Wearily, Ruby found herself returning to consciousness with an agonised groan escaping her chaffed lips. Immediately, the faint sensation of faded pain made itself known in several limbs accompanied by a sizeable headache.

"Are you...-Ruby? Ruby? Can you hear me?"

There was a blonde mop of hair she could faintly make out with her blurry eyes, glancing down at her. Groaning, she moved to adjust herself into more of a sitting position before rubbing her eyes. She was on a hospital bed of some kind with several blankets covering her lower half and a privacy curtain strung up around her immediate vicinity.

Steadily, the image of her big sister came into view. Worried lavender eyes looking downwards at her in a palpable amount of concern.

Of course it had to be her. I should have known. Her her her. The wrong blonde.

Why couldn't it be Kira instead?

"Wha-..." she coughed, readily grasping a bottle of water when Yang offered it to her and greedily gulping down the precious liquid contained within. "Where am I? What happened?"

In response, Yang pulled back the white curtains that had been surrounding the bed. She was in a white room filled with medical equipment. There was a window next to the door leading towards a hallway of some sort. Judging by the dimmed lights she could see in the hallway, it was either late at night or early in the morning.

She was in a hospital? How'd she get there?

Hopefully it's not the one where all those deaths occurred a couple weeks ago…

"You're in the infirmary. At Beacon." Yang clarified at her blank look. "You… ah… You took a pretty heavy hit in the match and it knocked you out. They took you to the infirmary to keep an eye on your recovery." she answered, before pausing. "...What's the last thing you remember? I'm supposed to ask."

Ruby frowned thoughtfully at the question, taking a moment to go back and-

Fighting. Yes. That was it. I was fighting… In Professor Goodwitch's class. She had kept going on and on and… there was something about pizza? When Kirakishou went to-

"-Kira!"

Yang gave a heavy sigh, muttering something along the lines of 'Of course you'd think of her first' under her breath. The blonde brawler shook her head and plastered on a rueful smile.

"...Gonna need a little bit more than just a single word, Rubes. What else do you remember?"

It took a remarkable amount of willpower for the younger Rose to avoid the scowl that was threatening to appear on her lips. Whilst Kirakishou's suggestion that she smooth things out with her sister following Ruby's abrupt nightly visit had been followed through, in truth Ruby was still rather annoyed with her big sister about how dismissive she was of the beautiful Rozen Maiden.

Though Yang had promised during their private talk to give Kira a shot, it was still up in the air if she would actually follow through with it. She, in the very least, seemed to be trying to be nicer about Kirakishou. For the current time, Ruby was just pretending to have accepted Yang's apology for what it was.

...Acting in such a way felt wrong on some base, instinctual level. But it was all she could do in order to keep the peace. Ever since she had forced Kira to make the promise to never leave her, Ruby had found herself caring less and less about what her blonde buffoon of a sister thought anyways. If she had to act a little, then so be it.

Did I really just call Yang a 'buffoon'? Ruby thought incredulously. Oum. Guess I'm on some crazy strong meds or something.

"You there, Ruby?"

"Oh! Sorry. Just got a lot on my mind." she responded automatically, taking a moment to go back and recall what Yang was asking. "Right. Um. I remember… we were in a class with Professor Goodwitch?"

Yang nodded slowly. "Yes. That's right. Do you know what the class was?"

"Combat Class?" she tried hesitantly, continuing on with more confidence when her sister nodded at her answer. "I think I volunteered to help Kira. She'd… Um. She wanted to test Mercury and show him something."

The blonde took a moment to respond. "Oh? You knew beforehand that Kira was going to volunteer for the fight?"

...No? Why does she think that?

"That doesn't matter." she answered dismissively, wanting to move forward and get this stupid interrogation or whatever over and done with. "What happened after that? It's all still a little blurry."

The blonde shot her a look. For a moment, Ruby had the distinct feeling that Yang had realised what she was doing.

"Kira volunteered to fight against Mercury when he'd tried to go up against Pyrrha and Goodwitch refused. You stood up and shouted down that you wanted to fight by her side."

Ruby turned beet red in mortification. "...Oh oum. I can't believe I did that."

