In the next few days following the second round of the Vytal Festival Tournament, Ruby found a sort of peaceful monotony returning to Beacon Academy. Students from all academies seemed content to relax and chat with each other during the downtime, hanging out and participating in a wide variety of lectures. Ruby found many of her classes suddenly playing host to a whole gaggle of students from far and wide, all looking to learn about how the prestigious Beacon Academy taught their students.
Well. That, at least, was likely what the teachers believed the reason to be. From what she understood, most of the external students she'd spoken with -the ones that would actually still speak to her rather than give her the cold shoulder- had stated that they were mostly in it just to participate in the sparring matches. And to alleviate their boredom.
Considering that outside missions were still cancelled, there wasn't much else that the students could do while they were visiting. As the Vytal Festival was still ongoing, after several weeks of time spend parading around the fairgrounds, most had already seen everything there was to see and were just waiting for the next round of the tournament to start up.
On a small note, Ruby was still confused as to why the missions were still cancelled. But to each their own. Perhaps it was just too much of a logistical nightmare for the faculty staff to plan while the Vytal Festival was still ongoing? Or it was some political thing interfering. That was also a possibility. At least the festival hadn't been cancelled, though after the last round she almost wished it had been.
After the previous round against two members of Team SSSN, Ruby had been trying to make it up to her team after failing to recognise the state of her partner, Weiss Schnee. Supposedly, the heiress had needed to be taken to the school infirmary in order to heal up after suffering complete aura exhaustion. From what Ruby understood, Weiss casting her final time dilation glyph had drained her aura to the point where her body could not recover aura without artificial assistance.
She hadn't known until the second day following the match, where an automated message had been sent to her scroll to notify Ruby that her teammate had left the infirmary. It had been a rather awkward affair at the time. Weiss had been in bit of a mood ever since. The Schnee heiress wasn't mad, persay, but there was a type of negativity around her that Ruby had only seen in her Dad. It was only recently that the heiress was beginning to speak up to her, but it was clear that repairing their damaged friendship would take a lot of work.
And a lot of time. Time that she did not have, not in the slightest.
It was horrible. Especially after everything that had happened with Kirakishou finally developing a sort of temporary truce between her and the other members of Ruby's team. They had, for the first time in what felt like ages, become sort of comfortable with each other. Now all of this mess had to happen just because nobody had told her about Weiss's stupid condition. Ugh. How was she supposed to know?
Had her team always been this absurdly fickle over the slightest of things, or was it just her? So what if Ruby, in the heat of the moment, had forgotten to check on her teammate? Weiss was a big strong Schnee Heiress. She and Blake could look after each other in their own little world. I-It didn't matter.
...But it still hurt. Just a little bit. Less than what she had experienced in the past over other accidental betray-
.
.
.
...over other accidents.
Ruby herself had been fulfilling her duties as a team leader as best she could- dutifully visiting the infirmary alongside Weiss for her routine followup checkups -even if Weiss barely spoke a few words to her- along with running through different exercise drills with her team after the nurse had cleared them all for actual training. Originally her plan had been to network with some of the other teams from different academies and train alongside them, but none of the teams she spoke with would give her the light of day.
Even the ones that had spoken to her in relative comfort previously had been the same. Not a single team seemed to want to contribute whatsoever. It was quite infuriating. Even after she'd enlisted the help of her big sister Yang to trying and talk some sense into them, nobody had budged. It was all very annoying and had set her training plans onto a reluctant hiatus. Stupid emotional teams and their weird morality. Why were they all so mad at her? She was the victor. Shouldn't they be happy?
Whatever.
Thus, she had reluctantly asked General Ironwood for his advice and the Atlesian Headmaster had given her his honest opinion on the weaknesses he'd spotted in her team from their first match. Following his initial assessment, he had gone and wrote up a suitable training plan to hopefully eliminate a fair portion of their weaknesses. However, considering that most of the issues James spoke of in his report revolved around a lack of communication and trust in each other, Ruby doubted that her team would be fixing their problems anytime soon.
While they were all on relatively decent terms -barring the situation with Weiss-, there was still a sizeable amount of underlying tension between all the members of Team RWBY- particularly in regards to Kirakishou. It would seem that the more time Ruby spent in the presence of the little blonde doll, the less her team respected her actions as a leader.
