There was a time and place for everything, and Sakurada Jun could very much attribute his own life to having been in a variety of terrible situations at completely inopportune moments time and time again, to the point where it had become rather amusing to predict.
"Wha-bu-bu–! What do you think you're doing with the chibi?! Get your hands off him, you hussy!"
"Hussy?!" Yang's hair lit up, rather literally, in a golden display of flames as her eyes bled red.
Even the Rozen Maiden, timeless as they were by the very nature of their design, seemed to possess an almost uncanny ability to behave exactly as a child would, seemingly forever locked into their namesakes. Each behaved to a varying degree of age and maturity with their own personalities, of course, yet none of which could ever be described as 'down-to-earth'. Even Shinku, his ever-so-proud Rozen Maiden and the first doll to set him down the path of fighting against Kirakishou and the Alice Game in favour of a peaceful resolution, possessed a certain fire within her, staunchly defending her ideals even through the use of force if deemed absolutely necessary.
Albeit, he doubted that such flame could ever physically manifest, as it had in the case of one Yang Xiao-Long. Though he supposed that the sudden interruption and subsequent insult held something to do with it, alongside with what appeared to be a rather aptly-given semblance.
"Calm down," Jun stressed as forcefully as he could, trying to take control of the situation before it could devolve into some wild brawl between doll and huntress. "Suiseiseki, please. There's nothing…" he coloured, unable to help himself, "untoward occurring. Yang here had offered merely to unlock my aura and in was in the process of doing such. It requires physical contact, you see."
He could see the moment that Suiseiseki noticed the tell-tale faint glow surrounding his body, supposedly a common occurrence after having one's aura unlocked. Supposedly, the colour of an individual's aura was unique to the person themselves, highlighting a distinct part of their personality. Jun wondered, privately, if the similarity between the colour of his own aura and the glow of a Rosa Mystica was significant in any way, highlighting his close involvement with the dolls. It certainly felt that way.
It was also rather reassuring, to know that the Rozen Maiden were tied so intimately to his own sense of self.
"Exactly!" Yang chimed in, clutching his shoulder tightly as she outright glared at the doll. "It's not like I would be doing anything like that with him anyway, he's just a kid!"
Jun blinked, feeling rather amused, as he watched the situation reverse once again and the anger return to Suiseiseki's face in full-force.
"What! He's not a kid! He's a wonderful person!" Suiseiseki shouted out, before blinking at the sudden silence suffusing the room as both Yang and Jun himself stared at the doll. She took a moment before colouring heavily as she realised what she had said. "N-Not that you'd have a chance with him anyway!"
Jun almost broke down in laughter, yet managed to restrain himself through sheer willpower alone. Through it was certainly a close call on his part.
He wasn't offended by Yang's statement, not at all interested in the older huntress in that way. It was an absurd notion, really. She was attractive, yes, if not one of the most beautiful women he had seen in his short life, but her association with Suigintou and her general personality left much to be desired in his opinion.
Hearing about Suiseiseki's apparent faith in him, however, would have been enough to fluster him in any other situation that one so… hilariously embarrassing for the green-clad gardener doll. Suiseiseki was, for the most part, extremely irritable and prone to random outbursts at the strangest of times, for the most peculiar reasons. However, somehow, he had managed to procure a friendship and subsequent contract with the strange gardener doll. One that, apparently, had led to the doll trying to fight for his heart like he was a fair maiden from some horrid rom-com or something.
Of all the things that Sakurada Jun had been led to experience upon entering the world of Remnant, this particular situation had most certainly not been a part of them.
"Can we please stop with the romantic undertones?" Yang huffed to herself exasperatedly, crossing her arms over her chest. "As I said, I was-"
Shinku then proceeded to just about tear the door frame off its hinges as the younger doll barged into the room in a far less graceful manner to Suiseiseki, eyes frantic as she desperately searched the room.
Bewildered eyes stared back, the leader of the bunch being Jun himself. He had never seen his first contracted Rozen Maiden doll behave in such a manner, even when neck-deep in the midst of a fight or argument with Suigintou. She had always remained remarkably level-headed, albeit slightly harsh depending on how far she was pushed by others. But never frantic.
Souseiseki wasn't too far behind, appearing beside Shinku in a flash of speed. Her weapon, the Gardener's Shears, made grossly huge by their own sudden change in scale, appeared to be clutched tightly amidst shaking hands.
It was his first doll that broke the silence, speaking in a shaky heated breath.
"Jun! What in the world did you do?!"
Once again, Jun found the attentions of several others focus upon him, this time without a shred of amusement to avail his mounting discomfort. But, for the life of him, he couldn't rightly understand the doll's reaction and thus answered honestly. Not that he would have lied to his beloved doll otherwise.
"Yang activated my aura," he exclaimed, gesturing idly to the rather put-off-looking blonde huntress. As Shinku's eyes refused to leave his own, even to glance at his own chosen perpetrator, Jun instead decided to take the blunt approach and push on the wellspring of energy that Yang had so graciously awoken inside his form.
Shinku all but rushed him, colliding into his body in frantic haste as she gripped his wrist, staring deep into him in the most peculiar manner. The luminous shine of the Rozen Maiden flickered around his wrist, tingling gently against his skin. No doubt, judging by the slight pain he was feeling, a response from his aura to the manic grip the diminutive Rozen Maiden held on his body.
