AN: I am absolutely loving Volume 7 so far. I my honest opinion, I think this is the best season so far. There's just one episode left and I can't wait. Just a little warning to people that haven't seen it yet. If you're holding off on watching it because you've heard bad things about it, I implore you to give it a shot. Keep an open mind, and you just might enjoy it. I was iffy on RWBY after Volume 6, and Volume 7 completely restored my faith.
To the guest reviewer that asked about me doing a story where an older Ruby goes to another fandom and becomes a mother figure to a character that didn't have one, I probably won't do one like that specifically. Sorry if I dissapointed you.
To others reading my story, I would prefer that people leaving reviews make an account. If you review as a guest, I can't respond in a private message. It bums me out when I can't answer you. I like talking to you guys.
I'm also pleased that people responded so well to the incident from last chapter. Thanks guys.
Anyway, on to the chapter.
Chapter 9
Aqua flopped exhaustedly onto the couch in the living room, her energy completely drained. Ruby and Yang had been tucked in for the night, and Aqua had planned to watch T.V. with Qrow and Cinder, but she wasn't sure she could even lift her face up off the cushion long enough to look at the television.
"Are you okay?" Cinder asked the blue-haired Master. Aqua simply grunted into the couch cushion her face was currently buried in.
"That bad, huh?" Qrow asked, causing Aqua to let out a long muffled groan. She knew she had agreed to be the sisters' caretaker while Tai got cleaned up, but evidently she wasn't as prepared as she thought she was. She also didn't know exactly what getting clean actually meant. She knew it would take work, but she at least expected that Tai would be able to stay while he did it. So imagine her surprise when, two weeks ago, he left to go to an inpatient rehabilitation clinic in Vale, leaving her mostly alone to take care of Ruby, Yang, and Cinder, with Qrow stopping by to help whenever he could. She had never been more tired in all her life. Granted, even if she knew all of this ahead of time, she still would have agreed, she just would have thought a little bit more carefully, first.
She and her bleeding heart.
Tai's stay would last for 2 months, and he had only been there for two weeks, so she knew she had to do this for at least another month and a half. But, she saw why him leaving was necessary. It had been a few months since his alcohol poisoning incident, and once they had managed to calm the sisters down when they stormed his hospital room and jumped into his arms just to make sure he wasn't going to die, he had promised to all of them that he would get clean. He had tried at home, and had done a good job for a while, but then he relapsed again a month ago. It was nowhere near as bad, as that one didn't require him to go to the hospital, but it left him feeling even more worthless. That was when he dropped his idea to go a real rehab clinic, and left, leaving Aqua to deal with his daughters and her obligations to Cinder by herself.
"How do parents do this stuff for years?" She asked, finally forcing her face off the couch so her voice could be heard. "I've been doing it for two weeks and I already want to sleep forever."
"Well then, I think you'll be happy to hear that our little spitfire here did the dishes while you were tucking the girls into bed," Qrow said, gesturing towards Cinder, who was blushing and trying not to meet either of their eyes.
"Really?" Aqua asked, looking at the black-haired girl, who nodded.
"It was no big deal."
"Yes it is!" Aqua said. "Oh, thank you so much, Cinder! I could hug you right now, but I can't move my legs."
"…You're welcome," the girl said, before Aqua set her sights on Qrow.
"And what did you, do, huh, mister?" she asked, and his eyes widened in what Aqua very much hoped was fear. "Did you get any chores done, or were you goofing off while Cinder thought to lighten my load?"
"Hey, I wasn't doing nothing," he said. "I was on an important Scroll call until just before you came downstairs. I was gonna tell you what it was, but you just looked so exhausted that I got distracted."
"Oh, really?" she asked skeptically. "And what call could possibly be so important?"
"I was talking to Lionheart." Lionheart. Wasn't he the Headmaster of Haven Academy? She felt like she knew why he was important, but she just couldn't remember why. The dark-haired man looked over at Cinder. "He was finally able to get in touch with your family."
"Really?" the girl asked, her eyes taking on a hopeful glisten.
"Yup," he said with a smile. "He said your step-mom is on her way to come pick you up."
"Thank you!" she yelled, taking a page from Ruby's book and tackling the older Huntsman in a hug. Aqua could see a few tears starting to form on the girl's face, and smiled at the scene. Qrow, however, looked around sheepishly, never expecting the black-haired girl to be quite this affectionate.
"I'd said we'd look, and I keep my word."
"So, when is she coming?" Aqua asked, unbelievably happy that Cinder would finally be reunited with her family. Although, it was odd that it took this long. After month 4 of no word on that front, she had braced herself for the distinct possibility that the girl's parents were dead, but since they were found now, she couldn't help but wonder exactly what took so long. Surely, with the resources of a Huntsman Academy, it would take less time than 6 months to find two people, especially since her parents had most likely also gotten in touch with local authorities to help locate her. However, Cinder's clear jubilation at the news caused her to put it out of her mind and just focus on being happy for her young soon-to-be-former ward, who was hugging Qrow even tighter as tears of happiness flowed freely down her cheeks.
"November 1," he said, answering her question.
