I had a bit of a delay for a while due to this whole virus business severely screwing up my university assignment process, but I managed to put some time aside to finish this chapter. I hope everyone else is doing well during this whole outbreak, it's a tough time, but I'm sure we'll get through it fine. I myself am hold up in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by horse crap and sleeping in a room with no heating. So, great times ahead... Maybe.
Enjoy the chapter!
He remembered it all. No matter how much he wanted to dismiss any connection, any feeling as just the same as getting too emotional over a fictional character's appeal, the moment he laid eyes on her his heart stopped. Yet he could still hear its beat as it sang his memories with every emotional pang. Bu-dum. Bu-dum. He slid up to her by her locker, cutting in-between her and Weiss with what he thought was the smoothest entrance a guy could manage.
Bu-dum. Bu-dum. She giggled at his awkward mannerisms. She smiled at him. That was enough.
Bu-dum. Bu-dum. He was ready to become a bloody stain on the Emerald Forest's finely cut grass, but then came a spear that saved his life. Later, in a poem he now cringes at, he would say that spear pierced his heart.
Bu-dum. Bu-dum. She looks him in the eye and tells him she believes in him. That she trusts him. That even if he sees himself as useless, she can see the potential in him.
Bu-dum. She accepts him. Bu-dum. She empowers him. Bu-dum. She trusted him. Bu-dum. He let her down. Couldn't even warn them about Cinder coming to kill the maiden. Bu-dum. He wasn't good enough. So, she trapped him in a locker and fired him where he couldn't screw up. Bu-dum. He didn't deserve to be there. He was a fake using forged achievements to pretend he deserved to stand there with those who'd earned their place, spitting on their efforts and daring to grin about it. Bu-dum. She died. Bu-dum. She died because of him. Bu-dum. He practically killed her himself. Bu-dum.
Before him, he could convince himself that he was looking at her corpse, shambling back to tell him how wrong she was to trust him. She was still as beautiful as she always was, her bright crimson hair only dimmed in colour because of everything else being dimmed in this world, framing that perfectly symmetrical face he'd have no hard time believing it had been carved from marble. Even in the more casual everyday wardrobe of a button-up shirt and loose trackies, he could still see the makings of a powerful fighter behind it all.
Again, she was beautiful, even in how hollow he noted she looked. Her hair was stiff and cold like it had been freshly dried after being drenched, reflected in the wet dark patches on her clothes; had it been raining? Or was she sweating? Her skin was pale. Not Ruby pale, but a shade that was just enough to be unhealthy, drained and lightly bloated. Couple that with the light red circles forming around her slumped over eyes, it brought a feeling of listlessness to him, like he was looking at her from a perspective deeply sunken underwater.
"Pyrrha… You… You're here?" He felt his fingers twitch uncomfortably, so tempted to reach out towards her form and press them against her; just to prove to himself that she was actually there.
She turned her nose downwards, scrutinizing the distance between them to make sure she was far enough away from him. "Yeah. Don't worry, I'm just as surprised." Her voice was familiar, almost comfortable, yet still a far cry from the woman he knew. It was struggling to hold something back, bouncing her doubts on whether she was doing the right thing across her eyes. It reminded him of when she was trying to talk to him about destiny.
"W-What are you doing here?" For the first time, he listened to his own voice, internally cringing at the sound akin to a duck gargling stones.
"Dropping off your things." She broke out into a sigh, not willing to look him in the eye. She distracted herself with the surrounding boxes. None of them were full, in fact, they seemed quite empty, but there were still many of them. "Your books, your magazines, your photos; all your essentials" There was a pause, her hand stopping over the stacked, unframed pictures where he could just make out her beaming face from his position. Her hesitance pushed down on her lips, her expression revealing itself as a firm frown as her generous bite cut into her voice. "You know, all the stuff you left behind when you ran away."
Jaune could only assume that he and this Pyrrha had been close, his ear hearing the pang of emotional memories against his as his eyes trailed down her closed-off body language. He landed on her fingers, where she seemed to idly scratch at her ring finger as if something was supposed to be there. Could that mean…? "Oh, thanks." He knew this response made no sense, but it was the only one he could find the ability to blurt out against the raging conflict in his heart to break the silence that hung between them.
