Good day! This is an update I didn't think I would post for another couple of weeks at least but I couldn't get it out of my head so here it is. There will be another note at the bottom of the story because I just have soooo much to say about this one. Enjoy.
Word Count: 10,054
Beacon academy, while full of very talented students, was not usually fortunate enough to be in the presence of musical talent, and if it was, they didn't hear much of it. That's not to say that there was no talent among the students at all, Weiss Schnee was an obvious and famous example of such talent not being used, as she did not come all the way to Beacon just to keep singing.
Which would be why, on the last day of the first week of classes, everyone was surprised to hear the faint sound of singing, drifting across the academy in the breeze. From the courtyard and even the classrooms, students and teachers alike could hear the soulful singing, but none could make out the lyrics, the singer too far away to be truly understood.
It was Yang who noticed it first as most of team RWBY and team JNPR were making their way through the courtyard to their next class. Weiss had been complaining about how Ruby had just left through their last class leaving her stuff for others to pick up, claiming the she had a family matter to attend to when she too noticed the beautiful singing.
Checking the time on her scroll as she heard the first line, Yang smiled a small, sad smile to herself, only noticed by Nora who also heard when the blonde shook her head and put her scroll back. "Right on time, as always."
Sliding up next to the blonde as quietly as possible, Nora poked her new friend in the shoulder, getting her attention. "Do you know who's signing?" Nora whispered, figuring that if the blonde wasn't being boisterous about it then maybe she didn't want the others to know.
Yang just nodded slightly and pointed up, looking to the top of the tower where you could only just see a small figure in a flowing red cape standing at the edge of a balcony, facing out towards the edge of the cliffs. Looking even closer, Nora could see the tiny fluttering rose petals flowing in the wind as the singer reached the chorus of the song.
Each of the teens could only just hear the faint lines as the singer grew in volume and passion, and all seven of them could hear the pain and longing in the voice, as they sung on, ignoring the shocked and confused people below.
Looking over to Ren, Nora could tell that he too felt how sad the singer was, and she knew that once she could corner Ruby by herself, she'd give the girl a gigantic Nora Hug and try to make her as happy as she seemed.
Ren, seeing Nora's look, could only nod in agreement as he too looked to the tower where the lonely girl was singing from, and silently promised to help her as much as he could.
Both teams were shocked out of their stupor by Yang, shouting at them as she walked away, that they would be late to their next class if they kept on standing around like that. With that, and a look from Yang, telling her to keep what she told her to herself, Nora bounced over to the blonde, dragging Ren with her as she shouted back to everyone else that they didn't want to miss the next one; it was the combat class.
And like that, the small group moved on, forgetting about the singing and rushing to the next class, not wanting to test Professor Goodwitch's patience, lest she make them clean the arena as she has so frequently said she would.
Friday of the first week of classes was both a happy and depressing day in one. Waking up that morning, Ruby was glad for the first week of classes to be over and excited to be able to hang out with her new team and maybe go into the forest with Ozpin and maybe even Qrow-
"Bing!" Looking down at her Scroll, Ruby let out a sad sigh at the message she just got.
'Heading out today. Same time. Sorry kiddo, say bye to your sister for me. Qrow.'
Or not. Looking over to Yang, who had turned when she heard the Scroll go off, Ruby just chucked her Scroll to her and went to the bathroom to get ready for the day, trying to shrug off the heavy feeling of disappointment that sat in her heart.
Returning to the room in her uniform, Yang gave her Scroll back with a hug. "I'll cover for you in class. It's in the transition period for Goodwitch's class so you might still get some kind of punishment, but I'll try and soften it for you."
"Thanks Yang." Ruby sighed, tucking her Scroll away and falling into the hug her sister offered her. "I was just kind of hoping that he wouldn't leave until tomorrow maybe, but he's needed out there more than he is here."
"Yeah, he is. But don't worry, he always comes back." Yang replied, hugging her sister tight, as if to squeeze all the sadness out of her.
"Yeah, he does." Ruby agreed, taking a deep breath before pulling away from the comforting embrace, giving her sister a smile. "Thanks Yang, and don't worry about Goodwitch, I think she'd punish me just to spite me at this rate."
"Probably. She really doesn't like you much, does she?" Yang asked, pulling her jacket on and heading for the door.
"Nope." Ruby replied, popping the 'p'. Following her sister out the door and down to breakfast, not looking forward to the long day ahead of her.
Yang kept an eye on her little sister the whole morning, knowing that the days when Qrow leaves really affects her sister. So, it was her duty to make sure that Ruby made it through the day; pushing a piece of plain toast to her sister for her to eat and watching to make sure that she did. Yang made sure to be sitting next to her sister in the first few classes too, to make sure that she was okay, watching as her sister would constantly flick her gaze to the nearest clock and back again, barely paying attention to the class.
Sitting through Professor Port's class that day was the hardest thing Ruby had ever done, having to listen to the man drone on about his previous experiences as a Hunter and just begging for the clock to simultaneously speed up and slow down at the same time.
When the time finally came, about 10 minutes before the end of the lesson, Ruby not so subtly started packing away her gear and quite obviously put her hand in the air, practically cutting off the mans impassioned speech.
"Excuse me, Professor. I'm sorry to interrupt but I have some family matters that I need to take care of. Would it be alright if I left early today? Just this once, I promise." Ruby asked, shuffling her feet as she waited for his answer. She was going to leave anyway, whether he allowed her to or not, she just didn't want to cause trouble so early in the semester.
"Why of course child. You've done marvellously in this class so far, I don't see why you can't leave early this one time. Go take care of your family matters." He replied and shot his eyebrows up at how quickly she was to stand and walk straight to the door, not even taking her gear with her.
Turning back once she opened the door, Ruby nodded her head politely to the Professor. "Thank you, sir. I'll see you again next week."