"Oh, that's only a few days from now," Aqua observed. It was currently the end of October, which meant that at the end of the month was Ruby's birthday, and the day after, Cinder would be returned ho—
Wait. Ruby's birthday was in a few days. Crap. She buried her face in the cushions again, and let out another pained groan, causing Cinder to stop crying and both of them to look at her in confusion.
"What's wrong now?" Qrow asked. Aqua said something, if the long series of grunts was anything to go by, but neither he nor Cinder could make anything of it out. "Didn't quite catch that," he said, causing Cinder to giggle. Aqua lifted up her head from the cushion so they could hear her more clearly.
"I said, 'I just remembered Ruby's birthday is in a few days'. I'm so not prepared for this."
"Is it really that big of a deal?" Qrow asked, causing both Cinder and Aqua to give him a deadpan look. "What?"
"You've clearly never been a little girl turning six," Aqua said.
"Every kid's birthday at that age is exciting," Cinder further explained.
"Oh," Qrow said sheepishly.
"She's been through so much lately, so I want to make this something special for her. Especially since Cinder will be leaving the next day. But I don't know if I can."
"That's what we're here for," Qrow said with a smile.
"We can help throw her a party," Cinder agreed. Aqua smiled at the two of them.
"You guys are the best," she said, causing Cinder to blush again and Qrow to smile back at her, giving Aqua her own blush.
"I've already been thinking about what I can get for her," Cinder said. "I think she'll like what I've got in mind."
"That's great." Aqua couldn't help the huge smile that adorned her face.
"Just leave it to us," Qrow assured her. "I've got my own little gift in mind for her."
"I don't know what I'd do without you guys," Aqua said. "I'll give Tai a call tomorrow to see if he'd be able to come home for the party."
"Sounds good," Qrow said. "Do you have a gift in mind?"
"Yeah, I do." She had two in mind, actually. All she needed for one of them was some glass.
"What do you mean, you can't make it?" Aqua asked into her scroll. She had called Tai almost as soon as she woke up the next day to ask if he would be able to come up from Vale for Ruby's birthday, but he had just told her he couldn't.
"I'm sorry," Tai said through the screen of the scroll. "I asked them, and they told me I couldn't."
"Why not?" Qrow asked. He was standing next to Aqua, also taking part in the scroll call. Tai rubbed the back of his head nervously at Qrow's question.
"They said there was too much of a risk of a relapse if I leave now," he explained. "So they told me I couldn't leave."
"But it's your daughter's birthday," Aqua protested.
"That's what I told them."
"They can't hold you there against your will, can they?" Qrow asked. Tai shook his head.
"Only if they think I'm in danger of hurting myself or others, which I'm not."
"Then they can't force you to stay," Aqua said.
"Except they gave me an ultimatum. If I leave against their advice, then they consider me to have abandoned the program. If I want back in, the 2 months restarts and I have to pay for it all over again. I can't afford that, so I have no other option than to not come home."
"Damn it," Qrow sighed.
"I'm so sorry, Tai," Aqua said sadly.
"It's not your fault," he reassured her. "Don't blame yourself. The only thing I ask is that I can call her for her birthday."
"Of course," Aqua said with a smile. "Even if you can't be there, I'm sure just getting to talk to you will mean the world to her."
"Thanks," he said. "There's one more thing. There's a present I want you to give to her from me."
"What is it?"
"It's in my bedroom closet. It's something Summer wanted her to have."
Ruby was sitting at the kitchen table, happily eating her breakfast. What was she having for breakfast, you might ask? Well, since it was her birthday, she got to have cookies.
Aqua really was the best.
Granted, her cookies weren't quite as good as Mommy's, but no cookies were that good.
"So, how do you like your incredibly unhealthy breakfast?" Aqua asked her. So far, they were the only two awake. They were still wearing their pajamas, Ruby in a red onesie, and Aqua wearing a blue tank top and short white shorts.
"It was really good," Ruby said with a huge smile on her face. "Thanks, Aqua."
"You're very welcome," Aqua said, giving Ruby a kiss on the top of her head. "Happy birthday, sweetie."
"Thanks!" The two of them heard footsteps come down the stairs, and looked over to see Cinder step into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and yawning.
"Good morning, Cinder," Aqua said.
"Morning, Aqua," Cinder said. She walked up to Ruby and gave her a quick hug. "Good morning, birthday girl."
"Morning," Ruby said happily. "I got to have cookies for breakfast!"
"Really?" Cinder asked, putting her hand to her chest in shock. "I'm so jealous." Aqua smiled at the two of them.
"I'm about to make some bacon and eggs for us not celebrating a birthday today," Aqua informed them, grabbing a pan from the cupboard. "Do you want some, too, Ruby?"
"Yes, please," the girl said, happily munching on another cookie. After a few minutes, a wonderful crackling sound started to emerge from the pan, and the whole house smelled delicious. Almost as if on cue, right at that moment, they heard another set of footsteps, and Yang emerged from upstairs, her eyes still half-closed and her hair a mess.
"I smell food," she said sleepily, stepping into the kitchen.
"Morning, sleepyhead," Aqua greeted.
