had another daughter with another woman. Pitiful for her, because now the daughter carries the stigma of being half-related to one.'
'Her mother clearly wasn't wise if she thought associating with them was a good idea. Then again, maybe that's why we've never seen her again. Must have realized her horrid mistake and cut her ties with all of them.'
Something burned in Taiyang's soul.
He looked at his distraught daughters with an agonized look in his eyes, then he noticed that people were still walking by muttering about them. He clenched his fist with barely restrained anger.
"If you don't have anything worthwhile to say to our faces, THEN SHUT UP AND KEEP WALKING!"
Briefly frightened by the outburst, the passing bystanders left quickly without another word, not wanting to risk his wrath. Once they were all out of sight, Taiyang sighed and palmed his face. This really was a mistake.
It was time to head home, before Taiyang did something he'd relish now but heavily regret later.
A few weeks later, Taiyang came across something he almost wished he didn't. But he was glad he did, if only because it allows him to act sooner.
One night, as he was taking the girls up to their room for bed, he came across something in the closet. Both girls gasped, signifying that they didn't want him finding this thing, but Qrow already picked it up.
It was a list.
"Girls. What is this?" Qrow questioned while gesturing to the paper. Both girls looked away sheepishly, eyes shifting about.
"N-Nothing!" Yang shook her head.
"I dunno!" Ruby declared innocently.
Qrow raised a disbelieving eyebrow. "'Nothing', and 'I dunno', huh?"
"Yup!"
"Ahuh!"
"Hmmmm." Qrow huffed, then took a look at the list. It was about as legible as a five and seven year old could make it. Just after a moment, his frown grew deeper, to looking genuinely distraught. Taiyang was almost worried about what he was reading, until he handed it to him to read for himself.
"What is it?"
"Just...just look, Tai." Qrow sounded exhausted, with his eyes looking even more so. Worry increasing, Taiyang takes a look.
Obviously Yang was the lead on this, being the older sibling and all. Written down are a series of tips and advice on how young children survive on their own when they either run away from home or their parents purposefully abandons them. There weren't too many ways, but there were enough that could help them get by through the minimum.
Looking to the side, Taiyang noticed that they had two packs of food and changes of clothes hidden within their closest. His eyes gradually widened as the implications began to dawn on him.
"Yang, Ruby. What is this?" Taiyang asked slowly, almost begging them. Even though a part of him didn't want to know the answer and knew he would not be happy to hear it, he found it best to confirm his thoughts before jumping to conclusions.
"Well, it's a list of stuff that would help me and Ruby get by if we were to run away. Just in case you became tired of us." Yang explained as if there was absolutely nothing wrong with what she just said.
"Yeah! Me and Yang made a super cool list and plan for when you don't want to be with us anymore!" Ruby smiled as she takes a nearby picture from under her pillows then runs back to show them, getting on her toes. "See?"
It was a crude yet somewhat cute drawing, drawn as well as children could draw, of Ruby, Yang, Taiyang, and Qrow. On the top half, the men were frowning slightly while the girls were in the house with them. On the bottom half, the girls were seen outside the house and seemed to be leaving, and the men were drawn with much happier expressions.
Tears began welling in Taiyang's eyes, as Qrow massaged the bridge of his nose with a distressed sigh.
Neither sister seemed to realize they were breaking their father's heart, as the two men still saw the bright innocence in their eyes as they explaining themselves. Especially Ruby's.
"You haven't talked to us, eaten with us, looked at us, or tucked us in for a super long time before." Yang said as she rubbed her neck. "The other kids said it was because you hated us and didn't want us around anymore yet was too cowardly to just say so. I told them that you weren't a coward and that they were jerks, but just in case you really didn't want us anymore, I wanted to have these things on, standby, I think? Uncle Qrow did say it was best to be prepared for anything, after all!"
"Yeah!"
Preparing for their own father to cut them off from his life? The fact that they seriously considered that something to prepare for hit them harder than any Grimm could with all their strength. Of all the things in life to prepare for because it was unpredictable like that, Qrow never would have thought that his nieces would take his advice in this sort of direction.
