Chapter fifteen: So close… yet so far away

"Hey, Jaune… there's something I've been meaning to ask."

I looked over, raising an eyebrow as I saw Blake staring at me. It was nearing quitting time (after the embarrassing incident with Coco), what could she want? "What is it?" I asked. She looked around, leaning down and petting Yang for a moment. Said dog seemed to bask in the attention, seemingly smiling as Blake spoke. "Where's Ruby? I mean, normally she's bounding around your feet or, pouncing into your lap." she asked. I felt the smile fall from my face as I turned away, the memories of the missing puppy flooding back now that I didn't have the panic of Weiss nearly being discovered, customers to deal with, or that whole issue with Coco to drown out the sobbing voice in the back of my head. "You're just now asking?" I asked. Though, out of all the things it said, that was the strangest. She'd been missing all day and Blake just now asked?

Blake's face flushed, "Well, I mean, you didn't act like anything was wrong so, I figured you'd just had to send her somewhere for a while. Take her to the vet for an overnight examination or something. Is there something wrong?" she asked, her face going from mildly embarrassed to concerned… and still mildly embarrassed, the blush was still there. I sighed, sitting down on my stool as Pyrrha and Yang both looked up as if they too wanted to hear what I had to say. "She's… I don't know. I took my eyes off her for a minute in the park and… she vanished. She just… vanished. I spent all day looking for her and even the police started looking… nothing." I said, frowning as I looked to the floor. Yet no tears came… I wouldn't let them now. Breaking down wouldn't help anyone.

Blake walked over, laying a hand on my shoulder, "Well… I'm sure she's okay. Ruby's a smart puppy… she'll be okay." she said, giving me a semi-comforting smile. I returned it with a warmer one of my own… I could tell she was trying but… comforting people didn't really seem to be her strong suit. I turned away, looking out towards the door before I sighed, "It's my fault… I hadn't been paying attention to her and, and she ran away I… I just, I wish I'd done something sooner. I wish I'd… I wish I… I…" I leaned down, laying my head in my hand as I fought back the tears. I was trying not to cry, trying not to return to that roller coaster of emotions I knew would send me spiraling again. I felt a hand running over my back, trying to lessen the pain I felt. I looked up, blue eyes meeting amber ones as she leaned down, wrapping her arms around me.

I froze for a second before I joined, wrapping my arms around her and leaning into her shoulder. "I wish I could say I knew how you felt… but I don't. I don't think anyone does. I'm… I'm not good at comforting people but… if it helps… I'll try…" she trailed off as I leaned back, looking to see her face flushed with embarrassment as she faced the wall, her eyes down towards the ground. I leaned back into her shoulder, wrapping my arms tighter for a second before I let go, both of us leaning back. I smiled at her, "Thanks, Blake… but, I think I'm okay. I just… I wish I could do more. With Weiss and the animals and the store, I can't just leave and go out searching for her… I mean, where would I even start looking? I mean it's not like I… wait a second… THAT'S IT!" I yelled, jumping out of my stool and dashing over to the closet.

Blake followed, raising an eyebrow as I grabbed out what looked to be a small ball. It was the same one I'd thrown to Ruby the other day. The same one we always used to play fetch. "Uh… are you okay?" she asked, her voice both concerned and… well, frankly weirded out. I nodded a few times, walking over to Pyrrha and Yang before I whistled, the two of them popping up. "Blake, I know I'm asking you to stay overtime, but I need you to watch Weiss while I'm gone, please?" I asked, hoping and praying she would say yes. She looked between me and Weiss, her face growing more and more confused… eventually, she just shrugged, "Uh… okay? I mean… I'll wait until you get back… I guess…" she said, sitting down on my stool. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I dashed over, not even thinking as I pecked her lips.

"Thanks, Bla-" I froze at the door, slowly turning around as I felt my face explode into blush. Blake's looked about the same as she reached up, gently laying her left hand's fingers on her lips. That was, until she looked at me, completely stone-faced. "That… didn't happen." she said. I nodded a few times, "Yeah… uh, yeah." I said, turning around and dashing out the door before I yelled for Pyrrha to follow. Yang stayed behind as a guard while Pyrrha bounded over to me, the two of us running down the sidewalk. "Why did it take me so long to realize!? I've got one of the best tracking dogs this side of owning a bloodhound! If anyone can pick up her scent, it's her." I thought, kicking myself for not thinking of it sooner. The wind flowing past my face seemed to rekindle the embers of hope that Ruby was still alive, still somewhere I could find her.

