Notice Me, Ruby!

Chapter 26: Tough Talks

Ruby was feeling good about herself. Not only had her life taken a massive turn for the better with her getting to work with and befriend team LION, but she was also on her way to skipping more years and becoming a third-year. It seemed like the redhead's hard work was finally going to pay off.

With a happy spring in her steps, Ruby was making her way to team LION's dorm. The senior students had invited her to hang out again, to play games and watch movies. The scythe-wielder was certain that she was in for a really good time.

However, Ruby's happy trip down Beacon's hallways came to a sudden stop, as she noticed a certain pair of people ahead of her. Weiss and Blake were standing in the middle of the corridor, staring at their team leader. They had most likely been waiting for the younger girl to show up, as they knew she would come through there to go to team LION.

"Weiss? Blake? What's up?" Ruby asked in a slightly nervous tone. She had not expected her teammates to be acting like this. "Why are you here?"

"Ruby, we need to talk to you about something," Weiss answered. "It's about the way some third-year teams have been acting towards you."

"Could you be a bit more specific?" the redhead asked, trying to feign ignorance over what her teammates were talking about.

"It's this strange interest a bunch of third-year teams seem to have taken in you," Blake said. "At first, it seemed like only team LION was interested in you, but it seems other teams have started acting similarly. We've seen some team called DEUS approach you, as well as a few others. What is all that about? Why are they so strangely interested in you?"

"Oh that? It's nothing big, I swear!" Ruby quickly lied. "It's just that some of the other third-year teams have gotten this idea that they could better their grades by working with me! That's all!"

"Is that really what's happening?" the cat faunus asked, not fully believing her team leader.

"Sure is!" the redhead replied. "Now, I'm in a hurry, so-"

"Do you really expect us to believe that?" Weiss suddenly asked in an accusing tone. "Tell us what's really going on, Ruby."

The young team leader was taken aback by her partner's words. While Ruby knew that she wasn't exactly the best when it came to lying, there was no reason for Weiss to use such a tone with her. Not to mention, the way the younger girl saw it, her business with the third-years was something that didn't concern her own teammates, so she didn't even have a reason to explain herself.

"What are you getting at, Weiss?" Ruby asked calmly, but one could notice hints of anger in her voice.

"Look, it's obvious that there is something weird going on with you right now," Weiss began to explain. "While I will admit that you're rather skilled, I don't believe that just having you on a team is enough to boost the grades of the students. Not to mention, even if that was true, it cannot be that big of a change that whole teams would seek you out, especially third-years. Now, would you mind telling us just what is really going on?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the three girls. The heiress was waiting for an answer from her partner, while Blake was nervously looking between Ruby and Weiss. Even though the cat faunus wanted to know what was going on with her team leader, she didn't want to do it in such a hostile way Weiss had. The relationship they had with Ruby was already in a bad shape, so they should avoid making things worse.

Blake was about to open her mouth in an attempt to fix the mess the white-haired girl had caused, but Ruby managed to speak up before her. The redhead's tone was cold and was dripping with anger that brought chills to the older girls.

"And just how would you know?" Ruby asked while glaring at Weiss. "How do you know that what I just said isn't true? Have you seen the work I've done with team LION and the results from it? Of course you haven't. You just think that the only person to be able to accomplish the things I have is yourself, the great Schnee heiress. All others are beneath you and could never be as good as you are."

For a moment, all Weiss and Blake could do was stand still in shock and stare at their team leader with wide eyes. While the raven-haired girl knew that Ruby wouldn't be happy over what the white-haired girl had said, the hostility that was dripping from the younger girl's voice was honestly terrifying. Throughout her life, Blake had encountered hateful people of all types and her experience was telling her that they were currently just seeing the tip of the iceberg. She could only hope that they wouldn't give Ruby a reason to unleash more.

"What did you just say!?" Weiss asked angrily, causing Blake to scream inside her head. "How dare you-"

"Oh, I dare! You know why!? Because I am sick of your damn "I'm better than everybody" attitude!" Ruby yelled as she stepped up to her partner, effectively shutting up the older girl. "Honestly, where do you get this idea that no one can be better than you!? There are at least hundreds of others that are studying to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, yet you automatically think you're the best there is!? That you're the only one who works hard!? Give me a break! Do you have even the slightest idea how hard I have worked!? I've spent entire nights studying! I've worked on my equipment until I couldn't feel my fingers! I've trained so hard that I've coughed up blood and felt like my body was on fire! Have you ever done any of that!? I HIGHLY DOUBT IT!"