"Morning." She walked over to the table, and, just like Cinder, wrapped Ruby up into a hug, only hers was much tighter. "Happy birthday, sis."
"Thanks, Yang," the younger girl giggled, as Yang took her seat at the table to wait for breakfast. After a few minutes, all four of them were happily eating their bacon and eggs, Ruby feeling particularly excited. It wasn't everyday you turned six, after all.
An hour later, the three girls and Aqua had finished breakfast and gotten dressed when they heard a knock on the front door. Aqua opened it up to reveal Qrow, as usual, causing the blue-haired woman to smile. Aqua had really come to value Qrow's company in the months since her arrival on Remnant. He was a great help to her with the girls, he was a strong training partner, he was funny, charming, handsome, with those alluring red eyes, and his cute stubble, and the lean build she could see through his dress shirt—
Whoa, she thought, finally noticing the heat rising in her body. Where in all of the worlds did that come from? Her current inner crisis, however, just left her standing in the doorway, awkwardly staring at the handsome Huntsman, his eyes seeming to stare directly into her soul. NO! BAD!
"Hey, Qrow," she was finally able to squeak out, her face as red as his cape. "Come on in."
"You okay there?" he asked with one eyebrow raised. "You're looking a little red."
"Am I red?" she said quickly. "Maybe it's hot. I feel hot, do you feel hot? Heheheheh." She internally facepalmed at the stuttering mess she had suddenly turned into. What was wrong with her?
"It's October," he said in confusion. "How are you hot? I'm not hot."
I'd beg to differ, her treacherous mind said before she could stop it, causing her to let out a small, uncharacteristic "eep".
"Anyway, just come in," she said, finally getting out of his way and allowing him to enter the house. She found her herself placing a hand on her stomach, trying to calm the weird feeling. Aqua looked at the three girls sitting in the living room watching T.V. The three of them had turned to look at them.
Why was Cinder looking at her like that?
Don't judge me, Aqua thought at the black-haired girl.
"Hi, Uncle Qrow!" the sisters greeted him happily.
"Hey girls," he said. "Happy birthday, kiddo."
"Thanks," Ruby said, beaming at her uncle.
"Hey, Yang, Cinder," Aqua called out, "can you come into the kitchen for a minute?" The two girls got up, and walked into the kitchen with Aqua and Qrow. "So, everybody knows the plan?" She whispered.
"Yup," Qrow whispered back. "I've got all the decorations good to go."
"Presents are all wrapped," Yang whispered.
"And I've got the cake," Cinder also whispered.
"It's all on you now to get her out of the house for a little bit," Qrow said.
"All right. Operation: Best Birthday Ever starts now," Aqua said, breaking off from the group and walking up to Ruby, who was still watching T.V. "Alright, Ruby," Aqua said, getting the young girl's attention, "Let's go outside. It's time for your training."
"Aw," Ruby pouted. "But it's my birthday. Can't we skip it today?" Aqua looked at her with a sly smile on her face.
"You're right," she said. "I was going to teach you some magic today," she had to whisper the word "magic" so Cinder wouldn't hear her, "but since it's your birthday, I suppose we can skip it." Ruby was out the door before Aqua had even finished talking. "Too easy," she said once the now-6-year-old was gone. She walked back to the kitchen. "I leave the rest to you," she said, giving them a wave before following her student out the door.
By the time Aqua made it outside, Ruby already had her Keyblade in her hand and was waiting eagerly for her teacher. If Aqua looked closely, it almost looked as though the girl was vibrating. Aqua smiled as she approached her.
"So what am I gonna learn?" Ruby asked excitedly. "Am I gonna shoot fireballs? Am I gonna freeze things? Huh?"
"Slow down, there," Aqua said with a laugh. "You'll get to shooting fireballs eventually. First, we have to go over the basics of how magic actually works."
"OK," Ruby said with disappointment, dismissing her Keyblade. "What do I do?"
"The power of magic originates from your mind and your heart working together," she said, one hand pointing to Ruby's chest, and the other pointing at her head. "It's actually pretty simple once you get the hang of it. The Keyblade provides you with the raw energy needed to use magic, and your mind shapes it to turn it into whatever spell you want to cast." Ruby looked at her intently, soaking up everything she could from Aqua's lecture. "Drawing on the energy to use magic is actually similar to calling out to your Keyblade. Reach out with your heart and imagine pulling power towards yourself." Aqua stood back, summoning her Keyblade to her hand. She demonstrated the concept to the girl, imagining that she was pulling energy out from her Keyblade and into her body. As a consequence, her Keyblade began to glow a bright blue. "Like this," she said to her awe-struck pupil. "Try it."
Ruby closed her eyes hard, clearly concentrating on doing what Aqua instructed. After a few seconds, her Keyblade appeared in her hand in a burst of flower petals, and started glowing a bright red.
"You got it," Aqua said, a little surprised at how quickly Ruby grasped the concept.
"Yes!" Ruby cheered, breaking her concentration and causing the glow to disappear.
