"...So. That was a thing." Blake deadpanned, breathing heavily. Her face was flushed and there was an odd black material that was coating the side of her shirt that she was trying and failing to rub off despite all efforts.
Soot. Ruby realised belatedly, grimacing at the sight. The one time that she wears white and she immediately gets covered in soot. Just not her day, huh?
Team RWBY had just managed to finally reconverge following their singular assignments at Blake's prompting after their faunus teammate had managed to not only successfully infiltrate the White Fang rally with Sun Wukong in tow but discover that for some crazy reason Roman Torchwick seemingly had access to Atlesian-grade military technology.
Okay. Simply put the man had a giant mech and was, apparently, well trained in using it in a spur-of-the-moment chase that had ended up forcing the entire Beacon team to work together to take him down.
Following Weiss' explanation, it was clear that this was most certainly one of their newer Atlesian Paladin models that weren't even ready for deployment as of yet. How in the world a criminal like Roman Torchwick had gained access to one was anyone's guess. Either he'd somehow managed to steal a shipment himself or he had backers with access to prototype Atlesian technology.
Their self-imposed investigation had just became a lot more complex.
Worse still was that he had clearly planned to use it in coordination with some White Fang plot for an unknown purpose. Regardless it had been doubtful he had planned to use it for a 'peaceful protest' considering the sheer firepower of the thing. Whilst they had foiled that particular plan, there was the distinct possibility that Torchwick had access to more than just one of the massive death machines.
Thus, so did the White Fang.
It was freaking horrifying and, quite frankly, they were wondering just how far down this rabbit hole went. All that their investigation had yielded so far was more questions.
"...Who the hell even was that pint-sized bubblegum girl, anyway?" Yang grumbled. She'd been agitated ever since Torchwick had managed to get away following the 'bubblegum girl' interrupting the fight. "...She didn't even flinch against my shots. And who even fights with an umbrella, anyway?"
"Her weapon, if you can even call it that, was likely reinforced with a carbon-base of some kind. Durable and light. It would work." Weiss responded, huffing in disdain at the mere memory of the woman. "Either that or any number of metals. There's a fair few that are resistant to dust shots. Or she may have coated the weapon in a sufficient amount of aura. The rest can be attributed to her semblance. Illusions, most likely."
"Not. Helping. Weiss." the brawler ground out, earning a huff from the heiress.
Ruby blinked and went to list exactly which materials and metal alloys she knew of that were capable of defending against a small volley of dust (twelve that were found within the local area thank you very much) only to realise that it wasn't the time for it if Yang's still-red eyes were any indication. Plus her team got kinda uncomfortable whenever she spoke about weapons for too long.
Oum she was missing Kira right now. The doll would have been fascinated by her knowledge and may have even rewarded her with a kiss. On the lips, possibly. Oum-knows she needed that right now.
After receiving Blake's distress call, she had been forced to abandon the doll and run off in a burst of semblance-powered speed to where Kira had suggested they may be. The downtrodden expression she had seen flash on the doll's face had been heartbreaking- but she had a duty to her team first and foremost.
And to Sun and Neptune, who had somehow managed to tag along on all this super team stuff.
Though she had been a little curious as to how exactly Kirakishou had managed to guess the exact location of her teammates, but it was likely just some extrasensory boost from being an artificial being. The girl probably had like, super-senses, or something. It would certainly explain a few things. Either that or she was just really lucky with guessing.
"Regardless," she said to both her team and herself to refocus the conversation back on the central topic, "now that we're all relatively safe and away from criminals and stolen technology, it's probably best if we go over everything. Did the rest of you find out anything helpful about what's going on?"
Suffice to say, the knowledge that Penny Polendina is General Ironwood's niece wasn't something that she had decided to mention to her team. First of all she had promised the girl that she wouldn't tell anybody and whilst she didn't exactly have that much attachment to the girl who fascinated her doll- she didn't want to draw any undue attention towards her.