Yang had the audacity to grin. "You betcha did! Surprised more than a few people, myself included. So thanks for that. Didn't think you had it in you. If it's any consolation, you also seemed to stun Kira as well. She made a few of those, er, flower phrases or whatever and the next moment you two were fighting up against-"

"Mercury and Emerald." Ruby finished.

To her confusion, a notable ripple of anger tore through her at the memory. But that didn't make sense. Why would she be angry? Emerald had been pretty nice to her on occasion, if a little standoffish sometimes. She also remembered that Mercury had these cool boot-guns and used an awesome fighting style that was enough to-

"-Didn't expect little red to take the hit for you, though!"

That voice. She knew that voice. A smarmy, self-entitled piece of filth she was beginning to despise with every fibre of her being.

Mercury.

He shot me.

Pain. She remembered pain. She remembered the cry of terror that escaped Kirakishou's beautiful lips as her dreamy expression faded away.

All because of Mercury.

He shot me in the BACK.

"Ruby?" she was shook out of her thoughts by her sister. Looking up in confusion, she saw that the blonde was shooting her a particularly worried look. "Are you alright? What happened? You started zoning out. Did you want me to get the nurse?"

She quickly shook her head.

"No! No… It's fine. Just. It's starting to come back to me now. That's all. It surprised me."

...But how did he hit me? I was faster than him. I remember that much at least. There's no way he could surprise me like that. Was it his semblance or something? Sneak attacks? Or was it a trick of some kind?

Yang gave a halfhearted chuckle that sounded a bit weary to her ears. "I'll say." she stated, before continuing. "Can you tell me what else you remember? When you took that hit for Kira, she-"

"What."

Her thoughts ground to a sudden halt. All of her attention zeroed in on her sister instantaneously, tearing away whatever painkiller-fuelled haze she'd previously been held in. The cold fury previously festering in her gut made itself readily apparent oncemore.

Yang blinked. "Hm? What's the matter, Rubes?"

"Mercury was aiming for Kirakishou?"

"...Yeah?" Yang answered slowly. "Huh. Surprised you don't remember. You seemed pretty torn up about it when you realised what was happening. Shot right over there with a burst of your semblance just to block the hit. Your 'block' could have been a bit better though...-"

She made an effort of listening to the blonde tease her, but her mind was elsewhere.

No… That can't be. How could he- Why would-

To target such a girl, such a beautiful pure little girl… with a dust round… I mean, sure her semblance is pretty strong but he was good at stopping her vines before they'd hit. Why attack her?

Because he's a horrible excuse for a human being, probably.

I just don't understand how somebody can look at a girl that beautiful and want to FIGHT her, even in a simple spar. She's so delicate. He should have just refused to fight her when she asked.

But he DIDN'T.

He fought her.

He fought Kira because he didn't care.

He shot her to stop her.

He would have succeeded if it wasn't for me.

Her sister was saying something to her, but she couldn't make out the words.

I hate them.

The realisation struck her with all the ferocity of an Alpha Beowolf mid-strike.

She loathed people whom would stoop to such a level as to attempt to harm the woman she cared for, the sweet little doll that had suffered a great trauma and was only just beginning to stand on her own two feet.

Ruby had seen what Kirakishou had been doing during the fight. She had stood in the background and fought at a distance- utilising her vines for concise strikes. And Kira had done it all for Ruby's sake. To let her take centre stage.

It was obvious. How then, could Mercury and Emerald ever think to strike her beloved? How dare they?! Would Yang do the same? Would her big sister hurt her girlfriend, even if she told her not to?

The very thought terrified her to the core. Her big sister couldn't possibly do such a thing, could she? Sure, Yang had her disagreements regarding Kirakishou but she's not some brute who would stoop to using force, would she?

No. She couldn't let herself get tied up in hypotheticals. She had to focus in the hopes of understanding what had happened regarding her beautiful doll. Even if it hurt to hear.

"...How..." her voice was grating, she realised. She quickly took another sip from the water bottle before continuing forwards. "How did Kira react?"