"Great job. Now we're going to move on to turning it into a spell." She took several steps away from Ruby. She activated the blue glyph of her Semblance and summoned a copy of Goofy, which stood up, shield at the ready. "So, I want you to draw power the same way you just did, point your Keyblade at Goofy here, and use your mind to shape the magic into an attack. It doesn't have to be anything too complicated, just whatever feels natural to you. Got it?" Ruby nodded. "Begin."
Ruby drew on her power again, causing her Keyblade to regain its red glow. She pointed it at the copy of Goofy. Aqua expected that she would use a basic Fire spell, or perhaps Blizzard, so she wasn't expecting the word that came out of her student's mouth.
"Petal!" Ruby yelled, and a small stream of rose petals flew out of the tip of her Keyblade and towards the summon, impacting on its shield. Instead of a single impact, the petals continuously beat against the shield until "Goofy's" guard was broken and the copy shattered. Aqua could only stare open-mouthed.
"THAT WAS SO COOL!" Ruby shouted, jumping up and down. "Did you see that Aqua? Did you?"
"Yeah," Aqua responded, still shocked. "I saw that." Creating your own spells was something that Keybearers typically learned later, after grasping the fundamentals of the basic elemental spells: Fire, Blizzard, Thunder, Aero, Gravity, and Cure. This exercise that she just had Ruby do was designed to discover which element she was naturally inclined to use, and she came out with a spell Aqua had never even heard of before. Was she just incredibly naturally-gifted with magic, or did she simply discover a new element? What would it be called, "flower"? She realized that Ruby was still looking at her expectantly.
"Really good job, Ruby." The girl looked ecstatic at the praise. "I've actually never seen a spell like that before. How'd you do that?"
"I don't know," the girl said. "I just did what you said. That was the first thing that came to mind. Was it cool?"
"Yes, yes it was." She looked at the spot the Goofy copy once occupied. "Can you do it again?"
"I think so," she said, nodding in determination. Aqua summoned another Goofy copy, holding its shield up at the ready. Ruby held her Keyblade up and pointed it at the construct like last time.
"Petal!" she shouted, and a stream of rose petals flew out of the tip of her Keyblade and swept away the Goofy copy.
"Good," Aqua said, summoning another copy. "One more time." Ruby pointed her Keyblade at the construct again, but instead of calling out her spell name, she gripped her head and groaned in discomfort. "You okay?" Aqua asked, dismissing the Goofy clone.
"I think I'm fine," Ruby said. "What happened?"
"You ran out of juice," Aqua said. "Your mind can only handle so much before it stops. When that happens, you can't use magic anymore until your mind recovers. If you try to use magic, you'll only give yourself a headache. You need to keep that in mind. Magic is a powerful weapon, but you can't use it forever."
"But I only got to use it twice," Ruby whined.
"You'll get to use it more as you keep practicing. Keep your chin up."
"OK," Ruby said, a little happier. This presented Aqua with a little problem, however. She hadn't expected Ruby to grasp magic this quickly, so there was absolutely no way the rest of the family finished getting Ruby's party ready. She needed to do something else to keep Ruby out of the house a little longer.
"Since you got the hang of this so easily, you deserve a little reward," Aqua said, causing the girl's eyes to light up in anticipation. "Let's go get some ice cream."
"Yay!" Ruby yelled in sheer happiness.
Aqua opened up the front door of the house to sheer darkness and silence. They had just come back from getting ice cream, and the Keyblade Master hoped that it gave Qrow, Yang, and Cinder time to get the party ready. The silence in the house seemed to indicate that they got it done. She had to hold back her smile so Ruby wouldn't notice it.
"Where is everyone?" Ruby asked as they walked into the dark, quiet house.
"I don't know," Aqua lied. "Let's look for them." They took only a few steps into the living room when the lights were suddenly turned on, revealing Qrow, Cinder and Yang with huge smiles on their faces.
"Surprise!" the three plus Aqua yelled. "Happy birthday, Ruby!" Now that the lights were on, they could see that the living room had been decorated. There was a banner over the doorway that carried that same message in bright, colorful letters. There were "Happy Birthday" balloons attached to the furniture, and Aqua could see a small pile of presents all wrapped up on the kitchen table, and there was a delightful smell all throughout the house, no doubt from a freshly-baked cake.
Ruby's only response to her family surprising her was to latch on to the closest person, which happened to be Aqua. The 6-year-old wrapped her arms around her teacher's leg in a tight hug. The rest of her family approached the two of them and pulled Ruby into a large group hug. Aqua didn't think she'd ever seen a smile that big on the girl's face before.
"Thanks, Yang!" Ruby said happily, hugging her older sister, new book in her hand. "I love it!" The birthday girl had started opening her presents, Yang's being the first one she decided to open. Her sister had gotten her a new book full of fairy tales.
"You're welcome, sis," Yang said. "Glad you like it." The youngest girl looked over at Cinder.
"Would you read it to me tonight?" she asked the black-haired girl, shocking the rest of her family members.
"Really?" Cinder asked in disbelief, while Yang looked a little hurt by Ruby's request. "Doesn't Yang usually read to you?"
"Yeah, but you're leaving tomorrow," Ruby said. "I want you to read to me this time. You haven't done it before." Cinder looked around nervously, eventually settling on Aqua and Qrow, who were sitting next to each other.