Of course, he didn't really believe they'd actually go through with it if they could, Yang wouldn't truly put Ruby in that kind of potential danger. But that wasn't the issue, nor was it the point.
It was that this thought entered their minds at all, and stuck to them.
It wasn't mitigated by Taiyang's increased lack of a strong presence for a long time. A time where their father did not engage with his daughters as a father should. Now they think it was completely their fault that he wouldn't do so, or at the very least they were a huge factor. The incident regarding the other kids being slaughtered by Grimm probably pushed it over the edge, due to the sisters surviving the attack thanks to the men's timely intervention.
Said incident brought immense backlash upon them all due to none of the other children surviving out of what the citizens believe to be the two of them purposefully leaving them to die, and further worsened their status as a family of pariahs on Patch. There's no convincing them otherwise at this point.
In the girls' perspective, particularly Yang's due to being the older sibling, they were just trying to protect each other and their father and uncle were getting punished for it. They came to the worst conclusion of believing that they made their hardships worse and that they'd hate and abandon them for it.
"We didn't want to be a, uh, burden! Yeah, a burden!" Ruby smiled as she figured out the word she was looking for, not realizing just how hurtful this was to hear from her. "If me and Yang were to go away, then no one would pick on Daddy and Uncle Qrow because of us, then you'd be happy! And we want you to be...huh?"
Ruby and Yang blinked worriedly, as Taiyang abandoned all attempts to hold back his tears. Qrow wasn't that surprised, as he knew better than most that Taiyang was much more soft-hearted than he appears, but that didn't make it easier to watch.
"W-What?! What's the matter, Dad?! Why are you crying?!" Yang asked with clear child-like concern on her face and within her tone. Taiyang really was trying to pull himself together so he could answer clearly, but hearing all of this from his own flesh and blood had been too much for him to keep it pushed down.
Ruby, in her innocence, made it worse. Both through appearances and actions, as she walked up to the kneeling Taiyang with tears of her own welling up in her eyes, complete with a slightly runny nose. But instead of wiping them away, she reached up to Taiyang's face and tried wiping his tears away first, with her much smaller fingers.
"Don't cry, Daddy. Don't cry." She begged with a sweet yet saddened tone of voice as she tried wiping away Taiyang's tears even though her own kept running down her face. "We're sorry. We're very very sorry. We didn't mean to make you cry. Please don't cry, Daddy."
Ruby was asking something her father to do the unreasonable at the moment. How could he not cry after hearing what keeping his daughters so distant has done to them, what it caused them to think and feel?
Taiyang couldn't help but pull both of his daughters into a hug. Both of them blinked in surprise as he caressed the back of their heads.
"Dad?"
"Daddy?"
"Precious daughters shouldn't be apologizing for their father's failures as if they were their own." Taiyang spoke gently, after pulling himself together enough to speak. "I should be the one apologizing. Ever since that day, very single one of us were hurt. We should have stuck together. Spent time healing, together. As it should be. But, I did the opposite of that and mostly left you two to fend for yourselves while I sulked alone."
Qrow briefly turned away from the trio with a sigh. A bit deep down, he knew he had a role to play in how bad things got as well. Taiyang continued on, with the other man listening closely.
"You wouldn't have even been in that situation in the first place if I did a better job watching after you. You let all of this happen to you just so you wouldn't be a bother to me? You're not bothers, and you're most certainly NOT burdens. I don't want to hear that from either of you anymore, because that has not, and will NEVER be the truth. Understand?"
"Y-Yes." They responded simultaneously, as everyone began cleaning up their faces with tissues that Qrow passed to them.
"Good. Your health and happiness are not burdens to me. And I shouldn't have been handling mine alone while leaving you both behind. That's going to change, I swear it."
Yang blinked. "Wait. So, you're really going to be coming and staying home more?"
"For reals?" Ruby wonders curiously.
"For reals. I never want you to believe you're burdens to me. Never will I even let that thought grace my mind. Also, I never want you two to think you're in the wrong for protecting each other. You're sisters, and should always strive to protect each other from anything the world throws at you."
