Darkness. Panic. Terror.
She felt as though her heart was going to burst inside her chest.
Miltia could hear them getting closer. The howls were sending chills down her spine. Time was running out. They were coming.
So it was that the people were being herded onto the trains like little more than animals. To the approaching creatures they may as well have been cattle waiting for the slaughter. So many had already died. So many would not be saved. There simply wasn't enough room. Even she knew that.
The darkness of the cavern was suffocating. Buildings stood without power to turn on their lights. Resource lines had been cut. Things like running water were an afterthought now. This was an evacuation. The first and only priority was getting out alive before they arrived.
Miltia hugged her sister close to her hoping that the familiar presence of her twin might stop her from shaking. It did not. All it did was enable her to feel Melanie's own body tremble. It was alright though. They were close. They were so close. The line which had moved agonizingly slow had nearly delivered them to their salvation. They would be next aboard the train. They would be able to escape.
Where were the huntsmen? Why weren't they stopping the attack? It made no sense. Things like this weren't supposed to happen.
The person in front of her stepped aboard the train car. He had to move in sideways and suck his gut in as much as he possibly could to squeeze inside. It was packed. Little more than a can of human sardines. There was no room for movement. Barely enough room to breathe. No possible way for anyone else to embark.
"Girls," she heard her mother say from behind her. A gentle touch became a firm shove as she felt a hand on her back.
She didn't let go of Melanie as she turned around. "Mommy?"
"Get on the train," the raven-haired woman told her.
How? There was no room? Certainly not enough for the three of them and their father.
She didn't voice her objection. She could barely speak. Neither could Melanie. All she could do was stare up at her parents with fearful eyes.
The next voice she heard was her father's. A normally smooth baritone was filled with something resembling a mixture of anger and desperation as he reached his arms out into the train car. "Move!" he yelled to the people inside as he began shoving them in deeper.
"Get in now before the doors close," her mother implored. The hand on her back gave a final shove into the train car where her father had created a tiny pocket of air. Small enough for two little girls to fit inside.
They were in now. They had made it aboard the train. Her mother and father on the other hand remained outside.
Miltia was too terrified to speak. However her mother seemed to know what she was thinking when she spoke. "Your dad and I will be right behind you on the next train," she said reassuringly. "Look after your sister, Miltia. Don't let her out of your sight." Her eyes turned to the girl beside her. "And you do the same, Melanie. Do you understand?"
Both girls nodded wordlessly. Everything would be alright.
"I love you," her mother and father both seemed to say at once.
In an instant the scenery was different. They were back outside. The other people were gone. She only had Melanie next to her. She held onto her older twin's hand like her life depended on it. She knew it did.
Darkness engulfed her vision. The howls returned. They were coming. They had nowhere to go. Where were her parents?
Miltia turned to realize that Melanie had vanished. She hadn't even felt the other girl let go of her hand. Where was she? Where was everyone?
Another sound joined the howling. A low rumbling which sounded like thunder filled the cavern. Even in the darkness she could see the ceiling beginning to cave in. Rocks fell, smashing noiselessly onto the ground.
Where was Melanie? She needed to find her. They had to run.
As she spun around she realized that she had reached a dead end. The cavern would go no further. The only way she could go was back toward the howling. Back to where the cavern was caving in.
The ceiling began to collapse above her.
The rocks were about to hit her.
Miltia woke up with a startled breath.
She could feel a tightness in her chest. Her heart was racing.
Closing her eyes she did the best she could to calm down. Miltia took in a deep breath through her nose before exhaling through her mouth. She did so over and over again in the darkness that she knew was her room and not the cavern from ten years earlier.
She continued the process for another couple of minutes before opening her eyes again. The dim light from outside of her window allowed her to barely make out some of the details of the room. She was safe. She knew it. No rocks would crush her. No Grimm would tear her apart. Melanie was alive and well. Knowing her the girl was probably passed out drunk in her own room.
Feeling a dampness on her pillow, Miltia sat up before running a hand along the back of her neck. There was a hint of sweat on her skin that hadn't soaked into the fabric yet. She hated how cliché it was. Like she was in some sort of horror movie and had just been jarred awake from a terrible nightmare.
It was a more accurate statement than she cared to admit. She had lived through a real life horror movie.
She laid back down against the pillow with a frustrated sigh. "Fuck," she breathed out in the darkness.
Reaching over to the small table beside her bed she felt around for her scroll. Bringing it close to her face she woke it from its own slumber. The bright light of the screen made her wince in sudden pain. It was a little bit after two in the morning. She had barely been able to get two hours of sleep before being woke by that stupid nightmare.
She could still feel her heart pounding in her chest. No amount of breathing exercises would stop it. Only time. It pissed her off. She knew that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anytime soon tonight.
Sitting up and moving so that her legs hung off the side of the bed, she let her feet drift over to where her slippers sat on the floor. She needed to do something. She needed to take her mind off of this. Perhaps she would take a page out of Melanie's book.
Clad in the usual red tank top and grey sweat pants she slept in, Miltia made her way downstairs. She had expected to find the place empty. She didn't know if she should feel fortunate or disappointed that it was not.
Junior stood behind the bar looking down at his scroll. Even without the clicking sound of her heels he heard her approach and looked up. His face was neutral as he greeted her. "You're up late."
She frowned as she took a seat at the bar in front of him. "So are you."
"Yeah, but I'm always up late," he explained. "Plus we're opening back up in a couple days. Gotta make sure everything's ready for that."
Miltia hummed in agreement. Life would soon be normal again. Business would start back up. Lien would flow in. The good life would be returned to her and Melanie.
Looking around she saw a clear bottle sitting next to Junior. It was half empty, and she didn't know if he was the cause of that or if he had chosen an already opened bottle to partake in tonight. He didn't appear to be intoxicated. Then again he could hold his liquor even better than Melanie.