The blonde winced immediately at her question. "Well, she freaked out. Summoned up this giant flower around you two. I've never seen anything like it before. The heiress has been talking about it ever since, you know. About how impossible such a 'manifested aura projection' is, considering the sheer volume of aura that would be needed to make it. Or something like that. She almost stopped the dance preparations just to focus on researching what she could about aura projections."

Huh… Ruby thought. Guess Kira has a lot of aura to spare. Guess it makes sense. I vaguely remember Uncle Qrow talking about certain semblances costing more aura to maintain, especially ones that project outwards and take physical shape. Kira was using the vines constantly, but I don't remember her aura going down. Maybe she just has so much that it isn't a big deal for her?

No wonder that Weiss of all people would be studying Kira's power. Aura studies is her favourite class, after all. Plus the whole Schnee glyphs thing. Makes sense that she would be pretty knowledgeable about the topic of aura by now.

Perhaps it has to do with her status as a Rozen Maiden? Maybe it gives more aura?

...If mom's a doll now, too, does that mean that she has even more aura? Ah! Too many questions and not enough answers! Of course the one girl that can answer it all isn't here. Damn it.

"Before we continue, there's just something that I've got to know." Yang's voice cut in again, interrupting her thoughts and bringing her back to the present. "The way you fought… It was like you had practised with Kira before. Many times."

Ruby scrunched up her brow in confusion. "What are you even talking about?"

"What? You seriously don't remember?" Yang rolled her eyes. "Figures. Well, it looked like you two were fighting in perfect sync. You didn't call out attacks or even glance over at Kira's vines when they came rushing by you to attack. No silly team attack names or anything, just ruthless efficiency. Plus you were moving so fast, Rubes. How'd you ever manage it? I thought you couldn't handle speeds like that without losing track of things."

Ruby slumped a little in the hospital bed as she realised exactly what her elder sister was questioning her about. In truth, she had remembered exactly how she fought with Kirakishou by her side. The fact that Yang had merely assumed she hadn't was a failing that she wouldn't bother to correct. It would just raise more annoying questions.

But how can she explain what it was like, fighting beside the woman you have come to care for? Feeling the bond of your twin souls, nourishing and protecting you against all harm. It hadn't felt like a simple couples match. Not in the slightest. They had moved as a cohesive unit.

It was a dance. An intimate embrace. A display of passion.

There had been no plan on her mind. No strategy to achieve. Ruby had known exactly how she needed to strike mere seconds before carrying out the manoeuvre. Pure instinct had fuelled her movements. Instinct, coupled with an immense faith in the blonde doll.

But how could she ever hope to explain such a thing to a woman who would probably snap if she heard even half the things that Ruby's gotten up to with the doll? Let alone the nature of their relationship.

"It, er, I don't exactly know how to…"

./.?-

Ruby snapped upright in the bed, glancing around rapidly as she tried to pinpoint a sound that appeared on the precipice of awareness.

"You okay Ruby? What's going on?"

The sound. She'd heard it before. Somewhere.

In a dream, perhaps?

A half-remembered thought. Crystals. Glimmering. Resonating. Yes. That was it. That was the sound. But what...-

"Kirakishou."

Yang moved forward, grabbing her shoulders. Only then, did Ruby realise she had been leaning off to the side, mere centimetres away from falling off the hospital bed. Confused silver eyes fluttered rapidly as she fought to regain her bearings.

The world was spinning. She could feel a tingle rushing down her spine.

"...She's awake." Ruby realised, whispering out the words.

I need her. I need her so much. Please, Kira. Come to me, please! You have to know where I am, don't you? How could you not? Please… I can't stand this much longer… please! You promised!

Yang gave her a weird look. "It's two in the morning. How can you be so sure?"

"I just know." Ruby felt her eyes move to the golden ring that lay nestled on her left hand, "I can't explain it."

A sudden ripple caught her attention, Yang's eyes follow her gaze and turning not towards the door but to the window next to it- where a mass of white petals had suddenly appeared, seemingly pressed up against the glass and growing outwards in a circular pattern.

"She's coming."

