Notice Me, Ruby!
Chapter 3: Not Our Ruby?
It had been a couple of days since the three older girls of team RWBY had decided to try and find out what was going on with their leader. During that time, the trio had made no progress at finding out what was wrong with Ruby, despite their best efforts. Their plan was rather simple, as they were going to stick close to the younger girl and observe her in the hopes of finding something out. The three girls were also trying to get Ruby to spend more time with them by trying to start conversations with her and inviting her into different activities. However, none of this had worked so far.
The way Ruby saw it was that her teammates were trying to get on her good side for the accusations they threw at her and not for the sake of actually spending time with her. Once she gave in, things would just go back the way they used to be. In the redhead's mind, she might as well skip the pointless time spent with her team and focus on her studies instead.
However, since the WBY were oblivious to Ruby's reasons, they were completely shocked that the young leader declined all of their offers. As far as they knew, Ruby was always willing and happy to spend time with her teammates and friends. This sort of a change was something they had never expected and only made them worry about their leader even more.
The three older girls' attempts at getting the attention of their leader ranged from simply asking Ruby to spend time with them to downright begging her, but much to their disappointment, the redhead kept denying their requests. It seemed like they could offer nothing to get their youngest teammate to spend time with them.
Since simply asking or begging wasn't working, Yang decided that they would need to be more clever on their approach. For this, she had come up with a plan to finally get Ruby to spend some time with them.
Ruby and Weiss were walking down the hallways of Beacon with the older girl leading the younger one. The two partners were heading towards the library, since Weiss had invited Ruby for an important study session with her.
"You know, I'm very happy that you decided to join me on this study session, Ruby," the heiress said while leading her partner. "Before you tried everything you could to skip them, but now you agreed without any whining or protesting. It shows just how much you have grown."
"I decided that it's for the best. There's still a lot of work ahead of me, so I was going to go to the library anyways," the young team leader replied. "Besides, this gives me a chance to sort of learn through the famous "Schnee tutoring" that you have always boasted about. I might learn some things I normally wouldn't."
Weiss let out a nervous chuckle at the mention of her tutoring. While it was true that she had been taught from an early age by a lot of expensive teachers, they still paled in comparison to the level of teachers in Beacon. In all honesty, the white-haired girl had quickly realized upon starting her studies at Beacon that her overall skills weren't all that great, and that she still had a long way to go. Even if she did know a few things more than the average student, her knowledge wasn't as massive as she had thought. If Weiss was being perfectly honest, her tutors before Beacon only had a big price on them and nothing more.
It was a good thing for those hired teachers that the heiress' parents weren't all that aware of what kind of teaching a Huntress truly needed or else they could have gone to jail for their scams.
The two girls made their way to the library and walked inside. Weiss led her partner to a more secluded area, where they could study in peace. Only the thing was that there wasn't any study session planned at all. Instead what awaited Ruby was a table with Yang and Blake sitting at, and Remnant The Game placed on it, ready for use.
"What's this?" Ruby asked with a small frown, already getting irritated by her teammates' actions. "I thought we were supposed to come here to study. Why is there are a board game on the table?"
"Oh, no big reason. We just thought that you might want to join us on- HEY, WAIT!" Yang began to explain, only to notice much to her shock that the redhead turned around and began to walk away. "Rubes, where are you going!?"
"Somewhere else where I can study," Ruby answered as she kept walking. "The library seems to be a bit too occupied."
The young team leader's leave was suddenly stopped when something pulled on her cloak. She looked behind her and saw Yang holding her cloak and giving her the "sad puppy eyes."
"Don't leave, Ruby. This is much more fun with four players," the blonde begged. "Besides, you like this game, don't you?"
"That might be true, but I have work to do," Ruby answered with not even a hint of pity. "I still need to go over my notes for today, do some maintenance on my weapon, get started on the essay for Port-"
"That essay isn't due for weeks, Rubes! There's no need to get started on it already!"