"What are you drinking?" she asked, pointing at the bottle.
"Mistrali Blue Label."
It was a good brand of scotch. One of the most expensive too. Junior loved scotch. He would only drink the best, and Mistral seemed to make just that. It was a kingdom known for its luxuries and decadence. A kingdom known for a criminal underworld that such markets bred. It was where Junior hailed from.
"Pour me some?" she asked.
He frowned at her, but grabbed another small glass from behind the counter. "A little late to be drinking isn't it?"
Maybe. But it wasn't like she was going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon.
She shrugged in response as the glass was set down in front of her. Junior filled it up about halfway with the amber liquid. That drink alone would cost one of the club's patrons about thirty lien. Mistrali Blue Label was indeed too expensive for most people out there. However she was not most people. She was getting it for free. One of the perks of the job.
A perk that they all needed from time to time.
Miltia took a sip of the drink, trying to savor the taste as it went down her throat. She wouldn't simply down it like Melanie might have in order to try and get drunk as quickly as possible.
It was gone quicker than she had expected it to be. Annoyingly quick. It hadn't seemed like she had taken so many sips, but sure enough she stared down at an empty glass. She looked back up to Junior. "More."
That grumbling noise he made so much in the place of words sounded in the back of his throat. He complied nonetheless, and soon enough her glass was filled once more with the expensive drink.
"Thanks."
"I didn't realize that Melanie cut her hair short," he said offhandedly.
Miltia's eyes narrowed as she looked up at him. "Melanie's not the only one who's allowed to drink," she said defensively.
"No," he agreed. "But she is the only one who uses it as a crutch."
She didn't respond to the statement. She knew it to be true as much as he did. Melanie was broken. Just like she was.
Both had their ways of coping with their past. Both had symptoms of a problem which lay in their minds. Miltia had nightmares. Melanie drank away her issues. Everyone knew it no matter how much the girl tried to deny it. However her older sister could not hide that truth from her no matter how much she tried. It was impossible with the Semblance that they shared.
"It's not like you to be down here this late drinking," he continued.
So what? Like she had said, Melanie wasn't the only one who could drink. "Whatever," she whispered harshly.
He grunted at the word. Junior could always brush off any kind of abrasive behavior from both her and Melanie. Other people might have reacted poorly to her demeanor. He knew them both too well to ever be offended by them.
His tone lightened as much as his gruff voice would let it. "Was it the usual one?"
Miltia hated when he sounded concerned like that. She wasn't a kid anymore. She wasn't the little girl in tears he had found clutching her sister's hand at the train station. The two girls who had lost everything on that day but each other.
"Yeah," she replied simply.
Another grunt, this time of acknowledgement. He knew the one. She had shared her nightmares with him when she had still been a child. She didn't have parents anymore to talk about them with. She didn't want to burden Melanie with them either. Junior had for all intents and purposes become her legal guardian after that day. Like an uncle who was caring for the children of his deceased sibling.
He refilled her drink once again. Both knew it wasn't a healthy way to cope with their problems. However it was the only way they knew how. It had served them well for years now. Even before she and Melanie had been old enough to legally drink.
They sat in silence for a while before Junior spoke again. "Stress will trigger nightmares sometimes," he said like some sort of wise sage. Maybe in a few decades when he was a wrinkled old man he could grow his white beard out and play the role more accurately. "And we've been under a lot of stress lately."
She nodded in agreement. First the club. Now the White Fang. He had not taken the news well.
However he had showed no fear. Junior was a former huntsman. He had battled against both the creatures of Grimm and people before. He wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty when it came to those fanatics. He would protect what was his. He would protect her and Melanie. Even if they claimed they didn't need protecting anymore.
It wasn't just the stress of the White Fang, however. Miltia could still remember those blue eyes that had stared at her the previous day. Eyes filled with shock and horror. Eyes that she could still feel judging her even at this moment.
She shoved the glass back over toward Junior. "More."
He complied once more without complaint. It didn't stop him from commenting though. "Are you sure I'm not talking to Mel right now?"
Miltia stared down at the glass in front of her. The last thing she wanted to do was develop a drinking habit like her sister. This would only be a one night thing. She just needed to calm down. Like Junior had said, she was under a lot of stress. The club. The White Fang. The nightmare. The boy.
"Are you sure it's any of your business?" she snapped.
She immediately felt a twinge of guilt after she spoke. It wasn't Junior's fault that he was concerned over her. He wanted what was best for her. He had ever since the day they met.
"It was a bad day for a lot of people," he said, ignoring her little outburst. She was thankful for that. He understood her on a level that only Melanie herself surpassed. "But you have to remember it could have turned out a lot worse. You and Melanie made it out alive."
She nodded again. Her eyes were locked onto the amber liquid as she spoke. "Only because of you."
So many people hadn't made it out. So many people weren't lucky enough to have run into one of the few huntsmen who were down there. If she and Melanie had been anyone else he probably would have overlooked them. He hadn't though. Somehow, by some stroke of luck, he had passed by two crying little girls who were lost and without any hope of escaping on their own. Despite their parent's best efforts of getting them to safety they still would have died eventually if not for Junior.
"You know she's lucky to have you, right?"
Miltia shrugged.
"I don't think she would have made it long without you," he added.
"You could say the same about me."
"Maybe. And maybe that's why your Semblances came out the way they did."
There were tales of pseudoscience which spoke of twins sharing some sort of psychic link with one another. According to some, twins had an uncanny ability to finish each other's sentences or even feel the other's pain and emotions over long distances. There were also stories of twins sharing the same Semblance. Both of these turned out to be true for the Malachite sisters.