Second of all because she really just wanted to get this conversation over with and start planning on where she'd be taking Kirakishou for their date, whilst also trying to figure out a way to hide it all from her teammates and-
Well. She had a lot on her plate right now. All of this mess with Roman Torchwick, the White Fang and the Atlesian military of all things wasn't something that she had been expecting to deal with amidst mid-semester tests and the upcoming Vytal festival.
And cute dolls with yummy, cold lips that she most certainly wouldn't mind pressed up against her at the moment. Especially if Kira was cute outfit that she wore today. Or perhaps her nighttime attire. She certainly wouldn't mind-
Damn it! Not again!
Thankfully, the rest of her team hadn't noticed her reddening face or, if they did, at least chose not to comment on it.
She just hoped that Blake wouldn't be able to… smell her body's reaction to such thoughts. She hadn't discovered if such a thing was even possible or not and she was far too scared to research it on her scroll. If someone discovered her search history then Ruby doubted if she'd be able to show her face in Beacon Academy ever again!
"Well…" Yang began, scratching the back of her head, "Neptune and I went to see an old friend and see if we could get some information, but he didn't have anything on Torchwick. Didn't think to ask about the White Fang, but I doubt there would be anything. The general vibe is that nothing suspicious has happened in ages around there. Seemed pretty dull, actually."
Ruby had been meaning to ask Yang about her 'friend on the shady side of town' that she had mentioned during their planning phase, but had thought better at the last second. There were things about her sister that she did not want to know. For all she knew they had visited a lingerie store or something like that. It would certainly fit with her big sister's interests.
...But why would Torchwick be sighted at a place like that? Maybe it was one of his henchmen? Or henchwomen? Like the bubblegum girl with the umbrella?
Nah. That's stupid. It has to be somewhere else.
...Hmm. I wonder if Kira would like-
"Ah, that's right." Weiss spoke up, thankfully interrupting her thoughts before they could devolve into more inappropriate musings, "You were partnered with Neptune for this particular dalliance, weren't you? How exactly did he perform?"
The fabled Ice Queen, interested about something like that? No, no. That can't be right.
Right. I almost forgot. She has a bit of a crush on Neptune, doesn't she? A 'passing fancy' as she called it before- which probably just translates to a crush in heiress-speak. Wonder why she's interested in him, though. Didn't he have just some measly trident-lightgun or something? Plus he also did the whole 'deer-in-the-headlights' thing that guys do when they get close to Yang for the first time.
Bold move to ask Yang about something like that, though. It's a wonder she hasn't caught on. Though I guess she is a bit distracted right now. Torchwick's henchwoman really got on her nerves for some reason.
"Oh?" Yang responded, blinking rapidly before pausing and shrugging. "Eh. He was okay, I guess. I don't think he likes my bike that much, though. Was holding on like his life depended on it. Either that or he was just acting like that to cop a feel- eh, I mean, hug. Sorry Rubes."
Ruby simply rolled her eyes, long since used to the routine of her sister trying to censor every little bit of 'juicy' details in her presence when she was feeling particularly self-conscious. Honestly, it wasn't even that bad of a thing.
The heiress faltered in her stride, "I-Is that so? Although, you do sound rather uncertain, if I may be so bold. It may just have been just a fear of your driving capabilities with… what did you call it, Buzzbee?"
"Bumblebee. Nice try, though." Yang corrected with a grin of amusement that morphed into a playful frown. "And hey! No dissing my driving style, Weiss-cream~ I'll have you know that I'm one of the fastest riders out there. I'm certain that by the end of the trip Neptune was certainly feeling his appreciation for my skills, if you know what I mean." Weiss blushed at the description as Yang wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
It was truly baffling how sister could believe she wouldn't notice such blatant innuendo.
"Eugh. Remind me to catch, well, literally anything else the next time I'm forced to go out somewhere. In fact, I think I'll just jump the rooftops the next time I'm out. It has to be better than… that." Blake responded dryly as the rest of the team laughed at the blonde's expense.
Yang actually is a pretty good rider. When dad wasn't around to notice, she'd take me out for rides across the farmland... Gosh. It's been so long since we did that. She was always really safety-conscious and never went too fast, but she still made it really fun and would point out a lot of different interesting things. I'd always laugh whenever she hit a bump and we got airborne for a moment. I used to think we were flying.