"Ruby, please calm down!" Blake quickly said as she stepped between her two teammates. "I know what Weiss said was wrong, but-"

"Don't you even dare start, Blake!" the redhead yelled at the faunus girl. "You're just as bad as she is!"

"W-What are you-"

"I know you've had a hard life and you're still having problems. We ALL know that. I'm willing to help you, not just because I'm your team leader, but I'm also supposed to be your friend," Ruby started somewhat calmly before unleashing her anger and frustration towards the raven-haired girl. "But you should understand that other people can have it tough as well! INCLUDING ME! You have no idea of what I have to go through in my life nor do you most likely even care! In your eyes, you're the only one that has it rough while everyone else is all fine and dandy! You could NOT be farther from the truth! And to make it worse, whenever I need help or could just use a friend, you act like I don't even exist! PEOPLE AREN'T JUST SOME OBJECTS THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE WHEN TO DEAL WITH, BLAKE!"

The redhead's sudden outburst had left both Weiss and Blake speechless. One of the reasons for that was the shock of seeing Ruby act like this, as they could have never expected the younger girl to do something like this. Ruby was pretty much the embodiment of kindness and innocence, so her saying things like this was something they couldn't even imagine.

However, the one thing that truly left the older girl silent was the fact that the young team leader was right. No matter how much they wanted to deny it, Ruby had perfectly described both of them. Weiss did have the habit of considering herself to be better than others, and Blake did ignore the problems others faced. Neither one of them had considered that way of thinking as selfish at all. It was just a fact for them.

"Ruby, we're-" Blake tried to apologize while reaching a hand towards the younger girl only for her hand to get slapped away.

"Just leave me alone! I don't want to see either of you at all, so leave me be!" Ruby yelled as she turned away from her teammates. "That's what you all want anyway, don't you?"

Before either of the two older girls could do anything, the scythe-wielder used her Semblance to disappear in a cloud of rose petals.

"We… really screwed up, didn't we?" Weiss said in a low and sad tone. "Do you think we should just let her be?"

"While I think we should give her some space, we shouldn't stop trying to fix this," Blake answered. "What Ruby said was true. We have been selfishly absorbed into our own worlds without considering her at all, but that doesn't mean we can just give up. Something is going on between her and the third-year teams, and we need to find out what."

"Okay. But we need to be careful not to further upset her, okay?" the heiress said. "Did you hear her voice just before she left? She sounded so… broken. I could hardly believe it when I heard it."

The raven-haired girl simply nodded in response. While Ruby's furious outburst had been unbelievable, that broken and saddened tone was even more unbelievable. Just what could have happened to her?

Whatever the case was, Blake just hoped that Yang was doing better.

While Weiss and Blake were having their confrontation with Ruby, Yang was meeting up with her uncle in the Emerald Forest. The blonde girl had called Qrow in the hopes of setting up a meeting where she could talk with him in private, which is why she had chosen the forest as the location. Knowing how bust the old crow could be with his work, Yang had expected to either having their conversation through their Scrolls or for it to take at least a week to happen. Luckily, for the brawler, Qrow happened to be in the city at the time, which allowed then to have their conversation in person with no worries.

At the moment, Yang was sitting on a log at the edge of a clearing in the forest, waiting for her uncle to arrive. She kept nervously checking her Scroll for time and any messages that might have been sent to her, but saw nothing. When she thought about the subject she wanted to talk about with Qrow, she couldn't but get nervous and blush. The blonde girl was certain that her uncle would not be expecting such a topic.

"Hey there, firecracker," a male voice suddenly said right behind Yang, causing her to scream and fall to the ground. The brawler looked behind her and saw the grinning face of Qrow looking down at her.

"Geeze, Uncle Qrow! Did you have to do that?" Yang grumbled as she got up. "Are you trying to give your niece a heart attack or something?"

"Not really, but I just couldn't resist doing that," the old crow said with a small chuckle. "Besides, you should have expected that from me. After all, I was the one who taught you about the wonderful world of pranks."

"You sure did. Although, I would have appreciated if you hadn't used me as a scapegoat as well," the brawler said. "As nice and kind as dad is, he's terrifying when he's angered."

"Isn't that exactly why I did that? I don't want to face his wrath any more than you do," Qrow joked, earning a groan from his niece. "Anyways, you sounded quite serious on the Scroll. Has something happened?"

"Well, yeah… It's kind of a long story," Yang replied as she sat down on the log again. "It's about Ruby. Some time ago, she started to act different from her usual self."