It was useful in a fight to be able to sense the intentions and emotions of her sister. Melanie was able to do the same with her. In combat it made them able to operate perfectly in sync, constantly anticipating one another's next move and even silently warning the other of a danger that the girl could not see herself. To anyone else it looked like well-choreographed practice. To them it was simply instinct.
However the downside came that both girls were at times completely helpless in being able to hide their stronger emotions and desires from one another. When it came to powerful feelings and sensations her mind may as well have been an open book to Melanie, just as Melanie's was to her.
This shared empathy had come at a price. Their Semblances had emerged following the loss of their parents. From the fear of losing each other. The fear of being left alone in the dark.
Thankfully they had been found before that could happen.
Miltia was still filled with guilt over how she had spoken to Junior a minute ago. "I don't say this enough, Hei," she said softly. "But thank you."
He shrugged off the appreciation. It wasn't like him to get emotional. "No need to thank me for making the right call." He paused as he looked down at his own drink. "Or for giving me something real to care about once I stepped away from that shit."
Miltia knew why he had stepped away from the life of a huntsman. She hadn't found out until years later when they had asked him. That incident had been the final straw. The thing which had finally pushed his disillusioned mind past the breaking point.
The truth was that being a huntsman wasn't as glamorous as some people made it seem. They weren't heroes. They were pawns. They were dogs of the kingdom. They went where they were told. They did what they were told. Even if it meant costing thousands of people their lives.
Costing her parents their lives.
Her mind drifted to the boy who had so desperately wanted to be a huntsman. She could still remember the anger that she had felt when he had first said the words. She knew that Melanie had felt the same way. That anger was why she taunted him with that nickname she used so often. He had no idea. No fucking idea. To him it was about being a hero and helping people. Junior had told her otherwise. Junior had revealed the darker side of what it meant to be a huntsman.
After another sip from her glass the taste was starting to become more muted. She was used to it by now. Perhaps it was affecting her in more ways than one. "Hei," she said.
"Hmm?"
"What do you think of Jaune?"
The man sighed, pressing his hands up against the bar and leaning against it. It seemed to her that he was deep in thought as he stared down at the wooden counter. "You mean as a person?"
She shrugged. "I guess."
Junior grunted an acknowledgement. "Young. Idealistic." He paused for a few seconds before continuing. "Naive."
His assessment seemed about right. Miltia knew since the first time they had met that he had a little hero complex going on inside his head. She wondered what it was that he thought about the path he chose now. After everything he had witnessed.
"He wants to be a hero but doesn't know anything about the world," he continued. "He doesn't know what the heroes have to do sometimes in order to keep people safe."
"Like Mountain Glenn," Miltia said knowingly.
"Like Mountain Glenn," he echoed.
It was a sobering memory. So many people had died. So many heroes had been absent. Thankfully Junior had been there. He had been her and Melanie's hero.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Dunno," she lied.
He didn't buy it. Junior pulled her glass closer to him and filled it up again. She could tell it was more than just a courtesy. Drinks like this loosened the tongue.
"How about you?" he asked. "What do you think of him?"
Too many things to tell tonight, she knew. From the first day when he had cared for her hand the way he had she thought he was different. He wasn't like the usual trash she associated with. He wasn't like Junior either. He hadn't been tainted by this world. By this life. By doing the kinds of things she and her sister had to do to stay on top. The things needed to stay alive.
Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe she just had to get it off her chest. Whatever it was she said two words she hadn't planned on saying only moments ago. "I'm scared."
Her answer garnered the full attention of Junior this time. He pocketed his scroll before he spoke again. "Of what?"
Again, too many things. Where did she begin? There was no good place to begin, so she just went with the first thing that came to mind. "Did you know that I cooked the other day?"
To Junior it probably felt like she was changing the subject. It wouldn't be the first time.
"You?" he asked incredulously. "Don't bullshit me, Miltia."
"I did! I helped make those omelets."
Junior snorted a small laugh. "Did you now."
"Mhmm."
"They were good."
She might have thanked him for the compliment if she had actually done a lot of the work. The truth was that she just cut up a few of the ingredients. Not alone either.
"He made me do it," she continued.
"Jaune?"
"Mhmm."
Junior didn't respond. Whenever the two of them were alone it made for some awkward moments. Neither talked much. Usually it was Melanie who held things together. Her loudmouth and obnoxious sister had her uses. She was the glue that held many conversations together.
Miltia licked her lips before finishing her thought. "And..." she started hesitantly. "I let him make me."
It was an contradiction, but it was true. She hadn't wanted to do it at all. Yet despite her protests she had still allowed it to happen.
Junior closed his eyes as he let out a breath. "Fuck."
She gave him a curious look. "Huh?"
"Nothing. Forget about it."
Miltia frowned but let it go. She had more important things on her mind anyway. "Hei, it felt normal."
"Normal?"
She nodded. "Yeah. He's so normal."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"I dunno."
"Is that what scares you?"
One of the things. She shrugged. "Maybe." He was normal. She wasn't. They came from opposite worlds. He came from a world she could never be a part of. "When I'm with him I can pretend to be normal too."
She knew that's all it was though. Pretend. The time they spent together at the club was a lie. Walking together in downtown Vale was a lie. Looking at his comic book together was a lie. It may have been who he was, but it wasn't who she was.
He had seen who she was with Tukson. Blue eyes which had looked at her teasingly in the kitchen had turned fearful in that book store.
"Normal's overrated," Junior said. She knew he was trying to make her feel better the only way he knew how.
However she didn't think normal was overrated. Jaune had a family. A loving family. Parents and sisters. He had stories about those sisters braiding his hair and covering his face in makeup.
Miltia on the other hand had stories of her sister passing out drunk at the bar or kicking the crap out of wannabe thugs in the alleys of Vale.
No. Normal was not overrated. Normal was something she wanted. Something that she would never have. Not when her hands were as red as her favorite dress.