"That's a real honor there, Spitfire," Qrow said. "Ruby doesn't let just anyone read to her at night." Aqua thought it was sweet that he was encouraging her.
"Okay then," Cinder said, looking at Ruby with a smile. "I'll read the new book to you tonight."
"Yay!" Ruby yelled, giving Cinder a hug. "Thanks, Cindy!"
"Why don't you open Cinder's present next, Ruby?" Aqua suggested, handing Ruby a small, rectangular wrapped present. Ruby greedily ripped the wrapping paper open to reveal another book, but this one was not like the one Ruby got from Yang. This one looked homemade, with a plain white front made out of construction paper, with the words "For Ruby, From Cinder" written in red. Ruby flipped the book open, revealing that the all of the pages were hand-drawn pictures. The younger girl looked at the pages in awe.
"Did you draw all of those?" Aqua asked Cinder while Ruby flipped through the book.
"Yeah, I did," Cinder said with a small blush. "Since she liked coloring in the pictures I drew a few months ago, I figured I could make her a coloring book."
"Oh, that's so sweet," Aqua said, almost unable to contain it.
"Thanks so much, Cinder!" Ruby said, hugging the older girl. "I love it!"
"You're welcome," Cinder said, hugging the girl back.
"Alright, mine next," Qrow said, handing Ruby a black jewelry box. Aqua was at a complete loss for what Qrow's gift could be. Ruby opened up the box, and the rest of the room was stunned into silence.
Inside the box was a large metal pin in the shape of a blooming rose. It was the same emblem as the end of the Keychain on Ruby's Keyblade, and the "teeth" of her weapon. It was made out of gray sheet metal, and the design was etched in black. It was absolutely gorgeous. Ruby was speechless, just staring at the pin with wide eyes, her sister and Cinder fawning over the beautiful piece of metal.
"Where'd you get that from?" Aqua asked the older Huntsman.
"I went to a Blacksmith in town," Qrow answered. "I used the designs on her Keyblade for the pin. I'm glad he did a good job."
"He really did. What do you think, Ruby?"
"It's so beautiful," she said, still staring at it. "Thanks, Uncle Qrow."
"What, no hug?" he asked, snapping the girl out of her stupor so she could get up and wrap her uncle in a hug.
"Thank you, Uncle Qrow," she said.
"You're welcome, kiddo."
"Love you," Ruby said, breaking the hug to sit back down in her chair.
"Love you too."
"So, Ruby," Aqua said, "How's your birthday going?"
"It's great!" she said. "I just wish Daddy could have been here." Her happy mood began to disappear at the thought.
"I know, sweetie," she said, trying to hold back her smile, since the girl didn't know about the arrangement she made with Tai.
"It sucks that they didn't let him leave," Cinder said.
"Yeah, those meanies," Yang agreed.
"Well, they aren't completely terrible people," Aqua said. "After all, they let him call."
"Really?" Ruby asked, the light returning to her eyes.
"Yup," Aqua said with a smile. "I talked to him a few days ago, and we're going to call him on the Scroll." Ruby practically squealed in delight.
"Call him, call him, call him!" Ruby yelled quickly.
"All right, all right," Aqua said with a laugh, pulling out her Scroll. She opened up her contacts, and easily found Tai's name. The only two contacts in her Scroll were him and Qrow, after all. She pressed the icon for Tai's contact, and while it was ringing, she decided to just hand the whole device to Ruby, Yang quickly getting next to her so they can both see the screen. After a few seconds, they saw the blond locks of their father appear on the screen.
"Hey, Aqua," he said, expecting the Keyblade Master to be holding the scroll.
"DADDY!" Ruby yelled excitedly.
"Hey, Dad!" Yang said just as happily.
"Hey, girls," he said back to them, and Aqua could practically hear the smile on his face more than she saw it. "Happy birthday, honey."
"Thanks," Ruby said with a smile on her face.
"So, how's your birthday been so far?"
"It's perfect," she said, and Aqua's heart soared that calling her father made her birthday that much better. No doubt he was happy to hear it as well.
"That's awesome," he said happily. "What kind of presents did you get?"
"Yang gave me a book of fairy tales and Cinder drew me a coloring book."
"That's amazing," Tai said, causing the older girl to blush.
"Yeah, it is," Ruby said, smiling at Cinder. "Oh, and Uncle Qrow got me something, too." She picked up the box that Qrow gave her, and opened it up to show the pin to her father. "Here it is."
"Wow," he said. "That is one beautiful pin. And Qrow got you that?"
"And what the hell are you so surprised about, huh?" Qrow asked indignantly.
"I'm just surprised that you have taste," he said.
"Jackass," Qrow grumbled.
"Swear!" Ruby called out.
"Sorry," her uncle said automatically.
"I've actually got something for you, too," Tai said from the small device in Ruby's hands.
"Really?!" his youngest daughter asked excitedly.
"Yeah," he said. "Well, technically, it's something Mommy got for you. I just thought now was the right time to give it to you."
"Something from Mommy?" Ruby asked in awe.
"Yeah. Aqua, can you go get it?" he called out to the Keyblade Master from the Scroll.