"Really? Different how?" the uncle asked as he sat next to his niece with a worried look on his face. "She hasn't fallen under any bad influences has she? Like some bad kids who drink and use drugs-"

"NO! Nothing like that!" the blonde girl quickly said. "It wasn't exactly anything bad, to be honest. She just began to study and train more. A lot more than before."

"I don't see how that's exactly a bad thing. I mean, don't get me wrong, I never liked studying when I was a student, but it's kind of the reason students go to a school, right? Just because Ruby decided to start working a bit more doesn't exactly mean the end of the world."

"I know that it's a good thing for her! I've seen just how much her work has paid off. In just an instant, she became the top of our class in pretty much everything there was. Her grades were good before, but now they're simply amazing. I'm honestly… happy that she's doing so well," Yang explained with a small smile, which suddenly turned into a sad look. "But it's not like everything is perfect. When Ruby started to work the way she did, she also began to distance herself from us. She would often spend entire nights simply studying or working on her combat skills. Not only that, but her personality has changed as well. Ruby just doesn't feel like the same happy girl that she used to be. Sometimes I'm actually having trouble believing she's the same person still."

"Hmmm… That does sound a bit worrying," Qrow said thoughtfully. "While I can't say it's exactly the same, this sounds like some Huntsmen I've seen in my travels. People who have gone through terrible loss of some kind, which has then driven them to work non-stop in order to not let that happen again. Could something like that have happened with Ruby?"

"I honestly have no idea, but I can't help but be worried," the brawler continued. "The whole thing has only gotten worse with time as well. Not too long ago, Ruby was actually put into a third-year team for some sort of an assignment. I can't help but feel like she is slowly getting further and further away from me."

"An assignment with a third-year team? Now that is surprising," the old crow said with a hint of amazement in his voice. "Although, are you sure this is a bad thing? I mean, if things are going well for her, shouldn't you be happy for Ruby?"

"I am happy for her!" Yang quickly said before a blush came to her face and she had to look away from her uncle. "It's just that there's now another… problem that has come up from all of this."

"Really now? And just what might that be?"

Instead of answering Qrow's question right away, the blonde girl had to take a moment to calm herself. She took a couple of deep breaths before speaking again.

"You see, uncle, I have kind of realized something about myself through this," Yang began her explanation. "Ever since Ruby started to act strangely, I have felt like she's been becoming more and more distant towards me, almost like she's leaving. And that has hurt me more than anything else has ever done in my life."

"Hey, things like these unfortunately happen," Qrow said in a comforting tone. "As time goes on, we all change from the things we experience and go through. It sounds like this is happening with Ruby now and I can understand you not being completely okay with it. She's been there with you through pretty much your whole life, so it's only natural for you to feel sad over this."

"That… is true, but it's also not the real reason I feel so sad about this," the brawler said and took another deep breath. "I'm afraid I've become more than a little attached to Ruby."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Uncle Qrow… I… I'm in love with Ruby…"

After Yang's confession, a moment of silence fell over them. Qrow was so taken aback by this revelation that he couldn't help but simply stare at his niece with wide eyes, while Yang could only wait for her uncle's response to what she had just admitted.

"Okay…" the unshaven man said as he took a flask from his pocket and took a sip from it. "I was NOT expecting that."

"Are… Are you angry or disgusted with me?" Yang asked almost inaudibly, fearing the answer she might get.

"Hey now, don't start jumping to such conclusions right away, okay?" Qrow said while trying to sound comforting, which was difficult due to the shock he had just gone through. "I'll admit that your case is… special, to say the least, but I've never been one to judge others for things like this. Not only that, but I'm well aware of the special circumstances surrounding you and Ruby, so it's not exactly all bad. It is still odd and I need to kind of get used to the idea and-"

The old crow was suddenly cut off by a hug from his niece. He soon felt something wet on the place where Yang's face was, telling him that she was crying.

"I'm so glad," the blonde girl said while holding back her sobs. "I was so worried that you would be horrified with me and wouldn't want to consider me family anymore. I… I was honestly scared…"

A gentle smile made its way to Qrow's face as he began to gently rub Yang's head in a comforting manner. It took some time, but he eventually managed to calm his niece down.

"Sorry about that, uncle," Yang apologized as she wiped away her tears after breaking up the hug between them. "I didn't mean to dirty your clothes."

"It's not a big deal. I mean, laundry isn't fun, but it's better than having you bottle up your emotions," Qrow lightly joked, which made the brawler giggle a bit. "However, I am a bit curious, though. What exactly made you fall in love with Ruby? I knew you cared about her deeply, but I never expected this."

