It was day twelve.
I finally gotten out of that damn shitty forest and winded up on the borders of some village. I mentally cheered and well-deservingly patted myself on the back. It took awhile, but all my hard work paid off.
I was free from the long treacherous journey in the forest.
Free from Grimm.
Free from being alone.
Free from suffering.
But my hopes shattered like fragile glass once I stepped into the small village. I didn't know why, but people were glaring at me with eyes of disgust. Was it my ragtag clothes? The way I smell? Or perhaps they didn't like outsiders? Though there was something I did notice. There was not a single Faunus among the villagers.
"Hey you!" A child called out in the far distance.
Just as my body turned to face the boy, a small flying rock propelled into my direction and scraped my upper arm. The throw was weak, but no doubt, it was heavy with intent.
"Freak!" The culprit insulted and laughed.
"Monster!" Another child gathered the courage to degrade me.
"Your kind is not welcomed here," a woman followed after. I could see her seething through her clenched teeth.
"Yeah! We don't need another mouth to feed here," a villager nastily proclaimed. My head twisted and turned frantically at the unfriendly words spat out from their mouths. Words turned from insults to profanity as the crowd got more wild.
"Leave now."
A bulky man with a deep masculine voice stood in front of me. His posture was straight with his shoulders squared. My head tilted up, and I met his serious eyes.
"I don't under—"
"Leave," he firmly interrupted.
I bit my lips and trudged to outskirts of the village. I didn't understand why I was shunned away. I didn't do anything wrong did I? The route I took led me to a two way path, the left said Vacuo while the right was smudged and illegible.
I let out a dismal breath and followed where ever the left took me.
Bright lights.
No, they were intense fluorescent lights that shined down upon me like a light at the end of the tunnel. My silver eyes meekly opened and I tried to shake the grogginess from my drowsiness. I blinked, and then a few more times. There was something about the upper interior surface of the room that seemed familiar. I've seen it before, but where? A sudden light bulb popped over my head. Ah, I know where.
Infirmary again.
I shifted my body and felt my bones creaking like a loose screw on a rusted door hinge. Sharp pains jolted through my body, but it wasn't as intense like my last visit. With my elbows, I struggled to lift myself into an upright position, but I froze at the moment when my leg accidentally kicked on something solid at the side of my bed. Despite how stiff my neck was, I rolled the weight of my head to the side and drank in the sight of a mass bundle of blond hair unruly scattered all over the bed.
"She got up an hour ago and wouldn't stay put. She insisted to be by your side," Dr. Retter scowled at my sound asleep sister. Although she had a face of displeasure, her words were still kind. "What did I say last time about over exerting yourself?" Her hands tucked into her lab coat pockets and her eyes scavange me for a proper excuse.
"I got carried away?" I nervously laughed but it quickly died when her eyes narrowed further.
She didn't accept my excuse...
"It only been a few weeks since you were in the infirmary last time."
"I know," I said dejectedly. It was hard to not overexert myself when I was having so much fun.
"Please refrain yourself from getting hurt."
"I'll do my best doctor."
No promises though...
"Good," she nodded her head. "On a more positive note, you're free to leave whenever you're ready."
"Really?" I lifted my head to her and she approvingly nodded again. "Thanks!"
This time I dragged my body up without nudging my sister. I gently brushed my fingers against her golden locks, carefully stroking the back of her hair. I kept a mindful not to let a single strand escape from her tangle mess. My tender strokes elicited a groan from Yang and she shuffled in her log-like slumber. Her face shifted towards me, and I delicately pushed the cluster of hairs away from her face to the back of her ear. With her face free from her impeding locks, my metallic eyes took in the contusions on her fair skin.
Man if she looked this bad, what do I look like?
I poked a finger against her cheeks and wiggled it like a squiggling worm. But the more I poked her, the more I began to realize that it was difficult to awaken the snoozing dragon. So I leaned close to her ear and whispered aloud, "Psst Yang. There's a creeper in the room ogling at me."
And that did it.