And just like that she was gone, shooting off down the hallway and out the doors of the nearest balcony before turning into her rose petals and floating up and over to the balcony that was attached to Ozpins office.
The trip itself wasn't long but it still cut off a couple of minutes from the time she would get to say goodbye to her Qrow.
Landing softly on the balcony behind a pillar, Ruby listened in for signs of anyone else but Ozpin and Qrow in his office, before moving in. The sound of heels clacking on the tiles moving into the elevator made Ruby very glad that she hid when she landed. She did not want Goodwitch to find out that she wasn't in class because she wanted to see off Qrow.
Ruby was going to wait another minute, just to make sure that no one else was in the office when she heard Ozpin call out for her to come in, telling her that it was just the three of them now. Racing around the pillar and through the doors, Ruby threw herself at Qrow who was standing just in front of the desk, knowing that he'd catch her and nuzzling her head into his chest.
Qrow only grunted slightly at the impact but caught her around the waist just as she knew he would, and hugged her close, burying his face in her hair, taking comfort in her presence.
"Ya know, I almost thought that this would be the first time that I would've left without one of your special goodbyes." Qrow said, pulling back just enough to set her on the ground and lean back against the desk before letting her rest against his chest again between his legs.
"I could never, ever let you leave without saying goodbye first. Ever. You know that." Ruby responded, pulling away too, only to give a small smile with a shrug.
"True, but I've never left during the middle of a class." He pointed out, brushing her hair back from where it flown into her face.
"Nothing would stop me. Not even Goodwitch." Ruby said pointedly, giving him a small glare, only to grin at the way he pulled his arms up in a sign of surrender with a smile.
Ozpin watched with rapt fascination at the interactions between the two of them. Qrow was just telling him before Glynda came in, that this would be the first time that Ruby wouldn't be able to come and say goodbye to him before he left on a mission and was a little surprised to feel her presence suddenly appear on his balcony.
It was even more interesting for him because this wasn't the Ruby he was used to seeing. Maybe the hug tackle was but the way she expressed herself was different. Even in the way she claimed that she wouldn't let anyone come between her and saying goodbye was that of a determined young woman and not a petulant child. It was just a glimpse of the person that Qrow described, and he was almost upset that Qrow wouldn't be around to bring out this character in her for him to see.
Checking the time on his desk, Ozpin sighed internally and lightly cleared his throat, gaining the attention of the two in front of his desk. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but Qrow should be leaving soon."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry to cut in on your time together, but I really will never miss a chance to say goodbye to Qrow, especially on long missions." Ruby responded, leaning around Qrow to look at Ozpin, but didn't step away from the loose embrace. Leaning back to look up at Qrow, she smiled slightly and shuffled backwards, awkwardly stepping away towards the doors she had just come through. "I'll wait out on the balcony."
Ozpins eyebrows rose at that, not expecting her to give him time to say goodbye, though he can't figure out why now, having seen how Ruby is around Qrow. Turning to look back at his love, Ozpin smiled fondly at him as he too watched Ruby walk out to the balcony she had landed on. "She really is almost like a different person with you."
"Yeah, she is. It's probably why I love her, I guess." Qrow shrugged, keeping his voice quiet. He didn't want Ruby to hear him quite yet. "You're lucky though, Ruby has always had a rather special way of saying goodbye to me and this time you get to experience it. Trust me, it's beautiful." Qrow mumbled back.
Ozpin wore a confused face for a couple of seconds before shrugging it off. He'll see what that meant soon, he guessed. Walking around his desk, Ozpin moved to stand in the gap Ruby had left and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his lover's lips. "I hate having to send you out like this." He mumbled, pulling back to press their foreheads together.
"I know, but it's what's needed so we don't really have much of a choice. I'm gonna miss you though." Qrow mumbled back, wrapping his arms around the other man in a gentle embrace.
"I'm gonna miss you too." Ozpin sighed, kissing him again, this time deeper, almost desperately.
Breaking the kiss after a minute, Qrow sighed and pulled away, standing up from his position and leaned across the desk to grab his weapon from where it was resting before straightening once more. "I should get going. If I don't leave now, I'm not gonna end up leaving at all." He sighed, idly noticing the school bell that had just rung.
Ozpin only 'hmmm'd' in response, leaning in for one more kiss before moving away towards the door, Qrow following along silently, 'Solas' strapped to his back on it's usual holster. Walking out onto the balcony, Ozpin admired the view of Ruby leaning against the railing, her head back and her eyes closed, humming a tune he didn't know.
"Hey Rubes." Qrow called, making his way over to her, pausing only slightly when she turned and smiled at him. She really was quite beautiful sometimes.
Looking back at the two men walking towards her, Ruby smiled slightly and turned to face them, pulling out a small flower that she had braided into her hair this morning, handing it to him with a pointed look.
Qrow just chuckled lightly and pushed a small amount of his Aura into the flower, watching the petals open softly and bloom, before handing it back with a small smile.
Ozpin watched, intrigued with what they were doing and what the flower was. The flower itself was tiny, only about 5cm wide fully bloomed and the stem was about 10cm long, though it was very thin and flexible. The best part about it though was that the flower itself was pitch black, the same shade Qrow's bird form if he had to guess and it blended incredibly well with the top half of Ruby's hair as she braided it back in. You could only really see it if you were looking at her dead on and you had to be close enough too. He'd have to ask about it later.
Finishing with her braid, Ruby looked up at Qrow with a sad smile, reaching up around his neck and hugging him close. "Please," Ruby practically begged, her voice soft, "Be as safe as you can. And come back."
Reaching around her waist again, Qrow rested his chin on her head and hugged her tight to his chest. "I promise to be as safe as I possibly can." Qrow responded, knowing that was all he could promise. His job was too dangerous to make a promise like that and he wouldn't make it if he didn't know if he could keep it.