Yang pulled away as the other Rozen Maiden approached, looking around wildly, disbelievingly, as they all focused on Jun's aura as if stricken by the sight of a shooting star in the night. He was only made acutely aware of Suigintou's arriving presence by the soft whispers ushered forth between the huntress who gifted him aura and the Rozen Maiden who had previously been their primary antagonist in the Alice Game.
For Shinku, Suiseiseki, Souseiseki, and even Jun himself, their attention remained entirely on each other.
"Your contract," Shinku eventually spoke, and her words were more than enough to silence whatever murmurs were trickling around the room, the gravity of the situation dawning upon the various occupants. Even Yang, to a degree, knew of the gravity of the contract after experiencing one herself. "We can feel your aura, Jun, your soul…" she muttered, slowly drawing her gaze away and looking towards Yang and Suigintou. "...Was it the same for you, Suigintou?"
The silver-haired Rozen Maiden doll nodded slowly, cheeks a shade darker than they were a moment ago. "...Yes. It is something about this 'aura', something that interacts strangely with the contract."
"And you didn't mention it before?" Yang snarked, crossing her arms.
Suigintou scoffed, put off. "Why mention something like that? We contracted. You're strong, I'm strong. That's all there is to it."
"You're wrong," Shinku shook her head, earning a heated glare from Suigintou that completely blew past the blonde Rozen Maiden clutching his wrist. "Suiseiseki, Souseiseki, as gardeners, can you understand the implications of a Master possessing a soul such as this?"
The two twin dolls nodded gravely. "We can."
"Hold on a moment," Yang waved her hands. "What are you all talking about? First, you all sense Jun getting his aura, now there's something wrong?"
Jun felt himself strangely agreeing with the lone huntress in the room, feeling decidedly left out of the conversation. Though it wasn't a first for him. The Rozen Maiden had been together, as allies or adversaries, for a great many years. Many subjects needed no introduction, unless some poor fool of an outsider happened to be intruding, as was the case at the current moment.
Shinku, thankfully, decided to speak up, voice soft as the Rozen Maiden trailed her hands down his arms and grasped his left hand- his contracted hand. "Rozen Maiden are bound by the contract- connected deeply to the one we call our Master-"
"Medium," Suigintou cut in, frowning. Yang, too, looked to be frowning, albeit her ire appeared to be directed at her contracted Rozen Maiden. Yikes. If the ire was about what Jun suspected it to be, he wasn't touching that issue no matter how much someone paid him.
"Or Medium in the case of Suigintou," Shinku allowed, some degree of annoyance creeping into her tone at being interrupted. "As I was saying, in essence the contract is what one would call a 'two-way street'. We assist those deemed our Master, as our Rosa Mystica rely on their energy in order to function."
"Our aura, you mean," Yang inferred, garnering a nod from the Fifth Rozen Maiden doll.
Souseiseki chose to continue the speech, stepping forwards and drawing attention to herself. She clutched her twin sister's hand tightly, as Suiseiseki followed alongside her. "...In this world, it has come to our understanding that humans and faunus have learned to influence their internal energy into awakening as 'aura'. From what we were able to sense, this appears to have a side-effect of substantially increasing the capacity of an individual's reserves, which may be utilised by a Rozen Maiden."
"...So we're just more efficient batteries for Rozen Maiden if our aura is unlocked?" Yang snarked, an amused smirk growing on her doll's face at the thought. "Okay. Great. But what's the point of all your surprise? So what?"
This time, Suiseiseki spoke up, and her voice was noticeably subdued. "You all are far more than just batteries. The strength of a person is more than some subjective number, of some degree of how 'big' their soul, or aura, happens to be. It changes everything about them. Their potential, their abilities, their hearts. Our Master already possessed a strong sense of self, a rare individual capable of contracting with multiple Rozen Maiden without hassle. By activating his aura and enhancing his latent potential… the effects may be difficult to interpret, and may uniquely affect those bonded to him."
Jun felt the strangest blush creep upon his cheeks at the attention.
"Consequently," Shinku explained, "those Rozen Maiden connected to Masters or Mediums possessing an awakened aura would be able to draw out far more energy without fear of impacting their contractor, allowing for more fierce attacks during battle or grander displays of the more esoteric abilities, such as those possessed by Suiseiseki and Souseiseki."
"...So you all could get stronger in your own separate ways, just from Jun having an aura?" Yang clarified.
"Essentially, yes," Shinku agreed. "However, such a development would be true for Kirakishou as well. For instance, her Master, your sister, also possesses an awakened aura."
"So Kirakishou would be empowered by Rubes having aura?"
"Not just Kirakishou's Master," Suigintou realised, crimson eyes wide in understanding. "Kirakishou functions by capturing others in her Palace of Beginnings and feeding on their energy in order to corporealise her powers. If those captured by Kirakishou possessed an activated aura at the time of their capture, it stands to reason that Kirakishou would be able to drain a far more significant amount of energy than she had been with the others."
Yang paled drastically. "...And, now that she's swallowed up a whole Kingdom?"
"The effect would be the same, multiplied by however many aura-activated individuals lay resting within her N-Field."
"Ugh! How long is this going to take?!" Ruby puffed out her cheeks as she complained aloud, munching down on a punnet of strawberries. They had been hiding out in some long-and-forgotten building carved into the cliff-side of Kuchinashi for what felt like ages now. Kirakishou's N-Field had long since subsumed their temporary lodging into a twisted crystalline parallel, visible only once one stepped into the building itself and neared the edge of the subsumed spacial area.
Kirakishou had, promptly, taken the opportunity to explore her newfound ability to materialise the N-Field en-masse, creating vast memoryscapes bound in a physical space. The Rozen Maiden had clearly been enjoying the chance to play with her powers, as had Ruby to a degree, yet it had still not been enough to detract her from the onset of time.
Summer had been insistent that they lay low, her semblance alerting her to danger almost every half-hour for the past six days. While Ruby wasn't nearly crazy enough, or Yang enough, to venture outside into the shady underground anyway, being cooped up inside a long-stolen memory waiting for some blasted mob boss to do her damn job was grating on her something fierce.
How in the world could an information broker be so slow? If the word of Lil' Miss Malachite rang true and Raven Branwen was indeed some big-shot bandit queen or whatever, shouldn't be it relatively simple to find their current encampment? Bandits weren't exactly known for being stealthy. Oum, their entire business revolved around hunting down unsuspecting foes and stealing their stuff. Certainly, somebody with a score to settle had to know where the bandits were currently residing.
Until such a time as Lil' Miss Malachite received word, however, they were stuck in waiting. Oddly enough, it had been a lot more exciting than Ruby had first anticipated, on account of Kirakishou's powers providing ample opportunities to keep herself entertained as time passed. Strange opportunities, but opportunities nonetheless.
Ruby, Kirakishou, and Summer were currently exploring the various memories of those bound within the Palace of Beginnings, Kirakishou's N-Field shaping the interior of their temporary lodging into small sections of various memories. So far, Summer and Kirakishou were off exploring other memories while Ruby found herself content to lounge about in an illusionary copy of a strawberry farm a civilian had worked at when they were younger.
It was with no degree of hesitation that Ruby could confirm the civilian had grown some truly impressive crops in their past. Due in part to the skill demonstrated by Kirakishou twisting her N-Field, the crops were indeed edible, but they offered no sustenance. They were little more than semi-solid illusions giving the idea of a long-ago taste once savoured.
As such, while Ruby had enjoyed occasionally snacking on delicious illusionary strawberries, the highlight of her time in Kuchinashi had been when Summer and Kirakishou had purchased some fresh food from a bakery. Food that was far superior in taste to the rations she had been consuming during their long trek from Vale through to Kuchinashi. She had been certain to voice her thanks to the group the first chance she got, the memory of her doll's delighted smile being a memory she would treasure for a long time.
Every time Summer went out to gather rations throughout the week and promptly returned with varying fruits, vegetables, and other items, Ruby found her mind flashing back to that same delighted little smile of her beloved doll.
One day, perhaps when they left Kuchinashi, Ruby would cook for her doll. Would Kirakishou smile for her, then? Ah~ She was so excited to give it a shot!
After the hassle with Lil' Miss Malachite, bartering for information on Raven Branwen through the use of the woman's captured twin daughters, Ruby had been quick to leave the dingy bar and find someplace where she could truly chow down on some tasty fresh baked goods before they cooled down.
She had torn through their supplies at a breakneck pace the moment they found a place to hunker down, crumbs flying about everywhere. It was all just so yummy!
The doll had giggled at her adorably. Ruby had pounced. Her Mother had been thrown somewhere else in the N-Field by a bashful doll when Ruby grew a bit too adventurous, the room quite literally reshaped in the blink of an eye to provide some manner of privacy for the two girls.
Ruby could attest to the fact that there weren't any looks quite like the one her Mother gave her after they relocated Summer within the N-Field, torn between equal parts amusement at her behaviour, bafflement at her sudden departure, and incredulity at being shunted into a random strawberry field that looked to be from some old farm in an early Menagerie if all the faunus walking around was any indication.
The faunus weren't actually there, of course, being fleeting images much the same as a memory or dream, Kirakishou's manifestation power not working in 'that way' when Ruby had mistakenly come to the realisation of Kirakishou essentially recreating life. Instead, the doll merely afforded a sizeable chunk of her aura to fuel the physical illusion of certain objects, while utilising far smaller reserves to create moving images of life, or mimic other sensations.
It was what allowed Ruby to taste and experience strawberries, without actually gaining any satiation from them.
The metaphysics of which would, likely, be quite interesting to analyse were she in any way inclined to labour about assessing a reality-warping magical doll powered by an entire Kingdom. Which, to say, was not something that struck her as a decent activity to do while waiting for a mob boss to hunt down the location of her sister's bandit Mother.
Instead, Ruby had been content to laze about in the memories of Kirakishou's little seedlings for the better part of a week. At this moment, she'd decided to hang out in the very same strawberry field that Kirakishou had originally thrown Summer into during Ruby's frenzied rendezvous.
"Come on, you little slowpoke, are you really still laying about inside this silly memory?" Kirakishou's teasing voice called out to her, the doll skipping through a heavy plantation of strawberries with little regard, eye remaining firmly affixed on her prone form on the ground.
With a pout, she pushed herself upwards into a sitting position and threw away the strawberry nubs that had remained from her latest binge. They vanished before they could hit the ground, dispelled by her Rozen Maiden. "I'm not slow!" she crossed her arms, looking away. "I just really like these strawberries, okay?"