Vines. Those damn vines appeared again, flowing organically out of a glass window in a manner which distinctly reminded Yang of a sea creature of some sort- a single large body with multiple smaller tendrils feeling the nearby area. She steadily edged backwards, careful to not attract any attention as she positioned herself in-between Ruby and the… things.

A familiar blonde head of hair appeared crawling through the centre of the vines, pulling herself through as if crawling through a hole.

"Kirakishou!" Ruby exclaimed in glee, zipping past Yang in a burst of petals to glomp the girl in a sudden surprised hug. "I missed you so much!"

That didn't make any sense. From what the nurse told her, Ruby shouldn't have been able to move on her own two feet, let alone use her semblance. It was a miracle that she was even awake this early on. They had been expecting her to be out until midday tomorrow.

"My beloved red rose maiden..." Kirakishou murmured, just loud enough for Yang to overhear her words. "I… I am glad you are alright. When you fell in battle I grew… displeased. Fearful."

Her sister blushed a deep scarlet. "I-It was just a little bit of aura damage, Kira. No problem at all. Mercury just managed to land a good hit on me. You didn't have to get mad just for my sake, you know. Though it's sweet that you did..."

Kirakishou blushed, detaching from the embrace and glancing away in apparent bashfulness. It was the first time that Yang had seen the other blonde blush before and she would admit that it was indeed quite adorable. Not as adorable as the ones she managed to squeeze out of her baby sister during her teasing, but a close contender nonetheless.

She looked between the two girls, torn between abject confusion and vague amusement at their antics. On one hand, the fact that Kirakishou had just crawled through solid glass was more than a little concerning and would probably give the heiress an aneurysm once Yang told her about it.

However, it was hard to stay concerned when the girl in question was acting more the part of a shy girl than an actual threat.

"You were more than a little displeased." Yang decided to interject, the two girls glancing over her way and blushing at the scene. They had actually forgotten she was in the room, she realised. Oh oum. "You clobbered those two. Hell, you threw Emerald away like a sack of potatoes or something. It was hilarious."

Ruby rounded on the girl, her face comically stern. "I hope you didn't hurt them too bad, Kira..."

The little blonde giggled. "Maybe a little bit." she admitted, lips curling into a mischievous smile at the girl's attention. "...But that isn't why I have come here, Ruby."

Yang blinked at the sudden change in tone. She'd expected the two to act all cutesy for ages, but it appeared something else was on the small blonde's mind.

"...What's happening?" she asked.

Kirakishou slowly led Ruby back to her bed, taking a seat next to her baby sister and gesturing for her to take a seat as well. More than a little uncomfortable to consider sitting next to the girl she had witnessed choking two separate students unconscious, Yang opted to move to the chair she had been sitting on before.

"Please, Kira. What's going on? You're scaring me." Ruby whispered out, big silver eyes looking at the girl in worry.

Kirakishou exhaled, leaning into the younger girl and resting her head on Ruby's shoulder.

"...The agent of Father has made his first move. He seeks to ensure I wilt and wither, so that he may return me to my sisters."

"Your sisters?" Yang parroted, vaguely remembering the girl speaking about her six other sisters when they first met on the trip back to Beacon from the docks. Something about her sisters betraying her? And what did her dad have to do about it?

Regardless, the fact that there was someone out there trying to forcibly take away a little girl, crazy or not, sent an uncomfortable tremor down her spine.

Ruby's expression hardened as she pulled the girl into a forceful hug. "He can't do that! I-I won't let him do that, Kira."

"...I know you won't." Kirakishou smiled. It was a sad, forlorn attempt of a smile that most certainly didn't reach her eye. "Certain events have already taken place in this world of roses. Already, the agent is making his way here. Others are coming to this room with news of a tragedy instigated by his machinations. I have come to warn you, my lovely maiden."

"Warn her?" Yang repeated, catching on to the odd choice of words. "Why would you need to warn Ruby? Is something happening?"

Kirakishou nodded. "Yes. Father's agent, Laplace-no-ma, will sense my bond with my beloved red rose maiden. If he cannot reach me within my Palace, he will attempt to use her in order to reach my palace. She is in danger."

WHAT?!

She was up out of her chair and screaming at the girl before she even knew what she was doing.