Sure, they didn't say anything about it, not to her face, but to a girl like Ruby Rose it was pretty damn noticeable.
The sudden arrival of Weiss's older sister, Winter Schnee, also complicated matters. While thankfully Ruby had not had the chance to meet with the Atlesian Specialist, she could only assume that the older Schnee was quite upset with Ruby's treatment of Weiss during the fight. Ruby had been trying to find Winter and speak to her about the event -if only to explain her reasoning and apologise- but she hadn't been able to find Winter at all.
It was becoming rather stressful. The less that was said about Winter Schnee, the better. It was just another issue that she did not want to deal with at the moment. If the specialist was going to be conspicuously absent every time she tried, then so be it. She had more important things to focus on, anyway.
On another note, Team RWBY's search for the White Fang and Roman Torchwick had been all but forgotten in favour of focusing on the Vytal Festival Tournament. They barely even spoke about it anymore- only Yang had the thought to bring it up at one point. Weiss and Blake hadn't said a peep regarding Team RWBY's search, something that Ruby assumed had to deal with their ordeal at the docks with the White Fang. The two girls probably just didn't want to talk about it.
Plus, even if they were to put all of their effort into their search, any potential leads they had regarding Mountain Glenn would have dried up weeks ago. It had simply been too long since Blake and Sun had learned about the supposed White Fang operation around the east for Ruby to believe that the White Fang were still there, if they had ever been. Mountain Glenn was a ruined, inhospitable wasteland. Even if they were using Roman's stolen dust rounds to fight off the grimm infesting the area, Ruby doubted that the White Fang would have stayed there long. It was more than likely that they had simply packed up and left for some other place, thus setting Team RWBY right back to square one.
Perhaps when missions resumed -whenever that was- Team RWBY would try and take a mission to investigate the Mountain Glenn area. If only to see if there was any information that may highlight where the White Fang had moved. But it would be a long shot a best. Hopefully, by then, Weiss wouldn't be all gloomy anymore.
"Are you okay, love? You haven't touched your food in some time."
Ruby blinked. Ah. That was right. She had almost forgotten in her thoughts. Following her time spent in the cafeteria, she had decided that it would be for the best if she ate her food alone. People had kept staring at her and the weight of it all was beginning to make her anxious. With her team nowhere to be found, Ruby had first thought to hang out in her dorm room, but had eventually decided to visit Kirakishou instead. Outside a few choice moments prior to Kirakishou's confinement, they had never really ate together.
Following the end of the second match of the Vytal Festival Tournament, Ruby's schedule had drastically limited her availability, to the point where she hadn't had much time to spend with Kirakishou, outside of occasionally just messaging the blonde on her scroll. This small lunch break with her Rozen Maiden would mark the first time she had even seen Kirakishou in person after speaking to her prior to the match with Team SSSN.
To say that Ruby was feeling pretty guilty was an understatement. Even if Kirakishou had assured her that it was fine. They were partners. They were dating. She needed to be better.
"Y-Yes. Sorry…" she fiddled with her food, idly playing with her remaining burger. It had been a nice set of dishes that the cafeteria staff had made, which held a variety of options for the visiting students. Ruby had taken a couple burgers, along with a small salad. Oum. She hadn't even noticed that she was almost done with her meal.
Kirakishou moved away from her own meal, some sort of noodle dish that Ruby wasn't entirely certain about, to lean forwards and place her hand over Ruby's own hand.
For a moment, she eyed her doll in surprise, before blushing bashfully and glancing away from Kirakishou entirely. Much to her inner turmoil, it would seem that Kirakishou had forgone her usual ruffled dress in favour of a sleeveless white nightgown that ran down to her mid-thighs. Her hair was also noticeably messier than usual.
Had she not been sleeping well? From what she remembered of the nights she would spend in Kirakishou's room before Ruby was swamped with coursework and training, the doll also had a bit of an odd sleep schedule.
It could have been a sign that Kirakishou had been spending too much time alone confined in the dorm room, as Ruby had developed similar habits when she was younger after Mom had d-disappeared. While she had wanted to comment on the doll's health, she was unable to speak up without sneaking glances at the doll's ball-socketed joints. There was something so very intimate about seeing her artificial joints and it was making Ruby feel a little flustered.
"That is the third time in this sitting alone, Master. Do you have a lot on your mind?"