"On it," Aqua said, getting up and quickly heading upstairs to get the present. She walked into Tai's bedroom and opened up the closet. On the floor of the closet was a white rectangular box wide enough to require both hands to lift. She picked it up and went back downstairs with it. Tai was still talking with everybody, but the conversation stopped when Aqua approached with the box. The girl took the box from Aqua and opened it up, her eyes wide. She opened up the box, and pulled out a long, vibrant red cloak with a hood. Ruby and Yang were stunned speechless as they looked at the beautiful cloth.
"It looks just like Mom's," Yang sad quietly. "Except it's red."
"Mommy got this for me?" Ruby asked.
"Yeah," Tai said through the Scroll. "She made it for you and wanted to give it to you herself. It's a little big for you now, but I thought now would be a good time to give to you. Your mother will always be with you. This is proof." Ruby looked at the gift from her mother, tears forming in her eyes.
"Thank you, Daddy," she said, letting the tears out. "Thank you so much." Yang was quickly there to hug her, tears in her own eyes.
"You're welcome," their father said. "Happy birthday, honey." Tai turned to address someone that spoke to him from outside the view of the Scroll's screen. "I'm so sorry, girls. I've gotta go."
"Aw," Ruby whined, sad. "Do you really have to go?"
"Yes, I'm sorry. I'll make sure to call you again tomorrow. Happy birthday again, Ruby."
"Thanks, Daddy."
"Get better soon, Dad," Yang said.
"I will, honey. I love you both very much."
"Love you too, Daddy," Ruby said.
"Love you too," Followed Yang, and Tai hung up the Scroll call.
"I miss him," Ruby said sadly.
"Me, too, sis," Yang said, still hugging her sister.
"He'll be back before you know it," Cinder said, comforting the two sisters. Aqua smiled sadly at the older girl. While she was happy that Cinder would be reuniting with her family tomorrow, it was still sad to see her go. She cared so much about Ruby and Yang, and she could tell that the sisters really loved her as well. She reached into her back pocket and grabbed hold of the last present of the day.
"Hey, girls," she called, still not taking her hand out of her pocket. "I've got one more gift to give you."
"Really?" Ruby asked, looking excited again, making Aqua's heart soar.
"Actually, this is for all three of you. Come here." The three girls approached her, curious looks on their faces. She smiled at them, and pulled the objects out of her back pocket.
Dangling from chains were three Wayfinders. One was colored red, the color of Ruby's new cloak, one was golden like Yang's hair, and the third was colored amber, like Cinder's eyes. The girls all looked at the objects in surprise as Aqua handed the Wayfinders to them, each girl getting the one corresponding to their color.
"These look just like yours," Yang said, looking at her Wayfinder.
"So pretty," Ruby said.
"How come Yang and I got one, too?" Cinder asked.
"Because you're leaving tomorrow," Aqua explained to a confused trio of young girls. "There's an island somewhere out there with star-shaped fruit. They say that if you make a pendant shaped like that fruit and give it to someone special, it creates an unbreakable connection. No matter what, they'll always find their way back to each other." The girls were looking at their pendants with a newfound sense of admiration. "Cinder is going back to her family tomorrow, but as long as you all keep those with you, you'll all see each other again."
"Wow," Ruby said, entranced by the pendant and the story.
"That's amazing," Yang said.
"Interesting," she heard Qrow mumble under his breath. Cinder, however, said nothing. Aqua saw the oldest girl's shoulders start to shake before she threw herself at the blue-haired Master, throwing her arms around her in a hug, tears in her eyes.
"Thank you," she said into the older woman's shoulder. "I love it so much."
"I'm glad you all like them," Aqua said. "Just keep the faith that you'll see each other and you will."
"I will," Cinder said, her arms still around Aqua.
"We will, too," Yang said, speaking for both herself and her sister.
"I've loved it here," Cinder said. "I almost don't want to go."
"I know," Aqua said as Cinder finally ended the embrace. "But that's tomorrow. For today, we've still got a party to finish."
"Yeah!" Ruby cheered.
The next day, Aqua, Qrow, Ruby, Yang, and Cinder were waiting on the front porch of the Xiao Long/Rose household. Today was the day that Cinder's stepmom would be coming to pick her up. The girls were fidgeting nervously, not quite ready to say goodbye yet. All three of them were wearing their new Wayfinders on leather straps around their necks. Cinder kept adjusting the straps of her backpack.
"Does Cindy really have to go?" Ruby asked sadly.
"Yes, she does," Aqua said. "She needs to go back to her parents."
"We'll see her again, sis," Yang assured her, holding the Wayfinder around her neck. "That's what these are for."
"Exactly," Cinder said. "Don't be too sad, Ruby."
"Okay," she said with a small sniffle.
"Are you ready to go back?" Qrow asked the oldest girl.
"I think so," Cinder said. "I had such a good time here, but I'm ready to go home."
"We're gonna miss having you around, Spitfire," Qrow said.
"Thanks, Qrow," Cinder said. "I'll miss you, too." She spread out her arms. "Can I get a 'goodbye' hug?" Qrow sighed.