Yang blinked softly as she took a moment to think over this, then she clenched her fists, huffing as she quickly wiped her tears away. She looked towards her father and uncle with fierce and determined eyes. "Okay. Okay! I've made a decision!"
"M-Me too!" Ruby raised her hand quickly, also wiping tears away from her eyes.
"Oh? Check it out, Taiyang. One pep talk and they're making a big decision." Qrow chuckled to his brother in law while jabbing a thumb to the girls.
"I can see that." Taiyang folded his arms with a small smile. "Let's hear it, girls."
'I want you to be stronger and prouder than the both of us put together. That way, I'll know for sure that you'll have the strength to fight back against everything it throws at you.'
"I'll become super strong! Maybe even the strongest! I'll be able to handle anything and everything the world throws at me, beat up every bad guy and monster that tries to bully other people! I'll be strong enough to protect Ruby! So strong that you won't have to worry about me anymore!" Yang vowed, a certain recollection driving her words.
Taiyang sighed, smiling as he lightly patted her head. "Yang. I'm your father. No matter how much older or stronger you and your sister get, I'm always going to worry a little. That's just how loving fathers are." Taiyang kneeled to her level. "But if you really want to become strong enough to protect Ruby, then I can definitely support you on that."
"Thanks, Dad!"
Taiyang then turned to Ruby. "And what about you, Ruby? What did you decide?"
'Seeing and exploring the world for yourself will not only help you better understand how to navigate and interact with it, but you'll form a better, truer emotional connection with it.'
With this brief recollection, Ruby took some moment to speak, as she wasn't quite sure where to go with the thoughts she had, but just knew she wanted to voice them. "I wanna see and explore the world!" Ruby exclaimed with a raised hand. "I wanna see all the amazing things it has, and some of the simple things, too!"
"See and explore? Ah, an adventurous spirit you're trying to nurture, huh?" Taiyang hummed. "Though, there's quite a bit of dangerous things out there, of both monsters and men. Sometimes there isn't a difference. You'd have to get past some of them first."
"Oh..." Ruby hummed. She did think about that a tiny bit, but what could she do? She briefly turned to Qrow, who had a contemplative look on his face. Then something clicked for her, and she raised her hand. "I want to be strong, too! Like the Grimm Reaper!"
"Oh?" Qrow perked up almost immediately.
Taiyang hummed. "The Grimm Reaper. One of the most credible Huntresses Remnant's had to offer. Not only outrageously strong and skilled at her time, she was also an influence that helped bring people's spirits up. Believed life was precious and worth protecting, and that people should do their best to take better care of their own, to do more than merely survive. Strive to build yourself up so you can extend your reach behind your grasp. People tended to take her belief to heart, as she demonstrated herself as someone willing to fight for those lives so that they wouldn't be wasted."
"Ya know all of that, Tai?"
"Yes. I've only heard you recount her accomplishments several thousand times. In different variations."
"Ah. I might have been, uh, a bit too giddy talking about her, I admit. Probably sounded like a fanboy."
"So he finally admits it. This is a first step on the path of enlightenment, Qrow. Be proud." Qrow responded to this by roughly punching a chuckling Taiyang in the shoulder.
It wasn't very effective...
"In any case..." Taiyang returned focus towards Ruby. "You'd like to be a great and strong like the Grimm Reaper?" The girl nodded hurriedly.
"Ahuh!"
Considering what the girls declared that they were aspiring to do, doing so as Huntresses would be one of their best bets to do so. The world was far too dangerous for anything less to make the attempt.
Taiyang sighed. He had hoped this would be held off for a few more years. But with this latest incident, he can't quite hold it back anymore. It was better to start now and iron out several things than to wait for too long and possibly miss something.
Best to start small, though. Really, really small, as they're small children still. Establish a solid foundation for their training, and from there, their powers and skillsets can branch out and advance.
"I guess I'll be handling the Aura portion of training, as well as unarmed combat." Taiyang sighed. Best to work out a schedule now, and adjust it as needed as time goes by.