"I hope your vacation was worth it." There was an almost genuine touch to her word, what he could only assume was withheld sadness coming out as a wheeze through her gritted teeth. "The fact that I had to find out from your Mom was crappy, but hey, I… I expect it by now." Hands flicked at nothing in frustration as a weak gasp of laughter hit his cheek. Quickly, she shuffled past him, casting her gaze aside with a firm tone. "For the record, I only came because Jaune wanted me too, otherwise I'd have just sent it in the mail."
The name hit him like bullhead, knocking the wind out of him, leading him to only choke out "J-Jaune?"
Dim green eyes knitted together as they looked over his reaction. Her teeth could be seen grinding against one another, acting as thick bone walls keeping back her clear distaste for that reaction. "Yeah, you know, the son you didn't even bother sending one message to the whole time you were away?" He missed the gust of bitter unsent tears carrying her words, the only thing he could hear was 'son'. Son. He had a son. A boy, probably still young. His boy. Somehow, he had a son with Pyrrha. And he fucked it all up. "I'm not gonna ask." She quickly added on. He took her meaning, she was completely in the dark about where he was, but he dreaded the implication of what she assumed he was doing.
"A son? I have a son?" He had to repeat it, again and again, both out loud and in his head. It was hard to grapple with, like something was being forced down his throat until it choked him. What kind of father left their son to get immersed in a game and then take their name? What kind of father would be able to forget their son even then?
"Are you kidding me?" For the first time, she spoke loud, powered by anger and spitting disgust with every word as he wheezing became frustrated growls. "Of course. Of course, you are- God! I don't even know how he talked me into this." Never did she look at him as her rant got on a roll. Exasperated, her gaze fixated above them like she was pleading to whatever omniscient being was watching to tell her she wasn't crazy. "Everyone keeps saying that I shouldn't let a cheap bastard like you keep dragging me down, but here I am, still holding out for one shred of… I don't know, humility? Balls?"
Seeing her distress, her bile and all of the sadness; he knew in some way he caused it. He'd hurt this woman. He'd hurt his supposed son. He only knew Larry for less than a day, but by god did he already hate this man, this person that he was supposed to be. Maybe that's why people go into these game worlds, they make them truly realize how bad they are and how sorry they should be. Jaune didn't need context, he was sorry and he quickly bowed his head and spluttered out anything he could think of. Anything, anything to make her see that he understood. "I'm sorry, I'm just… I'm just a little frazzled at the moment."
Her eyes ripped away from the non-existent audience she was pleading too, green irises alight with surprise and shock. Quickly, however, they narrowed in suspicion, leaning closer to stare straight into his eyes. "Are you on something right now?"
She thought he was on drugs. Did that mean it was something common to expect from him? Oh, that made him feel great. On top of everything else, he might have been a damn addict. Instantly, his mind worried about the possible medical implication of if he was still an addict before he went under. Would he suffer relapse pains? Would he be longing for a hit? What drugs were even in this world?! "What? No, I'm not on anything!" He pleaded with her, begged her to give him the benefit of the doubt he didn't deserve. "It's been a weird day, okay? I'm not all there and I'm not feeling well, and- Just work with me here. It's all a little too much to handle."
There was a flicker of sympathy in her eyes, a moment of consideration for him, but it was quickly stomped out by anger. He didn't blame her. "I tried working with you for years and look where that got me."
In the face of her appearance and her vitriol, he could only cry out a desperate question. "Was I really that bad?"
By the look on her face, a million possible words pulled on her cheeks. She didn't have the time, nor the patience to say them all. "You don't want me to answer that."
He felt the weight of her voice wash over him, burying him under six feet of pressure. Shoulders sagged, his voice lost and his eyes accepting. "I don't, I really don't."
Maybe she was tired, maybe she was just feeling merciful, or maybe she found there was no point beating a dead horse when he clearly understood and agreed with her, but she couldn't keep up the anger. She dropped her arms by her side, tired, and shrugged at him. "Look, I just came to drop off your things and see how you were holding up. I kept having to tell your parents that you weren't dead all these months." He wanted to speak, to try and form some excuse that made sense and didn't make her shake her head anymore. But she just held up her hand. "Again, knowing you, the less I know about where you were, the better." She pulled her fingers up to rest on her temples, rubbing the tiredness out of them to no avail. Her next words were said with a far more deadly and focused tone. It was as if she were gripping onto the one solid thing in a world of sand. "I'm warning you, whatever's going on with you, leave us out of it. I won't let you drag Jaune into any of your troubles, not again."