"Well… It's a bit hard to explain, since I've recently been thinking that I have always loved her. I just never realized what kind of love it was," the blonde girl began her explanation as she stood up with a thoughtful look on her face. "I always passed whatever I was feeling towards her as my sisterly instincts, but I can't say that anymore. To me, Ruby is just beautiful in every single way, not just her looks. Her loving and caring personality makes me feel good no matter what. She is always fun to be with and she knows just what to do in order to lift up my mood. I honestly consider myself lucky that I've gotten to know her far better than anyone else."

The unshaven man listened to his niece's explanation with a rather odd expression on his face. If one were to describe what he looked like, it would be shocked. However, it wasn't shock that seemed to be born from disgust or anything like that. It was something else.

Before Yang could ask what was up with her uncle, Qrow took a very big sip from his flask, leaving almost no alcohol in it.

"Uncle?" the blonde girl called out. "Is something wrong?"

"Wha-? No! Nothing's wrong!" the old crow quickly said. "I was just surprised by the things you said! That's all!"

Yang could easily tell that Qrow was lying. She had known him for long enough to see that his answer was nothing more than a hastily built up excuse that wasn't true at all.

"Really now?" the brawler asked. "Are you sure that's the real reason? Can you look me in the eyes and say that's the truth?"

Qrow tried his best, but couldn't keep up his act. He knew that he had been seen through, so with a heavy sigh he decided to tell the truth.

"Okay, you got me. The things you said wasn't the reason for my surprise," the unshaven man admitted. "The reason I was so shocked was due to how much you remind me of a certain someone. I remember them saying those exact same words a long time ago and I almost couldn't believe my ears."

"I'm guessing you're talking about one of my parents then," Yang assumed. "Which one said the same thing? Was it my mom or my dad?"

"Neither, actually," Qrow answered, earning himself a confused look from his niece. "Tell me something, which one of Ruby's parents do you think Ruby takes after?"

"Well, that's easy. Her mother obviously," Yang replied without any hesitation.

"In looks for certain, but not so much in personality," the old crow said. "Would you believe me, if I were to tell you that when we were younger, Summer used to be quite the problem child?"

"Summer!? A problem child!?" the blonde girl exclaimed in laughter, not believing what she just heard. "You have got to be joking, uncle! There's no way Summer of all people could be any sort of problem!"

"Are you able to say the same thing once you hear about a couple of things she did?" Qrow asked with a small smirk. "Back when we were in school, the first time she greeted me was with a dropkick to my back that left me aching for a week. She also managed to dye your mother's hair pink and put itching powder in Tai's clothes. Those are just a couple of examples of the pranks and other things she did to us. Even the teachers weren't safe from her stunts, including Ozpin, who had laxatives put in his coffee. I could probably go for a couple of days just talking about all the crazy things she did in Beacon."

"H-Hang on now… A-Are you serious? This isn't a joke?" Yang asked in disbelief. "The Summer I remember could have never been like that! The way I remember her, she was the perfect mom any child could have! Calm, kind and caring that never acted badly at all! Are you telling me that I'm remembering her wrong or something!?"

"Not at all. Summer was definitely all those things when she was taking care of you and Ruby," the unshaven man quickly said. "However, that's because her personality went through a big change. It was… really heartbreaking seeing her the way she was with you. Not because it was bad, but because I, along with Tai and many others, knew what had led to that change."

"What was it then? What could have possibly happened to change a person so much?" the brawler asked.

"It has to do with something that Tai, myself and others didn't want to reveal to you or Ruby, because we were afraid of how you would see us. It's something that we did or rather didn't do back in the day, but I think it's your right to know finally," Qrow explained. "It's time for you to know about Ruby's father."

Author's notes: A few people seem to have gotten the idea that Ruby's father is somehow a bad guy in this story, which I find a bit strange. While I have not revealed much, I don't think I ever gave out the impression that he was bad in any way. In fact, if you read Chapter 24, I you would get a completely different idea of him. However, next chapter will be the big reveal about him, so that all will get cleared up then.

Also, while I'm going to start working on the next chapter as soon as I can, I'm afraid that I'm going to soon go on a break from writing. I'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as I can, since I feel it's kind of a big chapter. After that is done, I really need to take a break from writing these stories, as a bunch of things have been piling up on me lately and I REALLY need a break. I'll give more details once the next chapter is ready.

Anyways, that's all for now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and will check out the next one.

Until next one.

RWBY belongs to Monty Oum.