Kirakishou giggled, collapsing to the ground next to Ruby without an ounce of hesitation, her pristine white ruffled dress remaining impossibly immaculate in the face of a dirty farm floor. "Perhaps, we shall venture out into the world and discover this farm ourselves someday?" the blonde Rozen Maiden suggested wistfully. "From what your doll can understand from the memories of this person, the farm is still operated by his family in Menagerie to this day. What would it look like today, I wonder?"
She smiled at the idea. That would be rather nice, if they weren't hunting Raven Branwen to capture her memories of Silver-Eyes so that Ruby could actually use her newfound powers to any useful extent beyond casually destroying anything that annoys her.
Plus it was rather cute that Kirakishou was suggesting it, considering neither she nor Summer actually needed to consume any food, so the idea of visiting a strawberry farm was almost entirely pointless. Though, it didn't take a genius to recognise that Kirakishou was only interested in visiting the farm to be there alongside Ruby. It would almost be like a date.
Sure, Rozen Maiden didn't need to eat, but they could still enjoy food. She could definitely remember Kirakishou voicing a desire to try out Ruby's cooking someday. Perhaps Ruby could teach Kirakishou to enjoy the same foods she did? Then they could…-
Ah. But there was just so much going on. So much to do. So much in the way. But she really did want to cook for Kirakishou someday! Just…
"Perhaps we'll put that thought on the back-burner until I get used to my powers, yeah?" Ruby smiled awkwardly, gesturing idly to the side as she brushed her hands against the vast growth of strawberries. "...If it wasn't for, um, you know, the fact that this whole place is an illusionary world, I think my flames would have turned it all to stone by now."
The doll pouted. "...You would turn my world to stone?" she asked, sounding horribly dejected.
Ruby was quick to assure her otherwise. "No! No! That's not what I meant!" she waved her hands frantically. "Just… you know what I said about my flames… they're hard to control. It's almost like my power wants to fight. If I don't, it gets, well, antsy."
She didn't mean to imply that she would harm her doll in any way. Kirakishou meant everything to her, alongside Summer Rose. If anything happened to either of them because of her stupid powers, then Ruby would never be able to forgive herself. It's just that her powers were pretty unstable at the moment, and she wasn't certain she could stop them from lashing out and turning everything to stone.
"I understand," Kirakishou smiled at her consolingly. "I know that my Master would never harm me. She loves me."
"You're damn right I do," Ruby sniffled, pulling the doll close and hugging her tight to her chest. She could feel the Rozen Maiden's jointed arms slowly encircle her back. "So stop thinking that I'd ever hurt you or your N-Field in purpose, okay buster?"
The doll smiled at her, before breaking into giggles. "...Every memory we've been through, some from decades ago, and not a single soul has used the phrase 'buster' except for you and Summer Rose."
Ruby swatted her arm, cheeks red, but she decidedly refused to detach from the doll's embrace. Even if she was embarrassed beyond belief at being caught by the doll. She must have read that word in some old storybook years ago and the phrase had stuck, along with a dozen other half-forgotten words that probably hadn't been used in common speech for a few hundred years. It was just too funny to her to call someone an insult that was so old that nobody knew about it anymore.
The fact that her Rozen Maiden, a doll that had been confined to the N-Field for who-knows how long, as to have developed her own way of speaking, has caught Ruby's own slip up was absurd. And very embarrassing!
"Oh shush, you. You're the one that goes on about roses and dolls all the time!"
Kirakishou giggled, playfully pecking her cheek, clearly having anticipated such a response from Ruby. "And there's nothing wrong with roses and dolls, yes?"
She blushed at the particular look the rose-themed doll was giving her, feeling a surge of warmth suffuse her body. "R-Right…" she shook her head, deciding the change the subject instead of trying to one-up the doll that had captured her heart. "But, um, not that I'm annoyed or whatever, but what are you doing here? I thought you were exploring other memories."
Kirakishou shrugged, unconcerned. "Ah~ That's all done for now, Master. I can only look through so many memories in this confined space, without overriding yours or Summer's current lodgings. And we wouldn't want to encroach out of this area of Kuchinashi and risk alerting the other denizens of the town. Even if the capture of others gives me more energy for my precious field, the attention would be disadvantageous at the moment."
She rolled her eyes, uncaring at the idea despite understanding the warnings. Startling some random cutthroat savages with a bunch of pretty teal crystals was the least of her concerns at the moment. Lil' Miss Malachite and her ilk had taken their pretty time tracking down Raven Branwen and her group of bandits. It may even be for the best if they did venture outwards. Perhaps a show of force would motivate them to work faster? Or, as Kirakishou said, if worst came to worst her doll would merely gain some more additions to her seedbed.
After a moment, she discarded the idea. They were already notorious in Atlas after the new General had put a bounty on their heads for what happened in Vale (sorry-not-sorry General Ironwood) and it probably wasn't worth it to draw attention to themselves. Despite how much pleasure Ruby would take in finally kicking those bandits into gear.
Though it would be fun to take some time and explore more memories. Ruby wondered if the Rozen Maiden had found any interesting memories during her search. She was getting a little bit tired of munching on strawberries. Hmmm. Perhaps Kirakishou had captured that old shopkeeper guy from Vale and Ruby could get to relive fighting off Torchwick's men again? That would be fun.
"And how's Mom going?" Ruby asked, curious, deciding to ask about something important instead. She could always practice fighting once they left Kuchinashi. Whether they be fighting grimm or bandits, it didn't particularly matter to her power anymore. Plus she was kinda morbidly curious as to what a stone statue of a person would look like, compared to that of a grimm.
Kirakishou gave her a happy smile, pleased at her question about Summer. "Wonderful, Master. Thanks to your strong childhood memories, I was able to successfully recreate several scenes for Summer to view at her leisure. Your doll believes that Summer was quite proud of your choice of huntress weapon, complimenting your forging etiquette during the process and your adherence to safety around dangerous materials."
Horribly embarrassed, Ruby found herself unable to properly speak. That was what Summer had chosen to do during their time off? Watching memories of Ruby's childhood while keeping an alert for crooks with her semblance? She had thought that Summer was just chilling in some recreation of their family home or something. Though she supposed that it was probably for the best. Summer has certainly missed…
...Oum, she really has missed out on a lot of Ruby's life, huh?
Warmth suffused her eyes as she continued to dwell on the subject. Summer Rose had been through so much, suffered so much, and lost core parts of her, all at the expense of the very same man that Ruby Rose had studied under and idolised for a good portion of her life. Headmaster Ozpin had, ultimately, been the one to carve Summer Rose out of Ruby's life. And he had done so to the point where Summer Rose, even though Kirakishou's overwhelming powers, had only been able to exist as a collection of fragmented memories. Lost to time.
She wondered, then, how it would feel for such a person to walk the world again and experience how much time had passed since her death, to see just how many memories had been forged without her. How would she feel? Ruby had lost Summer when she was very young, and, thus, Summer had lost most of Ruby's childhood.
Birthdays, gone. Silly antics, gone. Her first weapon forging, gone. Her first adult tooth, gone. Her first day at school, gone. Gone gone gone.
Now that she thought about it, Ruby really wondered if deciding to view all of those memories was such a stretch of the imagination. Who wouldn't want to learn about the one they loved if they had the opportunity? To learn what had happened to their daughter?
"I'm…" Ruby sniffed, as Kirakishou dutifully wiped her eyes for her. "...I want to see her. Can you take me to Summer, please?"
Kirakishou looked to have a reply on the tip of her tongue, only to pause for a moment longer than directly comfortable, and eventually nodded with a pleasant smile. The doll moved to stand up, pulling Ruby along with her until they were stood upright in the middle of the strawberry field. She took a moment to survey the lush field swaying in a breeze that wasn't there, before Kirakishou simply waved her hands in dismissal and a sea of crystalline shapes and colours swam by her vision.
She clutched the doll's hand desperately, fighting a most peculiar sensation of shifting feelings and thoughts, wondering just how much of the N-Field Kirakishou had managed to cram into their small Kuchinashi lodging. As far as she had been able to decipher from their conversation, Kirakishou had squeezed in three separate spaces; Summer's viewing room, Ruby's strawberry grove, and her own little area for searching memories.
It was, in her mind, quite a lot to squeeze into what was essentially just a broken-down little home on the outskirts of a town filled with crazed bandits and frantic civilians fallen on rough times.
Eventually, colours and shapes slowed down into a familiar crystalline teal hodgepodge, the two young girls coming to land in what looked to be a recreation of some sort of underground town. Wait-
"Mountain Glenn," Kirakishou spoke for her, the doll gesturing over to the crystalline buildings dotting the landscape, illuminated by their very walls and floors. "Like your strawberry grove, it's not actually as large as it seems. Most of the buildings are merely images painted on a finite landscape- inaccessible without drawing on more space and removing that which has passed us."
Huh. Mountain Glenn. It was rather odd to witness the underground dwelling after Team RWBY had spent so much time obsessing about hunting down a potential connection between Roman Torchwick and the White Fang hypothetically located in this very same area. Now, here she was, walking through the forgotten city without a care in the world. Or, at least, an illusionary duplicate of Mountain Glenn brought into the world on a whim.
"Why is Mom camping around here?" Ruby inquired aloud, curious. Were it not for her studies, she wouldn't have even known about Mountain Glenn even having an underground section, let alone one that could have potentially harboured the White Fang cell that Team RWBY had been hunting at the time. Come to think of it, there was probably a fair chance that Team RWBY would have walked right over the extremist group's main encampment and been none the wiser.
Her doll gave a little hum, shrugging her shoulders as she pulled Ruby along through the streets. She knew the whole walk was all for show, as Kirakishou couldn't possibly fit a whole street into a home. She probably just wanted to talk or something.
Though, in hindsight, it was probably for the best that they didn't just casually drop in right next to Summer Rose. With her semblance cranked up in search of any threats, having reality shifted right next to her would probably be a bit surprising for Summer Rose.
"I'm not entirely certain why Summer chose this location amidst countless other opportunities," Kirakishou spoke in a tone that spoke leagues of how little she was interested in Summer's actions. "We ventured through a sizeable portion of memories together until Summer decided to stay here for a while longer and 'catch up' on your life, so to speak. Why Summer chose this particular venue over my idea is anyone's guess."
Ruby felt the corners of her lips curl up into a weird sort of smile at the dejection that had entered Kirakishou's tone at the end. "And what was your idea?"
"My Palace of Beginnings," Kirakishou harrumphed, sounding put out as she ranted to herself. It was really cute. "I have a reading room just for this, freshly redecorated, and still she decides on spending her time in some ruined empty city. She reminds me of Suigintou at times."
Ruby blinked, amusement vanishing as she felt her worry surge at the sudden name-dropping of Kirakishou's eldest sister. "What does Suigintou have to do with it?"
"...Her N-Field looks similar to this. Broken buildings, an empty city filled with regret. There's no form or function, merely an image without any purpose but to depress those who view it. The idea alone is abhorrent. I don't like it."
Ruby curled her lips, but didn't respond. It didn't take a genius socialite like her own sister to know that the real reason that Kirakishou was unhappy about Summer's choice wasn't because of the ugly city, but because it reminded her of Suigintou. To be reminded of the group of dolls, her own siblings, that had ruined everything for Kirakishou in the past, must have been a horrible feeling.
Plus, well, she kinda understood Kirakishou's viewpoint on Suigintou's N-Field anyway. At least Kirakishou's Palace of Beginnings provided aura for growth. What did Suigintou's N-Field do? What was the purpose? Probably something stupid, something far uglier too.
"Well, you won't have to see much of it, right," Ruby spoke, trying to cheer up her doll as she clutched Kirakishou's hand tightly. "Once we get Summer, perhaps we can explore another memory together, hmm? All three of us?"
The smile that Kirakishou sent her way was nothing less than heartwarming. A bright, radiant little thing that encapsulated everything that Ruby stood for. Kirakishou deserved to smile, and Ruby felt like she was okay in saying that the doll should smile for her.
Partners made each other happy, and supported each other. They would rise together.
"I would like that, Ruby, I would…" Kirakishou trailed off, biting her lip and looking decidedly uncertain about continuing. It was a remarkably human action for a doll that hadn't even had an artificial body for most of her life. "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but…"
Oh?
"Tell me, please."
"...Lil' Miss Malachite has discovered where Raven Branwen is currently located. Once we complete our end of the deal and hand over her other daughter, we shall have the location. Then, we can delve into Raven's memories for training and you'll be free to venture out into the world without risk."
"That's wonderful!" Ruby grinned, unable to contain herself as she yanked the doll into her embrace and hugged her excitedly, dancing on the spot and drawing the Rozen Maiden along with her. Kirakishou, for her part, simply giggled and followed along, clutching her tightly.
"It is, yes," Kirakishou eventually managed to respond when Ruby finished doing her little dance and set the doll back down. "Your doll had originally planned on telling you immediately and gathering your Mother, but she found herself sidetracked when she discovered you in the strawberry memory."
She pouted, stomping her foot on the illusionary ground as she crossed her arms. "There's nothing wrong with strawberries!" Ruby whined, cheeks warm in embarrassment.
"Of course," Kirakishou 'agreed' with her, giggling girlishly and shaking her head.
"But still~" Ruby hummed, dropping her pout as she grabbed the Rozen Maiden's hand and the two resumed their trek through the illusionary underground Mountain Glenn expansion. "Jokes aside, I'm honestly really glad that Lil' Miss Malachite is all done hunting down Raven Branwen. It'll be nice to be out on the open road again."
Kirakishou turned to look at her, a tiny smile on her lips. "Mm, yes. Ever since you were a little girl, you have always been the adventurous one. Not even several years of fighting grimm could kick that habit from you."
"Wha- Y-You were viewing my memories?!" Ruby accused, cheeks turning a vibrant cherry red as the doll inadvertently revealed something incredibly embarrassing for the poor trainee huntress.
Her partner merely blinked at her, baffled, as they continued to walk through the city of Mountain Glen. "Of course, Master. I wish to learn about you. Is that so wrong?"
"N-No, of course not…" she answered, slightly mollified by the realisation of her doll's innocent question. "I was just a bit surprised, is all. Your powers are a little bit hard for me to wrap my head around, ya'know."
"Hmmm, perhaps they are from an outside perspective?" the doll mused, considering the thought. Eventually, Kirakishou shrugged and smiled, having apparently reached a conclusion. "Ah~ But it doesn't matter what people think about them. If you're confused, I'll help you understand. If you're happy, I'll continue using them. If you're not happy, then I'll do everything in my power to make you smile."
Ruby's cheeks warmed and she looked away from the doll, feeling her heart hammering wildly in her chest. Was this what it was like to be in love?
"We're here," Kirakishou's voice pulled Ruby out of her internal musings, the doll coming to a stop and inadvertently forcing Ruby to stop alongside her.
Leagues ahead, Ruby could spot a mass of teal crystal looking decidedly out-of-place amidst the desolate, failed Mountain Glenn lodgings. The crystals seemed to bloom outwards around a central pillar-like figure, a large stamen surrounded by blooming crystalline leaves, glowing brightly and illuminating a vast area.
Ruby blinked. Apparently, the whole rose motif thing was really starting to get to her. She was seeing roses everywhere.
"Mom's inside?"
Kirakishou nodded, a proud smile on her face as she turned to Ruby with a look akin to those she would give her Dad or Uncle Qrow when telling them about something cool she did. "Summer may have requested the memory of Mountain Glenn for her surroundings, but the option of her eventual lodging was left to me. Do you like it, Master?"
She smiled, compelled by a sudden urge to peck her lover on her cheek. When she pulled back, Kirakishou was delightfully preening at the attention. "...I love it, Kira. Let's go inside."
With a brisk pace reminiscent of Zwei rushing to the door to startle the poor postman on a late Saturday afternoon, Kirakishou pulled her along to the central crystalline spire, the doll reaching forward to place her free ball-jointed hand on the surface of the crystal. A rectangular section of crystal revealed itself, sinking deep into the crystal in a manner similar to some of the funkier doors Ruby had seen on weird sci-fi shows.
"...Really, you went for the 'secret door melds into the wall' thing?" Ruby deadpanned.
The doll blushed, rosy artificial cheeks making themselves known to Ruby's greedy eyes. "Oh, shush, Master. We all have our little pleasures."
She rolled her eyes. Ruby used to say such a thing about her weapon tinkering when she was first starting out on her path to become a huntress. Now, Crescent Rose had been through more iterations and revisions than most secret Atlesian research projects. Well, probably. Not like she really had many frames of reference. But, still. She had done a lot of revisions to Crescent Rose over the years.
So, Ruby knew with a high degree of accuracy that her doll just casually creating fancy scenes out of her N-Field was less of a 'little pleasure' and more the spark of an interior designer doing what they do best. And her little interior designer could warp reality with a thought.
...Huh. There's a business opportunity right there. Eh. She'll talk about it later. Not like they really needed boatloads of lien right about now. There were more important things to deal with.
Strafing past her embarrassed blonde doll, Ruby moved into what looked to be a crystalline living room pulled straight out of Ruby's family home in Patch. As was the norm for Kirakishou's N-Field shenanigans, the entirety of the room appeared to be textured out of her signature teal-green crystals, which resonated with their own unique vaguely-prismatic sheen, giving off a light that penetrated the entire room. Oddly enough, there was a strange L-shaped sofa in the centre of the room that Ruby could only vaguely remember having been situated in the living room when she was still a toddler.
Summer was sitting on the sofa, looking up at a large wall-mounted screen that rapidly flicked images by at a breakneck pace, far too fast for her poor eyes to discern. Or, suffice to say, Summer had been sitting on the sofa, as her Mother had shrieked in surprise at their entrance and rocketed up out of the sofa to stare at them with wide eyes, before relaxing when Summer recognised who exactly was standing before her.
"Dust!" Summer breathed, clutching her chest. "Don't startle me like that, you two!"
Ruby giggled, detaching from Kirakishou after a moment's hesitation to race forward and clutch her Mother in a tight hug that was swiftly returned, the elder huntress pulling her up and spinning her around as Ruby giggled happily.
"Looks like someone missed me!" Summer teased when she set Ruby back down.
Normally she wouldn't hesitate to deny the insinuation, being a big girl thank-you-very-much, but Ruby instead found herself far too happy to care about the teasing right about now. She just couldn't get over the feeling of seeing her Mother again, and she doubted that she'd ever normalise to the situation. Having Summer back in her life was something that Ruby had yearned for, well, probably since the day Summer disappeared in the first place.
"Maybe just a little," Ruby allowed, as if her entire visit to Summer hadn't been due to almost tearing up just thinking about Summer's ordeal. "...But, seriously, paranoid much? We're deep in Kirakishou's N-Field. We're safe here."
Summer leveled a brief, neigh-inscrutable glance towards a softly smiling Kirakishou, before smiling back down at Ruby and ruffling her hair. "It always pays to be certain, little owl. Besides, with my semblance, it's not like I have much of a choice."
Ruby allowed herself a brief moment of contentment at the feeling of Summer holding onto her, before scrunching up her lips in a pout and pushing the woman off her. Though, judging by the knowing giggles from both dolls, Ruby had fooled neither Summer nor Kirakishou. They both were likely well aware of how much she enjoyed physical affection from the two dolls.
In regards to Summer's semblance, however, she could understand how Summer would be feeling. Over the years, Ruby had listened to what felt like hundreds of stories from Dad about all the times he'd accidentally startled Summer because of her semblance. And, of course, some of the times when he'd done it on purpose just to mess with her.
Enhanced sensory perception and constitution were all well and good in a battlefield scenario, but take Summer outside of her environment and such blessings become more akin to a curse. The world simply hadn't been made for hypersensitive individuals.
Considering how Summer had died, trapped inside a cave surrounded by thousands of subterranean grimm, her senses would have gone into overdrive. Truly, Headmaster Ozpin had been a cruel fellow indeed to have come up with such a torturous plan. It horrified her to know that she had once idolised the man, even studied under him. She was very glad to know that the monster behind her Mother's disappearance and death was now, also, dead.
"Master? Your flames…"
Blinking, she tore herself back into the moment, silver flames greeting her, circling her body in a tight violent frenzy of movement. Summer had decidedly backed away, gazing at her with wide, non-judgemental eyes. Kirakishou, however, her hands were gripped together in worry and the doll's lone slit amber eye reflected her concern at the sight.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to relax. Ozpin's dead. Mom's here. Kirakishou's here. I'm loved. It's okay. I'm okay.
Steadily, the flames dissipated, and the tension drained from the room.
"...Tough day?" Summer murmured innocently, breaking the silence as Ruby let out a weak chortle.
"Sorry. Just… thinking about everything… I'm glad that you're here, Mom, and that… the one who hurt you is dead."