"Besides-" Yang continued as if she hadn't heard Blake's teasing, "I guess I kinda felt bad for the poor sap in the end. I mean, he strikes out against a couple of twins, attempts to fight a giant mech in the middle of the highway and gets thrown off the road for his troubles. Doubt that was what he signed up for when he offered to help."
"...Twins, huh."
Weiss gripped the hilt of her weapon, myrtenaster, tightly as she visibly shook and muttered a few choice words under her breath even as Yang shot her an apologetic look. The team wisely opted to stay quiet and let the girl have her moment.
It was clear that whatever interest that she had developed for the blue-haired member of SSSN had been inadvertently crushed by her big sister.
"Sooooo, what happened on your end, Blake?" Ruby bravely ventured forward, finding herself curious as to how sneaking into a White Fang rally could result in a giant mech fight below a highway.
Blake sighed. "Sun and I were successfully able to infiltrate the White Fang meetup. They have a great many new recruits from the Vale area and a sizeable force of trained soldiers that were overseeing the meeting."
Shoot. That can't be good. I knew the situation was bad but if they're recruiting more people from Vale then tensions around here are going to skyrocket. With the upcoming Vytal festival bringing in more tourists it's going to be even worse. Might even attract extra grimm with all the negativity about.
From what she could remember, Mantle and Atlas city had been the subject of a popular report which noted a substantial increase in the grimm population following the rising of Atlas and the White Fang revolution. There had been news reports and everything about it for years until suddenly everyone stopped talking about it.
"Was that that Torchwick guy was there?" Yang asked, shooting a significant look her way.
"He was." Blake confirmed, looking uncomfortable at all the attention she was getting. "Seemed like they were introducing him as a 'guest' of theirs. They were planning on rerouting a lot of members to an operation in the south-east."
"The south-east?" Weiss interrupted, looking perturbed. "Assuming he means south-east from Vale, there's nothing out there except ruins. The largest of which being-"
"Mountain Glenn." Ruby finished lowly. It had been a previous attempt of Vale to expand beyond its natural borders and utilise various methods of transportation to move people across the continent and away from the grimm's claws.
She did not think that all her studying would be paying off so quickly.
Blake nodded, frowning thoughtfully at the idea. "It would make a good area for a hideout. Nobody goes there, not with all the grimm around. But if they're armed with prototype Atlas weaponry then they wouldn't have much difficulty eradicating a good portion of the grimm population."
"...Wouldn't their negativity just bring more grimm?" Weiss reasoned, rolling her eyes. "Seems like a rather foolish plan."
"And then they'd just roll out the big guns again and kill them off." Yang added on, "Provided that they have enough ammunition they could just keep it going. On and on."
There was a distinct moment where the group paused as several things fell into place.
"Huh." Ruby muttered. "Guess we figured out what they're doing with all the dust that they're stealing. It's being used for ammunition to stave off the grimm."
That still didn't answer the question of what the were even doing out there. Why in the world would the White Fang need to clear out such a huge area? What are they planning over at Mountain Glenn? Provided that is the right place, of course.
More and more questions, Ruby groused inwardly, never enough answers.
"...Impressive work." Weiss spoke up, glancing at Blake. "Personally, I was a tad worried at the prospect of sending you so deep into the arms of your… ahem, former compatriots?" she paused, grimacing at the dirty look that the feline faunus sent her way. "Apologies for the terminology; I meant no offence. Anyway, regardless of my concerns you successfully infiltrated the rally and gathered a sizeable amount of intelligence. With Sun Wukong of all people acting as a backup. He doesn't strike me as the most… discrete of people."
Wasn't he the one who was able to overhear our entire plan? Ruby thought incredulously. Seems pretty sneaky to me.
A tentative smile wormed its way onto Blake's face. "He was fine." she stated, before her ears noticeably flattened behind her bow as she glanced away from the heiress. "...And thank you for the compliment."
Weiss smiled warmly in response. It was such a rare occurrence that Ruby halfheartedly considered bringing out her scroll to take a picture, but figured it would ruin the moment.