By the time we got to the park, I had a (somewhat insane) smile on my face. It was a smile filled by hope… or maybe madness, kind of hard to tell at this stage. I dashed into the park, stopping at the familiar bench I always did, the one where Ruby went missing the first time after I talked to Reese. I held down the small ball. "Okay Pyrrha, go find Ruby!" I said. Pyrrha sniffed the ball for a second, her leaning down and sniffing the ground, slowly trotting off the sidewalk and down the hillside. I followed, keeping my eyes peeled for any sign of the small puppy. Pyrrha walked down the hill, trotting along until she reached what seemed to be a small tree. She looked up at me, barking a few times. "Find something girl?" I asked, getting on one knee to be at her level. I leaned down, raising an eyebrow when I saw what looked to be a small, ice-cream cone shaped pin. Almost like the kind that would come on overalls.

"Where'd this come from?" I wondered, holding it up and looking at it. So either that meant Ruby had coughed this up… or someone had taken Ruby and had left it in the same general area where she'd been… taken… that didn't make much more sense than the first one did it? I held the ball up to Pyrrha, "Is this it girl?" I asked. Sure enough, she sniffed the ground before she whimpered, crouching on the ground and rubbing at her nose with her paws. The sign that she hadn't found any more of a scent. I sighed… then I figured it was worth a try. I held up the ice-cream pin. "Here, try smelling for this." I said. Pyrrha leaned up, sniffing the small pin before she seemed to pick up the trail, barking as she started heading out of the park, sniffing all the while. "Okay… maybe Ruby didn't swallow that pin and cough it up…" I muttered, following the large German shepherd as she led me across the road.

It took maybe ten minutes before Pyrrha finally stopped at a large building, sniffing near the door. I looked up, raising an eyebrow as I saw the name of the place. "Kindred Hearts Orphanage? Why would the scent lead us here?" I thought. I looked in, seeing a light was on inside. I reached up, knocking on the door for a second before Pyrrha just reached up, biting the handle and pulling it open. "Oh… huh, figured it would be locked." I muttered, walking in with Pyrrha at my side, who continued to sniff around the place. I looked around, seeing that the entrance was relatively simplistic -with a desk towards the center and what looked to be a multitude of children's paintings on the walls. Beneath one of those walls a young, pink-haired girl stood sweeping the floor. I turned back to the desk, seeing a tall woman walking towards me. She had bright blonde hair tied into a bun, piercing blue eyes that flicked down to Pyrrha before looking back up towards me. She was clad in what looked to be a simple white shirt and a long orange skirt.

"Hello young man, how can I help you?" she asked, her voice as kind as her smile would imply. I smiled back, whistling to reign Pyrrha back in towards me as I held up the small ice-cream themed pin. "Pyrrha tracked the scent on this pin to here. Does it look familiar?" I asked, handing her the pin. She leaned down, looking at the small object for a few moments before she smiled, "Well, I've never seen this little thing, but I have a feeling I know who it belongs to. Wait right here." she said, turning around and walking through a door to reveal what may have been a bedroom. I leaned down, rubbing behind Pyrrha's ear for a second before she walked off, heading into that bedroom and following the tall woman. When she came back, she was leading a short girl into the room with her.

That girl had two different colored eyes -pink and white for left and white respectively- and was clad in what looked to be a pair of overalls with, sure enough, a single pin missing. I grabbed the pin off the desk, smiling at the little girl as I got on one knee. "Hi there. Is this your pin?" I asked, holding up the little ice cream pin to match its companion on her other shoulder. She looked down, her eyes widening a bit as she nodded a few times, taking the pin from me and trying to fix it to her overalls. "Here, let me help." I said, reaching over and slowly taking the pin from her, threading it back through the proper place in the fabric. She looked up at me, giving me a small smile, one I gladly returned. I stood, "Pyrrha! Here girl!" I nearly shouted. The familiar German shepherd bounded towards me, running back around my leg, looking straight at the frightened girl, the one that was now gripping onto the taller woman's leg.

I chuckled, "It's okay, Pyrrha won't hurt you. Go ahead, pet her." I said, Pyrrha getting the idea and leaning down so the girl wouldn't have to reach up to pet her. The girl reached out a shaky hand as Pyrrha rubbed against it, the girl slowly getting over her nerves and smiling at the large German shepherd. The mistress of the orphanage (at least if I had to guess the woman's profession) looked up, smiling at me. "Well, thank you for bringing back Neo's pin mister. Though… might I ask what led you to stumble on it in the first place?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I looked down at Pyrrha, frowning slightly as I remembered the faint ray of hope I'd had now being dashed away by arriving here. I sighed, "My dog… Ruby. She got… I, lost her in the park yesterday. I was hoping Pyrrha could track her scent but… I guess I got my hopes up for nothing… but hey. At least I got you your pin back huh Neo?" I said, giving a sad smile towards her.