"You wanted to know what I think of him?" she asked.
He grunted an affirmation. Having his full attention like this was a little bit unnerving. She didn't like being the center of attention. That was more Melanie's forte. She felt so small again. Just like she had when she had poured her heart out to Junior about her nightmares all those years ago.
She hated it.
"I think he's sweet," she said softly. "Innocent. He's... normal. He's not a part of our world. He doesn't fit in here. Fucking Melanie..." She shook her head at the memory of her sister coming up with the idea of Jaune working for Junior. Her fingers drifted to the glass which she began to bounce back and forth lightly. "I'm scared something bad will happen to him. But I think I'm more scared that he's going to not be normal anymore."
Silence fell over the room once more. Only the light sound of fingernails on glass could be heard as it danced in Miltia's fingers. Soon enough she decided to down the drink in one go, uncaring of the scotch's cost or quality.
She set it back down on the counter harder than she had wanted to, motioning Junior for a refill. He answered the call without hesitation.
"And you wanna know what else I'm afraid of?" she continued. "I'm fucking scared that he's going to hate me."
Miltia brought a hand up to wipe away the moisture that had begun forming in her eyes. She wished that she could say it was from the burning sensation in her throat, but that had become numb some time ago.
"Why would he hate you?"
She shook her head lightly. "Because he saw what we do," she explained. "He saw me and Melanie with that book store guy."
She hadn't wanted him to see it. The other side of her. The truth about working for Junior. What it took to stay on top of Vale's criminal underworld.
In their world the only language that was universally understood was violence. Intimidation and beatings were a way of life. She never had to go any further than that. She never wanted to. However the risk was always there. If someone out there threatened the lives of her or the people she cared about she would not hesitate to kill them.
That was what Jaune saw in her now. The thought was heart-wrenching.
"Hei... I don't want him to become like me. But I don't want him to hate me either. What should I do?"
She brushed away another tear with her thumb. As soon as she had she felt something soft press up against her arm. Junior had given her a small white towel that might have normally been used to wipe down the bar.
She dabbed her eyes with it. Stupid alcohol. How was Melanie able to keep her shit together when she got wasted?
"Thanks," she whispered.
Junior nodded.
"Look what he's doing to me," she said bitterly. "I'm crying like some stupid fucking school girl at the thought of a boy hating me. I'm fucking pathetic."
"No," Junior disagreed. "You're drunk."
She scoffed at his words. "How would you even know?"
"Because I don't think I've ever seen you talk so much on your own before. Not since you were little."
Look at him talking like he was her father. She thought about saying some stupid cliché line about him not being her dad.
Miltia pushed the empty glass away from her. It was a statement for the world to see that she didn't want any more to drink. "You can't tell Melanie about this."
Junior chuckled softly. "Your secret is safe with me, Mil."
She knew it would be. It was one thing which allowed him to stand out from a lot of the other criminals out there. His word was as good as gold. It helped to have that sort of reputation when dealing with other organizations.
"So what do I do?" she asked again.
He shrugged. "I don't know. What do you want to do?"
She scowled at him. "So not helpful."
"Well what do you want me to say?"
"I dunno. Aren't you supposed to be like, the wise bartender or whatever? You're supposed to have all the answers."
Maybe he wasn't so sagely after all. He'd be a shitty sage, now that she thought about it. Screw the long white beard.
"Sorry to disappoint," he said sarcastically. "My therapist training begins and ends at drinking."
"Guess that's why Melanie turned out the way she did," she joked.
It may have been a joke made in poor taste, but right now her filter was gone. Still though, she recognized it after the fact. The last thing she wanted was to have Junior think that she blamed him for Melanie being a drunk.
"That came out wrong," she mumbled to him.
"I know," he smiled. "It's okay."
The towel resting atop the counter looked so soft and appealing. She felt like she could just lay her head down right here and now and fall back into a blissful sleep.
She suddenly felt something on her back. "Mil?" A soft mewl escaped her lips as she looked back to see Junior standing behind her. "Need some help back to your room?"
She nodded. "'Kay."
A set of powerful hands came to rest on her arm and back. "Do you want me to help? Or do you want me to get Jaune to help you?"
The room was spinning when she stood. "'Kay." She didn't even understand what he meant by that or why he had said it. She just wanted to go back to her soft and warm bed.
The remainder of the night was a blur of lights and steps before she collapsed face-first onto her mattress.
Ruby stared down at her scroll. She stared down at the "call" button.
Press the call button.
Press it.
She wasn't doing it.
Come on, Ruby, her mind raged. Call him. You can do it.
Her fingers didn't move.
Press it. Press it press it press it press it press it press it press it press it.
She wanted to talk to him. He was her friend. It had been a while since they had spoken.
Life at Beacon made that difficult at times. Between her training, studies and having to lead a team she didn't have a lot of time to talk to the guy who had unfortunately not been allowed to attend with her. It was stupid. He didn't get in because of some flaw with his transcripts or something. Didn't the people in charge realize that the world needed all of the huntsmen that it could get? How could they just reject a prime candidate like Jaune over some error on his transcripts?
Her thumb continued to hover over her scroll. She knew why she was so hesitant to call. What would happen if a pair of raven-haired girls answered again? Who were they? Why did they seem so familiar and comfortable talking about Jaune. Why did the words one of them use seem so...
Ruby felt her face warm at the memory. That was none of her business. If Jaune was so much of a lady's man that he could appeal to two exotic beauties then good for him. Twins too! She wasn't as naive as Yang or so many others might have wanted to believe. She knew that some guys were into twins. Apparently those twins were into Jaune too.
She shook her head. He was still her friend. No amount of twins would ever change that. Like Jaune had said once, bonds forged on the battlefield were among the strongest in the world. They had fought together in Vale. Had those twins fought side by side with him? Doubtful. At least she had that over them.