After the fiasco with the docks and them finding out Blake's heritage, Weiss had become noticeably friendlier to their dark-haired faunus teammate seemingly overnight. Ruby and Yang had originally just assumed it to be the heiress' own way of apologising for how she acted, but it was becoming clear that her demeanour was actually genuine.
Blake was even reciprocating, too! It was a massive change from the thinly-veiled barbs that she would send back before the Beacon orientation into the Emerald Forest.
It was soooo adorable! Ruby thought she might swoon. Her team was building close bonds and growing stronger together. She would totally be telling mom about this the second she had the chance to call her.
"...Right. So." Yang continued, "That's all well and good, but how did things go on your end, Weiss? Weren't you and Ruby going to see if there was any information in the Schnee database about recent White Fang activity?"
Weiss groaned in remembrance even as Ruby tried not to fidget as memories of her previous encounter before the fight with Torchwick came rapidly flooding back into her thoughts. Perhaps she had been a little hasty in revealing her feelings for Kirakishou to Weiss. But she was just so happy to have someone to talk too about all this stuff.
She had kinda been hoping that if Weiss got with Neptune then they could join her and Kira on a double date of sorts. But now those plans had been crushed because apparently Neptune was just a big flirt or something.
I wish that Sun had just listened when I said not to get friends involved. Now look what's happened.
"It was an acceptable outing, I suppose." the heiress stated, pausing as if to choose her words carefully. "Ruby was, naturally, rather overjoyed to see the Transmit Tower and I was all too happy to provide some useful information in the subject."
Her big sister rolled her eyes. "I bet Rubes loooved that." she stated sarcastically.
Weiss put her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed by the tone. In fact, she was a little offended herself. She thought that she had handled herself pretty well as a team leader, even if she had inadvertently dragged Kirakishou along for the ride with her.
Oh crap! I sure hope Weiss doesn't mention that part. Oum. Yang would freak.
"I will have you know, Yang Xiao Long, that your sister was most interested in my knowledge and was in-fact quite knowledgeable in her own right about the subject as a whole. She was aware of the Atlas Transmit Tower's history as the first cross-continental tower ever built and complimented my studious nature." Weiss shot her a proud smile. "She has come a long way in her studies."
Blake shot her a look, even as Ruby blushed in embarrassment.
"Huh. My sister the nerd. Didn't see that coming." Yang said playfully, grabbing her by the arm and ruffling her hair good-naturedly. Ruby shoved herself off with a glare and went to fix her hair whilst the brawler merely smiled at the interaction. "What happened after that?"
"Well," the Schnee continued, "We were forced to separate after Ruby and I chanced upon Penny an-" Ruby shot her a dark look promising pain and pranks if she continued where she thought the girl was going. The poor heiress paled considerably at the sight. "A-Anyways, whilst Ruby likely interrogated the girl I was left to peruse the Schnee records myself. It will take some time to sort through all the files, but I should have something in a couple days."
"A couple days?" Blake chorused, looking bewildered. "There's really that many files on the White Fang?"
Weiss sighed in a very unladylike manner, slumping noticeably and glancing up at the sky. "Oh, like you wouldn't believe. Father is very… meticulous in his desire to prevent any financial concerns arising due to White Fang influence. Dust shipments, mines and the like."
The less said about a man who labels terrorists as 'financial concerns' the better. Ruby thought with some degree of concern. I can only imagine growing up with a man that… what's the word… megalomaniacal? Eh. Sounds right. Poor Weiss...
"...That's one way of putting it." Blake frowned, offering the girl a sympathetic pat to the shoulder when Weiss looked down.
Yang eyed the two weirdly, before glancing over in her direction.
"Right. So. What happened with Penny? I was wondering what happened to her, anyways. Haven't heard of her since she was apparently part of the fight at the docks."
Ah. That's right. Yang never really saw what happened at the docks, did she? She only got the aftermath. I think mom said that she'd talked to her or something before heading to Patch, but I can't remember how it went.
Ya'know, come to think of it Yang hasn't really spoke about mom that much. Or at all, really. I hope she's okay. Oh gods, I might even have to talk to her about it. That's going to be fun.
"Er-" she paused when she realised she hadn't spoken up, "Well. Penny was… alright, I guess."
There was a brief moment of silence between the girls, only broken by the sounds of traffic in the distance.
"She was alright." Blake deadpanned. "The girl was carving up bullheads with lasers she shot out of swords. I thought you of all people would be interested in-"
"I was, alright." Ruby flushed embarrassingly, belatedly realising that she hadn't talked to Penny about her weapons whatsoever; which was quite out-of-character for her. "There was just a lot of other things that we had to talk about. Her family is apparently really protective of her. They were concerned."
Considering the fact that General Ironwood was her Uncle, the man had a right to be concerned that his niece was fighting bad guys just a few weeks after arriving in Vale.
Weiss gave a slow nod. "Understandable, given the situation. Did she have anything else to add to our investigation?"
Ruby shook her head sadly.
Whilst there was the real possibility that she might be able to get Penny to help out by using her connection to Ironwood, she didn't really want to get the girl involved. Both for security reasons and… maybe a little personal vendetta.
The memory of Kirakishou excitedly chatting with Penny flashed through her thoughts and she frowned.
"...So what happened after that?" Weiss inquired. "You were gone a long time. Admittedly, I was on my way to find you before Blake called."
"W-Well. Nothing really. I just hung out and waited for everyone to finish, I guess."
Yang blinked at her, before narrowing her eyes. "Hung out?"
The younger rose just rolled her eyes. "Yes, Yang. That's what people do when they have free time and want to see the sights." she sighed.
Yang huffed. "Don't give me that tone, missy. I'm just asking."
"Riiight. Penny had to leave for, er, personal reasons." she explained, not wanting to explain that she had left to report to the General about things. "Anyway, after that Kira and I went to-"
She gasped suddenly and put her hands to her lips in a vain effort to stop the words from flooding out, but it was far too late.
"...Kira? Wait, you mean- Ruby!" Yang admonished, "Did you really interrupt a mission that you yourself planned in order to hang out with that girl?"
No no no. I didn't mean to say it that way! Damn it!
"Oh, come on! It wasn't my fault!" she cried back, rapidly growing frustrated at the disappointment she could hear in her big sister's tone. "She just happened to find Weiss and I down near the communications tower. I couldn't just say no to her."
"Oh yes, I'm sure. But you could certainly try and hide it from us. That's perfectly fine in your books, huh?" Yang rolled her eyes. "She probably followed you, you know. A girl like that would certainly go for it. Hiding around corners-"
"Stop it!" she yelled, tears in her eyes.
Ruby felt her fingernails digging into her palms. The Rozen Maiden ring nestled on her left hand was stinging against her skin. She was also discretely aware that she was gritting her teeth, too. Everybody had their limits and despite her big sister likely having good intentions, Yang's prodding was pushing her too far.
Why is it always like this? Everywhere I go and everybody I talk to. They always get the Yang treatment. Fail her 'assessment' and nope! Off you go. She's barely even spoken to Kira and of course she immediately thinks the girl's bad news.
It's SO FREAKING ANNOYING.
Damn it all. If I have to hear one more stupid comment about my girlfriend I'm going to lose my freaking marbles.
"Yang, please. Just let it go." she grated out, taking a deep breath in an attempt to calm her raging emotions. "I am not in the mood to discuss this with you again. I can hang out with whoever I want. I don't need to hear your constant remarks about her. No I didn't go out of my way to find her and yes I understand that this is a mission for the team. Kirakishou just happened to be there. Okay?"
Oum how she hated the look that Weiss was sending her right now.
Pity. Fear. Worry.
Why did everyone always have to make things so difficult for her? Couldn't they just stop? All of her life she had lived seeing those looks aimed at her by her big sister as she fired of question after question asking about her wellbeing. She was so very tired of it.
"I just don't get why you feel the need to play doctor with her all the time, Ruby. She's not your responsibility or anything, she's just some-"
"She is my responsibility!" the young reaper finally snapped, stopping in her tracks as she whirled around and scowled frustratingly at her sister. "I was the one who promised to be there for her. Through everything. I'm not going to just ditch her because she talks weird just because my know-it-all big sister thinks it's best."
"Know-it-all?!" Yang repeated incredulously, "Where's all this coming from, Rubes?"
The silver-eyed huntress rolled her eyes. "You know where it's coming from, Yang. All my life you just go on and on about how 'big sister knows best' and 'don't bother with them' and 'stay away from that'. You're always babying me and I'm so freaking sick of it. You don't know a damn thing about Kira and you think you of all peoplehave the authority to judge her?"
"Oh and you do?" the blonde retorted. "You've known her for, what, a few weeks now? She's not yours to fix, regardless of whatever little pledge you made to her."
"I know enough to want to help her. Regardless, it's certainly more than what you know. You've spoken to her, what, once or twice? That's hardly enough to get a good read on someone."
"It's pretty easy to figure out if someone has a few screws loose, Rubes." Yang rebuked with an exaggerated eye-roll. "You're just too wide-eyed and too trusting to see it. If you let her, she'll pull you down to her level and leave you heartbroken. I'm just trying to look out for your wellbeing."
"You don't know her. She's not going to hurt me." Ruby asserted firmly. "She's lonely, Yang. That's all. You've no idea what she's been through. Yes, it's clearly affected her but in the end she's still lonely no matter what spin you put on the matter. So what if she likes me? I like her back! I really really do. Are you really that self-centred to deny the girl a chance to finally have a friend just because she wants to talk with your little sister? If so, maybe you're the one with a few screws loose."
Ruby zipped away in a sudden burst of rose petals, tears in her eyes.
"Don't you think that was a bit much, Yang? She's clearly been trying her best." Weiss spoke up, crossing her arms.
"Look. You don't get it, guys." Yang responded defensively following the sour look that Weiss was sending her way, "Ruby never would have snapped at me like that, not until she started hanging out with Kira. She's clearly not a good match for my sister. All she does is emphasise Ruby's worst traits."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "Don't be so obtuse. She's happy with her, Yang. What exactly is the problem if she's spending time with Kira? It's not like she's acquainting with the likes of Cardin Winchester or something. It's a simple passing fancy- nothing more, nothing less."
The blonde brawler shook her head. "It's not the same. There's something different going on- I can feel it. Ruby would never act like that to me, even in the middle of an argument. Sure we'd exchange few barbs here and there, but that was all sisterly love stuff. She'd come around in the end. This is something else entirely."
"Come on, Yang. I'm sure it's not that bad." Blake responded, frowning. "I mean, whilst I can probably speak for all of us in saying that I'm surprised that Ruby lashed out like that, I can understand her motivations. In her eyes, you're not even giving the poor girl a chance. Yes, Ruby hasn't know her that long but none of us have. What right do we to have to judge them?"
"...I just feel like she's making a bad decision. That she's rushing things. Oum, she just had a sleepover with her. Ruby never even let people come back to the old house before this. She was terrified of catching cooties. Now she's suddenly comfortable enough to sleep in random rooms? Nah. Something's happening."
"From what Ruby said, that wasn't entirely her planning. She woke up early and passed out when talking with Kirakishou. All the blonde did was take her back to her own room. It's not like Ruby went straight there and begged to sleep with her." Blake responded, before flushing slightly and immediately adding "I-I mean, sleep as in go to bed."
Weiss rolled her eyes. "What Blake is trying to say is that it's just a few odd circumstances. Chance encounters, really. Nothing to be concerned about. You shouldn't jump to conclusions about her. None of us should."
Yang went to bark back a reply, only to slump as exhaustion rippled through her. This whole argument had been rubbing her the wrong way. It was the longest time the two girls had stayed mad at eachother; barring the time after Summer's death.
Honestly she just didn't want her baby sister to be mad at her anymore.
"…I guess you guys have a point." she sighed. "I just don't like it."
"Yes. Of course we do." Blake smirked triumphantly. It looked rather out of place on the normally reclusive member of team RWBY. If anything, she would have expected such an expression on the Schnee heiress. "Besides, you're her elder sister. It's natural to feel a bit protective over her."
"Right. Um." Yang scratched her arm nervously, looking off into the distance where Ruby had sped away. "She's probably heading back to Beacon. I should probably go and, um, apologise to her. Sorry you guys had to hear that."
"As well you should be." Weiss stated with a curt nod. "But, we understand. Just, please, make things right."
"I will."
"Would you like to grab a cup of tea together?" Weiss asked suddenly.
Blake blinked as she tore her gaze away from the retreating form of her blonde team member to refocus on the Schnee heiress, "Tea?" she blurted out incredulously. "You prefer coffee. I don't need your memories to know that. It's practically all you drink."
The heiress rolled her eyes at the jab. "...Perhaps I'm developing a certain… affection for tea, so to speak. Regardless, are you interested or not?" she pressed insistently. "I'm not entirely sure if you've realised, but we do have quite the amount of coursework to cover following our recent bouts with the White Fang and thieves piloting stolen pieces of Atlas machinery."
Blake didn't know exactly why she did it, but there was something about the gaze she was receiving from Weiss that made her avert her eyes and blush, ever so slightly.
"...Maybe just a single cup."
The beautiful smile she received from her answer only served to exacerbate the heat in her cheeks.
The halls of Beacon Academy were surprisingly sparse, considering it was typically around this time when most students would be returning back to their dorm rooms. But Ruby didn't mind the silence. It made everything just that little bit easier to handle. She didn't want anybody to see her in the sorry state that she was in.
Nobody except her.
Nobody except her.
Nobody except her.
THORNSTHORNSTHORNS-
"...Ruby."
"Kirakishou..." Ruby breathed, staring longingly at the doll standing at the entrance to her dorm room. "...Can I come in? Please? I-We… need to talk."
Originally, Ruby had been planning to simply return to her own room and hopefully get an early rest to put this horrible day behind her once and for all, but she had evidently found herself knocking on the blonde doll's door before she even realised what was happening.
For her part, the doll merely took one look at her ragged form and tear-stained cheeks before wordlessly relenting and allowing her to pass through unhindered.
Kirakishou was still wearing the same outfit that she'd had on during their outing today, although whatever illusion that had been protecting her ball-jointed features from showing had evidently worn off and allowed Ruby to view the doll in all her glory. Ball-joints that were once seamlessly hidden behind stockings now stood readily apparent along with skin that appeared several shades beyond normal.
Logistically speaking, she shouldn't have taken such pleasure in seeing the artificial parts with her own eyes as she did. Ruby knew she was a bit weird, but such things didn't impede her in the slightest. With Kirakishou she was free to explore all her feelings.
The room itself appeared roughly about the same as before. Perhaps a bit messier than what she remembered. There was a large ornate standing mirror in the corner, propped up against a wall and trimmed with an older gold filigree that had clearly seen better days.
...Neat.
Suffice to say, Ruby hadn't come to Kirakishou room just to inspect the doll's vague attempts to furnish her dorm room.
Upon hearing the click of the door closing behind her, Ruby wasted no time in flourishing forward with a sudden burst of her semblance and forcing the doll to collapse backwards onto the bed with a startled gasp. Frantically she moved, pinning the girl underneath her and forcefully clutching her wrists to prevent any movement.
Her eyes were stinging again.
"Promise that you'll never leave me."
The voice that came out of her lips sounded odd. There was an accent there that she didn't recognise and her words didn't match up with what she was saying. Ruby found herself uncaring about such things. Kirakishou would understand regardless.
She had to.
"I promise."
The language that Kirakishou spoke was not one that she should have understood as easily as she did. It had been the same one that she had just spoken. That, like everything else weird or odd involving her doll was ignored with a practised ease.
All that mattered to Ruby in the end was that Kirakishou was hers and hers alone.