"You mean to tell me that there's some dangerous fucking psycho that might target my baby sister and you're just coming to warn us now?!"

Kirakishou flinched and crawled further into Ruby's embrace as the silver-eyed girl glared fiercely in her direction.

"Yang, please." Ruby whined in the way only her baby sister could. "Can you cool your jets, please? You're scaring her. She's just trying to help."

She scoffed inwardly. As if the girl who took down Emerald and Mercury in such a brutal fashion would ever be scared of her. It was more likely that she was just feigning fear to get more hugs from Ruby. Throughout the year she'd seen more than one sleazeball attempt the same with her just to get closer; pretending to be something that they're not.

However, she had made a personal promise not to antagonise the girl lest she continue to drive a wedge between Ruby and herself. So, she reluctantly forced herself to calm down and sit back in the chair.

There has to be something that I'm missing. She reminded herself. If Blake and Weiss are so fine with the girl, I shouldn't jump to conclusions...

"Sorry. Just… it's a lot to drop all of a sudden, you know? I don't want to see Ruby get hurt. I'm sure you understand. Please, continue."

Kirakishou shuffled out of the embrace, giving her a slow hesitant nod. "...A pure rose needs protecting…" she mumbled in acquiescence. It was likely the best she was going to get out of the strange girl.

"What's happened, Kira?" Ruby spoke up in a soft, consoling voice as she rubbed circles on the girl's back. "What has Laplace-no-ma done?"

For a brief moment, Yang marvelled at how a girl like Ruby who used to stumble over the most basic of phrases when she was embarrassed actually managed speak such a weird name with perfect clarity after having just heard it for the first time. Let alone console someone in a way so eerily similar to how mom used to do it.

"He successfully manipulated an outsider into destroying a precious creation. I was forced to arrive through the N-Field, so that I may avoid the prying eyes of the dolls he captured and trapped with false knowledge and twisted assumptions."

N-Field… Laplace-no-ma… now she's talking about dolls of all things. The list goes on. And Ruby takes it all with a simple nod. It's clear that Rubes knows a lot more about this girl than I do. Which is fine! Just… something about this strikes me the wrong way.

"I have been confined to my dorm room." Kirakishou continued. "Utilising the N-Field was the only way I could visit you, my little rose. Weak as it is in an expansion phase, it was worth it just to feel your soul against mine once more."

So the N-Field is connected to whatever it was she used in order to get here? And it's expanding? Whatever does that mean? Yang wondered, eyeing the glass divider wearily. It had seemed like a regular pane of glass, up until the young blonde had crawled right through it without pause.

...Whatever it is, it's something other than her semblance. The way she talks about it implies it's some else. Something even weirder. Great.

Ruby blushed at the girl's affections, shooting her an embarrassed look and-

"Waitwaitwait, you've been confined?" Ruby called out in alarm, "What do you-"

Kirakishou pushed the girl back, stumbling up and glancing over to to the door. "There's no time." she stated quickly, looking between Yang and Ruby. "...Three are coming. I must leave before I am discovered, or they will hurt me."

A ripple and a sudden burst of vines and the blonde was gone as quickly as she had appeared, leaving the two sisters sitting there in silence. Ruby's pale skin had paled even further at the little blonde's choice of words and her hands had curled into fists, clutching the bedsheets tightly.

She was mad. No. That would be understating things. Mad had been when Yang would knock down her plate of cookies as a kid when she thought that the girl had eaten too many. This was different. Her baby sister was furious.

Not even ten seconds after the blonde had left, in the waking silence the two half-sisters heard footsteps approaching before the door to their room opened.

"...I hope we're not intruding." a voice spoke amongst the silence that had greeted them.

Headmaster Ozpin? What's he doing here? Wait- is that General Ironwood? The headmaster of Atlas Academy? What in the world is going on? I thought Kira said that three were coming? And why would they want to hurt her?

That damn girl just can't make anything easy to understand, can she?

