Notice Me, Ruby!
Chapter 27: Ruben Woods
Yang wasn't sure how to feel at the moment. On one hand, she was going to finally learn the truth about Ruby's father, which she had wanted to know for a long time now. However, at the same time, the tone of voice Qrow was using along with the grim expression on his face made him feel anxious. Just what was she about to hear?
Without saying anything, the blonde girl sat next to her uncle, waiting for him to start his story.
"I should probably start my story by telling you about how I got to know Ruby's father, Ruben Woods," Qrow began. "Back when we were all in Beacon, his team, team RAIN, was kind of close to ours and we often worked together on all sorts of assignments. I guess you could say our teams shared a similar relationship to what your team has with that team JNPR you've told me about."
Yang was listening intently to the story, hoping to hear more.
"Ruben himself was the leader of his team, which is how Summer got to know him so well. Due to team leaders having additional tasks, they often met up with each other and soon became close friends, which eventually led to them becoming a couple," the unshaven man continued. "While Ruby may have inherited Summer's looks, most of her personality must have come from her father. Much like Ruby, her father didn't exactly have the most outgoing personality. Ruben was shy, awkward and had more of an interest in weapons instead of partying."
"So what you're telling me is that Rubes actually takes after her father than her mother?" the blonde girl asked. "That's quite surprising, since I always thought she took after Summer more than anything. I mean, she's pretty much a younger copy of her mom."
"I know what you mean, but everything I've said is the truth. Not only did she inherit all the things that I just mentioned from her father, but her father also had a rather big sweet tooth, much like she does," Qrow added. "In fact, those cookies Summer used to make for you two were actually Ruben's favorite treat as well. She originally made them for him back when they were dating."
Yang was getting more and more excited by everything she was learning. To think that so many things came from a man she had never seen even in pictures or even heard the name of until today. It was incredible and she wanted to learn more. More about the man known as Ruben Woods, Ruby's father.
However, the brawler then realized something. All this time, whenever she had tried asking either her uncle or father about Ruby's dad, they would refuse to tell her anything, almost like speaking about him was taboo or something. What could have happened that made Ruben Woods a thing that they wouldn't dare talk about?
"So, what happened with him? Where is he?" Yang asked, somewhat dreading the answer. "Did he do something that caused him and Summer to break up?"
Before answering his niece's question, Qrow took his flask and drank what little alcohol was left in it. He then grumbled almost inaudibly how "there's never enough booze when you need it" and put the flask back in his pocket.
"To answer your question regarding his relationship with Summer, he didn't do anything to have them break up. Much like his daughter, Ruben was always too good for his own sake," the unshaven man answered. "Honestly, he couldn't even bring himself to swear. That's how much of a nice guy he was."
"Then where is he? Why hasn't he ever come to see Ruby?" the blonde girl asked, before she realized something. All this time Qrow had been using the past tense while speaking about Ruben. "Uncle… don't tell me that…"
"I'm afraid so, kiddo," the old crow said with a sad look on his face. "Ruben Woods died years ago, before Ruby was born."
Tears fell from Yang's eyes as she thought about Ruby. Even if the brawler herself had essentially lost her mother when she was young, her mother was still alive somewhere. Her father was also alive and had been there through her whole life. However, the poor redhead didn't have either of her parents anymore. Not only had her mother died when she was young, but her father was also dead. Ruby didn't even know what he looked like or what his name was.
"This is so unfair. Ruby never deserved this, so why does she have to go through this?" Yang said while gritting her teeth. "How did it happen? How did Ruby's father die?"
"That's the part that I never wanted to reveal to you or Ruby. Same goes for Tai. However, you and Ruby both have a right to know, even if it will make you see me and your dad differently," Qrow said and took a deep breath. It was time to reveal something he had hoped to bury deep for eternity. "Ruben died on a mission. He went on his own on a job that was too big for him to handle and he was overwhelmed by the Grimm he faced."
"I… I don't understand. How is that supposed to make me see you or my dad any differently?" the blonde girl asked. "And why did he go alone, if the Grimm were too much for him?"
"To answer your second question, it's because something his teammates and we had done. Although, in our case, it's more about what we didn't do," the old crow answered. "If there is one thing that is more important than anything else in the world for a team of Huntsmen and Huntresses, it's trust. Once it's broken, it can never be fully fixed. Ruben's teammates had broken the trust between themselves and their team leader, and we had done that as well to him."