Blake and Weiss looked at each other with wide eyes. Not even the heiress had been this much of a workaholic as their team leader was being.
"Just because the deadline isn't close, doesn't mean that I shouldn't begin working on it!" Ruby yelled in a frustrated voice. "If I let my work pile up on me, I won't get it all done in time! I need to get an early start, so I can get all of my work done on time!"
"But you need to have fun too, Rubes!" Yang continued to whine. "Come on. Just one game. Please?"
"My answer is still no and I'll be taking my leave now. Goodbye," the redhead replied before disappearing with the use of her Semblance, leaving only a couple of rose petals on the floor.
With Ruby now gone, Yang's shoulders slumped down and she walked back to the table and sat down. Once she was seated, she banged her head on the table, feeling very down about their recent failure.
"Well, that didn't go as planned," Blake said in a somewhat sad tone. "I guess her favorite game from childhood isn't enough to get her to come back."
"Not to mention, she probably won't believe me anymore, if I ask her to join another study session," Weiss added. "It feels like we took a few steps backwards instead of simply not making any progress."
"ARGH!" Yang growled with frustration as she grabbed her hair. "I don't get it! Rubes and I used to play this game all the time back home! It was one of our favorite things to do together! Now she acts like she never cared about it at all! Just what is up with her!? It's like she's a completely... different... person..."
The brawler's eyes were wide as a thought suddenly came to her mind. With newfound determination, she stood up from her seat and started to head out of the library.
"Yang? Where are you going?" Blake asked, wondering what her partner was up to.
"I just realized something important," Yang answered. "Now, if my fears are correct, we might have a bigger problem on our hands than we thought. Whatever the case is, we need to make sure of something."
The cat faunus simply gave a confused look at Weiss, silently asking if she knew what the blonde was talking about. The heiress simply shrugged, telling her that she didn't have any idea on what was going on either. They still went after Yang, hoping to find out what she had on her mind.
Sometime later, both Weiss and Blake were sitting in their team's dorm, waiting for Yang to arrive. The blonde had asked them to wait for her, while she went to make some preparations. Neither of the two girls still had any idea as to what their teammate was up to.
"Any idea what Yang might be doing?" Weiss asked. "She seemed pretty serious when she left. It was like she was readying herself for a war or something."
"I have no idea, but I doubt it's anything too serious," Blake answered. "I mean, you know how "extreme" her emotions can be from time to time, especially when it's about Ruby. I'm sure she is just overreacting or something."
Just as the cat faunus had finished speaking, the dorm's door opened and Yang walked in. The brawler had a large tray of freshly baked cookies in her hands, which she carried to Ruby's desk and left there. The other two girls looked at their teammate in confusion, wondering about what she was planning.
"What are those cookies for, Yang?" Blake asked. "Are you going to try bribing Ruby?"
"No. This is for something far more important," the blonde replied. "I think that Ruby-"
Yang suddenly stopped upon hearing something. She quickly ran up to the door and put her ear against it in order to listen to what was going on the other side. The brawler's eyes went wide and she quickly grabbed her teammates' hands and hid in a closet with them. Unfortunately, their hiding spot was quite cramped, forcing the three girls in a very uncomfortable situation.
"What do you think you're doing, Yang!?" Weiss asked angrily. "There's barely enough room for one person, let alone three!"
"Shhh! Quiet!" Yang quickly said to the heiress. "Just be silent and watch."
The blonde slightly opened the closet's door, so that the three girls could see what was going on outside. They watched as Ruby soon entered the room with a large pile of books in her hands. The redhead seemed to be readying herself for a personal study session, since she put her books on her desk and sat down.
However, before Ruby began her studying, she noticed the tray of cookies on the desk. She looked around a bit, as if to see if anyone was still nearby. Since no one was around, the young team leader took one of the sweet treats and bit into it.
What happened next made the WBY go wide-eyed.