It wasn't too late in the evening. He should still be up. He shouldn't be busy either. If he was, and some other person just happened to answer her call like the last time, she could just hang up. No one would ever need to know. No one. Ever. It would just be a secret between her and those girls. Those older, more mature girls with the piercing green eyes and smooth black hair.
No. She would not be intimidated by them. She was Ruby freakin' Rose, huntress extraordinaire! She had been allowed to attend Beacon two years earlier than her peers. She had battled against a massive Nevermore and Death Stalker with her team. She was even named the leader of it. Two girls would not stop her from talking to her friend.
Her thumb finally pressed down on the screen. This was it. No turning back now.
A soft ringing noise came from her scroll's speaker as it made an attempt to contact Jaune's own device. Seconds seemed to last forever. One ring. Two. Three. Finally after the fourth the screen changed. A face appeared on it.
Thankfully it was his.
The first thing she noticed was the surprised look in Jaune's eyes when he answered. "Ruby?"
The hard part was over now. She had successfully accomplished her mission to make contact with the boy. It almost felt as though it was a huntress mission in itself.
"Hey, Jaune!" she said as cheerfully as she could muster at the moment. "It's been a while. How's it going?"
He brought a hand up and scratched his cheek lightly. "It's uh, it's good," he said. "How have you been?"
"Um, pretty good." Mostly, anyway. She didn't want to dive straight into her own issues going on at Beacon.
"Yeah, I guess there's no complaints from someone living their dream, right?" Ruby saw how he winced after the statement. "Sorry, I didn't mean to try and make you feel sorry for me or anything."
She knew he wasn't. Despite only knowing him a few days in total, she knew that Jaune was a kind-hearted person. Most people didn't just jump into a brawl they see happening in the middle of the street. He was like her. He was all about protecting people.
"No no, I didn't even think about that at all!" she insisted.
There was a nervousness on his face. Was he anxious? Upset... busy?
Ruby coughed lightly as she looked away from the screen. "I'm not, uh, interrupting you with anything right?"
"Hmm? What would I even be-"
"No one! I mean nothing!" She groaned inwardly. Smooth Ruby. Really smooth.
The confused expression on his face would have said it all without him even needing to speak. "Okay... but no, you aren't interrupting anything."
That was a relief. Not that she was against Jaune enjoying what he did in his personal time. In fact she was happy for him. He deserved all of the happiness in the world. Especially after his unfair treatment at Beacon.
"Okay. You just seemed surprised to see me, that's all. Like maybe you were in the middle of something." And not in the middle of a twin sandwich, her mind screamed.
"Oh. Nope. Nothing going on here." This time it was he who glanced away as he spoke. "Honestly I kind of thought you'd forgotten all about me. It's been a few weeks since we talked and you've made a bunch of new friends at Beacon by now. I just sort of expected it."
He was wrong again. Her circle of friends was limited to her sister. The exact same amount it had been on the day she had arrived at school. Actually she was wrong. Jaune had been her friend on that day too. She was in fact down by one friend. It was a horrible realization to make.
Blake was... nice? She didn't really say much. Not even to her own partner. She was always polite and courteous, but just not very outgoing. It was difficult to make friends with someone who looked like they didn't want to be friends.
Then there was Weiss. The girl meant well. She really did. However the way she went about it was simply not a method that would earn her friends. Especially not her own partner. Not when Weiss treated her like a child.
She was not a child. She was a teenager, and she deserved the respect accorded that title.
"That's not true at all," she told him. "And, well, I did try calling you a few days ago. But..." But those girls answered after getting... physical with you.
"You did? Huh. I didn't see that I got a call."
Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "Heh, yeah. I guess that'd do it."
"Well that's a relief. I guess." He paused for a moment as his eyes widened briefly. "Not that I'm saying I wanted you to be thinking about me all the time or anything. That'd be weird. So, um, what can I do for you?"
"Oh you know," she said innocently. "Just calling to see what's up. How you're doing. All that good stuff."
"Well, um, I got a job in Vale actually."
That was unexpectedly cool. Then again it was Jaune she was talking to here. He may have been given a bad break but he still managed to land on his feet. Beacon was missing out on what he could bring to the table.
"Really? What do you do?"
"I work at a club."
That's one job she hadn't expected him to be a fit for. Unexpectedly cool went to seriously freaking cool. "Wow. That sounds really fun. I bet you meet all kinds of pretty girls there too." She mentally slapped herself. Stupid!
His face showed signs of nervousness once more. "Heh, yeah. I guess. I'm kind of a bouncer there, you could say. So I suppose I'll be... dealing with a lot of people."
"A bouncer? That's so weird! Yang actually got into a bar fight a few weeks ago. You know how she is." What are you talking about? He knew her for like a day.
"Wait, a bar fight? Seriously?"
"Yeah." See how much he doesn't know her? And the award for most awkward girl in Remnant goes to... "She probably would have been happy if you had her back. Even though she did kick major butt by herself."
"I would have been happy to help her," he smiled. "And not just because she's your sister."
See? He was a good guy. He helped the helpless. Just like her. It's probably why they became friends right off the bat.
That, or her totally normal fascination with weapons and huntsmen.
A new thought crossed her mind. "You should tell me where you work! Yang likes clubs, and I'd love to hang out with you again. And since you're a bouncer there I know there's no way she'd get into another fight."
It was the perfect plan. She could see absolutely no downsides to it.
So why did he look so nervous again? "I, um, I don't know if that's a good idea."
Silver eyes narrowed at the screen in front of her. "Why's that?"
"Well we're kind of... renovating at the moment. We won't be open again for another couple days. It'll take some time to get all the kinks worked out. You know how it is."