Instinctively, the man cried out "I wouldn't do that to you." In his heart, he told himself, to the protest of his brain, that he'd never do anything like that. Not intentionally. He was useless. He was a screw-up. Everything about him was terrible. But he'd never willingly drag someone down with him, right? All the problems he caused, all the pain that he was unable to stop, they came from his incompetence and inability.
And with one simple sigh, she made him question that. "You used to say that a lot."
The silence that fell between them was a heavy one. Neither could muster the strength or desire to look at one another, only look over this hollow, depressing room deprived of colour. It made sense that he lived here, he deserved to live here. She shouldn't be here; she was too good for a room like this. "…I'm sorry to put you through the bother. Thanks for bringing my stuff over. You didn't have to."
"Yeah, well… You're welcome." It was obvious it hurt for her to say it, but he could allow himself to take a small degree of comfort in the genuine edge to it. Even in the worst of times, Pyrrha was that polite and welcoming. "I'm gonna go now. If I've forgotten something, you have my new number."
"Stay safe out there, Pyrrha. Okay?" He breathed in his own words deeply, almost heartbroken to see how much his words and genuine concern seemed to hit her. She looked sceptical, not allowing herself to be touched. His thoughts went to how much that feeling must have been much worse for the little boy who's father left when he was too young to understand. He didn't know this boy. He didn't remember this boy. He had no right to call himself a father. Yet, his heart yearned to try and give the boy something. That giving reassurance would be better than letting the boy forget him. "And tell… Little Jaune that I said hi and that I'm sorry for the lack of messages."
She nodded, slowly, as if she were trying to convince herself. "Don't worry, I'll tell him." With that, she picked up her bag, turned around and strode out of that room as fast as her athlete legs could take her. And suddenly, all light was stolen from the room, the dreary colours and tempered expectations drowning him again.
"No wonder I got her killed in the game." He slumped down against the stained wall, head propped up on his knuckles. "God, the way she looked at me… Is this how Ruby felt when I-" Not now, he told himself. He just had the most heart-wrenching moment of his life kick him to the floor, he did not have the strength or willpower to even attempt to think about his guilt for hurting Ruby. Not now. He needed to rest. He needed to distract himself. "Well, better get to unpacking. I'm sure Ruby and everyone else are having a blast without me."
Ruby Rose was having a blast. Well, usually she would be. A few days ago, she'd find being taken high above the rooftops of a city, hung in a death grip with the possibility of plummeting to her death ever looming over her head just another fun story to tell the awed onlookers. The height was daunting, the city below her reverted to a sea of neon blue lights that converted the building shapes to undefined splotches. She didn't know why the Nevermore had picked her off the street or where it was taking her (best bet was that it had some sort of nest where it was collecting stuff), but she did know this was one of the most uncomfortable positions she'd ever been in. Not only was she hanging upside down, making the already shaky vision even worse, but the rushing winds the Nevermore rammed headfirst against hit her throat with a crushing force, making it hard to breathe this high up.
"The first rule of Grimm Encounter, a calm huntsman is key. Even… Even when you're hanging upside down by a massive demon bird, high enough to become pavement pizza if dropped." Ruby was usually very good with handling the pressure of an ever-dangerous situation. Grimm Attack? Bah, she was cool as a cucumber who could talk and spew witty banter with her teammates. She could pose, she could style and she could fight with the best of them. But there lied the issue, in those situations she had her semblance, she had her precious weapon and she had her training with Uncle Qrow. She had the ability. Here? She was stuck in this weird body that had a practically broken leg, can barely run a few feet without stopping to catch her breath and, as Ruby quickly discovered, did not have enough force behind her to make slamming her fists against the talons that held her worth it.
However, she wasn't going to let this newfound distress control her. Yes, she was currently in a body that was inadequate for kicking Grimm ass. It was a disadvantage. But you know what? That's what Huntsmen do best, shining when the odds are stacked against them and adapting. She just had to find out what this body could do and build her strategy around that. "I'm not scared. I'm Ruby Rose. I'm a badass Huntress. I can kill Nevermore in my sle-" As if fate were purposely contorting itself to slap her down every time, the Nevermore suddenly decided now was the best time to bring it's talons up, swiftly launching Ruby upwards with ease. As she moved through the air, she felt totally weightless, like she'd been pulled out of her body and left to float. Doubt crept in. Images of all the brutal ways she could be reduced to only a splatter on the pavement below flashed before her. It didn't relieve her when she found the two ends of the Nevermore's beak trap her between them, holding her upright this time. "Torchwick, I'm sorry, I'll never make fun of the way you died again!"