Instead of chewing on the baked goodie like most would expect, Ruby actually spat the piece of cookie out of her mouth and into a trash bin next to her desk. She even went so far as to throw the rest of the cookies in the bin as well. With the treats disposed of, the scythe-wielder opened one of her books and began to study.
"Well, that certainly was unexpected," Blake said while staring at her team leader with wide eyes.
"That's an understatement," Weiss added. "I never thought I'd see the day when Ruby of all people would throw away cookies. Is this really the same girl that's been our leader all this time?"
"That's exactly the reason I did this," Yang said with a hint of anger in her voice, as she was now glaring at Ruby. "I guess my fears were correct."
"What are you- Hey!" the heiress cried out, as the blonde suddenly stepped out of the closet, causing the other two girls to fall out.
Hearing the sudden noises behind her, Ruby turned around to see a very angry Yang walking towards her. Seeing the older girl this angry scared her, as she had no idea why the blonde was so upset.
"Uhhh... H-Hi, Yang," the redhead greeted the brawler. "Is something wrong?"
"Don't play games with me, pal," Yang said with an angry growl. "Who are you and what have you done to Ruby?"
Upon hearing the blonde's question, the redhead's expression changed from one of fear into one of pure confusion.
"Yang, I'm right in front of you. What are you- AAAH!" Ruby screamed upon getting grabbed by Yang, who then wrestled her to the floor.
"Wrong answer!" the brawler yelled as she straddled the struggling girl and pulled out a roll of duct tape. She then began tie the younger girl's hands behind her back.
"Yang, what the hell are you doing!?" Weiss asked while the blonde continued to restrain her struggling partner.
"Isn't it obvious!? I'm capturing this damn faker, who is pretending to be Ruby!" Yang answered as she went on to tie the redhead's ankles.
"Faker!? What are you talking about!?" Blake asked, confused by her partner's actions.
"Yeah! Would you mind telling me that as well!?" Ruby yelled, angered by what Yang was doing to her. "I swear, if this is one of your lame pranks, Yang, I'll make you pay for this!"
"You keep your mouth shut, you damn spy!" the blonde shouted at the tied up girl, before turning towards her other two teammates. "I'm telling you that this is NOT Ruby! This has to be some sort of a spy that we sent here by the White Fang or Torchwick!"
"Just what makes you think that's the case!?" Weiss asked, still in shock over what was going on.
"I'm with Weiss here, Yang. Just what is making you think that Ruby is actually a spy of all things?" Blake asked. "I mean, what sort of proof do you even have to support such accusations?"
"Oh, come on! You two cannot be serious!" Yang cried out from frustration with her two teammates. "Do I need to remind you just how much her behavior has changed!? How she's been essentially an entirely different person for weeks!? How she decided not to join us to play one of her favorite board games ever!?"
"Yang, I know you're not exactly the smartest person in the room, but ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?" Ruby yelled with her face red from anger at the older girl.
"I am not kidding and I don't remember giving you the permission to speak!" the brawler yelled at the younger girl. "Now stay quiet, until we want you to talk!"
"While I agree that her behavior has been strange, don't you think you're going a bit too far, Yang?" Weiss asked. "These are some serious accusations, after all."
"Yeah, I kind of see your point, but I'm still a bit on the fence with this whole thing," Blake added. "Do you have some sort of definite proof?"
"I do. You just witnessed it yourselves," the blonde stated in all seriousness.
The monochrome duo's eyes went wide upon realizing what their teammate was talking about. They both knew just how obsessed Ruby was with sugary and sweet treats, with cookies being her favorites. The idea of her not only rejecting her favorite treats, but also throwing them in the trash seemed honestly impossible.
"You know... She has a point," Weiss said, thinking about everything they had seen regarding Ruby's change in behavior.
"I agree," Blake said with a nod. "It seemed so crazy and unbelievable at first, but when you really think about it, it makes perfect sense."