She jostled herself up with a long, sharp gasp and I could feel the radiating murderous aura. Her head and her eyes prowled around the room like a predator ready to slaughter its prey. However, when she noticed the room was empty, her face scrunched up.
"I'm kidding you know," I laughed and playfully bumped her shoulder with a fist.
"Geez sis, don't joke like that. I was ready to lynch someone," she muttered grouchily.
"Please don't," I grasped dramatically, followed by a whimper, "I'll be single for the rest of my life if you do."
"That's the point," she snapped her fingers at me with a small smile. My ears flattened against my head because I couldn't tell if my sister was serious or not.
"How long I was out for?" I changed the subject to something less depressing.
I watched her glance at her scroll to check the time. "Not too long," she answered. "A couple of hours. Just in time for lunch actually."
"Want to get lunch?"
"I thought you would never ask."
I tossed the covers from my body and hopped out of the electric infirmary bed. My arms stretched high in the air, my knees bent low to the ground to loosen the stiffness in my muscles, and I rolled my shoulders blades in circles. There were discomfort all over my body, but they were trivial. I let out a satisfied sigh and we made a beeline to the cafeteria from the infirmary.
"So who won?" I asked as we sauntered down the hallway.
"Don't know," my sister uncertainly shrugged with her shoulders barely moving. "I was unconscious too."
"I thought you were going to kick me off my high horse." I teased, tormenting with the same bold words she used.
She scoffed at my mockery. "We don't know who won yet. Besides, you were unconscious longer than I was!"
"That's cause you hit like a bullet train," I muttered. I opened the entrance to the dining hall and looked around at the fairly packed room with students grabbing their own lunches.
"And you hit like a pillow," she playfully teased and jabbed a finger onto my cheek.
"Hey!" I protested as I swat her hand away.
"With rocks," she added to make me feel better. Then her voice softly lightened like a murmur. "You know, you really did surprised me."
"How?" I asked curiously while we grabbed a tray and plates.
"You've changed a lot."
I paused and thought about what she said. "Yeah I suppose I did."
A frantic wave from Nora caught our attention, and we made our way to the table. Team JNPR sat across from the other half of my team and greeted us with friendly smiles.
"Hello!" Pyrrha waved. "Are you feeling okay, Ruby? You guys really did a number on each other in class." Her emerald eyes looked at with worry and there genuine sense of concern in her voice.
"Oh I'm great guys. Thanks for asking," Yang mocked a look of hurt.
"I'm fine, thank you Pyrrha. Do I look that beat up?" I poked at my food and looked up to let everyone see. All I saw were a few blinks and nervous faces.
"Not too bad," Jaune wore a feeble smile and tried to reassure me. "Just a little bruised that's all."
"Are you kidding? That thing is almost a size as an orange!"
"Nora," Ren sighed morbidly. His palm rested flat on his face and he unpleasantly shook his head.
"Thanks for your honesty Nora." I shoved a fork full of salad in my mouth and chewed on it. She raised a thumb and flashed a sappy grin.
"I'm impressed that you were able to stand on your sister's level," Blake praised as she flipped a page in her book. She sat on the other side of Weiss with one leg crossed over the other.
"I would never expect you to be proficient in hand to hand combat," Pyrrha nodded her head in agreement.
"I'm just filled with surprises." I said modestly. I crammed more food into my mouth, filling my cheeks like a squirrel preparing for Winter. Damn I was starving. "So who won?"
"Ruby, please don't talk with your mouth full." Weiss looked disapprovingly at my lack of manners, but her face loosened. "If you must know, neither of you did."
"Huh?" My sister and I uttered in unison.
"Debatable," Jaune contested while he pointed his cutlery at the heiress. Though he immediately set it down when Weiss glared at his unrefined social behavior. Then Jaune cleared his throat, "according to Professor Goodwitch, it was a tie. You both hit the red zone."
"It was amazing!" Nora threw her hands in the air to emphasize her point. "One punch to the face and you guys flew like a mile! Well, not a mile. The arena isn't a mile long. But you two flew and made body imprints into the walls! If you want, we can go see it right no—"
"Nora," Ren interjected. "I think they get the point."