"Good enough." Ruby said, pulling back slightly.
"You still gonna sing?" He asked softly, glancing back at Ozpin and then down to all the students trekking across the academy to their next class. "You don't usually have this much of an audience."
"For you? Anything." Ruby replied, her voice clear and strong. The truth in that statement knocked both older men back. She truly was a different person for Qrow.
Looking down at the young woman in front of him, he smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead before taking a step back. Glancing back to Ozpin, he sent a silly half salute his way both jumping up and turning into his bird, hovering for a second before taking off straight up.
Choosing not to look back at Ozpin, not knowing how he would react to her way of saying goodbye, Ruby stepped up to the edge of the balcony, closed her eyes and decided to just do it, who cares about everyone else. Opening her mouth, Ruby began singing.
Wherever you're going,
I wanna go.
Wherever you're heading,
Can you let me know.
I don't mind catching up,
I'm on my way.
Just can't take the thought of you miles away
Opening her eyes, Ruby looked out to the cliffs at the edge of the academy, seeing the feint outline of his bird form flying away.
And I know you're going somewhere to make a better life
I hope that you find it on the first try
And even though it kills me
That you have to go
I know it'll be sadder
If you never hit the road
Seeing him finally reach the edge of the cliff, Ruby poured her heart out, the feelings of longing and sadness pouring out with the lyrics as she watched his form dive over the edge and finally out of view.
So farewell
Somebody is gonna miss you
Farewell
Somebody is gonna wish that you were here
Farewell
Somebody is gonna miss you
Farewell
Somebody is gonna wish that you were here
That somebody is me
Feeling a single tear make its way down her face, Ruby gently rubbed it away before turning around to face her second love, the man who keeps sending away their first love on dangerous missions. A small sad smile was all she could manage for the man before she started silently crying, her face falling and her shoulders shaking.
Ozpin, breaking out of his amazed stupor, quickly rushed to the crying girl and wrapped her in a tight hug. Seeing her this upset broke his heart but they both knew that Qrow was needed out in the field.
"That was absolutely beautiful, Ruby." Ozpin said as he felt her calming down after only a minute. She really did have quite a tight grasp on her emotions.
"Thank you." She mumbled back, not wanting to pull away from his embrace in that moment but knowing that the longer she stays, the more trouble she's going to get in with Goodwitch. "I've been singing it for him for a couple of years now as a goodbye. He caught me singing it once when he left, and he stuck around to hear it all and it just kind of became a tradition."
"I didn't know you could sing like that. Or that you wrote songs." Ozpin said, petting her hair gently. "There seems to be much that I don't know about you these days."
Ruby flinched a little at the hurt tone but didn't say anything to refute it. She'd known for years now that he would never love her like she wanted so she kept her feelings to herself, which, she guessed meant a lot of how she acts around Qrow.
"I have to ask though, what is with the flower?" He asked after a small pause, lightly brushing along the fine petals with his knuckles.
Pulling back slightly to touch the flower herself, Ruby smiled. "It's called a Far Away Flower. Typically, they're for a spouse of a hunter and are only sold in Atlas. They are designed to bloom only when fed by someone's Aura and will stay that way for almost a year or until said persons Aura runs out. Not too many people like them because they don't always like knowing when a loved one is getting beaten up or if their Aura has shattered but I've always used it as a way of knowing if Qrow was alright."
"What happens when someone's Aura shatters or they run out?" Ozpin asked, curious.
"The more someone is beaten and the lower their Aura goes, the less the flower blooms and it will eventually turn back into the rose bud. If someone's aura shatters, then really it just snaps shut but it doesn't die. I've found that if the person lives, so will the flower, but the closer to death they become, the closer to wilting the flower gets. The Aura they supply is from what a person can see if they call it forth, but your Aura is also the manifestation of your soul, right? So as long as your soul is still alive, so is the flower." Ruby explained, petting the rose gently with a smile. "Qrow brought a couple of Dragon Rose's back from Atlas one time for Yang and I which is how we always know when one of us is hurt, but I requested another one the next time he was in Atlas, so I could have one for him too."
It took a moment for Ozpin to realise the implications of what she had just said an almost horrified look crept onto his face. He knew from reports just how many times Qrow had come out of a fight with a shattered Aura and sometimes even close to death, and if he had been connected to the rose for even half of them, then Ozpin was so incredibly sorry for all the heartbreak and moments when Ruby would wonder if Qrow was going to make it back alive.
Looking up at Ozpins face after not hearing any kind of response, Ruby grimaced slightly at the horrified look on his face. "Yes, I've know each time Qrow has come back from a mission that he almost died on. Its traumatising but it's mine. This is the only way I will ever know if Qrow has truly died on a mission, or if he's just lost and needs someone to go find him."
"You, Ruby Rose, have experienced far too much of the worst part of the world." Was all Ozpin managed to get out before he got better control of his emotions. "Now, you should be getting to class. Would you like me to write you note?"
Ruby nodded in agreement to going back to class but shook her head hard at the note. "No, I have Goodwitch and I think she would hate on me even more if she knew I was up here with you. Again. She doesn't like me very much to start with."
Ozpin nodded his head in agreement, stepping away from the girl and motioning to head back inside. "Well, you best be on your way then. Your already about 10 minutes late."
"Yeah, I should. I'll just go the way I came I think. It's quicker. Thank you, Ozpin. I'll see you later." Ruby rushed out, jumping up to kiss his cheek quickly before running back across the balcony and jumping off, using her Semblance to fly straight for the Combat Class arena.
"What is it with those two and doors. Do they hate them or something?" Ozpin mumbled to himself before heading back to his desk, not looking forward to all the paperwork he needed to do.