While the three older girls were having their discussion, Ruby was laying on the floor, completely confused over what was going on.
"What are you three talking about?" the redhead asked. "Weiss, Blake, you're not actually agreeing with Yang, are you?"
The only answer Ruby got from her teammates was a stern look, telling her they were serious about this. The scythe-wielder could feel dread wash over her, as she feared what was going to happen next.
"So are you two ready to make her spill the beans on who she really is?" Yang asked her two teammates.
"Absolutely," Weiss answered without hesitation.
"Same here," Blake replied. "What are we going to do now?"
"Just watch for now. I'll ask for your assistance later," the blonde explained as she walked up to her gym bag and pulled something out.
The other girls in the room watched as Yang walked backed to them while holding the object she had taken from her bag. They saw that it was a pair of dirty, used socks, most likely used by the brawler when she was working out. And judging by how Blake covered her nose and took a step backwards, they hadn't been washed for quite some time.
"Yang... What are you doing?" Ruby asked with fear in her voice.
"Now, you are going to answer my questions truthfully or else I'm going to use these, got it? Also, a friendly warning, I haven't washed these for three weeks," Yang explained and then crouched down in front of the tied up girl. "Tell me, who are you and what did you do to Ruby?"
"Yang, I am the real-" Ruby began to answer, but was cut off by the blonde shoving the socks into her mouth. The redhead began to scream and tried to spit out the filthy pieces of clothing, but Yang kept them in with her hand.
"Wrong answer," the brawler growled out.
Meanwhile, the other two members of team RWBY were watching Yang interrogate the younger girl with horrified expressions.
"This is inhumane," Weiss said with wide eyes. "I'm certain this has to break some international laws."
"And you think the White Fang is cruel," Blake said to the heiress.
Some time later, Ruby's interrogation had progressed in pretty much similar manner. Yang would question the redhead, only to have her say that she was the real Ruby and that she wasn't any kind of a spy. This would then anger the blonde, who would use some method to get the truth out of the "spy" with the help of Weiss and Blake. These methods included things like tickling, spanking, forcing the younger girl to listen to awful pop music and so on. However, Ruby kept telling her teammates that she was the real Ruby, which the older girls didn't unfortunately believe.
"I am getting VERY tired of this," Yang said angrily. "Where. Is. RUBY!?"
"I KEEP TELLING YOU, I'M RIGHT HERE!" Ruby screamed at the older girl.
"You leave me no choice but to use my ultimate weapon," the blonde said and walked away.
The three other girls watched as Yang dug through her schoolbag and eventually pulled out a large glass jar that was filled with something brown. Ruby's eyes widened in horror, as she wondered what this new weapon the brawler had could possibly be.
"Oh God... What is that?" the redhead asked, already fearing the answer.
"Something I snatched from Port's office, while he wasn't around. I was originally planning to use it on Carding, but I think this is a good enough place for it," Yang explained. "Apparently, it's a jar of Grimm poo. Now you better start telling me the truth or THIS goes down YOUR throat."
While the blonde was threatening her prisoner, Weiss and Blake were absolutely terrified over what their teammate was planning.
"Yang, that is way too extreme!" Weiss cried out in horror.
"I don't think anyone deserves that kind of punishment!" Blake pleaded.
"I don't care! Our Ruby is missing and she's our only lead at the moment! I want answers and I'm willing to do anything in order to get them!" Yang yelled at her two teammates before turning her attention back to the terrified redhead. "Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know or are you going to become a Grimm toilet?"
"YANG, I SWEAR THAT I AM THE REAL RUBY! THAT IS THE TRUTH, ALRIGHT!?" Ruby screamed in terror.
"Alright, that does it! You asked for this, so open wide!" the brawler yelled angrily as she prepared to open the jar.
"NO! NOOOO! SOMEONE HELP ME! PLEASE!"