From her new position, everything still looked like a window drenched in water and smudged together. However, she did notice that the Nevermore seemed to be slowing down as it circled around a set of four spires that seemingly dug into the roof of the dome. "Damn it, I can't just let myself get stuck here like this. I'm not just some damsel in distress, I can take care of myself. I kick names and take ass…" She felt a loud rumble in the Nevermore's beak as it presumably tried to caw without opening it's beak and letting her go. It reminded her of when her dad's throat would shake when he tries to hold in a laugh. "Oh, like you could say it right either!"
As the shaky ride continued, bringing up some unsettling groans from her stomach, she noted that she could now see her legs hanging limp opposite her. They were free! Her legs had always been one of her most deadly weapons. Yes, when paired with her semblance, but they were still the thighs of titans on their own, she was sure. Ruby began to wiggle her now free foot, reeling it back before driving it forward like a piston. "I'm gonna kick the hell out of-" Her fatal blow, which she was sure would have been absolutely devastating to the Grimm, was cut short when the pain of a thousand needles jabbing at her leg hit her mid-swing. "Ow, ow, ow. This is the worst! Yikes, that leg really stings. How do I keep forgetting about that?" As she breathed out the echoing ache of her dummy leg, the Nevermore landed with a careless thump on a roof. It seemed it made a building with four towers jutting out of each corner it's perch. "Think Ruby, think. Your leg is useless, your arms are free but weak, you're on your stomach and you don't have you amazing semblance to help you out. What do you do?"
Rotten eggs. Tai's infamous potato salad. Smoke. The pungent stenches wormed their way into her nose and ripped her from her thoughts, her brain quickly recalling those smells. Separately, they were disgusting, but together they were- Explosive Dust Round! In the split second, her brain made the connection, she felt a growing heat lash out at her cheek, giving her only a moment to turn her attention sidewards to watch the mini-shooting star. A tail of flames trailed behind it, produced by the chemical instability instigated by the kinetic energy wrapping around the shot. It made it look bigger than the small dust cartridge it was in reality.
Ruby found herself thanking whatever brother of lighting when the explosive round came to her, coming mere inches away from reducing Ruby to a roast dinner. Instead, it skimmed her shoulder, which was still painful in it's own right, and spin into an explosive slam as it drove into the Nevermore's underbelly. "Holy crab cakes. That almost hit me. What the hell?"
Immediately, Ruby took one quick and full gasp of breath, knowing that it was only mere seconds before the resulting smoke of the explosion engulfed her. She never liked smoking and she wasn't going to start liking it now. "Alright big, black and funky: put the elderly woman down." A voice, one that played a familiar tune in Ruby's head, cut through the smog with a single confident slice. The shooter. The Nevermore, seemingly unaffected by the smoke, roared back at the insulting voice, furiously beating its wings to blow the obscuring smoke back. Perched on one of the towers, a hefty gatling gun easily held in her hands, the shooter stood with unmatched confidence and swagger. A style of soft brown swirls clothing her, a voice as smooth and cream and an attitude that threatened to burn your tongue; life a fresh cup of coffee.
"Coco? Oh my god, Coco, it's been 6-8 months since I last saw you!" Ruby cried out in pure joy, her eyes never ceasing to be impressed by the women's impeccable fashion sense and dominating style. However, she paused upon rethinking Coco's words. "Elderly woman? Who is she talking abo- Hey!"
"Careful, Coco. What if it drops her off the roof?" The softer, yet still confident voice made Ruby look to find everyone's favourite rabbit Faunus, Velvet, hanging off the side of the building by one hand. She seemed to weakly smile up at Coco with a mix of worry and embarrassment.
Coco merely shrugged at her (unwilling) partner in fashion. "Then you catch her? She doesn't look that heavy."
"You guys still look cool, by the way!" Despite all the doubt, danger and depressing subject matter, Ruby couldn't rub the stars out of her eyes. Most likely because her hands were currently bound by a beak.
Velvet looked to the trapped civilians, offering a quirked brow and an awkward wave back at Ruby, calling up to her. "Don't worry, Miss, you'll be safe as long as you keep calm." Her brows shifted and she put her free hand to her ear, quickly switching back to Coco and giving a reassuring nod. "The boys are in position."
This news seemed to put a great big smile on Coco's bright pink lips, forming a cheeky kissy face as she blew the Grimm a taunt. "Alright, you had your chance, birdy. Time to clip your wings!" A quiet grunt alerted Ruby to the position directly below her, where the hulking Yatsuhashi squatted down, the far smaller and leaner form of Fox standing on the flat side of Yatsuhashi's massive great sword. For a second, they silently stared up at Ruby. In that second Ruby examined their next course of action, noting Fox stood like he was about to be launched off a trampoline. Thinking back to the wing comment and looking where their eyes shifted over the Nevermore's flapping wings, Ruby suddenly found herself gulping. "Don't let me go, don't let me go, don't let me-" With the only warning being the sharp metal scream of Yatsuhashi's sword, Fox's body suddenly crashed into the bony wing at full speed. Ruby could certainly hear of bones snap in the wing, almost making her feel sorry for the Grimm. However, that was before the force of the blow rattled the body enough that the beak opened just a little bit wider and sent Ruby plummeting. She was on the fast track to becoming floor pizza and she had no landing strategy. "AAAAAAAAH! This is not the fun type of falling!"
As Fox seemed to leap out of view, Ruby felt a large body sweep through the air and snatch her from her fall like he was catching the winning ball. Yatsuhashi stuck the landing near flawlessly, turning it from a panicking fall to a smooth ride. "Stay calm, Miss. You have fallen out of harm's way." He cradled her in his arms, keeping her close enough that he could easily shift into a protective meat shield for her if he needed to. Ruby, however, found that she could not keep still, shuffling in his arms as she tried to find a more comfortable position to lie in. "May I ask you to please stop squirming, you keep hitting me."
Unfortunately, she only heard him when her good food idly drove a weak heel into the underside of his chin. Earning her a look of passive aggravation. "Oof, sorry about that!" She'd scratch the back of her neck sheepishly if she could.
"You must not panic. Your negativity is drawing more Grimm."
Ruby's legs punched out to communicate the excitement her bound arms were unable to do, making sure not to hit her saviour this time. "More Grimm? Aha! This was just what I was looking for?"
Yatsuhashi looked down at the woman, who in his view was a helpless and very frail civilian, with a perked brow. He waited for her to reveal that she was joking or misheard him but the moment never came. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" She waved her hand dismissively as the man held her loose enough for her to scramble out of his grasp, taking her stance and punching the air in glorious confidence. She turned back to Yatsuhashi with a confident stare and a cheeky wink, shooting him a thumbs up. "You know, just had sort of an off day, I need a bit of a Grimm workout right now."
Coco's dismissive tone wriggled its way into Ruby's ear. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, Lady," Around her, the other members of Team CFVY dropped down, the Nevermore seemingly missing for the moment as a small pack of beowolves came into view behind them. The Grimm seemed to have scaled the building to aid their fellow creatures of darkness. "but you're not a Huntress. So, step back and let us do our jobs." Quickly, Ruby was pushed behind them as the group formed a defensive line in front of her, all looking quite confident that this small pack would pose no trouble. Ruby wouldn't have worried either. Well, she wouldn't have worried if she had Crescent Rose with her.
Still, she laughed at Coco's concern. Not that she didn't appreciate Coco doing her job and protecting the civilian, but Ruby knew she could handle herself. She was fully free to use all fo her limbs now, she could easily fight now. And against Beowolves? The chump mooks of Grimm? No sweat. "Oh, come on, that Nevermore just got in a lucky shot." Not taking common sense as an answer, Ruby blundered forward, throwing herself into the small gap between Coco and Fox to push her way through their barrier and out into the front lines. She was not going to sit around getting saved. "Now that I'm free, I can do some serious-" Adding to her long list of mistakes today, Ruby decided to lead with her worst foot forward, slamming the bad leg into the ground with an intense force, easily taken by her own excitement. Of course, upon making contact with eh floor, her leg immediately cried out with the crumbling noise of a bone-cracking.
She wasn't given any chance to yell multiple swear words to communicate her sudden pain, the sprained leg buckling under her weight, bringing her entire body face-first into the ground. "Ack, damn that stupid leg." The haunting growl of an alert beowulf made the pain go numb and cold inside of her, predatory shadows growing over her and blocking her view of the city's lights and gnashing their jaws at her. "Oh, cra-"
With the first show of fear, the first Beowolf was upon her, launching itself forward with it's claws raised high. Already, Ruby could see flashes of her blood staining it's hungry claws, her lacking aura leaving nothing to protect her from it tearing her guts out and leaving her to choke on her own blood. She didn't make a move to dodge, she didn't try to attack, she did nothing. Ruby Rose flinched and waited for the timely intervention of Coco and her giant gun. Dust rounds rip through the charging beast, reducing it to ashes. "We told you to get behind us and let us do our jobs!"
"S-Sorry." Ruby was roughly grabbed by the back of her collar and shoved back behind them. "I was just trying to help."
Coco pursed her lips, pulling down her shades an inch to lock Ruby with a clear irritated glare. "Do us a favour and stop helping. You're not a huntsman or a badass, you're dead weight. You're only gonna get in the way."
Deadweight. The words stood in front of Ruby like a neon sign, burning bright enough to make her eyes water, yet burn their letters into her eyelids. Deadweight. Deadweight? She wasn't dead weight. Deadweight meant useless, meant that she was holding people back, that it would be better if she wasn't there; which is just not true. It can't be true. Yet she couldn't bring herself to form the words to object. It wasn't some random lady saying this to Ruby, it wasn't someone she hated; it was Coco. Someone she respected, even now. How could she say such a thing?
Ruby's head hung low, weakly replying "…Okay."
Coco didn't look back at Ruby. She didn't wait to see if Ruby understood. Initially, Ruby wanted to say it was obvious Coco was just focusing on the danger ahead. But something inside Ruby's head told her that it wasn't. She knew, somehow, it wasn't. She didn't care about Ruby's response.
As the rest of the Grimm got braver and began to charge at the Huntsman team, Coco was the first to jump back into action, unloading her conveyor belt of death upon them. Her dust rounds, as expected, made quick work of them but the close quarters of the Grimm made it hard to shoot them down before they got close enough to do damage. Their resident samurai was carrying out most of the close-range load, knocking back groups of Grimm that dared to get close in one sweeping movement. They needed to spread them out it seemed.
Ruby looked to Velvet, finding the woman's face had hit something of a revelation, grinning from ear to ear as she rushed to her big friend. "Yatsuhashi, launch me!" Her voice was brimming with pride and energy as if the mere thought of coming up with such an idea made her giddy.
Yatsuhashi looked at her oddly for a moment before his face broke out into a teasing, but small, smile. "Make sure you stick the landing this time." He crouched down, staring down the approaching Grimm with a calm gaze. His sword was held down, the flat side facing the Grimm as Velvet taking her position on it. Soon enough, Ruby saw hard light dust constructions of extra limbs pushing out of Velvet's back, gripping onto the sword to let her stand balanced and build pressure in her feet. Must be a weapon she snapped. Is there a huntsman wandering around with two extra arms as their weapon? Ruby thought.
With a click of her heels, she brought Yatsuhashi's fist colliding with the back of the blade, the force from the punch carrying through the steel and launching the small rabbit girl off into the crowd of Grimm like a cannonball. "That's my girl!" Coco called to Velvet as the body easily blasted through the Grimm, either turning them to dust bunnies outright or knocking them aside and completely breaking their line. "Let's turn these Grimm into paste, Fox. Shall we?" The two teammates shared a competitive smirk, a silent desire to show up the other in score points before they charged into the fray after their teammate.
The battle that followed almost seemed like a fever dream to Ruby. She, apparently a normal human girl, couldn't follow the action too well, just catch snapshots of it. Before he the forms of the Huntsman flashed between Grimm like they were in-between frames of animation. Fox didn't kick a Grimm into the ground, he merely held his leg out before vanishing with his opponent gone. Yatsuhashi only had to look at his targets before they were sliced and diced before him. It was so fast, so powerful that Ruby's normal eyes could barely catch up to what she was seeing. Is this what Huntsman fights looked like to normal people? Was she truly normal now?