"I can give them the gist of weaponry. I'll also have to get materials. Ugh." Qrow scratched the back of his neck. "Man, this isn't gonna be easy. I'm gonna be busy."
At the very least, this would be an ideal opportunity to make sure nothing like what happened before would happen again. The damage was already done, with no way of fixing or lessening it. With that in mind, it was time to do something to keep it from repeating.
Also, Qrow couldn't help but feel hopeful at Ruby's desire to be greater than his role model. Hearing of the Grimm Reaper's accomplishments and her benevolent nature attached to how she interacted with other people, were what ultimately pushed himself to become a better person. Ruby doing even better? Not an easy path, but he'd like to help her succeed.
"Me too. But the difference here is that we'll be there for them this time. We won't leave them alone again." Taiyang resolved, before turning back towards the girls. "Alright. We have a lot of preparation to take care of, but we'll help you. It's the least we can do. Does this sound good?"
"Yeah!" Both of them exclaimed, then turned towards one another.
Yang raised a hand. "You and me can become two of the greatest Huntresses in the whole world, Ruby."
'Power without a purpose is as good as worthless. Strength simply for the sake of it has no point. What I mean by being strong goes beyond mere power. It's about staying determined in a world that does it's damnedest to sap your resolve away.'
Ruby also raised a hand. "There's so much we can do, see, and explore out in the world, Yang! Both amazing and simple!"
'This world, while filled with all sorts of incredible things to see and experience, is also filled with various extreme dangers. Far too dangerous to be faced alone. So alongside supporting each other, you should find people you can rely on to support you, especially when you come across something you can't do on your own.'
Ruby and Yang soon extended their hands together, in a bit of a pinky promise. With echoing, lasting voices in their heads that further fueled their promise.
'It doesn't matter what corner of life you're come from. It's all about whether you're strong or weak. Your resolve must be strong enough to strive towards your goals no matter what happens, regardless of how much the world tries to deny you.'
'Remnant has it's fair share of struggles that everyone has to endure at some point. And sometimes it might feel like we endure these hardships for absolutely nothing. But once you manage to succeed, you'll find that your efforts will not always be ignored or unrewarded. There will always be something, even the most simple of things, that will make all of that effort worthwhile.'
With bright and resolved smiles, both of them nodded to each other.
"We can do it together!"
They would remember their vow, for right this moment, they were too young to act upon it. They would need time and preparation, something their remaining family was more than willing to provide.
And once they were ready, their journey would truly begin.
...Alright! So...this is a thing.
Heh.
Bah, whatever.
I'm taking a shot at a RWBY story. Am I kinda nervous? Yeah. Am I looking forward to doing a lot of things with this? YEAH! Will it all end up being a huge mistake?
Probably...
But it's been stuck to me for so long that I can't not at least get it out and see what anyone thinks of it. If it does well for initial reactions, great! If not...well, I can at least say that I gave it a shot.
Personal Notes:
1. I like writing action/fight scenes(not to say I'm really GOOD at them, but eh), especially over the top ones, and I see RWBY as another opportunity to try and polish up on them as I go.
2. An AU story, if the first part of the chapter didn't give it away already. There's bound to be more about this alternate Remnant that's yet to be seen, with the circumstances to be uncovered in time.
3. An Adventure-Friendly World like Remnant. Well, not Friendly in the strictest sense of the word, but there's plenty of things that can happen in it, leaving a lot of room for Action/Adventure! I'm gonna try and take advantage of that, to an extent. Emphasis on try.
4. Several battles will probably be bloodier and more destructive. Not by a ridiculous amount, though. Then again, that depends on our different interpretations of 'ridiculous', I guess. (And by bloodier, think of the fight in the 'White' Trailer. Basically more of those. I'll try to make sense of it in-story, but if I miss the mark, then I'll just make it clearer/blunt in another AN). This goes double for when tougher Grimm get involved. To earn some victories, sometimes characters will have to fight tooth and nail!
Annnnd...that should be all that's needed to be said for now. I'll probably have more to say that I can't really put together until I've actually done so. I'll probably come back to clean things up here and there, if need be.
Until next time, if there is one.
See ya, maybe!