She grimaced, having been caught lost in thought again. "H-How can I not have things on my mind, Kira?" Ruby asked rhetorically. "There's the Vytal Festival Tournament, James's stupid plan for the Fall Maiden, the Vytal Festival Tournament and all the bull crap with my team... It's just so much to handle, ya'know? I feel like I'm being pulled in a hundred different directions."
Kirakishou gave a low sigh, pulling their food away and moving to sit next to her. Ruby had been leaning her back against the bed on the ground, as for some reason nobody had even thought to furnish Kirakishou's room at all- up to and including not having a single damned chair. Were it not for the nearby mirror and bed her room would be completely empty. It was-
"Ah. I think I see the problem here, Master. You're approaching things with the wrong perspective."
Huh? Confusion ran through her. What in the world was the doll talking about? Ruby thought that she had a pretty good grasp of things, considering how much thought she had put into it all. Was there something she had missed?
"What do you mean?"
In response, Kirakishou flared her power ever so slightly, the golden ornate mirror nearby rippling slightly as a bone white vine grew from the surface. Moving at a slow pace, it slithered over to their seated position on the floor.
Kirakishou grasped the vine, before moving her hand to force the small vine over to Ruby's own hand. She twitched at the sensation. It felt oddly soft against her skin, especially with the doll's jointed fingers resting alongside it. There was a complete lack of warmth -the same odd feeling that she had felt during her brief experience inside Kirakishou's N-Field once before- but Ruby could feel an odd sort of soothing presence coming from the vine.
"You feel you are being pulled in many directions, Master. This is a fallacy. In fact, it is the other way around. Others are being pulled in your direction. More and more join you each day."
Ruby blinked. She had never thought of it like that before.
"Each step you take," Kirakishou continued, "pulls others ever closer to your perfect dream. Your overall goal. Whichever that may happen to be at any point in time. You merely need to learn when exactly a little reaper must pull on those around her of her own volition."
"Y-You mean like… manipulate people to do things right?" Ruby made a face at that, tasting the word on her tongue. "I… Um, I don't really think I could do something like that..."
Kirakishou giggled, leaning over to look into Ruby's eyes. There was a sly little smile on the doll's face. With her rather revealing outfit and the intimate expression currently adorning her face, Ruby felt the sudden urge to kiss her doll- were it not for the words she was hearing.
"Oh Master, you needn't use such a negative connotation when describing your desire. It would only hurt you so. You are a kind soul who would not seek to use such tactics unless it is absolutely necessary, yes?"
"...Well, I guess?" Ruby looked away from Kirakishou's gaze, her eyes dropping to focus on the tiny vine held in their joined hands. It was wiggling about not unlike a worm. Or a snake? She wasn't certain which was the best analogy. Admittedly the sum total of her experience with animals came from learning about them in biology classes throughout the years.
"Then think back to your recent battles. Sun and Neptune. Bolin and Team ABRN. Torchwick and the White Fang, both on the docks and with the Atlesian Paladin. Even your food fight here in Beacon Academy. They all required misdirection from you in order for you to gain the upper hand."
"But that was with baddies!" Ruby argued, fat tears clouding in her eyes. "I-I don't want to have to use all that stuff against my friends!"
"You don't want to?" Kirakishou cocked her head to the side in apparent confusion. Even while Ruby wasn't looking directly at her, Kirakishou's sheer amount of hair made it easy to spot in her peripheral vision. "Why is that, Master?"
"I-I..." Ruby choked out a sob, "...if I had to use it on my allies, my friends, then what kind of person does that make me? They're my friends, Kira. Even if they make it hard for me sometimes, I should be able to trust them to do the right thing..."
She flinched when Kirakishou's other hand, the one that wasn't sharing a vine with her, suddenly made contact with Ruby's cheek. Pulling with just enough gentle pressure to force Ruby to make eye contact with her.
"You're crying."
Unbidden, a small blush of embarrassment spiked in her as she pulled away from the girl to furiously wipe at her eyes. "...Sorry. It's just a bit of a touchy subject for me. I don't want to have to lie to people."
Kirakishou nodded slowly, the small white vine retreating back into the mirror before disappearing entirely. "That's okay Master. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed so hard. It merely pains your doll to see the one she loves to get hurt by the pressures of others."