She looked up, frowning at me for a second before she walked over. I was about to ask what she was doing when she wrapped her arms around my leg, rubbing against my waist as if to comfort me. I smiled, rubbing a hand over her head, "Hey, it's okay. It wasn't your fault she went missing." I said. The girl pulled back, looking up at me with a sad and -though this could've been my imagination- guilty expression. The woman on the other hand only smiled at her, a warm smile that reminded me distinctly of my mother when she watched me or my sisters doing something right. The smile of a proud parent… or, guardian I guess is the best term here. She turned to me, "Well, I do hope you find your… wait a moment, you don't happen to know a 'Reese Chloris' do you?" she asked.

I nodded, "Well… I don't really know her but, I've bumped into her on occasion, yeah. Why do you ask?" She looked down at Neo for a moment, a brief worry flashing across her face like a blade before she looked up at me, keeping that same quizzical expression. "She was here just last night, responding to an intruder. She said she was looking for a little husky named Ruby, kept saying it was her fault…" she said, looking up at me. I raised an eyebrow… how was it Reese's fault? I mean, yeah she distracted me by talking to me for a few seconds but, wasn't I the one who asked to sit down? I… well doesn't really matter now, does it?

"She blames herself… and I blame myself. Funny how that works huh?" I said, giving the woman a faint smile. She saw right through it, frowning at me for a moment before she looked down, tapping Neo on the shoulder. "Head on to bed Neo, and tell Dew I'll be there in a moment." she said. Neo nodded, giving me one last sad glance before she turned around, disappearing behind a door that I assumed led to a bedroom. Meanwhile, the mistress of the orphanage looked at me, frowning still. "I seem to have forgotten my manners today. I'm Bella Peach." she said, extending a hand. I took it, her soft fingers nearly wrapped by my larger hand. I noticed that -standing right next to me- she was a bit shorter than I was as well.

"Jaune Arc." I said simply. She nodded, raising an eyebrow before she looked up, scratching her chin as her eyes became slits, looking at my face. I took a step back, feeling slightly uneasy at the woman's examination of me. "That's why you looked so familiar! You work at the Beacon Pet Center right?" she asked. I just nodded, leaning down and rubbing behind Pyrrha's neck. Though, at this point, it was more for my own comfort than hers… still, she didn't seem to mind the extra attention. "Yeah, I'm the owner and -wait… normally I'd say 'sole employee' but, since I hired Winter and Blake I really can't." I said, unable to keep the awkward smile off my face. I'd been saying that as my introduction to people since… well, since I started the store… kind of hard to break the habit. "I see… this, Ruby. Was she up for adoption?"

"Never."

I answered instinctively, Peach flinching back slightly as she noticed my stone gaze. I felt my face tinge pink as I backed off, giving a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, old habit. No, she was my pet. Not for lack of trying to get her adopted either. Nobody wanted to adopt her and, well, I couldn't just throw a puppy out on the street so… I kept her." I said, rousing a small -albeit nervous- chuckle from the woman. I wasn't sure if she was intimidated by my answer a few moments ago or… no, that was it, definitely it. "Well… I find it rather hard to believe no one would want to adopt a husky puppy if what I've heard is right." she said, leaning back on her desk, trying to subtly reach behind it to grab what I didn't doubt was a taser or a can of pepper spray. I took a step back, just in case. "Well… it wasn't that they didn't want her but, they didn't want her sister." I said.

She raised an eyebrow… I needed no further encouragement. "Well, I call her her sister, could be completely unrelated for all I know. I found the two of them living on the street together and… well, Yang acted like Ruby was her baby. If she wasn't a big, half-dhole half-fox I might say she was her mother. She's uh… very particular about how you handle Ruby. Took me a month before she didn't growl at me and… well, most of my customers don't have that kind of patience… except for Ren, I guess." I said, my mind immediately going to the magenta eyed restaurant owner. Peach nodded a few times, leaning away from her desk as she seemed to realize I wasn't about to try and kill her for what she suggested a few minutes ago. I looked down at my scroll, my eyes widening as I saw the time.