Ruby shook her head rapidly at the headmaster's question, rage melting off her face as an embarrassed blush suffused her cheeks. "N-No, sir! Er, sirs. Sorry. Just, um…"

"Sisterly stuff. You don't wanna know." Yang supplied, shooting her sister a sideways grin. Hopefully helping her little sis out of this mess would earn her some major points and get her back in the girl's good books. Then, they could solve all this Kirakishou mess together and be done with it.

"...Right." Ozpin stated, "Well, I do hope you two don't mind the intrusion. James and I wanted to ask a few questions regarding the fight." the silver-haired headmaster briefly turned her way, before refocusing on Ruby. "...Would you prefer to be alone for this?"

Indignant, she went to speak up, only for Ruby to interject with a simple "It's fine."

She breathed a sigh of relief. Baby steps, Xiao-long…

The Atlesian General nodded along. "Very well." he briefly glanced over to Ozpin, before refocusing and continuing. "As you two may or may not be aware, sparring matches in huntsmen academies are heavily monitored as to prevent any major incidents. The data recorded ranges from aura use to aura generation and is designed to assess how effectively a trainee utilises their abilities in a combat situation." he explained.

Yang blinked. She most certainly had not been aware of such a thing, but she supposed it made sense. They were using live ammunition and were permitted to use their semblances during sparring matches. The use of any such inherently generated a sizeable amount of danger.

Had it not been for their combat instructor being Glynda Freaking Goodwitch, Yang would have been quite uncomfortable at the idea of her baby sister fighting against her elders with live-fire rounds and her own dangerous semblance. Thankfully, Miss Goodwitch had proven herself a respectable professor and… well… more than a little terrifying the moment someone stepped out of line.

Her sister was in safe hands.

But the question remained, what did any of this have to do with her little Rubes?

"During your team fight with miss… Kira-kee-shoe… she- am I not saying that correctly?" the Atlesian professor trailed off following Ruby's sudden bout of giggles.

"It's pronounced 'Kirak-ee-show'. Well, probably. Least, that's how I pronounce it. Not… N-Not that." Ruby explained, trying and failing to hide her smile. Even Yang had to fight off a few giggles at the perturbed expression on the General's face.

Oddly enough the smile that was on Ruby's face quickly vanished after a moment's notice, replaced with a thin-lipped frown that seemed a little forced.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; frowns do not suit Ruby. A little sweetling like her shouldn't ever be mad, not after everything that's happened to her. The girl deserves to smile.

Headmaster Ozpin looked off thoughtfully. "...Huh. Wish somebody had told me that before." he muttered, drawing an apologetic look from her younger sister.

Someone's been a naughty girl~ Yang jeered inwardly.

"Continuing on," Ironwood said, "during the match, Beacon's recording software identified certain inconsistencies within Kirakishou's aura." he paused at his attempt of voicing Kira's name correctly, before continuing following Ruby's small nod. "First and foremost, as you should be aware, a huntress' aura functions as a shield; depleted either through defending against heavy strikes or through repetitive use of ones semblance. However, your teammate on the battlefield displayed no such reaction to outside stressors."

"You're saying that her aura really didn't go down when Kira used her semblance?" Ruby questioned incredulously, before blinking. "Huh. And here I thought she was just really efficient with her semblance or something..."

The General nodded succinctly. "A reasonable assumption. However, you would be incorrect in this case. Neither when she utilised her semblance nor when Mercury managed to land a shot on her following your elimination, did her aura ever diminish."

Ruby's eyes narrowed and she muttered several choice words under her breath that, to Yang, implied her baby sister had most certainly forgotten she was in the presence of not only the headmaster but an Atlesian General.

...Colourful vocabulary, though. Guess she's been listening to Mama Yang after all. Though not in the ways I'd like. I'll have to sit down and talk to her about that later. Much later. Preferably when she's not liable to snap at me for just trying to help out. Again.

"If her aura doesn't go down when she fights, then how in the world could anyone hope to fight her and win?" Yang offered, if only to satisfy her own curiosity and prevent the headmasters from reprimanding her baby sister for her words.

Ozpin gave a low chuckle. It sounded tired to her ears. "...Oh, but her aura did suffer at precisely one point in the battle. Just not in the ways in which the good General outlined."