Nobody could get in her way, for nobody else mattered. Not when others could turn on her in a heartbeat all because she'd had the oum-damned common decency to say hello to the girl she was crushing on when she was nearby..!-
Amidst her glassy eyes, blurred as they were, she took a moment to admire the doll she held beneath her. That lone slit amber eye, staring back at her. Focused and unmoving as it drank in her appearance. Yes. More. This was what she wanted. What she desired.
"Promise me that you'll never hurt me."
She ground herself against the doll, earning a keening whimper from her partner as Ruby felt the stocking-clad legs wrap themselves around her back and pull her closer. Her eyes were drawn to Kira's not-short-enough plaid skirt as it hiked up ever so slightly.
When the doll did not speak at first, Ruby increased the pressure and leant forward to plant a series of kisses on her cheek, tantalisingly close to her lips to the point where the doll tried to tilt her head to the side and meet her lips with her own.
Ruby pulled away with a teasing expression, biting her bottom lip and waiting for-
She had no idea what she was doing, or why she was doing it in such a raunchy manner. This was so utterly out of character for her...
Why-
But she needed to hear it from Kirakishou's lips. She needed it so damn much. Damn the consequences. For too long, she had spent her life just hoping that somebody would always be there to protect her.
Sometimes in a girl's life, there came a time where one needed to take what they wanted for themselves. Yang couldn't stop her. Nobody could stop her, not when she wanted something. She would accomplish every challenge, tear down every obstacle.
Just to hear those words...
"I-I... I promise..."
"Of course I promise, little Rubes!" her big sister said enthusiastically, a shining grin on her face as they made their pinky promise stood near Summer's newly mounted gravestone. "We'll be together forever and ever! No matter what. We sisters have got to stick together, yeah?"
"Y-Yeah..."
She all but collapsed atop the doll upon hearing the whispered phrase, a phrase that she had craved to hear. Throughout all of her life, Ruby had possessed but a single confidant to speak of her worries and fears; Yang Xiao Long. Her sister. Without Yang, she would have lost herself to her despair.
But her elder sister was not perfect.
Nor would she ever be a role model.
Not anymore.
That could not change, however, the fact that Yang was her sister. She loved her. They were family.
She was sobbing, she realised. Crying stupid fat tears into Kirakishou's beautiful outfit. Ruby knew that she had completely ruined whatever intimacy she had been pushing towards, even if it hadn't been her intention. But the doll had not complained at the sight of her sudden tears. All she had done was relax her grip and rub her back just hard enough where Ruby could only barely feel the sensation.
Just like how mom would do it.
Nothing but simple repetitive motions, really.
To a girl like her, they meant the world.
She hoped that one day she would be able to eventually move past this stupid childishness and become strong like mom. Deep down, Ruby knew that she couldn't do it alone. To move forward in life, she needed people she could trust. People she could rely on.
Or maybe she just needed a single doll to hold her heart. Everybody else could burn for all she cared, if they were going to turn on her so quickly like Yang.
"What happened, Ruby? Why do you cry?" Kirakishou softly wiped the tears away with her jointed fingers, "...Was it because you're nervous for our date?"
W-Wha...-
The idea was so stupid it startled a burbled, wet laugh from her. All of this and she hadn't even had time to think about the date that much beyond a few passing ideas, let alone actually get nervous about it.
"N-No..." she answered, shaking her head in bemusement. She didn't even know if she was smiling or frowning anymore. "Just... stupid family stuff. But, please. I don't want to talk about it anymore. Please just hold me like this. Just a little longer."
Kirakishou's arms tightened considerably in hers as she continued to cry and wail and fruitlessly try and shut herself away from the world.
"When you are ready to talk, I'll be here. We shall deal with your family together."
She attempted a smile even as her eyes drooped. Nestled in the arms of the woman she cared for, she could feel the exhaustion of the day's events finally beginning to catch up with her. It had been a busy, jumbled mess of a day and she was glad that it was finally coming to a close.
"...That's all I could ever ask for..."
A/N:
Done. Finally done. Work IRL has picked up significantly and limited my time to write. But I will not let that be stopping me.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. The next chapter is an actual fight scene.
Until next time. Be sure to leave a review of what you thought about this chapter and the story so far. I look forward to posting again!