"...Thank you," Ruby muttered lightly, before forcing herself to continue, "f-for understanding. You don't have to apologise... I just... I'm really stressed out. Can we just return to our food and talk about something else? I-I mean, I guess when it's against baddies it's okay to be a bit, um, deceitful, but I just can't do that with allies."
"Against the baddies it's okay…" Kirakishou repeated, giggling to herself. Eventually, the doll's giggles settled down and she nodded. "I understand, Master. Thank you for this opportunity to learn more about the little soul that I love. Let us return to our food."
"R-Right…" Ruby answered, cheeks red as her mind caught up to what the Rozen Maiden had said before. She wasn't used to the doll just up and blurting out that she loved her. It was still a new, tingly little excitement that thundered through her body whenever she recognised the words.
It was so... so different... to be in love. It still tended to steal her breath away on occasion. Were it not for all of the nonsense occurring around them seemingly day in and day out, Ruby felt like she would be resting on cloud nine just by the simple fact that she had finally found someone that completed her.
Still. She was glad that the doll understood her moral standpoint. It had seemed that all Kirakishou had wanted to do was help her and had tried to give a suggestion. Even now, her little blonde Rozen Maiden was working hard to help Ruby in any way she could, confined as she was to this stupid dorm room.
Hopefully when Ruby won the Vytal Festival Tournament she would be able to convince the headmasters to release Kirakishou from her house arrest. There shouldn't be anything wrong with that, right? Right. Then they could finally go on that date that Kirakishou had wanted, so long ago.
Then, finally, perhaps Summer Rose could be revived.
"You do remember your food, do you not?" Kirakishou asked teasingly, snapping Ruby out of yet another funk. "Or would you rather be fed by your doll instead? She would be more than happy to assist, if that is what you crave."
"N-No... It's okay. I can do it myself," Ruby blushed, cursing both her stutter and the knowing smile it drew out of the doll. There was no way in the world that Ruby would be able to sit there comfortably and handle the doll feeding her. Not now, not with her hormones going wild from the doll's mere presence.
She didn't want to do anything embarrassing... W-What if things got too heated and Ruby went to kiss her? What if she had food stuck on her teeth? O-Or grease on her lips. That could happen, right? Oum. That would be so embarrassing! She really didn't want to have to deal with that potential situation, even if the heat in her body really wanted to just forget about the consequences and run wild.
With shaking fingers she grasped the plate, nibbling on the burger as her appetite resurfaced now that she wasn't discussing difficult things with her partner.
"...Huh," she voiced suddenly, surprise registering on her tone, "come to think of it, this burger is actually pretty good. Guess I didn't notice it before. I mean," she rambled, blushing prettily as the doll sent her a confused expression, "it's not as good as some of the meals I cook at home, but it's still nice and yummy."
Kirakishou's eye darted upwards to stare at her. "...I did not know you were able to cook, my beloved rose. Every day, it seems I continue to learn more about your intricacies."
She blushed a little at the intensity of the doll's gaze. It was so odd to have a partner, let alone someone so devoted to learning about her life. It was a little embarrassing. Well, her blush may also be due to the fact that her culinary knowledge was limited to maybe five meals at best.
"Uh-huh!" Ruby grinned, preening a bit at the little interested sound that Kirakishou made in response. It was nice to be appreciated even over something so simple. "It's actually really fun. Back in Patch I liked to try and cook for my Dad whenever I could, though I would always have some trouble getting all the ingredients right. What about you? Do you cook?"
She imagined what it would be like to have the Rozen Maiden prepare a meal for her. With all of those vines helping to gather ingredients Ruby assumed that Kirakishou could make an absolute killing in the restaurant industry if she wanted to. Though Ruby would probably attempt to dissuade the doll and keep her to herself.
More cookies for me! Ha!
Kirakishou shook her head and unceremoniously shattered Ruby's little fantasy, looking a little disheartened as she did so. "...No. I cannot cook. Until recently, I did not even possess the ability to consume real food, let alone process meals effectively," she answered, glancing down at her bowl momentarily before looking back up at Ruby. "Would you cook for me one day, Ruby? I would be delighted to try out one of your meals."