She did know how it is. She knew all about it. Jaune didn't want her to meet his secret girlfriends. Why though? It wasn't like she was going to judge him or anything. Her own dad had dated two girls before... admittedly not at the same time. Actually the circumstances were absolutely nothing alike at all. In fact the only similarity they even had was the total number of men and women involved.
So yeah. Nothing in common. However Yang would still probably give him a high-five and buy him a drink.
"Oh, um, sure," she said. If he didn't want her to visit him at work she wouldn't be pushy. Being pushy is what Weiss did. She didn't want to be like Weiss.
"Hey, Ruby?" he asked.
She was snapped from her thoughts and focused back on the screen. "Yeah?"
"Can I ask you a question? A hypothetical one?"
"Sure."
The way he started to scratch his neck nervously made her hope that he wasn't about to ask for relationship advice. "What if while you're out being a huntress you have to hurt people. Not just Grimm. But bad people. Sometimes good people too. Do you think you'd be able to do it?"
The question hadn't been at all what she was expecting. For that she was thankful.
Truthfully she'd never even thought about it. To her being a huntress was about fighting and killing the creatures of Grimm. The idea of fighting against other humans wasn't one that really resonated with her. Sure, there was always the possibility it would happen. That's why they had the combat classes with Professor Goodwitch. However it always remained just a distant idea to her. Not an eventuality.
"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "I mean, I think so. When you're in a fight your brain just sort of turns off, you know? You fight on instinct. You fight who you have to in order to stay alive."
It was the best answer she could give on such short notice. She'd never have expected to hear it from Jaune of all people. It sounded more like an essay that she would have to write for school.
"Yeah. That makes sense." He seemed sad. Had she said something wrong?
"Why? Did you have to hurt someone being a bouncer?"
She knew she had struck a chord with that question. The way his eyes darted off to the side. The way his lips moved. "Well, no. Not yet. But I'm afraid that I might have to someday."
"Well don't forget that it's your job to protect other people," she explained. At least she thought that's what the job of a bouncer would be. She hadn't ever been to a club before. "If someone's in there causing trouble you have to kick them out so everyone else stays safe, right?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I guess. But they're not all bad people. What if some of them are good people who made one bad choice?"
One bad choice. Was that code for too much to drink? One drink too many? She supposed she could see his logic. Most people who got drunk and acted bad were good people. They just lost control of their senses and acted stupidly. It wasn't really their fault. They just made a bad choice.
She didn't know how to respond to the question. It was more philosophical than she was used to. It was the kind of thing that would be right up Blake's alley. Too bad Blake probably wouldn't like it if Ruby shoved a scroll in her face telling her to talk to Jaune.
"I guess you just have to think about... I don't know. The greater good?" She didn't really know if that would be a good enough answer. Probably best to try and say it better. "I mean like, think about all the people who might get hurt if you don't hurt one person. You're there to protect people at the club just like I'd be there to protect people as a huntress. If there was a person out there who wanted to hurt the people of Vale I don't think I'd feel bad about fighting them."
"How far do you think you could go, Ruby? Do you think you could kill another person if you had to?"
The words were chilling. Just what kind of a club did Jaune work at? Were the drunks there so rowdy that such a possibility might come up? She didn't like that. It didn't seem safe. Not at all. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to work a dangerous job.
Maybe checking the place out with Yang would be a good idea no matter how much he resisted it.
She would answer him honestly though. "I've never thought about it, really. It's something I don't want to think about. I think I'd try every option available to me to try and stop a bad gu- a criminal without killing him. But if he was threatening innocent people's lives... if he was threatening my teammate's lives..."
The thought of having to go that far was terrifying. To her being a huntress had always been about being a hero. About fighting monsters. About saving the day. She never really thought about what that might sometimes entail. Sometimes there might just be a person out there so bad and so dangerous that the only option was to kill them.
"Yeah," he said grimly. "Sometimes there is no good option."
She hated the way he said it, but it was true. Sometimes there wasn't a happy ending. Not everyone got to come back home alive.
Her mother didn't.
The conversation had taken a dark turn. One she hadn't been planning on. Her own issues with Weiss seemed trivial in comparison. She needed to know if her friend was okay.
"Jaune..." she said softly. "Is everything alright with you?"
He frowned. "I don't know." To Ruby that was worse than if he had just said 'no'. "I'm just thinking to myself, if I can't cut it here then what chance did I ever have at being a huntsman? If I can't make a hard decision at a club how could I do it out in the field? My dream, my lifelong dream, would have been meaningless."
She could understand that. While this conversation hadn't thrown her own morals and ideals into question, it certainly gave her some new insight to her job. If Jaune would not be able to do some of the things that she might someday be required to do, could he have succeeded in his huntsman career?
"I don't know what to say," she said somberly. It wasn't that she didn't want to help. She simply couldn't think of a way to respond to his plight.
"Yeah," he laughed darkly. "I don't blame you to be honest. It's kind of messed up."
Ruby hated the idea that he might think of his troubles as funny in any way. They weren't. Problems weren't something to laugh at. They had to be attacked head on. Preferably with the blade of a scythe.
"I, uh, I gotta go for now," he said. He sounded tired. "Thanks for listening though. If you wanna talk some more you can do it anytime. If not, well, I'd understand why after today."
A sudden surge of anger flooded her. Not because he was about to hang up on her, but because of how little value he seemed to place in himself. "Don't you ever say something like that!"
It surprised even herself just how loudly she had said those words. Thankfully no one else was around right now. The last thing she needed was them getting involved in this.
"What?"
"Don't you ever say that I wouldn't want to talk to you," she continued. "You are my friend, Jaune Arc. Nothing will ever change that. I don't care that you didn't get accepted into Beacon. I don't care if you're working at a club in Vale. You're my friend and there's nothing you can do about it!"