Reforming at the doors of the arena, Ruby straightened out her uniform before walking in to face the class. Making her way to the main floor, Ruby realised she made it just in time for the first match to finish. 'There went trying to sneak in.' Ruby thought as she made her way to the seats.
She was still upset at having to say goodbye to Qrow but the talk with Ozpin helped a little, she was just hoping that nobody would decide today was a good to piss her off.
"Miss Rose, how nice of you to join us. I assume your finally finished with your 'family matters'?" Glynda snarked, as she noticed Ruby walking in.
"Yes, Professor Goodwitch. I'm sorry for coming late to the class, but I am finished with my family matters, so I won't be late to any more classes." Ruby replied, trying to be as polite as possible. She could tell though that it just managed to annoy the lady even more.
"Well, as I explained to the class, we are doing team battles today, but I have heard that you are apparently a prodigy of sorts so how would you like to face a team on your own?"
"I'm not sure what your sources are miss but I'd be happy to try a team fight on my own." Ruby replied, her tone flattening by the second. She was just standing to walk down the stairs again to the arena when Yang tried to stop her.
"Miss, that's not very fair to Ruby, she just got here."
"And if she thinks that she can just turn up to my classes late than she can get what punishment I see fit. Miss Rose's fight shall be with Team CRDL. I'll only give you a minute to gather your weapons and then you shall begin." Goodwitch snapped, turning on her heel to move to the edge of the stage.
Yang turned back to Ruby with glowing red eyes. "If you're really quick, you could get changed and still make it back with time to spare."
"I'll be fine. I'm just going to call my locker over, so I have Crescent Rose. We do have to get used to fighting in something other than our chosen outfits you know?" Ruby replied with a slightly manic grin. This chance to beat up Team CRDL was just too good to pass up. They are the biggest bullies and idiots she had ever seen, and she hated them. She saw them picking on a Faunus yesterday and was going to step in when their team leader quickly dragged them away.
Yang just sighed and slumped down on her chair, grinning up at her sister. "Try not to kill them."
"I'll do my best." Ruby said, before turning away and walking down the stairs, calling her locker over with her scroll.
Wiggling back in her chair, Yang just grinned to herself at the thought of what her sister was going to do to the team of bullies on the stage. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, she looked over to see a slightly concerned Blake and a very concerned Weiss. "Aren't you worried about her? She's going up against a whole team of people far bigger than her." Weiss asked, noticing Yang's grin.
"Nah, I don't know where Goodwitch heard it, but Ruby really is a prodigy. How do you think she got in her two years early?" Yang replied, completely relaxed with what was about to happen.
"There is a difference between getting into a hunting school early and facing four hunters in training at once." Weiss retorted, keeping an eye on Ruby as she grabbed her scythe and moved onto the stage, her uniform looking out of place in the room full of students wearing their battle gear. The buzz for the battle to start went off but no one on the stage moved yet, both parties trying to slap each other verbally first.
"You'll see. Ruby's gonna be fine. She's got a good head on her shoulders and it takes a lot to get her off her game- Oh shit." Yang said, cutting herself off as she saw Ruby verbally sparring with Cardin. That would have been fine if not for Cardin moving to touch the black Rose that Yang knew was braided into her sister's hair.
"What?" Blake asked, noticing the action too.
"They are so dead." Was all Yang could get out before the utter massacre of a battle began.
Gathering Crescent Rose from her locker was almost comforting, to feel the familiar weight of her baby in her hands. Closing the locker, Ruby made her way up to the stage, so ready to face off against all four idiots.
"Look, it's little miss Rose. So young that she couldn't even tell what time she needed to get to class. Poor baby. Maybe you should just go back to where you came from." Cardin mocked, trying to get on the younger girl's nerves.
Rub just smirked in response, not bothering to reply as she flicked Crescent Rose through all her functions, making sure that she was in working order.
That didn't make Cardin very happy though, so he tried again. "Are you gonna be okay in your uniform? Maybe you should go put on that pitiful little outfit of yours and go home, to your mummy." Cardin mock pouted and laughed when he saw that he hit a sore spot. "What, isn't your mummy there to take of your boo boos? Maybe she left you because she didn't want you anymore."
Realising that Cardin didn't have a clue what he was talking about, Ruby finally decided to respond. "Oh Cardin, shouldn't you be more worried about trying lug that big head of yours around everywhere? It's a wonder your mother ever cared enough to stay, you know. For someone with such a big head, you sure do have a tiny brain." Ruby said, making her eyes purposely bigger, wearing a mask of innocence. She smirked internally at the growl he released, stepping towards her in what was probably an attempt at menacing.
"Watch it little red, or I won't go as easy I was going to on you. We wouldn't want you to be a total embarrassment, would we?"
"I don't know Cardin. You would look good with 'Loser' written right across your forehead. You certainly have enough space for it." Ruby grinned, faintly noticing the buzz that indicated the start of the battle but knew that Cardin would want the last word before he attacked.
As he got closer though, Ruby could tell that he could see the rose in her hair and cursed slightly. "Well, would you look at that. The little girl even has a silly little flower in her hair. How cute." Cardin laughed, his other three team mates laughing with him. Stupidly, he tried to reach for the flower in Ruby's hair.
Dodging back slightly, Ruby swore in a dark tone, "Touch the flower, and I can't promise that you'll have a hand to take back."
Cardin just laughed it off and reached forward again, looking back to his team to try and mock her further. "Look, she doesn't want me to touch it."
Time for Ruby slowed to a crawl as Cardin's hand got closer and closer to her hair, just daring him to touch it. She felt his fingers brush her hair as they formed to try and grip the rose and Ruby saw red, quickly transforming Crescent Rose into her gun form and shot him straight in the stomach, point blank range.