However, just as Yang was about to open the jar, the door to the dorm was suddenly slammed open. The four girls turned to look who had come in and saw Glynda Goodwitch standing there, looking rather upset.
"Just what in the world is going on here!?" the blonde teacher asked angrily. "We have been getting numerous noise complaints of you for some time now, and when I come here, I hear someone screaming like they're about to be murdered!"
"PROFESSOR GOODWITCH! HELP ME! PLEASE!" Ruby begged the teacher.
"Ms. Rose?" Glynda asked in confusion, finally noticing the redhead's situation. "Why are you tied up? What is happening here?"
"Professor Goodwitch, I can explain," Yang said.
"Oh, I certainly hope you can," the teacher said with a hint of anger in her voice as she glared at the blonde girl. She just knew that the brawler was behind this whole thing. "I hope that you have an explanation as to why your team leader is tied up, looks like she's been tortured and has been screaming for help! Not to mention, I really want to know why YOU have the jar that disappeared from Professor Port's office."
"W-Well, the thing is that we believe this isn't OUR Ruby," Yang began to explain nervously. "You see, we think she's some sort of a spy, who was sent here to infiltrate our school."
"A spy?" Glynda asked with a raised eyebrow. "Just what makes you think that?"
"She has been acting very strangely recently," the blonde answered. "You see, she used to be very energetic and loved to go around having fun, but nowadays she's just focusing on studying all the time. It's like she doesn't want to have any fun at all."
"That is hardly any evidence of Ms. Rose here being a spy of any kind. After all, we are in a school, so you are expected to study," the witch said. "Besides, I think you should follow her example and focus more on your studies yourself. Your grades could certainly use it."
"Oh, come on! Did you really need to bring up MY grades!?" Yang whined. "Besides, her behavior is not our only proof! We just made a test where we confirmed our suspicions of her! I baked some cookies for her to eat, but she threw them in the trash! The real Ruby would never do that!"
"Hang on a second! Are you saying that the reason you think I'm not me is because I didn't like your cookies!?" Ruby asked angrily and got a nod from the older girl. "Did you even taste those things yourself!?"
"Huh? Why would I do that?" Yang asked.
Glynda walked up to the bin where the cookies had been thrown into and picked up one of the treats. The teacher took a bite out of it and she immediately spat it out in disgust.
"Ms. Xiao Long, I think you should taste what you've made," Glynda said.
The three older girls of team RWBY walked up to the bin and also took one of the cookies there. Upon tasting them, the three girls spat the pieces out of their mouths.
"What in the world did you put in these, Yang!?" Weiss asked while trying to get every last piece of the dreadful treat out of her mouth. "These things taste horrible!"
"I might have mixed up salt and sugar on accident," the blonde replied while her body trembled from the horrible taste she had just experienced.
"No wonder Ruby threw these in the trash!" Blake yelled. "Not even a hungry dog would like them!"
"I suppose this proves that Ms. Rose is indeed herself and NOT a spy, doesn't it?" Glynda asked with sarcasm in her voice as she glared at the WBY, clearly displeased with how they had acted. The three girls looked down in shame over realizing what they had just done to their leader.
"AHEM!" Ruby called out, getting everybody to turn their attention to her. "Now that my real identity has been proven, COULD SOMEBODY UNTIE ME ALREADY!?"
Author's notes: I am right now VERY nervous over how this chapter is received. While I have been truly happy for the support you all have given this story, it has also made me concerned as I might have given a wrong impression of this story in the first two chapters. However, this is the type of humor I like to write in a lot of my stories, which some of you are probably familiar with, so you can expect more of this type of stuff in the future. If that is not to your tastes and you don't like the direction I am going with this, I understand completely.
Please tell me how you feel about the way this story is going. Depending on your response, I'll consider continuing this story. I just wanted to try out this story and see how it works, as I have wanted to write it for a long time.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. On the next chapter, if you people want to see it, we'll see the WBY try to make up for their mistake on this chapter.
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth.