Chapter 7
The quartet of Aqua, Qrow, Ruby, and Cinder were quickly approaching the sanctuary that was the Xiao Long/Rose household when the front door suddenly flew open. Aqua and Qrow instantly tensed, not quite sure what to expect. The two of them relaxed, though, when they noticed the small yellow blur sprint out of the open door. The blonde girl tackled Ruby in a hug so hard that the red girl for once was the one that fell over.
"RUBY!" Yang yelled, tears of joy streaming down her face, snuggling her sister.
"Yaaaaang," Ruby whined. "You're embarrassing me."
"Too bad!" Yang said. "You worried us, so you get embarrassed by my love!"
"Um?" Cinder asked, looking at the sisters in confusion. Aqua and Qrow couldn't help but laugh at the adorable scene.
"That's Ruby's sister, Yang," Aqua explained between giggles.
"That's her sister?" Cinder asked.
"Yup," Qrow said. "I know, they don't look alike. Trust me, they get that a lot."
"Yeah," the black-haired girl said.
"Yang, let go!" Ruby yelled, now full on struggling to get out of her sister's vice-like grip.
"Never!" The older sister declared, causing the two adults to laugh again, this time with Cinder finally joining in. The group heard loud footsteps approaching and looked to see Taiyang running towards the girls, scooping them both up into a huge hug and lifting them up, tears streaming down his face.
"Ruby!" he cried. "I'm so happy you're safe!"
"Daddy!" Ruby yelled excitedly. Aqua, Qrow, and Cinder could only smile at the incredibly heartwarming scene. Taiyang looked up at the two adults, the tears still running down his face.
"Thank you," he said. "Thank you both so much."
"You don't have to thank me," Aqua said.
"What did I tell you about letting us thank you, Wonder Woman?" Qrow asked.
"He really doesn't have to this time, though," she said with a pout. "What else was I going to do? Just leave her there? Of course not." Qrow simply smiled at her, causing her to blush a little bit. "A-Anyway," Aqua said, desperate to change the subject, "We brought someone else with us." Taiyang raised an eyebrow when she said this, before noticing the black-haired girl standing next to Aqua.
"Who's that?" Yang asked, still in her father's embrace.
"I'm—" Cinder tried to say.
"That's Cindy!" Ruby said excitedly. "She's my new friend!"
"Cindy?" Taiyang asked.
"It's Cinder, actually," the black-haired said in irritation. "Cinder Fall."
"Well, nice to meet ya, Cindy!" Yang said, causing the older girl to glare at her. "I'm Yang, Ruby's big sister!"
"Where did she come from?" Taiyang asked, and from the sound of his voice, he was clearly dreading the answer.
"She was at Raven's camp," Aqua said sadly. Taiyang looked at the girl in sympathy.
"She had her captive for a month," Qrow said.
"My mom had her?" Yang asked. Cinder's eyes shot wide open, glaring right at Yang.
"She was your mother?" She asked angrily. "The woman that kept me in a cage for a month was your mother?" She then looked at Taiyang. "You're her family?!"
"No," Qrow said. "We're not her family. Not anymore. She lost the right to call herself family after what she pulled today." Cinder didn't seem to relax after hearing those words. Taiyang finally put his daughters down and approached the older girl, reaching his hand towards her. She flinched, as if she expected to be hit, which instantly worried Aqua, but Taiyang placed a supporting hand on her shoulder.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he said to her. "Raven has always been really complicated. We actually haven't seen her in seven years. So imagine our surprise when she shows up like this." He chuckled at that last part, but there was no humor in it. "She left right after Yang was born, but I don't think any of us were willing to believe that she had really fallen that far." He looked down at the ground sadly.
"But how can Ruby and Yang be sisters then?" Cinder asked. "Raven left after Yang was born."
"They have different mothers," Qrow said. "Ruby's mom was named Summer." Aqua noticed the way Yang visibly tensed after Qrow said that. She walked up to the blonde girl and placed a hand on her shoulder. She noticed that she was trembling. Evidently, talking about her missing mother was having an effect on her.
"Are you OK?" she asked.