Seeing Cardin fly backwards and slam into Sky, Ruby rushed forward, Crescent Rose rolling out into her scythe form as she raced across the floor of the stage. Using the blunt outer edge of the blade, Ruby shoved Dove back a few steps before turning to her next opponent. Hooking the blade around Russel's waist, Ruby looked straight into his rather terrified eyes as she pulled the trigger and swung the blade, throwing him clear across the room and slamming into the wall, his Aura shattering as he impacted.
Moving back to Dove, who had recovered his balance and was charging on her, Ruby shot herself into the air in a spinning arc, dodging his swing at her and on her downward spiral, slammed the shorter and blunt edge of her blade into his stomach, sending him flying back to the edge of the stage but still in the game.
Landing in a crouch, Ruby only just noticed Sky creeping up on her, his halberd aimed for the shaft of Crescent Rose. Ruby just watched as his blade hooked over the shaft, and instead of trying to fight for it, she let it go, rolling back to where Russel had dropped his daggers. Ruby picked up the handles, not even looking at them as she watched Sky fall to the ground, the unexpected weight of Crescent Rose added with no resistance when he pulled, he was practically trapped under it.
Ruby almost laughed at the idiocy of the move before she saw Cardin out of the corner of her eye taking a swing for her head. She swiftly stepped back out of range and then ran up the short length of his mace which was stuck in the ground, kneeing the boy in his face before jumping off and vaulting over his back, turning to face them with a manic grin.
"I hope you didn't think I'd be defenceless without my weapon, did you? Silly Cardin, this is what I was talking about. Big head, small brain." Ruby mocked, fake pouting at him as she twirled the daggers in her hands, rolling through the dust available. Finding the trigger in the handle, Ruby grinned at the three boys, all getting steady on their feet and glowering at the smaller girl.
Charging for Sky, who had thrown her scythe to the side and had his halberd at the ready, Ruby used her semblance to phase straight through him and his weapon and reformed behind him, slashing at his back with blades coated in burn dust, depleting his Aura in a matter of seconds. Sensing his Aura going into the red zone, Ruby jumped and kicked at his back with both feet and a small push of Aura, sending him flying into the wall and down next to his teammate, his Aura too shattering upon impact.
Flipping over and landing on the balls of her feet, Ruby quickly moved on to Cardin, who just happened to be closest. Taking a running jump at him, Ruby kicked aside the mace he swung at her and wrapped her legs around his chest, stabbing both sides of his neck with the lightning dust, electrocuting him. Feeling his unconscious body starting to fall, Ruby flipped down and used a Aura enforced kick to send him flying into the pile of his team she was building off to the side.
"Last one, little Dove. Are you scared?" Ruby mocked, before she ran at him, swiftly kicking him the chest to sending sliding into the wall behind him before throwing both daggers at his shoulders, pinning there before she reached across and picked up Crescent Rose, shooting him straight in the chest from across the room, the impact causing his Aura to shatter too.
Hearing the buzzer to end the match go off, Ruby straightened from her position and flicked Crescent Rose back into her compact form, holding it down by her side as she walked off the stage, leaving Dove pinned to the wall for someone else to deal with. Making her way to pile of Team CRDL, Ruby crouched over Cardin, slapping him lightly to see if he'd wake before realising he wouldn't. Turning to his team mates, Ruby practically growled at them. "Tell your idiot leader when he wakes up, that if he ever tries to touch me or my friends again, I will find him, and I won't be so easy on him. Got it?"
Seeing both hesitantly nod, Ruby growled at them. "I said, got it?"
"Yes ma'am." They both stuttered out. Pleased that she got her point across, Ruby stood and headed over to the stairs leading to the view area.
"Professor Goodwitch?" Ruby called, stopping about halfway up the stairs.
"Yes, Miss Rose?" Goodwitch replied, the slightest bit afraid of what this girl could do.
"Next time you want to make an example of me, do try to find something I'm bad at." Ruby replied, her tone flat and her face neutral. Not needing a response, Ruby turned and continued her way up the stairs, walking across and sitting herself down in the seat between Yang and Nora, wanting to be close to her sister.
Stunned silence was all that followed for a whole minute before the rest of the class started cheering and asking questions. Who was she? How did she do that? Where did she come from? Did she train with Pyrrha?
Thankfully, Teams RWBY and JNPR didn't get involved in all the question asking and cheering, just lightly congratulating her and allowing her to sit in silence. Everyone was left wondering though, what it was exactly that set her off at the beginning of the fight.
Yang understood though, and pulled her sister into a side hug, wrapping her arm around her shoulder and pulling her in, letting Ruby rest her head on Yang's shoulder while they watched the rest of the matches. Team RWBY wouldn't fight that day because Ruby had just done it for them, so there was no need to worry about getting ready to be called on which was a relief for the Blonde as she carded her fingers gently though her younger sister's hair.
Feeling Yang's fingers in her hair, Ruby sighed and finally relaxed into the embrace, not even caring if anyone else thought that it was weird or a weakness, she was just glad she had her sister there with her. She couldn't have imagined what would have happened if Cardin had actually taken the rose from her hair, not that she would have let him, but what if.
Feeling something nudge at her hand hanging at her side, Ruby looked over to see Nora gently pulling at her fingers. Reaching out, Ruby grabbed at the hand offered to her, tightly clasping it before looking back up to her face.
Nora only smiled lightly, silently asking if she was doing okay. Nora knew what kind of fight that was. That was almost a revenge mission for something the other person didn't know they'd done. Nora had done it before when someone tried to steal something important of Ren's, and with the knowledge that Ruby was the singer of the sad song, she wanted to make sure that her young friend was okay. Feeling Ruby squeeze her hand slightly with a sad and tired smile on her face, Nora decided that she was never, ever going to let this girl be alone ever again.
Shifting her hand slightly, Nora watched as Ruby's smile fell a little before she slowly pulled her hand away. Letting go was not the goal Nora had in mind though and quickly grabbed at her hand again, this time sliding her fingers through Ruby's and holding tight. Looking back to Ruby's face, Nora saw her smile again, this time happier and gave her hand a small squeeze before looking back at the fights, not letting go of her hand for the rest of the lesson.
Yang had looked over when she felt Ruby shift, wanting to make sure that she was alright when she saw what Nora was doing. Smiling to herself, Yang shifted her attention back to the stage, happy to let Nora form whatever kind of friendship with Ruby, knowing that she needed more friends and would get along swimmingly with the other hyper girl. 'We can only hope.' Yang thought to herself, glancing back to see Ruby's soft smile and Nora's kind one, their hands entwined together.
Weiss and Blake were concerned. Ruby had been distracted the whole morning, left during one class and utterly and mercilessly smashed Team CRDL when she arrived to the next. And then, to make it even weirder, Ruby spent the rest of the day mellow and kind of gloomy, which was not the norm for the younger girl.
Blake wasn't too worried, having seen how Yang was acting and noting that she wasn't shocked, so it must be somewhat normal behaviour, but she did wonder what had set it off. Ruby had been pretty happy and almost bouncy for most of the week and this sudden change in attitude had her curious. Maybe She'd have to ask Yang about it.
Wiess on the other hand was very worried. While she still hadn't thought that Ruby was quite what a leader should be, she knew that whatever episode she just had on the stage was not it. Ruby was far more powerful than she had ever assumed, and she almost felt sorry for saying that she didn't belong in the school but if she was going to through a tantrum about a flower, which was what that fight looked like, than maybe she should be concerned. Weiss hadn't even noticed that she had a flower in her hair this morning anyway, so it couldn't have been that important but maybe she'll have to ask Yang about it later.
Jaune was confused though. He hadn't realised that Ruby was such a powerhouse and, like most of the class, was curious to know where she had trained and how nobody knew of her. He was almost going to ask too, when he felt Pyrrha's hand on his arm, and her head shaking at him, telling him not ask. He was curious but if Pyrrha told him not to, maybe he shouldn't, but then watching her go through the rest of the day with barely a word to anyone was weird, and slightly concerning. He'd have to ask Yang after dinner.
Pyrrha too was worried about her young friend. It wasn't like her to be so harsh on people, nor was it like her to be so mellow and unresponsive. She was definitely going ask Yang about this as she didn't seem to be surprised by the change, just making sure that she was close by in case she was needed and leaving her alone for the most part.
The last bell for class couldn't have rung soon enough, and with a quick glance to Yang, Ruby walked away to find somewhere to be alone, knowing that Yang was okay with it and would grab her gear for her. It happens almost every time Qrow leaves, Ruby would spend the whole day moping about and then after he left, she would hide away where nobody could see her, doing what ever she felt like doing, usually moping about and staring blankly at nothing.
Gathering the stack of gear Ruby had left for her, Yang walked out into the halls and headed back to the dorms as though the day wasn't any different. Ignoring the odd looks she was getting from Blake, Weiss and Jaune, Yang thought about where Ruby might be headed. She typically went for the places up high but there were so many around the school that if she were to go looking for her, she wouldn't know where to start. And while she knew that Ruby was friends with and she was fairly certain in love with Ozpin, Yang knew she wouldn't go there. Not today.
Still thinking about Ruby, Yang hadn't noticed that she had reached the dorms until she was standing in front of her desk, having put all her gear down and blankly staring at the wall. Hearing someone clear their throat behind her, Yang startled slightly and turned to see her team and only half of Team JNPR all staring at her expectantly.
"Oh, hey guys. What are you doing in our room…?" Yang asked, looking pointedly at Jaune and Pyrrha. "And where are Ren and Nora?"
"Nora said she wanted pancakes and Ren said he'd go with her to make sure she doesn't eat them all." Jaune replied, shuffling slightly and looking to Pyrrha.
"And we are here because we're concerned about Ruby. We may not have known her long, but this seems particularly out of character, especially for her." Weiss said, sitting on the edge of her bed.
"Yeah, I didn't actually think Ruby had a 'mellow' function." Jaune said, moving to lean against the doorframe.
Yang sighed and flopped into her chair, admitting to herself that they do deserve to know, half of them are her teammates and the other her friends. "Look," She started, straightening a bit in her seat. "This is only gonna last a couple of days, max, but considering that we're going to be together for the next four years, I guess you deserve to know. The question is, how to start?"
"Well how about this, what was with the flower Cardin was talking about? I didn't see one there this morning or even in class, what was she getting so worked up about?" Weiss asked, still very much confused about what happened in Combat Class.
"Oh, yeah, that." Yang sighed, before continuing. "Ruby hasn't been wearing it for a couple of weeks but she will be now, and it's called a Far Away Flower. They were developed in Atlas as something for the spouse of a Hunter to keep with them as a way of knowing if their loved one was alive. They're powered by the persons Aura and will only die if the person powering it dies."
"Why would Ruby have one? And how did she even get one of those? They aren't that popular in Atlas and they certainly aren't sold in the other nations." Weiss asked.
"Ruby has two, technically. One for me and one for Qrow."
"One for you?" Blake asked, she'd never noticed something as big as a flower on her before.
"Yeah, we have one for each other." Yang explained, pulling a red and yellow Dragon Rose out from the pocket of her uniform, showing it to the others. "It's a way for us to tell when the other one is getting hurt."
"That's very sweet, but who was that Qrow person you mentioned?" Blake asked, taking quick note of the flower before moving on.
"Qrow-" Yang paused, thinking of a way to explain the situation that wouldn't offend some of the more delicate personalities in the room. "Qrow is a very important… person… in Ruby's life and just today left on a dangerous mission, of which we have no knowledge where he's going and when he'll be back. Ruby takes it really hard when he leaves and makes him recharge her rose before he leaves and wears it constantly in her hair, so she'll know if something ever happens to him while he's out in the field."
The room was silent for minute, each of the teens thinking about what they heard when Pyrrha spoke. "Is that why she left during class today? And why she's been so upset all day?"
"Yeah. He always leaves at the same time, no matter what day he leaves, and Ruby has yet to miss a farewell. She will though, be a bit mopey for a couple of days at most before she returns to her usual self."
"And what happened in Combat Class? She looked like she was fine and then suddenly went berserk." Jaune asked, extremely curious about that particular experience.
"While Ruby hates Cardin and his group of bullies, she wouldn't usually beat them to the point of their Aura shattering, I thought." Blake added, thinking back to the class.
Yang sighed and pursed her lips in annoyance. "He had that coming for him, bully or not. Nobody, and I mean nobody, ever touches Ruby's rose. Usually you can't see it because it's pitch black and she braids it into the top of her hair where it blends in, but he was close enough to not only see it but try and touch it too? Nobody comes away from touching her rose without some form of bodily harm."
"So, what? She's just allowed to go around beating people up if they try and touch a little a flower in her hair? That's pretty childish if you asked me." Weiss said, turning her nose up at the blonde.
"It's not childish, Weiss. It's protective. But I guess you wouldn't know anything about that, being an ice queen and all."
"Don't call me that!"
"Don't call my sister childish! She's not some ignorant child who doesn't know anything, but you sure seem to be acting like one."
"Oh, the nerve!"
"You know what? I think you're jealous. You're jealous of my little sister because she's two years younger than you and yet she's years ahead of you in terms of being a true huntress."
"Why would I be jealous of that child?"
"She's not a child!" Yang screamed, her semblance flaring as her hair grew ablaze. "And stop treating her like one!"
"Alright, alright!" Jaune yelled, moving between the two girls glaring at each other. "I think maybe we should all leave and go do something else before people start fighting and destroying the room."
"I agree. Perhaps we could all go to the cafeteria and enjoy an afternoon snack." Pyrrha suggested, moving to blonde and gripping her wrist, steering her out the door.
"An afternoon snack does sound very appealing." Agreed Blake, also moving out the door. "Maybe we'll run into Ren and Nora and share with them what we heard."
"No, I'm good thanks. I'll just get started on my homework instead." Weiss said, moving towards her desk and ignoring everyone else as they left and closed the door. "Good riddance, I wanted some peace and quiet to myself…"
Having told the group that she was going off in search of pancakes, Nora made her way back out onto the courtyard, Ren following her along the way. They both had noticed Ruby's change in behaviour and her sudden disappearance and wanted to go make sure that she was okay, and offer whatever comfort they could, if only they could find her.
"She seemed to be facing the cliff edge when she was singing, maybe she went that way." Ren suggested as he watched Nora frown slightly in thought.
"What a great idea Ren! I'm sure we'll find her now!" Nora shouted, bouncing on her way to the landing pads at the cliff edge, eager to find the younger girl.
Following a little further behind, Ren thought about what kind of Ruby they may find. While the girl seemed to be much like Nora in way of attitude, he knew that she also possessed a much deeper level of processing and understanding that Ren only saw during the initiation. But today seemed to be showing another side of her that they hadn't yet seen, and it worried him slightly.
To see Ruby so mellow and down was almost as heartbreaking as it was to see Nora in the same shape. They just seemed to ooze energy normally and to experience them in any way different was odd. And he was a little concerned about the fight against Team CRDL, having seem a fight similar in his journeys with Nora. Clearly, Cardin had done something to set her off on a revenge mission, and Ren wanted to make sure that she was feeling okay, knowing that battles like that were more than just a physical one.
Reaching the landing pads, Ren noted that there was a few Bullheads constantly rotating through and knew that they wouldn't land if there was someone on the pads, which meant she was either further along the edge of jus not there at all.
Looking one way along the edge, Ren heard his partner shout in success from the other direction as she found the person of interest sitting with her legs hanging off the edge just a little further down.
"Ruby!" Nora called with a big smile, wanting to give the girl a little warning before approaching, not wanting to scare her into falling off the edge. Seeing the younger girl slowly turn her head in their direction, both teens frowned in concern as they saw her shoulders shaking as tears poured down her face. "Ruby?"
Hearing her name being called, Ruby turned around to see Nora's smile drop and Ren's frown to deepen as they grew closer. Not wanting them to see her right then, Ruby shuffled back from the edge and rolled over her head and onto her feet, looking back at the shocked pair before taking off into the foliage surrounding the academy grounds.
"Well I certainly didn't expect that." Ren noted, as he caught up to his frozen partner. "You are going after her, yes?"
"Of course, I just didn't think she'd run. But she shouldn't be alone, not right now." Nora said, her face hard as she thought about what could happen to her friend when she was so upset.
"Come on then, if we let her have too much of a head start we'll never find her." Ren expressed, taking off at a hard sprint after their caped friend, Nora following only steps behind.
Racing through the trees, Ruby couldn't help the tears as they poured down her face, cursing her life as a silver eyed warrior and for being so smart and falling in love with the two worst men possible, especially when they were together. Why, why, why?
"Why?!" Ruby screamed at the sky as she tripped over a root, not even bothering to get up. "Why did I have to be the one to go through all this?! Why couldn't I be normal?" She sobbed, curling into a ball on the dirt.
Coming to a sliding stop, Ren and Nora looked on at the girl as she sobbed out questions to the sky, asking why she had to love them, and why they had to be together and why she couldn't have just been a normal girl with normal crushes and worries and a life without her stupid powers.
Powers? Looking over to Nora who just shrugged helplessly, Ren looked back to the slumped girl as she sobbed. Moving slowly towards her, Ren stopped short when she jerked from her position on the ground to reach into her pockets, quickly drawing a pair of handles before she leaped for the closest tree to her, the handles folding out into some kind of blade before tearing into the bark, her arms blurring as they moved.