"Well Professor Goodwitch did say it was a tie," Blake agreed with the blond swordsman. "But everyone saw Yang hit the red first, then Ruby did a few seconds after."
"Hah!" I dropped my fork onto the table and pointed at my sister triumphantly.
"Well Goodwitch did officially announced a tie..." Yang justified with a smirk.
Then Nora squealed excitedly and looked at me with eager eyes. "Ruby, we need to spar! Oh oh oh, we can do it now. Lets spar in the cafeteria!"
I shoved more food in my mouth as I listened intently to her spewing ridiculous ideas. I don't know how to feel about getting hammered, and it's not the drunk kind. Food went down my throat as I swallowed, keeping in mind of my manners for once. "I think I might pass on this one," I politely declined.
"I don't think she's in the right state for a practice match," Ren added his two cents in to dissuade his partner.
"Aww but Renny," the bubbly young girl complained.
"Next time we'll have a practice match with our weapons." Yang snaked her arm around my shoulder and gave me hug. Bits of food sputtered from my mouth when the brawler choked me under her harmless embrace. "Just thinking about it gets me excited! Can't believe it's been years since we last fought besides today."
"Years?" Weiss asked.
I pushed my sister off to free myself from her binding constriction. Weiss watched me skeptically as continue to fork more food into my mouth when I left her question unanswered. Before I could take another bite, my face got shoved into my plate, and I heard a bunch of gasps in the background. A harsh tug pulled my Faunus's ears and I could hear Cardin laughing behind me.
Everyone sitting on the table had wide eyes, but immediately narrowed to hostility. Even the level headed Pyrrha Nikos seemed to be losing her calm composure. Before anyone could stand from their seats or utter a single word, I held my hand up. With my other, I quickly grasped Yang's hand and reassuringly squeezed to extinguish the underlying inferno blaze flaring in her eyes.
She was ready to kill him, but I can't let her do that.
"What do you want, Cardin?" I viciously snarled.
And why I didn't let her?
"I told you they were real!" he hysterically laughed.
"What a freak!" One of his cronies exclaimed.
Because I wanted to do it myself.
Something in me snapped. My arm twisted around his and I slammed him, face first, onto the table. Food scattered everywhere, plates shattered to a million pieces, eating utensils clattered to the floor, and liquid filled cups spilled. My hand firmly held the side of his head with my fingers fisted into his hair. The bully cowered in fear as one of his eye bore into my murderous pairs. I had a metal fork near his neck, ready to send him to his grave early.
Because I didn't give a single fuck.
"Miss Rose, please remove that fork from his neck."
I clicked my tongue when I heard Professor Goodwitch's stern voice. I glared down at the terrified boy and pursed my lips. "Two words Cardin," I growled loud and clear. My mouth slipped its typical profanity, proclaiming to the world of my obscenity. "Fuck. Off." My friends watched tensely from my spur of the moment. A mixture of surprise and confusion spread across their face. They thought I was innocent. They thought I was a small child. But I wasn't anything of that.
I'm a wolf that can run wild.
I tossed the fork aside, hauled him off the table, and shoved him to his lackeys. Cardin stumbled and fell back onto them like a cut down tree. He held onto his bleeding nose, trying to stop it from gushing.
"Miss Rose, a word outside please." Goodwitch pointed over her shoulder to the grand door. Her eyes traveled to the four discriminators and they shrunk like a snail withdrawing to its shell. "You four will have a week of detention, starting now." The boys hurriedly brushed pass us to their destination. Everyone knew that defying Goodwitch when she's not in her good moods wasn't a smart move, it was a death sentence. With one slick wave, Glynda flicked her crop, and everything pieced together into their rightful state. Once she was done, I stomped out of the cafeteria with the professor without batting an eye to the rest of my friends.
"I hope you realize that it is inappropriate to threaten a student with a fork," Glynda lectured as the door shut behind us.
"Can't help it. He started it," I grumbled back immaturely. I could feel the distraught boiling inside of me still. I had enough of Cardin and his team. Sure I'll let verbal attacks slide. It was sadly normal in Remnant. But I couldn't stand the physical mistreatment that came attached with it. "Where are we going anyways?"
"Back to your dorm," she answered.
"Huh?"
"Next time I see something like this, you will not walk back with a slap on the wrist. I will expel you," she enunciated every bit of her last sentence.
Once she escort me back to my room, I went straight to the shower to wash the awful mess. I turned the metallic dial and hot downpours of water embraced my body. My eyes closed and the sensation of the steaming water washed my clouded mind. The emotions festered inside of me melted down into the drain. Then I pressed my forehead against the chilly shower walls and I sighed.
I slipped up.
Though I knew I couldn't hide it forever. I suppose it was better for them to find out sooner than later.
After I finished showering, I draped my towel over my shoulders and walked out of the bathroom. When I came out, I was greeted by three girls. Yang sat with Blake on their side of the room, while Weiss sat on her own.
I guess soon meant now.
"Ruby," my sister began. I stood silently in the clearance between the two bunk beds. "What... What happened out there?" There was evident confusion on her face.
"Which part?"
There was a pregnant pause.
"Everything!" Yang blurted as she motioned between me and out the door, which I presumed she meant the dining hall. "Cardin, the fight, and... and... The cursing!" The way she hesitated the last word, it seemed like she didn't want to admit it.
Yang had always seen me as the little sister that seek for her older sister's protection. At a young age, I hid behind her because I enjoyed indulging in her coddles. To her, I was an essence of innocence. But my sister never got a glimpse of the true me.
She never knew I was a romanticized image of innocence until now.
"Well," I began to explain. I looked at Blake and she seemed intrigued in the conversation. Weiss was somewhat interested, but she already knew about my blasphemy. "Cardin saw it coming. And like you've said earlier, I've changed."
"I've seen it, and I felt it," Yang admitted, her voice pleaded for more than a just vague answer. "I know that —"
"I've changed? That I've grown?" I finished her sentence and she nodded. "Yang, I didn't just change physically. I'm not that ten year old puppy you once knew. I'm a..." I paused to look for the appropriate words. "Big bad wolf that blows out foul languages." My fingers brushed the side bangs and I wistfully sighed. "I've seen the worse in people already. I can't go back into being a child anymore... I've been through too much Yang. This is... This is who I am now." I gestured to myself in one movement. "You don't...," I shrunk back a little, afraid of her answer. "You don't hate me for being me do you?"
"Of course I don't!" She sputtered quickly. "It's just... I always saw you as my baby sister."
Blake placed a hand on my sister's shoulder and gave a gentle squeeze. "From first impression, I always thought Ruby was a naive girl. But I was wrong. The way she communicated with me on that day made me realize that she's more mature than I thought she was. It's thanks to your sister that I'm sitting here with you guys instead of running away."
The way Blake praised me bought a small smile on Yang's face.
"Even though I don't want to admit," Weiss huffed and gained our attentions. "Your sister does have words of wisdom."
"See Yang," I smiled to her. "I can't be a baby, but I'll always still be your baby sister."
"Yeah I guess you're right," she nodded with a pleased smile, then she looked at me with resolve in her eyes. "What happened in the five years?"
I sat down cross legged on the floor and sighed in resignation. "Where should I start?" A lot had happened during the five years. A lot of travelling, a lot of scavenging, a lot of fighting, and definitely a lot of bigotry.
"Start on that day when we were at Vale," the heiress replied instantly. "Don't think we didn't notice that you were acting a little... Unusual."
My thoughts raced back prior to that day and I took a few moments to put together an answer before spilling my secrets. "That back street alley." I paused a moment to take a deep breath, before continuing, "It dawned on me, in that moment, that I disappeared from that spot five years ago." The trio's eyes sorrowfully distended and remained quiet as they listened. "Yang and I were only ten years old when we first bumped into a White Fang. I told Yang to get dad because it made sense for me to hold them off." I uncrossed my legs and brought my knees close to my chest, and chuckled, "I was too fast to catch. Even though I was fast, I still managed to get caught because I was careless. They dragged me the back street and beat me until I was knocked out." Yang winced at the word beat and had a heartbreaking expression. "When I woke up, I winded up in Vacuo."
"Vacuo?" My sister tilted her head slightly. I nodded at her even though it appeared to be ridiculous.
"I already told Yang this, but when I woke up, the White Fang's warehouse was gone and I lost some of my memories. A ten year old on her own, in a foreign land, without anyone to rely on or go to just because she couldn't remember. And that's how I ended up off the map for five years until I came to Beacon."
"I do recall a few reports about a White Fang hideout completely destroyed in Vacuo," Blake frowned. "They were stationed there because of the Schnee's dust mineries."
Hearing the word Schnee caught Weiss's attention.
"What?" The heiress whispered in surprise. "How can there be mineries owned by the Schnee Dust Company in Vacuo. It's not part of Mantle's territory."
"Illegal mineries," the Faunus corrected herself. Weiss ran a hand across her miffed face and groaned unintelligible words. After there wasn't any more interruptions, Blake continued, "When our superiors didn't hear back from them after a few weeks, they sent a few members to investigate the area. And what they found wasn't a random grimm attack. Everything was perfectly scorched to the ground."
I chewed the insides of my cheek and made sure I kept a stoic face while I absentmindedly nodded in agreement. I couldn't let them know that I was the one who purged them through a hellish fire.
"It was basically die or survive when I woke up," I went back to my story. "As a Faunus, it felt like the world was against me." Blake nodded understandingly to my words and she looked at me with sympathy. "Mostly no one wanted to help a Faunus out. Though a few were willing to give a helping hand, but good things don't last forever. Once I thought I could be on my own, I left and wandered around, only going to towns when I needed to. "
Yang lifted herself from Blake's bed and wrapped her warm arms around me once she sat down. "I'm sorry that you had to go through that." She left a gentle kiss on the top of my head and rocked me.
"And I'm sorry too Ruby." The normal cold air around Weiss vanished when she apologized. "I'm sorry for my inappropriate behavior early in the semester," she confessed with brooding eyes. There was underlying remorse in her tone of voice. "I was rude and disrespectful towards you even though you never deserved it."
"It's fine Weiss. I'm use to things like that. I just couldn't stand people like Cardin because he didn't use just words."
"I'm going to kill him when I see him," Yang growled. I could feel her chin vibrating on top of my head from her low gnarr.
"Goodwitch will expel you if you do," I warned my sister. "She left me off this time, but if I mess up, I'll get expelled."
"Tch," my sister uttered a sound of irritation and clicked her tongue.
"I don't get how Beacon can accept him. It's people like him that breeds contempt," Blake let out a dejected sigh. Her amber eyes looked out to the only window in the room.
"If I were Ozpin," I leaned off of Yang, into my palms, and let the words roll off my tongue."I would have faith he would change for the better... Like Weiss." I looked at the heiress before adding, "no offense."
"None taken," she nonchalantly shrugged. "Though I believe I'm better than that atrocious bigot."
We all nodded in agreement because we knew Weiss did changed for the better. She still had the frosty aura around her, and perhaps hard to approach, but she was still worlds better than Cardin.
"Now I suppose I'm the 'frigid ice bitch' from what I heard going around," the heiress stroke her temples.
We all froze when we heard the uncouth language from the heiress's mouth.
"Weiss Schnee," Yang gasped with bulging eyes. "Who taught you to use such barbaric languages."
"Your sister," she deadpanned.
Blake stifled a laughter but couldn't contain it when I snorted a laughter. Then the room erupted with lighthearted giggles, magically erasing the bleakness that was once in the air. I could partially feel the tension in my chest lifting after pouring out to my teammates, however, not everything was brought out to the light.
There were still dark secrets kept locked away.
"Hey Ruby?" My sister asked after calming herself down.
"Hm?"
"Want to go back home this weekend?"
And that's it for the flashback! I thought about continuing for future chapters, but I thought of something else instead.
To those didn't get the italicized word 'baby', I was inferring to Ruby treated as a child.