Perhaps it sounded a bit... stalkerish the way it had come out. However right now she didn't care. She needed Jaune to know he wasn't alone right now with whatever he was going through.
"I..." He stopped, his tone softening as he went on. "Thanks, Ruby. That means a lot to me. It really does."
She nodded her head emphatically. Darn right it does!
"I've just, I don't know. I've been having some second thoughts lately."
"Well stop it!" she said, as if giving that one single order would solve everything. "Jaune, you go and you do your job to the best of your ability. You have to protect people just like if you were a huntsman. That's how you have to think of it. If you do something for the right reasons then it can never be the wrong decision."
In that moment Ruby felt like she was the wisest woman in all of Remnant. She needed to write those words down. Maybe she'd even be able to use them on some sort of hypothetical future philosophy paper.
"You really think so?"
"I know so," she said with confidence. "You're a good person. You just keep being you and you'll do good in the world."
She was on a roll. Ruby Rose, professional motivational speaker. Life coach. All-around badass.
Jaune closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He nodded as he did so. "Thanks, Ruby. That really does help a lot. I'm happy that the two of us are still so close."
Helped more than your girlfriends could too apparently, her mind said victoriously. She may have been short but she was worth two women.
Would they be upset if someone else helped him? The last thing she wanted to do was get Jaune in trouble. "Um, nobody will be jealous of us talking like this, right? Of us being close?"
"Jealous?" he asked. The confusion on his face was evident.
"Uh..." was all she could think to say at the moment.
Luckily she didn't have to come up with anything more profound as Jaune brought a hand up to his face. "You called me before. When?"
Ruby couldn't exactly remember the date. "I dunno. Maybe a week ago?"
"A week ago..." he sighed. "When I left my scroll..."
He didn't finish his thought, and Ruby wondered where exactly it was that Jaune had left his scroll.
"A girl answered my scroll. Let me guess, long black hair?"
Oh no. This was bad. She had to abort the mission. She was going to cause trouble between Jaune and his... lady friends.
"Um, yes," she squeaked. Her former confidence had evaporated.
Jaune shook his head almost amusedly. "Of course it was her."
He didn't seem upset. That was good, right?
"Are you mad?" She wanted to know. She didn't want to be known as Ruby "the homewrecker" Rose.
"No, actually," he admitted. "Trust me. When you grow up in a household with seven sisters you learn that privacy doesn't exist. People answering your scroll just happens."
That was... good? She didn't know. It had to be if he wasn't upset or worried. The girl who had answered the phone might have actually been one of his sisters. Maybe that's why he seemed so okay with it. She didn't look a thing like him though. Then again Yang looked nothing like her either.
Maybe she was wrong to jump to such a conclusion. Maybe it had all been a harmless practical joke by the raven-haired girls.
Or maybe not. As long as Jaune was okay, however, she would be okay.
"But really, call me again soon," he continued. "You helped me out big time. I'm sorry that I have to go right now but there's some last minute work that needs to get done."
"Yeah. I understand."
"Thanks again. Talk to you soon?"
"Definitely."
He smiled. "See ya."
"Bye."
The scroll's screen went black and Ruby was once more alone.
He had seemed... better near the end. However she knew there was still something wrong.
Oh she would be seeing him again soon. Whether by scroll or in person she would see him.
It was only a matter of time.
This place stank.
The acidic stench of the dust he had stolen. The pungent smell of oil from the heavy machinery. The odor of the animals who occupied the place.
He didn't mean the rats either. Well, at least most of them weren't rats. He didn't care one way or another though. He wasn't one to discriminate. To him everyone was equal when it came to attaining his goals be they human or faunus.
Roman Torchwick was many things. Or at least he was called many things. A lowlife. A criminal. Gangster. Mercenary. Some out there had even called him a fallen huntsman. He never had confirmed nor denied that last accusation to the ones who uttered it. However out of all the names and adjectives he had accumulated over the years there was one that he had never been tagged with. Foolish.
Not one, not two, but three people had interfered in his heist. Two of them had been teenagers. Teenagers with weapons. Roman knew what it meant. He knew there was only one place in Vale which bred that sort of annoyance. What had a huntress and two of her little whelps been doing at that insignificant dust store?
It made no sense. Never before in any of his other jobs had an actual huntress interfered. The only ones who had ever tried to stand in his way had been the police. The simple-minded, predictable police. On this night they were nowhere to be seen until it was too late. Had they been tipped off by local hunters? Had they been told to stay back while Beacon's finest took care of the situation?
He supposed it didn't matter now. It was done and he had to plan out his next move. Securing all the dust he could get his hands on wouldn't be easy, after all. Not after this setback. If Beacon was sending out its people to help the local authorities he would need to take this more seriously.
It was a shame he had only one person he could reliably count on. A pair of those he could not had just walked through the door.
"Yo, boss," one of them said. The one with antlers on his head. He couldn't recall a name. Antler-man? Something like that. "Something you might wanna hear."
He spoke like a moron. He walked like one too. Roman knew he was just some low level street operative. Mindless muscle who used intimidation as a weapon. Such a man had his uses, limited as they were. However it made listening to him an uneasy task.
"Yes, go on," Roman said impatiently. He didn't even look up from the map of Vale on the table before him as he spoke. The sooner he could get back to planning out his next move the better.
"We hit up Tukson's place yesterday," Antler-man continued. "He got the message loud and clear. But something else there seemed off."
The man paused, as if waiting for an invitation to go on. Roman closed his eyes and let out a breath through his nose. "And that is?"
"Those girls who are always hanging around Junior's place. They were both there in the store when we were leaving."
Finally something the man said grabbed Roman's attention. The Malachite girls were at a bookstore? What were they of all people doing at a place which required a literacy level above that of an eight year old?