"Just this once," he said, opening his arms and letting the girl embrace him. They hugged for a few seconds, probably longer than Qrow would normally like. After they separated, Cinder immediately went over to the sisters and wrapped them into a hug as well.
"We'll miss you, Cindy," Ruby said sadly.
"I'll miss you, too," Cinder replied.
"Keep in touch," Yang said.
"I promise I will."
"Cinder!" A new voice called out. All five people looked at the source and saw an older woman approaching the house. She was middle aged, had long brown hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a plain white dress. Cinder's eyes widened, tears welling up, and she ran off the front porch towards the new woman and threw her arms around her.
"Anna!" she yelled happily once she got the hug going. Her step-mom looked a little surprised at first, almost as if she wasn't expecting Cinder to actually be happy to see her. After a second, Cinder's step-mom returned the hug.
"I'm glad to see you again," the older woman said. "Have you been treated well?"
"Yup," Cinder replied. "Here, I'll show you the people that took care of me." Cinder grabbed her step-mother's hand and dragged her over to the porch. They stopped in front of the group and Cinder pointed to each person in turn. "That's Qrow, Aqua, Yang and Ruby. They've been taking care of me."
"Thank all of you for looking after my step-daughter here," the woman said. "My name is Anna Fall. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
"The pleasure is all ours," Aqua said, giving Anna a friendly smile. "And it really was no trouble. Cinder was an absolute delight to have with us."
"Yeah," Qrow agreed, gesturing to the to sisters, who were looking a little nervous. "The girls really loved her, too."
"That's good to hear," Anna said, patting Cinder on the head, the girl in question looking a little uncomfortable. Aqua remembered that Qrow told her Cinder didn't really get along with her step-mother, and even the relief of being reunited with her family can't fix the awkwardness of receiving affection from her. That hug earlier was likely just being overwhelmed with emotion. "So, I guess we should be going." And it looked like Anna was feeling awkward, too.
"You sure you don't want to stay the night?" Qrow asked. "It's a long way to Mistral. A good night's sleep will do you some good."
"As kind of an offer as that is, I'll have to decline," Anna said, much to Cinder and the sisters' disappointment. "I would like to get on the road as soon as possible."
"Are you sure?" Aqua asked. "It wouldn't be a bother."
"I'm sure. Let's go, Cinder." Anna turned to walk away, but Cinder stayed put, just looking at Aqua. Anna stopped walking when she realized her step-daughter wasn't following her. "Cinder?" Instead of following her step-mom, Cinder instead ran towards Aqua and threw her arms around the blue-haired Keyblade Master.
"Thank you," Cinder said quietly. "Thank you for everything."
"It's been a pleasure," Aqua said, returning the hug. "Make sure you stay in touch."
"I will," Cinder said. "I promise."
"Next time I'm in Mistral," Qrow said, "I'll make sure to look you up."
"I'm looking forward to it."
"Cinder, are you ready?" Anna asked.
"Yes, I'm ready," Cinder replied, finally following her step-mom. They walked off the porch and made it half-way to the forest trail to town when Ruby and Yang ran up to the railing of the porch.
"Cindy!" they yelled, getting the older girl's attention. They started waving enthusiastically to her. "Goodbye! We'll miss you!"
"Bye, girls!" she yelled, waving back to them. "I'll miss you too!" Ruby and Yang kept waving until Cinder and Anna disappeared from view.
Cinder and Anna had been walking for a while. The girl was pretty sure they should have reached the town by then, but they hadn't.
"Anna?" Cinder asked, getting her step-mother's attention. "Are we going the right way? We should have reached town by now."
"Don't question me, Cinder," Anna said in that stern tone that Cinder hated so much. "I hate being on this backwater island just as much as you do, but we'll reach our destination soon."
"This island isn't backwater," Cinder tried to protest. She had genuinely enjoyed her time on Patch, if only because she didn't have to be near Anna. Even now, she wasn't looking forward to sharing a space with that woman again, but she was very excited to see her father.
"Don't argue with me, young lady," Anna snapped back, and Cinder decided that it really wasn't worth it to fight this one. Her day was bad enough that she had to leave everyone behind, she wasn't about to make it worse by resisting her own step-mother. They walked in silence for a few minutes before approaching a fork in the road. Interestingly enough, there were two men waiting there. The first one was tall and lanky, with tanned skin, short black hair, and a bushy mustache. He wore a gray suit with a purple vest and a yellow undershirt. The other man was practically a mountain. He was even taller than the other man, and muscular, too. He had short brown hair, with hair along his lower jaw. He wore a black short-sleeved shirt, black pants, and black boots, with a long green overcoat. For some reason, Anna stopped walking as they approached the two men, gesturing for Cinder to stop as well.
"Anna?" she asked.
"Quiet," her step-mother snapped.
"There you are," the man with the mustache said. "You kept us waiting."
"Sorry about that," Anna told him. "She had to say goodbye to the family that kept her."
"Anna, who are these people?" Cinder asked.
"I said to be quiet," Anna said, more angrily this time.
"So this is the young lady we've heard so much about?" the mustached man said, clearly referring to Cinder. His statement caused panic to well up inside of Cinder. What did he mean? "How underwhelming. I have no idea what our Mistress sees in her." What Mistress? What was he talking about? Why was he talking like he knew Anna?
"What's going on?" Cinder asked her step-mom.
"For the last time, you brat, shut up!" Anna snapped once again at Cinder, causing the girl to recoil. Anna turned back to look at the mustached man. "Let's just get this over with."
"Indeed," the man said, while the living mountain looked sadly at Cinder, causing her to be even more confused. "You brought the girl, as per our agreement." Cinder's panic grew. Anna had promised these men that she'd bring her to them? What? Why? She took a fearful step back.
"What?" she asked, but before she could take another step, the mustached man nodded to the living mountain. Before Cinder realized what had happened, the large man had scooped her up with one arm, pinning her against his chest, while his other hand clamped firmly over her mouth. She immediately began to scream and struggle, but his grip was far too strong.
"Oh, knock it off," Anna said in annoyance. "I've finally figured out how to get you out of my hair. I know you hate me, too, so just suck it up."
"I'm sorry," the large man whispered into Cinder's ear, and Cinder almost believed him.
"So, you have the brat, now I never have to see any of you people again?"
"Oh, don't worry," the mustached man said. "You definitely won't see us ever again." Before Anna could react, the mustached man pulled an elaborate-looking revolver out of his coat pocket, aimed it right at her head, and pulled the trigger.
Anna's body fell to the ground instantly, splattering blood on the trees behind her. Cinder attempted to scream in horror, but the large man's hand muffled it. She watched as blood pooled underneath her step-mother's head, and her eyes widened as the mustached man approached her, putting away his gun. His hand was still in his coat pocket, however. Tears started to flow freely from her eyes, as she braced.
He was going to kill her, too, she just knew.
"Was that really necessary, Watts?" the large man holding Cinder asked the man with the mustache, "Watts" evidently.
"You need to do something about that bleeding heart of yours, Hazel," Watts scolded. "It might stop you from doing what is necessary. She was a loose end. If we had let her live, she might have told somebody about us." Hazel simply grumbled. "Now then, if these ridiculous moral crises are over, we still have her to deal with." He took another step forward, causing Cinder to pull herself against Hazel's body as much as she could and whimper in fear.
"Oh, relax, girl," Watts said. "We're not going to kill you." Cinder, of course, did not believe a word of it. Since she couldn't get away from Hazel, and she couldn't speak, she had to settle for sending a pleading look with her eyes through her tears. He pulled a needle out of his coat pocket and approached her, bringing the syringe near her neck. "Our Mistress would like a word with you." She felt a stinging pain in her neck as he inserted the needle.
And then the world went black.
AN: Well, how's that for an ending to this chapter. We got a mostly light-hearted, fluffy chapter about the family celebrating Ruby's birthday, and then wham! For those of you wondering if Cinder would still end up with Salem's people, here's your answer. I knew from the second I decided to add Cinder to this story that this is where it was headed, so my job in the meantime was to make you guys care about her, and establish a relationship between Cinder and Ruby and Yang's family. She's joining Salem, it's just not necessarily by choice.
In regards to Ruby's magic, the spell that she used was called "Petal". It launches a wave of razor-sharp rose petals. Think Byakuya's Bankai from Bleach.
In the future, Ruby will have a whole repertoire of rose-based spells at her disposal. The reason why I decided to do that is because I realized that Ruby would have to keep her magic a secret, so there wouldn't be much point in her being Keyblade wielder if she can't use magic. If she has spells with a rose motif, it lets her use magic that she can pass off as part of her Semblance.
So, next I'm going to write the two chapters of my RWBY/Bleach fanfiction before coming back.
Hope you guys enjoyed, and thank you all for reading. I'll see you guys next time.
Edit: So, how about that Volume 7 finale, huh? I was correct. This was the best season of RWBY so far. I just have one thing to say without spoiling anything.
Fuck Winter.
Seriously, fuck Winter.
Out of all of the stuff that happened in this Season, I think she's the one character that pissed me off the most.
Anyway, on to the purpose of this edit. I have decided to put my Bleach/RWBY crossover, "The Dragon, the Cat, the Champion, and the Soul Reaper", up for adoption. To make a long story short, my heart wasn't in it anymore, and I didn't want to continue writing a story that I was increasingly become more and more unsatisfied with.
What that means for this story is simply that I will no longer be dividing my time between two stories, so chapters for this story will come out on a more regular basis. I am currently hard at work on Chapter 10, so look forward to that a little sooner than you were expecting.
There was also something else that I never made clear in regards to the direction of this story. The next chapter will be the last chapter of the "childhood arc". Starting with Chapter 11, we're jumping into the events of Volume 1. I gotta say, I'm excited to implement some new ideas. Plus, I can finally stop making my chapters diabetes-inducing like they have been for the last 4 chapters or so.
Ah, child Ruby. You're adorable, and a pain to write.
Oh God, that reminds of how much I'm dreading when I have to start writing Nora.
Anyway, that's all for now. If anybody's interested in picking up the Bleach story, send me a Private Message and we'll work something out.
As always, thanks for reading, and I'll see you all next time.