"Oh! I better get going, nice meeting you Ms. Peach!" I said, dashing out the door, not waiting to hear her response. Pyrrha followed, me speed-walking as she casually trotted along. She looked to the ground, whimpering slightly. It was such an unusual sound for the German Shepherd that I actually stopped walking, leaning down and petting her. "Hey, it's okay. You did your best… we just got the wrong scent is all." I said, smiling down at her. If her jumping up and licking my face was anything to go by, it seemed to work. I chuckled, moving the dog down onto the ground before I pet her again, standing back up. "Come on girl, "

"We'll find her… eventually."

…

"That was Ruby's owner?"

I couldn't help but think as I walked towards the broom closet, casually setting the broom back in and heading to bed like I normally would. When I walked in all six eyes in the room turned to me. Dew, Neo, and of course Ruby. Well… at least Ruby was facing my direction, her eyes were closed -but her ears perked up anyway. I walked over to them, all three relaxing when they noticed it was just me. I looked at the blonde haired Dew for a second, violet eyes meeting my green and blue ones. "Is everything alright May?" she asked, immediately realizing something was off at just a look in my eyes… she was really good at that. I looked down at Ruby, whose little silver eyes had just opened to gaze at me. "Ru- er… Snowball's owner was just here."

Dew's eyes widened as she looked at Neo, who only nodded to confirm it. After all, she'd been the one he'd talked to. Ruby seemed to perk up at the news, standing up and giving a worried little bark towards us. Me and Neo's eyes met, and I could tell we both were thinking the same thing. "We need to ask her tonight." Dew leaned over, grabbing Ruby and holding her close. She'd grown attached to her… I mean heck, we all had. She was a nice change from the normal things of the orphanage. "That was really close… good thing that big German Shepherd can't talk." Dew said. I raised an eyebrow, looking between the two for a second.

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't see that big, German shepherd that walked through here a few minutes ago? Weren't you in the front room?" she asked, in turn raising an eyebrow at me. I felt my face pale for a moment before I looked away, my eyes skittering the floor almost like Ruby would be if she weren't in a hug-hold by Dew. "I didn't take my eyes off the broom, it would've looked suspicious… I uh, well, I didn't hear the German Shepherd though…" I said, feeling my face suddenly turn like my hair was I looked back up. Neo just had this sort of blank stare on her face, a vague sense of worry behind it that was no doubt directed at Ruby. Dew, on the other hand, was giving me an unimpressed gaze, one that suppressed a kind of smugness that -on the face of anyone else- would manifest as a sneer.

Neo reached over, petting Ruby before looking up at Dew. "I'm with you Neo… I don't want to let her go…" Dew said, as if somehow able to understand the mute girl… how I wasn't sure. I nodded, sitting down on the edge of the bed as I saw some of the other girls coming in, all giving a brief smile in Ruby's direction before changing into their night clothes. I just shook my head, "We won't let someone take her from us, don't worry. We just have to hide her… and we have to be really careful now." I said. They all nodded in silent agreement. We all knew what that meant. Her owner had been so close to finding her, and if he came here again… well, there weren't that many places in the large bedroom to hide a little puppy. I looked at Neo, her eyes flicking between Dew and Ruby, an unanswered question holding sway in them.

"Dew… can you keep a secret?"

I asked, suddenly aware of how stupid it sounded. Here we were, keeping a puppy, a living, breathing, puppy, a secret from Ms. Peach, and yet I had to ask if she could keep a secret. I shouldn't have been surprised at the 'are you kidding me?' look she gave me. "Okay, stupid question. Here's a better one, can everyone here keep a secret? From Ms. Peach and the boys?" I asked. Dew looked up in thought for a moment. Being the sort of 'second in command' (and by that I mean second most popular under Nebula) meant that Dew knew most everyone. Who liked who, who did what, it didn't really matter. If it was about people in the orphanage, she knew it. "There are a few who can't but, how would we exclude them?" she asked.

I frowned, my eyebrows knitting together as I tried to think of a way… though, that effort appeared fruitless after about five minutes. I sighed, "We can't really… we'll just have to risk it. Make them promise not to say anything and hope for the best." I said. I mean, they all clearly wanted Ruby here, but would some of the more 'goody-two-shoes' or 'gossiper' girls go off and tell the boys -or worse- Ms. Peach? There was only one way to find out… though, I had a feeling they'd be like me and Neo were when we found out -shocked and bewildered, but accepting at least. Dew nodded a few times, "Okay… want me to get Nebula to have everyone stay awake after Ms. Peach puts us to bed?" I took a breath… there was no going back once I told her to. I looked at Ruby for support, but she just gave me a cute little bark. I took it (probably incorrectly) as her telling me it was a good idea.

"Yeah… we've got something big to tell you guys."

…

"Any luck?"

Blake asked as I walked through the door, shutting it behind Pyrrha. I shook my head, frowning down at the somehow disgruntled looking German shepherd. I didn't even know a dog could look disgruntled but, there was the proof, right in front of me. "No… we found a little girl's overall pin but… no Ruby." I said, frowning as I stepped back behind the counter, sliding past Blake and leaning down to the familiar drawer. I smiled when I noticed little Weiss, curled up and sleeping in her crib. I leaned down, about to grab her. Then I shot up, turning around and holding up my arm, coughing into it. Blake raised an eyebrow, "Are you okay?" she asked, leaning over so that she was at least in my field of view.

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm alright. It's just-" I started coughing again, a slight pain in my chest as I leaned back, wiping at my mouth. Blake laid a hand on my shoulder, looking over me for a second. "You might be getting sick." she said matter-of-factly. How she was talking you'd think she was a doctor. I shook my head, leaning down and lifting Weiss gently into my arms, giving Blake a faint smile. "It's just a cough, It'll be gone by tomorrow, don't worry." I said, turning and coughing over my shoulder as to not hit Weiss or Blake, just in case I really was sick. I walked into the back room, feeling her diaper before -noticing it was surprisingly dry- setting her back in her crib. I walked towards the bathroom, Blake stopping at the door as I turned and locked it. I tossed my clothes into the hamper, not even really thinking as I walked back in, falling back onto the bed. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine… tired is all. It's been a long day." I said, giving her a faint smile before coughing into my elbow again. Maybe she had a point… oh well, not like it was the first time I'd ever been sick. Blake walked over, giving one last concerned glance before pulling the covers over me, turning out the light as she walked away. "I'll lock up for you… and Jaune?" she asked, turning around, her eyes practically glowing in the dim light of the room. I looked up, my eyes asking the question my words didn't. I saw her face tinge pink as she turned away, "I'm not counting that as my first kiss." she said. I felt my face turn even more confused… then I remembered, my face burning as I realized what she meant. I'd -in effect- stolen her first kiss, on complete accident no less! "That never happened… remember?" I said, giving her a faint smile. She turned back, giving me that same smile in return.

"Yeah… never happened."

…

"Did you find Ruby?"

"She's at the Kindred Hearts Orphanage… she's okay." I said, smiling at the blonde haired faunus. Yang let out a sigh of relief, leaning back against the wall and slowly sliding back into our dog bed. After a few moments though, that relief turned to curiosity and -more subtle- anger. "Why didn't you bring her back?" she asked. I had a feeling she'd ask that. Why? Why wouldn't I just bring the adorable puppy back home to her loving sister?

"It wouldn't have solved anything. She would've just run away again. The last thing she needs right now is to be near Jaune in her dog state. It'll just tease her, and that voice in her head is only going to get worse. At least now it might calm down a little. Besides, I can't get Jaune to love her if she's here." I explained, leaning back against the wall, tail wrapped around my waist so Yang couldn't try pulling me down again. She looked up at me, the confusion plain on her face. "How exactly do you plan on making Jaune love her?" she asked.

I smiled, "The same way I'd get him to fall in love with any human: Get them to start dating." I said simply. This didn't serve to soothe Yang's curiosity. Based on the dumb look on her face, it actually did quite the opposite. I sighed, slowly shaking my head before I looked up towards the ceiling, trying to think how to explain it to the fox faunus. "Hmm… We're going to dress Ruby in normal clothes, get her to hide her tail, and… I guess feeding Jaune some line about how she's from 'out of town' or, she wants him to show her around. With any luck, they'll hit it off, and have a budding romance so passionate he won't even care that she's a faunus." I said, smiling down at Yang.

Yang slowly nodded, "Okay… buuuuuut how exactly are we going to dress Ruby up anyway? Those kids at the orphanage are probably really attached to her now, not to mention how we're even going to tell Ruby about this match-making plan of yours when we can't even leave unless Jaune's with us." she asked. I felt my face pale as I slowly sunk down to the floor, looking straight ahead, a blank stare on my face. I saw Yang waving her hand in front of me, calling my name a few times. I turned,

"I… well we'll… have to… I haven't really thought that part through yet…"