Was it a coincidence that the two of them were there on the same day at the same time when Roman had sent a couple of his White Fang lackeys to remind Tukson of his duties to the cause? Or were they sniffing around something in which they had no business?
The news was indeed unusual. Finally he turned to look at the new arrivals. "You're sure it was them?"
The White Fang grunt shrugged. "I mean, hard to forget faces like those. Got the black hair going on, green eyes. And those dresses. One of them was with some guy. He was a teenager too. Tall and blonde."
A guy? Roman was no expert on Junior's enforcers but he had never met someone matching that description before.
Tall and blonde... it reminded him of a certain boy who had helped thwart his dust shop robbery. A boy who was hanging around with that huntress and other teenager.
It was only a hunch, but he knew there was no such thing as being too careful in his line of work. "Describe the boy to me more."
The other White Fang moron whose name Roman didn't care enough about to remember spoke. "Well like he said, tall and blonde," he repeated annoyingly. "Messy hair. Kinda thin, but looked like he had some muscle underneath his hoodie."
Warning sirens went off in Roman's mind. A hoodie. The boy from the dust shop had worn a hoodie too. "A hoodie?"
"Yeah, it had a rabbit on it," Antler-man said. "Can't forget something like that."
The other nodded. "Guy walks down the street in that hoodie, people know he's not afraid of anything."
Huntsmen had an annoying habit of not being afraid of anything. Until they were dead, that was.
If this was the same boy... it meant that Junior had sent him to interfere in the robbery. Why would Junior sabotage his operation? Why would Junior get his own men arrested? It made no sense. Unless...
Maybe Junior had enlisted the huntress and students in order to try and take him down once and for all. The police couldn't do it. However a huntress and her students were an entirely different story. They had nearly succeeded too. That stupid kid in black and red had tenacity. A truly annoying amount of it.
It didn't sit well with the master criminal. The very real likelihood that Junior had betrayed him made his normally calm and collected mind seethe with rage. It did not show outwardly, however. At least not while these idiots were still here.
"Very well," he said as he made a shooing motion. "Off you go now."
The two thugs shared a glance before shrugging and walking off.
A tall, blonde teenage boy in a hoodie. The description sounded close enough. He had to be sure, however. He could not simply start a war on a hunch. Not when his own operations had to be the focus of his attention.
However if it turned out that Junior was trying to sabotage him... then the man would get the war that he wanted.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught the slightest glimpse of a shimmer. He already knew what that meant. "Yes?"
A tiny young woman clad in brown, white and pink emerged from the shadows. Her steps were slow and deliberate as she walked towards him. On her lips was the ever-present threat of a smirk that had not fully developed, but could emerge at any moment.
"I suppose you found that amusing, Neo?" he asked.
Neo tilted her head and shrugged, all the while making her way closer to him. Her hands were clasped innocently behind her back as she looked around the warehouse and those who were working in it seemingly without a care in the world.
"Maybe things would have gone better that night if you had decided to join me."
The diminutive girl arrived at the desk a few seconds later. Its surface reached up to the middle of her stomach, but she had no problem hopping up atop it. Her legs crossed as she continued to watch the work being done around her.
"I do hope you enjoyed your little vacation because it's over now." He paused as an idea began to formulate in his mind. "Or... maybe not."
The words had garnered her attention, and Neo finally looked over at him and into his eyes rather than on the White Fang grunts around them.
"When's the last time you had a good time out at a club?"
The young woman looked up in thought as she began to count on her fingers. She had reached five on one of her hands before pausing. Immediately after she began to bring the fingers back down until it had reached only one.
One day since she had last been out having fun. Must have been nice to not have to plan heists.
It took Roman a moment to realize that Neo had deliberately chosen to leave her middle finger the only one still standing. He snorted a sarcastic laugh. "Right back at ya," he smirked. Neo's own smile deepened at his retort. "How would you like to go back out again in a couple days?"
Neo's eyes widened exaggeratedly, blinking innocently as she pointed at herself.
Roman rolled his eyes. "Yes, you," he confirmed. "And no, this isn't about having a good time. It's work."
Her arms folded against her chest as she looked away with a silent harrumph. He knew she was really hamming it up only to annoy him.
"Yeah I know. It's terrible to have to earn your keep. Anyway, it's not a hard job. I just need you to do a little recon. Think you can handle it?"
She flashed him a knowing smile as if to say that he didn't even need to ask that question in the first place.
Roman knew that she was a master of disguise. She could infiltrate just about anywhere with her abilities. Even if she couldn't it wasn't as if she was a known commodity anyway. She was his secret weapon. The only person in this whole operation he trusted wholeheartedly. He might have even called her his friend if he didn't know that she would silently mock him forever over the sentiment.
"You heard the description of the boy a couple minutes ago, right?"
Neo nodded.
"Good. I need you to go to Junior's club on the night of its grand reopening and get some pictures of every guy there you can find who matches that description."
Neo's eyes squinted as she regarded him with what Roman could only assume was disgusted confusion.
He sighed at the silent accusation. "No, I do not have some sort of voyeurism fetish. Besides, what I'm looking for here is a teenage boy."
The girl smiled mischievously. Her eyebrows wagged suggestively at his last words.
"No," he snapped, extending a finger to point at the girl. "And don't you even think about thinking that either."
Neo shrugged. At least that was settled. The last thing he wanted was for the girl to think he had any sort of sexual interest in his target.
"Two days," he reminded her. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this. If Junior wants to start shit with me then he's going to get it."
Author's Note: I don't often say things like this, but it's the reason I was able to get this chapter out 5 days after the last update. Those Miltia and Ruby scenes were among my favorite ones to write out of anything RWBY I've ever written. Both top 5 for sure.
Thanks go out to everyone who is interested in this story. You know how I feel. I truly appreciate all of the support you continuously give me.
As always questions comments or concerns are welcome.
Thanks for reading.