"...When I got hit by Mercury." Ruby supplied, her voice cold.

Both the generals nodded, some surprise registering on their features. "Correct again." Ironwood praised. "Several scientific journals have noted the correlation between extreme emotional outbursts and the relative strength of ones aura. In times of great strife, the aura of hunters and huntresses would notably suffer. It would appear such was the case, albeit to a far higher degree than what is typical." he answered. "Recordings indicate her aura dropped by over half following your elimination."

Ruby lowered her head. "...She shouldn't have had to suffer in the first place."

The two headmasters glanced at each other, an unspoken conversation occurring between them in an instant.

"Understandable, of course." Ozpin stated gently. "Which is why we are concerned about the other readings attained during the fight. There were unique fluctuations within Kirakishou's aura whilst her semblance was active. Following Miss Rose's elimination, these fluctuations increased in severity as Kirakishou's behaviour became notably unbalanced. We were hoping you could provide some insight as to why this is the case."

Yang didn't understand. The aura was the manifestation of their souls. She had been taught that since she was a child.

How could a soul fluctuate?

Ah. Ruby was doing her nervous tic again, playing with her hands and glancing away. She knew something, which Yang assumed she was uncomfortable about discussing with the two headmasters.

Ozpin continued. "We only ask because similar readings also seem to have appeared within your aura as well, Miss Rose. These, however, appear to still continue even long after the match has concluded."

Yang's eyes widened in shock.

"M-My aura?" Ruby blurted out, looking a little faint. It would seem that whatever secret she was hiding didn't include her part in it all. She'd have to question the girl about it later. "So that's why Yang was asking me all those questions before, wasn't it? You wanted to see if I remembered something that could help. Questions about memory loss, so it's probably something that you're looking out for, right? But what's memory loss got to do with aura, or these fluctuations you're talking about? That doesn't make any sense."

How did- Holy crap. She just figured that all out on her own. Wow. When did my baby sister become such a sleuth? And here I thought they just wanted me to ask routine questions. Make it easier on the nurse or something. She's right though. Thinking back on it, they are some pretty weird questions to be asking...

"...Once more you surprise us with your deductive reasoning, Miss Rose." Ironwood answered again, sharing a significant look with Beacon's headmaster who merely levelled a tired frown his way. "However, we hadn't accounted for your sudden bout of consciousness. All estimates pinned you waking several days from now. Once the system registered your return to consciousness, we arrived as quickly as it could. Although, it would appear that your sister had begun questioning before we were ready to explain exactly why we were asking them in the first place."

She winced at the icy glare sent her way by her baby sister. A face that adorable shouldn't ever be scrunched up like that. It looked utterly out of place on little Ruby.

Perhaps it was deserved. She should have waited a bit longer. But she had wanted to make sure there wasn't any damage…

Now with Kirakishou's warning at the forefront of her mind, she didn't know what to say. If what she understood about the girl's musings was correct, then Kirakishou believed that Ozpin and Ironwood were being manipulated in some way. Were the questions part of the manipulation? Or was it just them being cautious about something else?

...Dolls. Trapped with false knowledge and twisted assumptions… Oum does that girl have a colourful little vocabulary of her own. Least she kept most of the flower phrases out of it this time.

"She, um, she seems fine." Yang decided to go out on a limb and give Kirakishou the benefit of the doubt until she could question the girl further. If they were being influenced by the guy after Kirakishou, then she didn't want news of Ruby's condition reaching the Laplace-thingy in case he opts to go after her.

"That's good." Ozpin answered, smiling a grandfather smile her way. "Thank you, Miss Xiao Long, for looking after your sister. She is lucky to have you."

Yang smiled. "More than she knows." she answered, levelling a teasing smile at the girl who merely responded by childishly poking her tongue out in her direction.

"We are indeed glad to hear that our concerns were unwarranted in this instance. That being said however," Ozpin continued after a slight pause, "there is more to be discussed, though perhaps at a later date. I'm sure that I speak for all in saying that it is far too early for long conversations. Especially in regards to more sensitive matters. Rest assured that everything will be explained at a later date, once we've all had a good rest."