At some point, could have been minutes or hours for all she knew, a body bumped into her shoulder and she was saw the team was standing in front of her. Behind them, nothing. They were off the roof, back on the street, everything was back to normal; everything had passed so quickly. How? "Wow… Just wow. That was amazing." She gasped out, her lungs feeling like they were collapsing on themselves just from watching them.
Coco, the one who's body brushed past her, stopped and turned around to face Ruby. The inch of her eyes that was offered by the lowered shade showed complete surprise at the girl's words. "Huh? Oh, didn't see you there."
If blinking made a sound, Ruby was hearing it loud and clear as her confused eyes were repeatedly sheltered by her eyelids. "Um… You just saved me?" She shook her head, she had to be missing something. How would Coco have forgotten about her so easily? Ruby wasn't so insignificant that she could so simply be dismissed out of hand by accident, and Coco, while a little cocky and self-absorbed, was nowhere near mean enough to do so either intentionally.
Yet, here Coco was, waving a lazy hand at Ruby dismissively, not even looking at Ruby while she talked. "Yeah, yeah, sure. You want a pair of my shades, I bet." Her fingers rummaged around through her purse.
"No?" Trying to be polite despite not needing shades, Ruby shot Coco a sweet and gentle smile. Coco's probably under a lot of stress. Ruby reasoned. No way she'd be this rude on purpose.
Either Coco didn't hear her or simply ignored her answer, shoving the pair of stylish shades over Ruby's face, covering her vision with a soft brown filter. "Here you go, but don't take this as encouragement to go running into any more danger, kay?"Even when Coco directly addressed Ruby, it still felt like she was talking through the girl, like she wasn't there. "Just let the real heroes do their jobs."
To her credit, Ruby didn't rip the unwanted eyewear off immediately, only pulling it down to look over the edges at Coco. The brown tint to everything did nothing to make things easier to see. "But I-"
When the woman started patting Ruby on the back, cutting off her words and signalling for the rest of the team to start moving away, Ruby had to admit that there was a small bit of offence taken. "Always good meeting a fan, but us Huntsman gotta run. Lots of crises to solve and people to save."
Calm. Calm. Be nice. You're just stressed. She's just stressed. Calm. Swallowing her bubbling aggravation, the girl opted to continue to try and explain herself better. "I get that, I just wanted-"
"Oh alright, fine you'll get your autograph." And then the headshot of Coco's grinning face with the sun reflecting off the glass over her eyes was pushed into Ruby's hand, a pen poised over it. "To my fabulous fan…?"
Just accept it, she told herself. She sighed. "Ruby."
Coco just shrugged, and Ruby could swear she heard a groan or laugh being held back. "Bambi, yeah, yeah, you look like a Bambi."
"What does that even mea-" With the autograph signed and Ruby no longer a priority, the Huntsman quickly took the cue to leave, swiftly turning their backs on Ruby and striding away into the crowd mid-sentence. "AM I JUST NOT ALLOWED TO FINISH A SENTENCE?!" She cried out to the sky, only receiving the odd and startled looks of the people around her as a response. Suddenly, she felt very self-conscious as she felt everyone's eye on her, prompting her to stare at the floor and push forward past whoever. "How did that happen? I'm Ruby Rose, damn it! I shouldn't need team CFVY to help me take on a Nevermore." Her nails dug into pale palms, either struggling to contain anger or delivering a pinching pain to distract her from the shame of it all. "Correction: I shouldn't need to be protected from a Nevermore." Ruby wasn't book smart, she wasn't a social butterfly, she wasn't a cook, she wasn't a dancer and among many other things she floundered at. Because she focused on training to be a Huntress, training to be the best she could be, and damn right she deserved to take pride in her abilities. So, what else could she do but shake at the prospect that her abilities were fiction? Accept it? No, she couldn't accept it. She could only stand against it. "Gah! I feel so… So…"
It was the epitome of frustration for the young girl. Handling negative emotions building up in her stomach was never her strong suit, but this was even worse because now her usual outlets were all gone. Scream into a pillow? No bedroom. Wave arms around like a madwoman? That's considered weird here, probably. Beat up some Grimm? She hated this stupid leg with it's stupid limp and it's stupid pains. It was like a stomach cramp that just wouldn't go away, twisting her insides in knots. The one thing she could give credit to in her condition was that the constant questions and growling she went through mentally made for a very good distraction. Such a good distraction that by the time she came back to reality, pulling her head up over the sea of thoughts for air, she came an inch away from slamming into the front door to the Open Lotus.