The jump from miserable to pissed was quick as she leapt from the ground, pulling Rosebud out and pushing all the feelings she had into them as she tore through tree after tree, shifting between the Sai blades and the Dual Blades as she moved forward, tearing through anything that got in her way.
She could never let either Qrow or Ozpin see her like this, practically thowing a tantrum in the forest because she didn't get her way, but Ruby didn't know any other way to get rid of the horrible ache in her chest. Tearing through tree after tree, Ruby raced forwards into the edges of the Emerald as she heard a pack of Beowolves moving in her direction, clearly attracted to her emotional turmoil.
Faintly hearing the sound of a couple of the school lockers landing nearby, Ruby ignored them in favour of slashing through the pack before her, cutting off heads and arms as she went, not caring about how, as long as the Grimm were dead. Finishing the last one off, Ruby stood panting for a few seconds before realising that there were no other Grimm in the area, meaning nothing else for her to kill.
"Screw you Ozpin!" Ruby screamed, once again collapsing to the ground, dropping her weapons as she covered her eyes, feeling her power stirring violently beneath the surface. "No, no, no, no…"
Finally catching up with the younger girl, both older teens were shocked by the sight of what was a large pack of Grimm, fading away into the afternoon breeze, Ruby's shaking form sitting right in the middle. Picking their way carefully over to the girl, Ren and Nora finally understood the comment about 'powers' when they saw what looked like tendrils of silver light escaping from beneath the shaking girl's hands.
Calling her name gently, Ren realised she couldn't hear them as her mumbling got progressively louder, her repetition of 'no' quickly becoming concerning. Seeing Nora creeping closer on the girl, Ren reached out and pulled her back, softly explaining that they don't know what was happening and that maybe it would be safer if they didn't approach her just yet.
"I was dangerous too when you first saw me, that didn't stop you." Nora retorted, jerking her arm out of his grip before hopping her way over to the girl on the girl. "Ruby?"
Looking up at the sound of her name, Ruby was shocked to see Nora rather quickly making her way across the fading bodies towards her. Knowing that her powers were showing around her eyes, Ruby cowered slightly away from the older girl, trying to think of a way to release her powers in a way that wouldn't hurt her friend. The power itself shouldn't hurt anything that isn't a Grimm but if they were close enough to an explosion of the stuff, it would definitely throw them back, and she didn't want to do that.
"No- Nora?" Ruby asked, wanting to make sure she wasn't just imagining things.
"Yeah, it's me. And Ren's here too."
"Ren's here too?" Her voice getting higher as her emotions moved from angry to scared in a split second. Leaning around to see behind the hammer wielding teen, she could indeed see Ren, standing a few paces back with a worried look on his face.
"No, no, no. Nora you have to go. Please." Ruby begged, feeling her powers become more volatile, her hands shaking.
"No Ruby. I won't leave you alone like this." Nora responded, her voice gentle but determined as she crept even closer.
"N-no. I don't mean it like that. I'm dangerous right now, I could hurt you, please, just go. Or even climb a tree or something. Get either away or above, but please don't come closer." Ruby rushed out, trying hard to push the power down to her hands, hoping that what she had in mind would work.
Hearing what she said, Ren sped forwards and grabbed his partner by her arm away to the edge of the field, ignoring her protesting as she was dragged away.
"Ren, we have to help her!" Nora shouted, trying to pull away but his grip was too strong.
"No Nora, she's trying to help us. Just do what she says okay, we're not leaving her behind, were just getting higher up. Ruby knows what she's doing, we need to trust her and follow her instructions." Ren replied, turning to grip her shoulders, trying to make her understand.
Nodding slowly, Nora agreed and jumped up onto the highest branch she could reach, before jumping again, getting as high as safe as she could while still being able to see Ruby.
Seeing Ren follow close behind Nora, Ruby smiled slightly before focussing back on her power, knowing that even if she had calmed down, it still needed to be released. Continuing to push the power to her hands, Ruby watched as twin balls of raw power formed in her hands, both growing by the second, making the space around her brighter and brighter as they grew.
Realising that if she were to try and hold all the power available in her hands, she'd fail, Ruby slowly turned her palms to face the ground, trying to force the balls into the grass, only succeeding in flattening the power into twin plate shapes. Seeing the power build to cover the whole of the field, Ruby could just feel the last tendrils slipping out of her palms and with the last of her energy, she forced the large circles to disburse, sending a large wave of wind blowing in every direction around her as the power went out in search of Grimm to kill before disappearing, sending a chilling breeze over the whole of the campus and deep into the Emerald Forest.
Ruby only had time to glance over and see a thoroughly windswept but mostly okay Ren and Nora leaping out of the tree they were in as she felt her body swiftly falling to the ground, her last conscious thought of both teens, hoping that they wouldn't hate her too much for what they just saw. 'I'm so sorry.'
I hope you enjoyed it! So, a couple of things. 1) I have always wanted to see Nora and Ruby closer because I always believed that they would get along swimmingly. 2) I also wanted something with Ren because really, before Weiss softened out - which won't be for a while in this fic - she didn't have anyone who so openly accepted her without wanting to change her, so I thought Ren would fit perfectly. 3) I have always loved the idea that Ruby could sing and am unashamed to admit that I was deeply inspired by the latest chapter of Emerald Rose written by KryHeart on AO3. The song she sings in this chapter is Farewell by Rihanna. And I know that I'm leaving it on such a cliffhanger, but I really couldn't fit what happens next in just this one chapter.
So many people are starting to find out though. This is the last of them for now though. I don't have any plans to reveal her powers to anyone else anytime soon but sometimes these things just write themselves so we shall see. Bye for now.