"You… WHAT!?" Yang cried out in shock, unable to believe what she had just heard. "You had broken his trust!? HOW!? Just what did you do to cause that!?"
Before answering, Qrow took a deep breath, readying himself to let out something he had held within for many years.
"Much like Ruby, her father was also a prodigy. One that you only see very rarely. And much like his daughter, he got accepted into Beacon early," the unshaven man began to explain. "Because of this a lot of other students became jealous of him and did everything they could to tear him down. Some started nasty rumors, some simply treated him with passive aggressive behavior and some downright bullied him. Unfortunately, this was something that happened even within his own team. His teammates often spoke badly of him behind his back and did their best to ignore him. Even the members of our team did it to some extent, but our biggest sin was never trying to help or defend him. Instead, we left him on his own. The only one who didn't and was completely unaware of all this was Summer, who became the only person Ruben could trust at all. Once we all graduated, Ruben distanced himself from us and his team as much as he could, hoping to escape everything we had done to him. Unfortunately, because of the damage we had caused him, he could no longer trust anyone, which led to him going solo. I think he was also trying to show us that he did deserve his position and all the praise he received, in order to finally silence those who doubted him. This led to him eventually taking on a job that was too big for him."
Yang's face turned pale upon hearing what had happened to Ruben and she felt sick in her stomach. Her head was spinning as she was trying to make sense of this, which was proving to be difficult. For the blonde girl, the world might as well have been truly flipped upside-down, as everything seemed to crumble around her.
Her uncle and father, her closest and most trusted family members, had been part of the reason as to why Ruby's father was dead.
"Tai and I would often talk about when we should tell you and Ruby the truth. Unfortunately, we are cowards and would always just say that "we will do it later", without specifying what it mean," Qrow said as a tear fell from his eye upon seeing the state Yang was in. "However, both you and Ruby deserve to know the truth about what happened, no matter how much it may cause you to hate us. That is why I decided to tell you the truth."
"…Ruben's teammates," the brawler managed to say, although it was almost inaudible. "What happened to them? Do they know it was their fault that he died?"
"They should know about it, since we told them," the old crow answered. "Whether they regret what they did, I do not know. That was the last time I ever saw any of them."
Yang stood up from the place she was sitting at and took a couple of steps away from her uncle. She was trying her best to make sense of this whole thing, but no matter what she did, she couldn't. The blonde girl knew that what had been done to Ruby's father was inexcusable. There was no way one could just accept it and move on.
"You and Ruby have every right to hate me, Tai and Ruben's teammates for what happened. I am not stupid enough to try and make excuses for what we did," Qrow said as more tears fell from his eyes. "I have done many bad things in my life. Things that I regret and would want to take back, but I know that will never happen. Yet even among all of them, what happened to Ruben is one I regret more than anything."
"What did Summer say about it?" Yang asked while gritting her teeth. "Or did you keep the truth from her as well?"
"We didn't really need to tell her, as Ruben had told her already. We just needed to further explain what we had done and why," the unshaven man answered. "She… didn't take it well. While she never expressed any hatred or anger towards any of us, I think I would have preferred that. In turn for losing her loved one, she became a different person. No longer was she the energetic and spunky leader we knew and loved. She became much quieter and calmer, almost a complete opposite to how she used to be. It broke our hearts to see her like that. Especially when we realized that she was trying to be more like her late husband in his memory. She even began to make Ruben's favorite cookies more often. I think she might have also named Ruby after her father as well."
"So the Summer I knew and grew up with wasn't really Summer?" the brawler asked to which Qrow nodded. "…In the end, I never truly got to know Summer, the woman who was like a mother to me. I only saw what was left of her."
"Yang, if you're thinking that Summer didn't truly love you as her daughter, I can assure you that-" Qrow began to say as he walked up to his niece and tried to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, only for the blonde girl to slap it away and look at him with angry, tear-filled eyes.
"DON'T YOU EVEN DARE!" Yang yelled. "How are you supposed to convince me of what Summer truly felt towards me!? You couldn't even figure out what Ruben was going through thanks to all the crap you and his teammates put him through! HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO CONVINCE ME THAT SUMMER TRULY LOVED ME LIKE A DAUGHTER AFTER WHAT YOU ALL DID TO HER!?"