Summer nodded slowly, though her overall expression gained a hard edge at the reminder. Kirakishou, meanwhile, looked towards the two Roses and relaxed, seemingly content now that Ruby had calmed herself down.
"Of course, it's only natural to be reminded of him," Summer allowed herself to agree. She gestured to the L-shaped couch, invitation clear. "Perhaps, it would be best if we moved on?"
Ruby was quick to burst over to the couch and plop down in a flurry of silver petals, grinning. Kirakishou was beside her in an instant, having decided to one-up her Master and simply will herself over in a blatant display of her control over the surrounding N-Field. Summer rolled her eyes at the display and simply sat down on the couch without any flashy display, like a civilised person.
"Soooooo~" Ruby trailed along, allowing a smile to flourish, "I heard from Kirakishou that you were looking over my history, hey?"
Summer's face immediately blossomed into a crimson hue, cementing where exactly Ruby had gotten her embarrassing displays from in the family tree. "Kira! I told you not to tell her!"
The Rozen Maiden was unrepentant, shrugging as she nuzzled close to Ruby and rubbed her cheek against the trainee huntress' shoulder like a particularly satisfied and lazy feline. "I told her about Lil' Miss Malachite, too."
"Kira!" Summer admonished, before sighing and pouting. "...I wanted to keep a low profile…"
Ruby withheld the urge to giggle at the display, as the two dolls rarely if ever interacted with each other while Ruby was present. However, the gravity of what was at stake was more than enough to tide her amusement for the moment, as she reminded her Mother. "...With my flames, Mom, I don't really think we have the ability to wait much longer. They're getting antsy. Oum, I'm getting antsy."
"...Yes, of course, my apologies," her Mother conceded. "I can understand your feelings, Ruby. However, unfortunately, the nature of a huntress is not always one filled with excitement. There may be times in which you may be called to wait for a prolonged period of time before acting."
Nodding along with the impromptu lesson from Summer, Ruby could see what she was implying with her words. Living with a Father who was also her teacher in Patch had taught her the benefit of listening to parental guidance when offered. "Of course. I'm sorry. It's just… difficult to control these flames without proper training. Knowing that the memories are just right there for the taking is…" she trailed off, unable to put her thoughts into words.
"Vexing?" Kirakishou supplied with a giggle. "Now you know how it feels, Master. Looking out at so many roses, watching them wither without nourishment, without guidance, it is the bane of many."
Privately, Ruby wondered to her morbid curiosity just how many little roses Kirakishou had touched with her N-Field. Outside of influencing Ruby herself, that much had been beyond obvious, Ruby hadn't really seen Kirakishou's guidance offered to any others. Although, with her understanding of Kirakishou's reading room for viewing the world through her N-Field, she could understand what it would be like to look out into a world not her own and watch it pass by, unable to act.
Now that the N-Field had claimed Vale and the Palace of Beginnings had risen in its place, she hoped that those sleeping inside were well cared for, dreaming their beautiful dreams. If it was anything like her own adventures in the N-Field, Ruby could imagine it would be really fun!
"While vexing it may be at times," Summer continued, "do not allow your desires to control you, Ruby. Patience can oftentimes solve a lot more problems than simply running into a fight and hoping for the best."
"I understand, I'll… try and keep calm for a little while longer," Ruby bowed her head, forcefully pushing back the instinctual urge to pout at what sounded like a chastisement in her mind. She knew that Summer was only trying to help her grow to be a better person.
"Good," Summer moved forward to embrace Ruby softly, ruffling her hair with a proud smile flourishing on her face. "Besides, privately I can agree that we've all been cooped up in the N-Field for a little too long. Now that Lil' Miss Malachite has been successful in locating Raven Branwen, we can pay my dear old teammate a visit."
Ruby grinned excitedly, looking forward to meeting Yang's Mother and promptly kicking her butt to learn how to harness her Silver-Eyes and, quite possibly, figure out the whole 'Silver-Eyed Maiden' thing as well.
"...Random question," Ruby spoke up, having had a peculiar thought. "...How'd you find out about Lil' Miss Malachite's progress if you've been inside the N-Field the entire time? Was it on one of your trips to get supplies?"
"Ah, that would actually be my doing, Master," Kirakishou stepped forwards with her hands curled behind her back, swaying about with a mischievous little grin curling on her lips. "If you would be so kind as to direct your focus upwards?"
Ruby promptly did as requested and glanced up.
Instead of a flat surface greeting her eyes, Ruby found a large protrusion of crystal that was shaped almost like a stalactite growing downwards from the ceiling, slightly larger in width and height than Ruby herself. It was translucent, holding a figure inside.
A figure she recognised.
"...Pyrrha?"
Kirakishou smiled happily. "She was the messenger for Spider, come to tell us that Raven Branwen has been successfully located. When your doll recognised her, she decided to bring her inside the N-Field to rest as a precious little seedling. Her memories had been a delight to explore."
Ruby stared at the crystalline display, idly wondering if such a display could be described as a chandelier if it contained only a single source of light, or if it was just more akin to a giant funky candle. No. That didn't work either. Perhaps 'stalactite' was the appropriate phrase to use? Or, was it 'stalagmite'? Does that terminology still work for crystals?
Eh. It didn't matter. Weird that Pyrrha was the messenger for Spider, though.
"...Neat. So, are we going now?"