...Oh, shit. Right. It's like two in the morning, isn't it? Crap. Well, least there isn't any major lectures on early today. Oum I love Wednesdays. Though I bet the heiress has saved up all the homework from yesterday for our wonderful little team leader…

Ruby was going to love that.

Then again her baby sister was turning into a bit of a nerd with all the studying she's been doing recently so she might actually love it. Guess little Rubes really was growing up, huh?

"Indeed." Ironwood agreed with his fellow headmaster. "The nurse will visit again later on in the day to assess Ruby's aura for any further fluctuations. Considering she is conscious and apparently lacking any troubling symptoms, she should likely be up and healthy by the end of the day. We shall leave you for the time being. Rest assured that you both will be exempt from classes today whilst Ruby recovers. Thank you for your time." he spoke, before turning and walking out the door.

Ozpin made to leave, before turning back and glancing at the two girls from over his shoulder. There was an odd look on his face. Somewhere between a smile and a grimace. "Ah. I almost forgot. You both have another visitor." he moved forward, glancing at the hallway. "They're all yours."

...Who...- DAD!

"Hey, girls."

Taiyang Xiao Long stepped through the door, looking a little worse for wear than what Yang initially remembered of her Father the day before they set off for Beacon's orientation. His hair was notably scruffier than usual and it was obvious he hadn't shaved in a few days. He moved to wrap her in a hug that she eagerly accepted, before he moved to stand beside Ruby and smile down at her prone form.

So, what? You'll jump up to cuddle Kira but you won't for your own dad? Or did seeing Kira suck all the energy out of you? Guess I'll never know.

"Dad!" Ruby exclaimed in glee, grinning toothily at the man as she leant in for a hug. "I'm so glad you're here! Oh my oum, Beacon has been so freaking amazeballs!~" she babbled, "You should have seen it! You stop one dust robbery and suddenly your life changes forever! When I first started training to become a huntress I knew it would be wild, but not this wild. It's great!"

For all his worth, Tai merely nodded along with Ruby's flood of words, even whilst Yang herself boggled at somebody in this day and age actually using the word 'amazeballs' with a straight face.

"That's… that's great honey. I'm glad you're having fun here at Beacon. It's… truly a wonderful place, isn't it?"

Her baby sister nodded excitedly. "So where's mom?" Ruby cocked her head to the side, smiling happily up at her father.

...She's talking about Summer Rose. Mom… Come to think of it, I'm surprised that she didn't come in with dad as well. Though maybe she's just held up or something. Or on another mission. Though I hope not. We just got her back, after all…

Tai winced. He went to speak, only to seemingly fail at finding the words and glance away. Yang picked up on it immediately, whilst Ruby only blinked confusingly at the encroaching silence.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked. "Please don't say she's on another mission or something."

The blonde man shook his head, a weak chuckle escaping him. "N-No… It's… it's not that, Yang. I, well, I wish I could say that I've come here with good news but..."

"...Dad, what's going on?" Ruby asked insistently, tugging on his arm to get his attention when the man refused to look at her. "Where's mom?"

Tai breathed in a deep breath. It was only at that moment that Yang noticed that the man's eyes were red and he looked like he hadn't slept well recently.

"Summer Rose. She's, well… it's been revealed that the Summer Rose that you encountered on the docks was an impostor. A fake. S-She wasn't even human... James suspects it's a type of vessel animated by an artificial aura of some kind. A doll. T-They, um, suspect a Beacon student was involved somehow. A girl named… Er. Kira something. Do you two know her?"

A/N:

There we go. Feels good to publish another chapter after so long. As some of you may be aware, I write two chapters ahead. Chapter 21 struggled to be written. But we're there. Finally.
Let me know what you think of the story so far! Reviews are always welcome.

OH WAIT WE'RE AT 100K WORDS NOW.
eeeeeee!~

Thank you all for your support in this story. It's a small little fanfiction crossing over an older show with something newer, but I love it to bits. I started this story with the intent to bring notice to a forgotten series and, in my mind, a wonderful little character who deserved far more than what she got in the original series. Through time, this story has evolved into what it is today. I couldn't have done it without all your support.