"I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly. Aqua looked down at her sadly. The men were still talking to Cinder, so it fell to her. Aqua understood that talking to the girl was important, as they were probably going to start getting information from her, but they were effectively ignoring Yang to do so.
"Hey," she called out, getting the men's attention. "I'm gonna bring the girls inside."
"OK," Taiyang said before returning to Cinder. Aqua led the two girls to the house, stepping inside and leaving the men to talk to Cinder.
Aqua walked the sisters to the living room and sat them down on the couch. She looked over to Taiyang's chair, and realized that there was a mostly-empty beer can next to it. She looked at the can sadly. She had been under the impression that Taiyang had been trying to stop drinking, but it seemed the stress of Ruby's kidnapping had caused a relapse. Normally the thought of him drinking when his daughters needed him made Aqua angry, but in this circumstance she understood why he did it. She focused her attention back on the blonde girl, who was trying to look like nothing was wrong, but doing a terrible job at it if the glistening in her eyes was any indication.
"Yang," Aqua said, getting the girl's attention, "what's wrong, sweetie?"
"Nothing," she said, not meeting Aqua's eyes.
"Yang, look at me," she said. The girl looked up and she could see the tears forming. "It's OK, Yang. We're here for you. You can tell us what's bothering you. Right, Ruby?"
"Yeah!" Ruby said happily, nodding her head. "I don't want you to be sad, sis." Yang was clearly still trying to contain herself, but it was getting harder for her.
"Is this about your mother?" Aqua asked. Yang only nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" Yang looked her right in the eyes, and Aqua's heart sank as the girl's tears began to flow freely.
"Why doesn't she want me?" Yang sobbed. She was instantly scooped into a hug by Aqua, Ruby joining in. Aqua pat Yang's back soothingly, allowing her to cry into her shoulder. "What did I ever do?" Yang's tears had even started to make Ruby tear up, and Aqua even found herself struggling to contain her own. "Why didn't I ever get to have a mom?"
"You did have one," Aqua said. "Summer was your mom."
"No she wasn't," Yang said. "You heard Uncle Qrow. She was Ruby's mom."
"Family is a bit more complicated than that," Aqua said to the girl, breaking the hug so she could hold her shoulders. She looked Yang right in her lilac eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Family is more than just blood. It's about what that person means to you. Did you ever feel that Summer wasn't really your mom while she was alive?"
"No," Yang admitted. "I always saw her as my mom."
"Then there you have it," Aqua said with a smile. "She may not have given birth to you, but she was your mom, and from what I've heard, she loved you like she did give birth to you. Would you really say that you never had a mom?"
"I guess not," Yang said with a sniffle. The tears had finally stopped flowing freely, so Aqua figured she was doing something right.
"I'll let you in on a little secret about me," Aqua said to both girls. "I don't really remember my parents."
"You don't?" Ruby asked.
"No. I was taken from my home when I was very young to train with the Keyblade. I only have a few memories of either of them. But I never felt like I didn't have a family. I've always seen my master as a father, and my two friends Terra and Ven were with me the whole time. We weren't related at all, but we were family. Anybody can become family to you if you want them to and let them. So don't ever feel like you're alone or not wanted. You both still have each other, and your dad, and your uncle. You're surrounded by people that love you."
"What about you?" Yang asked. Aqua's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Are you family, too?" Aqua was slightly taken aback, but smiled widely at the blonde.
"Do you want me to be?"
"Yeah," Yang nodded. "I do." Aqua's smile only widened, and she felt tears coming on.
"Then yes, I'm your family, too."
"YAY!" Ruby cheered, hugging Yang tightly. "Family!" Aqua wiped a tear from her eye and joined the sisters in their hug.
"Yeah," she said. "Family." After a few seconds, they broke the hug. "So?" she asked Yang. "Feeling better?"
"A little bit," Yang said. "Thank you."
"You're very welcome," Aqua said happily, rustling Yang's hair affectionately. She looked at the girl in thought. "I want to show you something," she said to the blonde. Yang looked at her expectantly. "One of the few things I remember about my mother is that when I was feeling upset or sad about something, she would brush my hair to help me relax. It always worked, so I figured we could try it."
"Okay," Yang said, hopping off the couch and walking to the bathroom. Ruby followed her while Aqua went into the kitchen to get a chair. She dragged it into the bathroom, where Yang was waiting a little apprehensively. Ruby was practically bouncing in excitement. Seriously, how was she so happy all the time? Not that Aqua was complaining. The girl's antics never failed to put a smile on her face, but she just came back home after being kidnapped. Nobody would blame her for being at least a little shaken-up, but no, she was the same little ball of sunshine she always was. Aqua placed the chair in the middle of the bathroom and motioned for Yang to sit down. After the girl was seated, she removed the ribbons holding her hair in pigtails, allowing her blonde hair to fall down past her shoulders. Aqua ran her hands through it to loosen it up, and could easily feel the knots in her hair.
"Do you keep it in pigtails all the time?" Aqua asked. Yang nodded. "Well, it's no wonder there are so many knots in it."
"Really?" the girl asked.
"Yeah. It's actually not healthy for your hair to let it get this knotted. You could end up with split ends, and those are just the worst to deal with," Aqua said with a chuckle. She picked up the brush and held it up to Yang's hair, holding on to a few strands near the end. "The best place to start when brushing your hair is near the bottom. That way you can gently work the knots out without pulling on your hair." She began brushing Yang's hair exactly as she described it, and she could see the girl's form relax as she worked.
"That feels so nice," Yang said quietly. Aqua smiled at her.
"Told you. I sometimes still do this to help me unwind."
"I want next," Ruby said. Aqua chuckled.
"Of course." Aqua continued brushing Yang's hair softly for the next several minutes, and she could have sworn Yang was about to fall asleep from being so relaxed by the time she finished.
"All done," she said happily. "Want to see?" Yang visibly came back to life, looking at Aqua happily. She stood up on the chair, and was stunned by the view in the mirror.
"Wow, you look so pretty, sis!" Ruby said. Yang was surprised that simply brushing seemed to make her hair fuller. It was now cascading behind her, instead of the matted mess she had before.
"Yes, you do," Aqua agreed with the younger sister. Yang's surprise soon was replaced with happiness as she looked at her new look. "You know, you should leave your hair down like that. It really is beautiful."
"You think so?" Yang asked.
"Definitely. You just need to make sure you take really good care of it."
"Yeah, I will," Yang said happily, going back to admiring herself in the mirror.
"My turn! My turn!" Ruby said excitedly. Yang jumped off the chair to make room for her sister, whom Aqua scooped up and sat down.
Ruby was practically radiating happiness by the time she playfully skipped out of the bathroom with Yang and Aqua following her. Since Ruby's hair was shorter than Yang's, the brushing didn't really affect her as much as her older sister, but the brush still made it at least look more voluminous, and that was good enough for the little girl. Her happiness was infectious, as both her teacher and her older sister couldn't help the huge smiles on their faces either. Taiyang and Qrow had walked into the house with Cinder, evidently having finished talking to her. The girls instantly ran into the living room to greet them.
"Look, look!" Ruby said excitedly. "Look at our hair, daddy!"
"Looking good, girls," he said, rustling his hang through Ruby's hair. "Did you do this with Aqua?"
"Yeah," she said. "Yang was feeling sad so Aqua brushed her hair to help make her feel better."
"Really?" Qrow asked. "You OK, Firecracker?"
"Yeah," Yang said. "I'm fine." Qrow moved to rustle her hair like Taiyang did with Ruby, but Yang backed away from him. "No!" she said. "Don't touch my hair! It'll get knots!" Qrow could only rub the back of his head sheepishly. Ruby walked up to Cinder and grabbed both of her hands.
"Cindy! Let's do your hair, too!"
"Mine?" she asked, a little surprised.
"Yeah," Yang said, smiling. "Aqua showed us how to do it, so we can help brush your hair. It feels soooooo good."
"U-um," Cinder stuttered.
"Come on!" Ruby shouted, dragging Cinder towards the bathroom, Yang getting behind her and pushing.
"Hold on!" Cinder tried to protest. "Don't pull!" The three girls disappeared into the bathroom, and the men walked up to Aqua.
"So," Qrow said with a smirk. "Doing each other's hair, huh?"
"You wouldn't get it," she smirked right back. "It's a girl thing."
"I think it's pretty great that you did that for them," Taiyang said. "But what was Yang upset about?" Aqua's smile vanished.
"She was upset because her own mother doesn't want anything to do with her." Taiyang looked sadly at the closed bathroom door. "Just keep an eye on her. I cheered her up, but this problem is definitely not going away any time soon."
"Yeah," he said, sounding defeated. "Thanks for cheering her up."
"Anytime," Aqua said before looking at Qrow. "So, what did you find out about Cinder?"
"Well, first off, she's 12, and she's from a frontier village in Mistral," he said.
"She's still so young," Aqua said sadly.
"In terms of family, she lived with her father and her step-mother. She's really close with her father, but not so much with her step-mother. A little over a month ago, her village was attacked by Grimm. She got separated from her parents, and she wandered into Raven's territory by accident. They picked her up, and we didn't find her for another month. Apparently, from what Raven told her, she was planning on grooming the girl to be her apprentice, and has spent the last month trying to break her spirits."
"How awful," Aqua said in disgust. "I can't believe a girl that young had to go through that."
"It's more common than you think," Qrow said.
"Which part?"
"Both. The Grimm attacks are why Huntsman exist in the first place, but we can't save every town. As for the bandits, they've been a problem for a long time."
"So there are more tribes than just the Branwens?"
"Oh yeah," Qrow confirmed. "A lot more. Especially in Mistral."
"That's terrible," Aqua said sadly.
"That's life on Remnant," he said in resignation.
"Anyway," Taiyang said, "We need to figure out what to do with Cinder."
"Yeah," Aqua nodded. "We have to figure out how to get her back to her family."
"You can leave that to me," Qrow said. "Oz and I can talk to the other Headmasters of the other Academies. We can cast a wide net and find them in no time."
"Good," Aqua said.
"What are we going to do with her in the meantime?" Taiyang asked.
"I guess she can stay with me," Aqua offered.
"Wait, seriously?" Qrow asked. "That's a lot to take on, Wonder Woman. You sure you can handle it?"
"I got this," she said. "It's the only real option we have. She can't stay here. Taiyang has his hands full with his daughters, and I'm not entirely convinced that you aren't homeless," she said with a laugh.
"Hey!" Qrow said jokingly.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," she said, putting her hands up in mock surrender. "But really, it's no problem. Hopefully, it won't be long before we reunite her with her parents."
"Yeah," Qrow said. "We'll get on it." At that moment, the girls finally walked out of the bathroom. Cinder's hair had been brushed just like the sisters, and was draped over her left shoulder. Her face was currently the same shade of red as her dress.
"TA-DA!" Ruby said as both sisters were gesturing dramatically towards the older girl, pretending as if they were presenting her.
"Presenting the new-and-improved Cindy!" Yang yelled excitedly.
"Oh, wow!" Aqua said. "You look very pretty, Cinder. The girls did a great job."
"Really?" Cinder asked, her blush deepening.
"Absolutely."
"Thanks," Cinder said, smiling widely.
"Alright, girls," Taiyang said, getting his daughters' attention. "Cinder needs to rest. Say goodbye for now."
"Where am I going?" the black-haired girl asked.
"Is it OK with you with you if you stay with me?" Aqua asked.
"Yeah!" Cinder said excitedly. "But what about my family?"
"We're gonna find them," Qrow said. "Don't worry. I know people that can help look for them."
"Oh, thank you," Cinder said, breathing a sigh of relief.
"So, if you're ready," Aqua said, "We'll pick you up some new clothes, head to my place, and you can finally take a shower."
"Sounds good."
Aqua sat in a chair next to the table in her hotel room, finally taking a well-deserved break, staring at her Wayfinder in the light of the moon coming from the window. Cinder was sound asleep in the bed, wearing the new red pajamas they bought before going home. After leaving the Xiao Long/Rose household, Aqua had taken the girl to get some new clothes, since the only article of clothing she owned was a ripped dress. Most of the new clothes she bought was primarily red, clearly being her favorite color. As soon as they got back to the room, Cinder had gone right into the shower, gotten into her new pajamas, which consisted of a red tee-shirt and black shorts, and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow. Aqua was taken out of her musings when she heard a knock on the door. She got up to open the door, without putting her Wayfinder back into her pocket. She opened up the door and was no longer in any way surprised to see Qrow standing on the other side.
"Hey—" he started to say, but Aqua put a finger up to her lips to silence him. He cocked an eyebrow up and Aqua pointed to the sleeping Cinder. He nodded in understanding, and Aqua gestured to the door to the balcony, indicating that she wanted the conversation to move out there. They walked out to the balcony and closed the door behind them, the two of them leaning up against the rail to look out over the town.
"So, how did it go?" she asked.
"I got in touch with Haven's Headmaster. He's a guy named Lionheart. He started a search for the kid's family. His people will handle it. Now we just wait."
"That's good," she said, holding her hand to her chest in relief. Her hand still happened to be holding her Wayfinder. Qrow pulled out his flask and took a swig.
"I guess if there's one good thing to come out of this whole mess, it's the fact that we got that girl out of there. She doesn't deserve this."
"No, she doesn't," she said before looking at him with a smirk. "I didn't know you could be so optimistic."
"I can't be all down-in-the-dumps all the time," he said with his own smirk. "But seriously, though, I don't think I can thank you enough for what you did today."
"It was nothing," she said sheepishly.
"No, it's not nothing," he said sternly. "Ruby is the world to me. If we lost her…" he trailed off.
"I can't imagine."
"She's all I have left of Summer," he said quietly, possibly hoping she wouldn't hear him.
"When we first met, you said something about 'mourning Summer longer than anyone else'. What did that mean?" Qrow sighed and took another swig from his flask.
"Nothing gets past you, Wonder Woman, does it?" He sighed again. "I guess I know way more about you than you wanted anyone to know, so it's only fair. I've been in love with Summer since we became partners at Beacon."
"Partners?" Aqua asked, not at all surprised by his admission. She suspected this for a while. He pulled out a picture and handed it to her. There were four people standing in front of a large tree in it, three of which she recognized. She could easily pick out a slightly younger Qrow and Taiyang, and she scowled at the recognition of Raven. The fourth person was a girl she didn't recognize. She couldn't see most of her face due to the long white hooded cloak she wore. All she could see was a single silver eye and the black hair that turned red at the tips, which was all she needed to see to know that she was clearly Summer Rose. Interestingly, there were water stains on the picture, directly on the spot Summer's picture was located.
"At Beacon, students get split up into teams of four. We were Team STRQ, the best damn team to ever graduate, if I do say so myself. She was our leader, and my partner."
"How did you become partners?"
"Eye contact." Aqua raised an eyebrow.
"What?"
"Oz tends to throw people into the forest for initiation, and the first person you make eye contact with becomes your partner. So imagine my surprise when I land in the forest and get greeted by the most beautiful eyes I'd ever seen. I was speechless."
"You? Speechless?" Aqua teased. "Wish I could've seen that."
"You know you like me and my wit, Wonder Woman," he said with a chuckle. "After we finished up initiation, I realized that not only was she beautiful, she had the purest heart of anyone I had ever met before or since. At least until the pipsqueak was born." He smiled fondly at the memory. "She had so much enthusiasm for everything, she wanted to make everyone around her smile. She loved with all her heart, and if you were her friend, she made sure you knew how much she appreciated you. I loved absolutely everything about her." His eyes were beginning to glisten a little bit in the moonlight, surprising Aqua. She had never seen an indication that Qrow was even capable of crying, so she knew how true his feelings were if it was making him this emotional.
"I probably know the answer to this question," she said, "but you never told her, did you?"
"No, I didn't," he said with a sigh. "It wouldn't have worked out."
"Why not?" Aqua asked. "You're a great guy." She didn't miss the blush that adorned his face, feeling her own start once she realized what she said.
"Uh, t-thanks," he stuttered. "But, uh, there's a particular problem that makes it hard to be around me."