The idea of cooking for her partner sent a pleasant tingle down her spine. Little did Kirakishou know that long ago she had mastered the art of baking the most masterful of cookies! There wasn't a doubt in her mind that Kirakishou would soon be trembling in awe at the sheer chocolatey presence of such expertly crafted-
"Wait. 'Until recently'? What do you mean?"
The blonde doll blinked, before giving a rueful smile as she idly swirled her cafeteria meal with her spoon. "One needs a body to consume food in the waking world, little rose. Until recently, I did not possess such. For the longest time, I was quite confused as to how such a simple object can create such joy in others, although I am beginning to understand now. It is a rather curious sensation. I am eager to see how your food tastes, little rose."
What.
Ruby was certain that was one of the most bizarre statements she had ever heard from Kirakishou. It also didn't make the slightest bit of sense. How can one exist without a body?
Then again, her partner was a magically animated doll, so perhaps such a thing was possible. At this point she wasn't all that surprised to learn of yet another crazy revelation. Although she seriously doubted that such an existence was really that enjoyable for Kira, given the expression that had flickered on Kira's face before the doll immediately tried to change the subject away from it.
Boldly, she put one of her hands forward and intertwined her fingers with the doll. It was rather uncomfortable to hold hands knowing that her own were a little stained from eating a big greasy burger, but from what she had seen in films holding hands was a romantic gesture that didn't let such things get in the way.
"...Don't worry, Kira. Now that you're here I'll make sure you find a bunch of delicious treats to try out. We could do it together. Would you like that?"
Kirakishou squeezed her hand lightly. She had a fragile smile on her face.
"I would like that very much, Ruby."
She smiled happily, glad to be making plans again with her partner. The last time had been... hm... just before the fight with Torchwick and his big Atlesian Paladin mech? Yes. That was right. Kirakishou had asked her out on a date. It had been so utterly shocking at the time that it had almost sent her to tears.
That had been their last real plan before everything went crazy and Laplace somehow manipulated Ozpin and Ironwood into confining Kirakishou in her own dorm room. Now, it appeared that their plans mostly revolved around winning the Alice Game and occasionally discussing potential strategies to be used in the Vytal Festival Tournament.
Speaking of...
"Hey Kira?" Ruby chimed in just as the doll detached from their little handhold, "How do you think I went against team SSSN in the doubles competition with Weiss?"
Among all the insanity of the previous days, it had honestly slipped her mind to even ask the doll what she had thought of Ruby's progress. She had just been so preoccupied managing schoolwork, furiously hunting down Winter Schnee and trying to train her butt off. It wasn't her fault that she forgot! Even if Ruby did feel a little bit bad about it...
"My Master was very strong," Kirakishou giggled to herself, cupping her own cheeks and smiling happily. "The terrain was not to your advantage. Solitary ice fields against the looming presence of a grand mountain. And yet despite all of this, you were able to push forward and defeat Team SSSN through the use of a masterful plan. Topple the giant and rise above.It was quite the spectacle."
Ruby smiled pleasantly, feeling her cheeks dimple a little. It felt so very satisfying to have the doll praise her. Especially after facing up against Sun Wukong and Neptune Vasilias- both two very dangerous opponents on their own. The two trainee huntsmen were equally dangerous in their own right, but it had been their unorthodox method of attack and utter lack of team composition that had really thrown off her game. Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue in the final round. Considering that it would be a simple one-on-one round, Ruby would be able to focus on her opponent without having to worry about outside influences.
"You really think so?"
A firm nod was Kirakishou's response, her lone eye seeming almost comically stern. "Uh-huh! My Master displayed an adaptability on the battlefield that even received praise from Pyrrha Nikos, did you know?"
Ruby most certainly did not. "...What?"
"Pyrrha Nikos was speaking to her team members about my beloved Ruby Rose," Kirakishou whispered as if revealing a secret. In Ruby's eyes it looked amusingly adorable, something she would have commented on were it not for her genuine curiosity about the topic at hand. "Pyrrha Nikos enjoyed witnessing your fight. She finds you to be a prodigy, citing your strategic know-how as a rare trait in academy students. Although, she was uncomfortable with your actions at times."
She didn't know exactly how to feel about that. After introducing Pyrrha Nikos and the rest of Team JNPR to Kirakishou what seemed like forever ago, Ruby had grown a little uncomfortable in the presence of the supposed invincible woman. She had seen the way that Pyrrha had looked at her partner, with a sort of interested delight that rubbed her the wrong way. It had been one of the reasons why she hadn't immediately pressed to get Kirakishou released from her dorm room.
The last thing she wanted was for the most skilled trainee huntress in their year to end up developing some sort of attraction to Kirakishou. The rational part of her mind knew that it was a long shot at best, but Ruby didn't want to chance it. She couldn't stand up to the fabled Invincible Girl- not in any stretch of the imagination. Pyrrha was beautiful and honest and kind, a skilled fighter well on her way to becoming a full fledged huntress. Ruby was just a silly girl from Patch who had just so happened to catch the attention of a beautiful little doll like Kirakishou.
She could not -would not- allow the likes of Pyrrha Nikos to ever interact with her doll. She could not find the energy to care about anyone's opinions of her. Whether it be the stupid students trying to judge her with their eyes in the cafeteria, Winter Schnee probably getting all protective, or Ozpin and Ironwood having their own thoughts about her relationship with Kirakishou. They didn't matter.
"T-That's great… but I don't really care what she thinks, Kira."
Honest-to-oum shock coursed through her body as Ruby's mind suddenly caught up to what she had just blurted out. They had been some pretty harsh words and not at all what Ruby had meant to say. Yet, if anything, the doll seemed amused at the colourful language. Satisfied, almost.
"As you say, Master~"
Ruby blushed and bowed her head, inwardly thankful that Kirakishou hadn't chosen to question her further on the topic of Pyrrha Nikos. She was most certainly not a sharer. Not with Laplace, not with Jun and most certainly not with some trumped up red-haired fighter that somehow effortlessly-!
No. She wasn't going to fixate on it. All Ruby needed to do was change the topic.
"S-So, um, what about the final round of the Vytal Festival Tournament? Are you looking forward to it, Kira? It's going to be a really big event this year! They're saying the turnout is going to be massive!"
Kirakishou leaned forward unexpectedly, drawing a sudden blush from Ruby as the doll cupped her cheeks. She shivered against the cold jointed fingers. "Little owl, I do believe that you may in-fact be looking forward to the final match even more than I am."
The knowing tone in the doll's whispering voice made her cheeks darken even further.
"...Perhaps," she allowed, "I am a little bit nervous as to who I'll be facing. There's a lot of strong fighters that have made their way to the finals. Do you have any ideas?"
"You shall be facing an old friend, Ruby," Kirakishou revealed, her lone eye positively glowing in interest. "Why, I daresay that I will be most curious to see how my reaper performs."
Ruby pouted. That wasn't what she was going for! All it did was confirm that Kirakishou knew who she would be facing in the final round. Somehow. But it most certainly did not reveal the identity of this supposed old friend.
What did that even mean? She had personally inspected the list of all the contestants that had qualified and there hadn't been a single name that Ruby had known prior to arriving in Beacon Academy. The people that she did know most certainly didn't qualify as anyone really important to her. Maybe acquaintances at best. Definitely not old friend material. Was it someone she hadn't noticed at first?
"But can you-" she paused, before sighing, "No… you're right in not telling me. It's best if I don't know. It's the finals round. I don't want to have an edge in the competition. Even if it would help, it wouldn't be right. Mom didn't have an edge when she fought. So, I shouldn't either."
Kirakishou smiled, planting a chaste peck on her cheek. Ruby really wished that the doll would stop doing that, it was making it difficult to concentrate. While Kirakishou may have some magical doll physiology or whatever preventing her from being anything other than flawless, Ruby was still human and thus didn't want to kiss right after eating. Especially after eating two whole greasy cafeteria burgers and a salad.
Though, it was more out of a desire to protect the doll's virtue than anything on her part. Ruby would be lying if she said that she wasn't desperately craving some intimacy with the doll. She knew that Kirakishou wouldn't care about a little bit of mess on Ruby's part, but Ruby couldn't let it slide. The last thing she wanted was to accidentally get a grease stain on Kirakishou's clothing.
"Very good, Master. Summer Rose would be proud of your decision. Perhaps when this is over, we can speak about bringing her back into the world," Kirakishou suggested, stroking Ruby's hair. She preened at both the sensation and the suggestion, shooting a beaming smile in the direction of her doll. "If it is possible, Master, I would have a request for you."
Ruby perked up, curious. "Oh? Do you need something?"