"…I won't make any excuses for what we did. Nor will I even try to apologize, as what we did was unforgivable," the unshaven man began. "However, if there is one thing I know for certain, it is that Summer truly loved you just as much as she loved Ruby. Even though she was broken over Ruben's death, she knew that holding a grudge towards you would be wrong, as you were innocent. And every time I talked with her, she always referred to both you and Ruby as "her girls" without a hint of lies, only love. Even when she was dying from her injuries from her last mission, she said that her only regret was not getting to see her two daughters grow up."
The brawler stood silent for a moment, before falling to her knees and breaking down into tears. Many emotions were rushing through her at that moment. Relief over knowing that Summer had seen her as a daughter. Anger at the people who were the cause of Ruben's death. Yet mostly she felt sadness. She was sad because of what Ruby, the one person she loved, had been put through. Never knowing who her real father was and losing her mother. Now she would have to face the grief of finding out her father's true fate.
As Yang was crying, Qrow walked up to her and pulled her into a gentle hug. At first, the crying girl's body stiffened from the contact, but she soon relaxed and let her uncle comfort her. The two of them stayed like that for a while, as Yang let out all of her sadness.
After some time had passed, the blonde girl had finally calmed down enough to stop crying. Her face was still messy, but she was doing far better now.
"I… Uncle Qrow, I don't know what to say anymore," Yang managed to say after calming down. "On one hand, I am angry at you and dad for what you did to Ruby's father. But I also can't help but think about all the time we've spent together as a family and care about you both."
"It's okay, firecracker. Take your time with it," Qrow said with a sad smile. "All this time I've been prepared for you and Ruby to hate me for what we did. Just know that I will always care about you, no matter what. I'm sure Tai feels the same way as well."
"Thanks, uncle," the brawler said with a small smile.
"No problem, kid," the unshaven man replied. "Think we should go and tell Ruby as well? She deserves to know."
"I'll go tell her. I need to talk to her anyways," Yang replied. "I don't know how this is going to work out, but not only do I need to confess to her, I also need to tell her about her father."
"Are you sure it's a good idea to do both of them right away? It could be too much for her to handle right away."
"I'm not going to tell both of the things at the same time. I think I'll tell her about her father first and once she has managed to compose herself of the shock she's bound to get into, I might tell her about my feelings. She needs to know that I'll be there to help her through this, and I can't keep stalling this any longer."
"I see. Good luck, kiddo. I'll be in the city, if you need me."
With that, Yang began to head back towards Beacon, hoping to meet Ruby and tell her about what she had just learned as well as to tell her about how she felt about the redheaded girl.
Unfortunately, she was unaware that it would be herself that was in for a shocking revelation, as she was about to learn that she herself had committed the same crimes her father and uncle had back in the day.
Author's notes: As you've probably guessed, the whole thing regarding Ruby's father is essentially going to be about how Yang has done the same thing her parents and uncle did. It's going to be a big revelation for her in the next chapter.
However, I have some not so good news. I am going on a break from writing fanfiction, as I've noticed that I have lost a good amount of my enthusiasm for it. I'm afraid to say that this isn't due to small issues either.
As I've stated before, I have stopped watching RWBY due to the quality of the show dropping greatly. I used to be able to ignore all the problems with and around the series, but I'm just no longer able to do it. This has also led to me pretty much losing my love for the series as well. Thanks to this, I haven't felt like writing my stories on this site all that much.
The series itself isn't the only problem, as RT themselves have just had scandals after scandals revealed one after another. This has not helped my feelings towards the show at all. I've pretty much lost all my respect for RT at this point.
Coupled with all the other crap I'm going through, I've just lost my spark to write these stories. I'm hoping that me taking a break will help me get back to this. I am still determined to finish this story, but I have honestly even been considering just quitting this hobby altogether, as it's difficult to write fanfiction when you're no longer a fan. Besides this story, there is also one other story that I really want to write, but I fear that I might quit writing my stories here after that. Believe me when I tell you that I am not saying any of this lightly. It's honestly just heartbreaking to say any of this.
I want to be clear that I am in no way telling how you should feel about RWBY or RT. This is just how I feel and I felt like it was only fair for me to be honest with you all, as you have supported me and kept me going.
Hope you've all enjoyed the story so far and come see the next chapter, once I get back from my break.
Until next time.
RWBY is owned by Monty Oum.