"What's that?" He sighed again, deeper than any before.
"It's my Semblance," he said finally. She looked at him questioningly. "Look, I haven't even told my nieces what mine is, so it's not something I like to talk about."
"I won't judge," she said. "We're friends."
"I bring back luck. I can't control it or turn it off, but just being around me makes bad things happen. It makes being close to people a little difficult." He gripped the handle of the railing really hard. "I didn't want to hurt her, so I kept my distance. You already know that after Raven left, Summer started helping Tai out with Yang. I didn't even know they had started sleeping together until she ended up pregnant. I started drinking right after that. Helps me forget what couldn't be." Aqua surprised the both of them by pulling him backwards into a hug, a few tears in her eyes.
"For what it's worth," she said softly. "I'm glad I met you. And those girls love you with all their hearts, so don't feel like you have nobody."
"Thanks, Aqua," he said after a few seconds, and she squeezed a little tighter before letting go. She was still holding her Wayfinder in her hand, and Qrow saw it when he turned around.
"You've been through something similar, right?" he asked. It was her turn to sigh.
"Yeah," she said. He had shared his tragic love life, so it was only fair to share her own. "Terra. I've loved him for years."
"And you never said anything either?" She shook her head.
"No. He was so kind, and caring, and passionate, but for some reason, I was always too afraid that he didn't feel the same way, so I never said anything. Sorry that my reason isn't as heart-wrenching as yours," she said with a small laugh.
"Well, he would've been a fool not to," he said, making her blush again.
"Thanks," she said sheepishly.
"Any time," he said, raising his flask. "To unrequited love." At that, he took another swig. She giggled a little bit at his antics. They made eye contact, and she found herself blushing a little bit again at his red orbs.
Have his eyes always been that pretty? She thought.
"Well, I'm gonna take off. It was good talking to you, Wonder Woman."
"Y-Yeah," she said, shaking off her blush. "Goodnight, Qrow."
"Goodnight." He opened up the door to the balcony to walk back through the hotel room, making sure to move quietly to not wake Cinder. Aqua leaned up against the railing, holding her Wayfinder up to the moonlight. Everything that had happened that day had her thinking.
The bandits she had encountered were some of the absolute worst human beings she had ever met. Sure, she had dealt with some vile people, like Maleficent, Lady Tremaine, and of course Xehanort. But never had she seen a group of people living the depths of human depravity at a level of the Branwen Tribe. And according to Qrow, there were plenty more people like that. Aqua had assumed from the beginning that Remnant was in the Realm of Darkness, and it was clear that the darkness had affected the people living in this world. And her thoughts returned to Ruby's dream.
"You are the one who will bring back the light."
She knew what Ruby's destiny was. Ruby was destined to restore Remnant to the Realm of Light. She had no idea how it got in the Realm of Darkness in the first place, but it was Ruby's job to fix it. And Aqua was going to do whatever it took to help her do it.
After all…
It was her mission.
AN: Not gonna lie, I teared up a little but when I wrote Yang asking why Raven didn't want her. Gets me every time.
The hair brushing scene was something that I wanted to write about from the very beginning. Given how much Yang cares about her hair, I knew this would have significance to either signify how much she trusts Aqua, or to show why she cares about her hair so much, which is ultimately the one I went with. So yes, this is the start if Yang's obsession with her hair, since it was the reason for her first bonding session with Aqua.
Speaking of Aqua bonding, she got to grow closer to a few characters this chapter. She and Qrow share their less-than-successful love lives with each other and notice a couple similarities that serve as the basis for a deepening relationship between the two.
For those who haven't had a chance to check out my first fanfiction, it is a Bleach/RWBY crossover called "The Dragon, the Cat, the Champion, and the Soul Reaper". If you haven't checked it out, give it a read. The reason I bring it up is because I'm going to write a couple more chapters for that one next. I'm going to adopt a regular pattern. I'm going to write 2 chapters for the Bleach fic and then 2 chapters for this one, and so on. So, it'll take me a little bit to get the next chapter out for this story, but I'll have some more time to plan out next events.
Thanks again for reading it. I'll see you next time, and don't forget to show my other fic a little love.