"Yes. More than anything, dearest. In as much to say that this request may be a matter of grave importance to the continuation of our bloom," Kirakishou paused, seeming almost uncertain for a moment. It was enough to send alarm bells ringing in Ruby's mind. The doll was rarely uncertain about her actions, always seeming to have an air of serenity surround her. "...Your doll asks of you; when the Vytal Festival Tournament comes to a close, find me. Do not let yourself be distracted by the others- those that seek to intrude in our garden. Bring yourself to me. Please."
"Do you honestly believe that you would have gotten away with it?"
He had made a horrible mistake.
Adam gritted his teeth, eyes firmly planted in the floor as he knelt supplanted in front of Sienna Khan, the esteemed High Leader of the entire White Fang. Much to his shock, the High Leader herself had contacted him several days ago demanding that he make his way to her personally lest he face severe retribution. Adam, both curious and unsettled upon the dire tone, had departed immediately so as to not provoke any negative reaction from his supposedly irate leader.
Little had he known at the time that their meeting would be little more than getting his ass grilled over every damn decision he had made in the past six months. It was everything that he had feared, brought out into the light in front of everyone in the White Fang that mattered whatsoever. Sienna had somehow learnt of his actions and was not at all pleased.Adam had personally avoided mentioning his previous actions to Sienna for precisely this reason. The High Leader of the White Fang had a notorious temper- especially when directed against one who had slighted her.
Yet, there hadn't been any other choice available in his eyes. It was either lay down and die at the hands of Cinder Fall and her posse or man up and survive long enough to gut the amber-eyed bitch when she finally let down her guard. Naturally, Adam had chosen the latter option. He would not lay down and die. It would ruin everything he fought for. No. Instead, he would wait until the opportune moment...
Of course, Cinder Fall herself hadn't shown any sign of relaxing around his presence during the entirety of the time following her hands-on arrival into their business relationship. It was excruciating. Never in his life had he met such a human, capable of outwitting his genius time and time again.
Thus, Adam had been forced in between a rock and a hard place. Either wait long enough for Cinder to finally drop her guard, or take too long and risk Sienna discovering his predicament.
Unfortunately for him, Sienna had somehow overheard and had inadvertently forced Adam into reluctantly leaving Cinder fucking Fall in charge of their operation in Mountain Glenn for the time being until he could resolve the issue. While he took a certain amount of sadistic glee in the knowledge that Cinder Fall would have to deal with the more neurotic members of the White Fang with absolutely no understanding of how to deal with them, Adam knew it was only a matter of time until shit hit the proverbial fan.
Considering that the amber-eyed bitch was sitting on enough dust to blow up a damn continent in thanks to the actions of Roman Torchwick and his little crime spree, he knew that any confrontation with Cinder without careful planning and preparation was bound for failure. Which, judging by his topic of discussion with Sienna for the past three hours, the High Leader was well aware of just how badly he'd handled the situation.
"Honestly, Adam, it is almost as if you are purposefully attempting to go against everything our great revolution stands for. What it the world could have possibly prompted you to go along with all of their nonsense?"
"I didn't have a choice," Adam growled. "They were-"
"What?!" Sienna interrupted. "They overpowered you? Oh yes. I learned all about their little incursion into your camp," she smiled harshly at his surprised expression, "a mysterious girl with the ability to command flame without aura. Hilarious," she scoffed. "But, do not take this wrong- I believe that it happened. There is much about this world that both Faunus and Humans do not understand. A person with a supposedly limitless ability is unheard of, but not an impossible thought."
"...Then? What?" Adam blinked, confused. "Would you have preferred I had my men try and fight back against an unstoppable force? Against an adversary that doesn't fucking tire out?!"
Noticing his heated tone, Sienna's ceremonial guardsmen growled indignantly and levelled their weapons in his direction. Neither Adam nor the White Fang High Leader displayed any outward reaction at the weapons, both knowing that it was little more than show.
"Relax," Sienna spoke after a tense moment, signalling for her guardsmen to lower their weapons. There was an amused, cold, smile on her face. "I did not wish for you to sacrifice our compatriots, Adam. To insinuate that I would ask for good men and women to die for you is as laughable as it is insulting. No. I wanted for you to use your fucking head."
"What are-"
"Enough!" Sienna jumped from her throne, standing up and glaring down at the prone Adam imperiously. Her claws extended as a savage snarl ripped across her war-torn face. "For once in your life, shut up and listen. I don't care about how you handled their arrival. I care about what you did afterwards. You accepted their money. Their bribe. You didn't contact your superiors and tell them of your situation. Instead, you became complacent. In your fear, you have allowed our men and women to remain captive underneath this human. You're a disgrace."
Adam went to retort, to say anything, but found himself lacking. It was true. Everything that Sienna had said. In his quest to ensure that the White Fang lived to see another day after Cinder's incursion, he had instead worked with their enemy to build a cage for the White Fang. And he hadn't even noticed it.
Now, Cinder controlled the sect of the White Fang operating within Mountain Glenn. By ruling through the constant threat of unleashing her stockpiled dust beyond the mere scraps she gave them to fight off the hordes of grimm infesting the dilapidated city, Cinder Fall had usurped command over his family and turned them into little more than mercenaries. Sellswords.
What had he done wrong? How could he have allowed it to go this far?
"...I-I didn't…" he tried to say, searching for the words. What even was there to say? How could he atone for everything he's done? "It wasn't…"
"What you wanted?" Sienna finished for him, shaking her head. "I know. Believe me, I know. People, both faunus and human, are insidious creatures. Some more than most. They will form their own little societies and work towards ensuring they alone remain on top. All that happened was one group clashed against our own. But, this… Cinder Fall woman, she does not understand who exactly she has come up against. We are the White Fang and we will not tolerate such a blatant act of deception."
He looked up, surprised to still be alive. Adam had known of Sienna's temper. He had witnessed it first had following their capture of Peter Tarkus. Following his branding at the hands of the corrupt Schnee Dust Company executive, Sienna had personally trekked with Adam through the damnable winter-stricken terrain of Atlas to find and hunt down Tarkus within his very own mansion. Together, they had drawn out each and every one of his transgressions.
In that singular moment, that crowning moment of his life that had solidified his belief in the White Fang, Adam had believed Sienna to be an unstoppable force. His belief had twisted into an understanding that, eventually, he would come to blade against Sienna were they to ever develop conflicting ideologies.
Little had he known that they were the same the entire time. They had both been fighting for the same thing, only for Adam's own pride and vanity to blind him to the truth. Then Cinder had come and saw his weakness and used it to systematically reduce the White Fang into her own personal band of extremists.
"...Then what do we do?" Adam hesitantly spoke up, unsure what to make of the expression on Sienna's face. No longer was there a scowl aimed in his direction. Only a frightening inquisitiveness. The mark of the very same scheming mind which had taken over the White Fang from the misguiding clutches of the pacifistic Ghira Belladonna and revitalised their cause practically overnight. Yet, there was not a doubt within him that if he spoke up incorrectly all of that terrible insight would turn its hate onto Adam himself.
Sienna Khan was many things.
"Well, this little human has this master plan, does she not? Well. Let us make our own plan. The report I read indicated a certain… operation occurring in Vale soon, yes? One originating in the depths of Mountain Glenn? Tell me everything you know of this operation, along with everything you know about Cinder Fall and her co-conspirators."
For one, Sienna Khan was not to be denied her right to revenge. To liberate their people from the humans through the use of the very same methods which the humans had used to subjugate their kind in the past. Whether her ire be aimed at the humans as a whole or one particular human named Cinder Fall.
Perhaps it was possible that Sienna Khan could still save the faunus people, even after he had failed so utterly. One human at a time. Thus, for the first time ever since Blake's betrayal and subsequent disappearance inside the Forever Fall forest, Adam decided to follow his instincts instead of his pride…
and speak up.
A/N:
Thank you all for your continued support of my story. I was amazed to see the turnout in regards to the last chapter. It seems people really enjoyed it.
This chapter was quite fun for me. Writing Sienna Khan trash-talking Adam was a definite highlight, but getting to write an extended scene with Ruby and Kirakishou was my favourite part. Even with the looming developments of previous chapters starting to pile up, they were able to still relax in a relatively peaceful encounter.
Anywho, soon after this we'll be starting the next round of the Vytal Festival Tournament. Round three. Oh boy.
See you all next time! Please, let me know what you all thought! It's been very fun to see how people react to all the different butterflies that are occurring in this story.