"That was close." She quickly muttered under her breath as she jumped back, eyes swiftly casing the area to make sure no one witnessed her aimless daze into the door. It seemed only the only soul around to watch was a bird, a crow, perched atop the slanted roof overlooking her. For a moment, her heart stopped, squeezing her chest tightly as the bittersweet delusion told her to keep her eyes on the crow. She shouldn't have but she could resist falling into a hopeful trance. She stared up at the animal for a good few minutes, and by the end of it the bird only shot her a curious stare before flapping off. It didn't change into a friendly face that would trap her in a hug that would make everything better. It was just a bird, nothing more.
Ruby sighed and, with a heavy heart, ripped her gaze away from the deserted rooftop and looked over the unpleasantly bright, yet dark building. "This is the Open Lotus? It looks… Inviting." Despite feeling like a germaphobe in a sewer tunnel, she took a deep breath, mentally yelled at herself to uphold positive thoughts and pushed through the door. Immediately, she was hit by the sickly yellow colour scheme. Honestly, while it wasn't the most appealing colour, it was a nice break from the constant blue of the outside, almost warm when she got past the smell it made her nose imagine. "Uh, excuse me?" Putting on her best nervous smile, she strode up to the greeting area with as much confidence as she could muster. It seemed to be empty at the moment with no one visible behind the glass, but the thick, choking aroma of smoke stabbing at her nostrils seemed fresh.
"What have we got here? Little kitten got lost?" It was only after the gruff voice hit her that she registered the sound of a door opening and shutting. To her side came a man who she could only assume was the 'Mr Gillman' the sign introduced as the landlord, pulling his ripped jeans up over his pronounced stomach and fiddling with the belt. A cigar was clamped between his lips, hanging over the remains of a shaved beard. Did he take a cigar into the toilet with him? Seemed like a choking hazard to her.
Ruby shook those questions out of her head, making sure she greeted the man politely. "Well, I'll admit, I got a little lost on my way here." There was a wiggling sensation creeping up her lower back, like a shiver that just couldn't quite make it. She felt eyes give her a thorough once over, but she didn't pay those feelings any attention, trying to break the ice of the tension she didn't know was there. It couldn't be that bad, the man had already given her a friendly nickname. "Maps these days, am I right?"
He let out a small snort, the sound reminding her of a dog sniffing the floor for anything interesting. She didn't know if that meant he found her joke funny but went to roll with it. Slowly, she approached the man, giving him a colourful smile and offering a hand. For a moment, he looked to her face, then to her hand and then back again with a look of suspicion. One she could see herself pulling whenever she suspected a Grimm was about to pop out and attack. "You sure you got the right place, Kitten? You kinda stand out here."
Her? Stand out? Ruby's smile only brightened at the comment, her previously awkward stance swelling with pride to something more stable. Maybe all hope wasn't lost after all. "I'm sure! This is the Open Lotus, right? I'm looking for a friend."
The cigar plopped out into his open palm as the man leaned closer, his rosy cheeks jiggling with the sudden movement, drawing attention away from his shifty eyes. "…You a cop?"
Instead of treating the implications of the comment with suspicion or foreboding, Ruby took this as a compliment on how fierce she looked. Playfully, she slapped the man on the shoulder (immediately regretting it as it felt like sticking her fingers in a spilt soft drink) and giggled. "Me? No, would never be able to get over the uniforms."
Mr Gillman nodded slowly, his smile returning as his fingers drummed against the back of her hand. "Oh, I get it. You're looking for a… 'Friend', ey?"
"That's what I said, isn't it?"
His hands came up in front of him to grip her shoulders, not anything rough but making her shift slightly. "Of course, of course. Where are my manners? I'm sure I can hook you up with a friend, right quick. 'Course, it's gonna take a little compensation."
"I get it, don't wanna waste your time." Ruby slipped out of his grasp as she bent over to reach for her new bland as toast wallet, shifting coins and notes aside. "Let's see what I have… OOoo, lookie here; ten liens. That's a score. You can buy, like, a lot of cookies with that."
Gillman's brow perked up, his throat rumbling as he let out a raspy chuckle. "You think I'm an idiot? That's chump change."
"Oh, was that insulting? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." Her cheeks burned crimson as embarrassment flushed through her, prompting her hands to wave about apologetically and her voice to shoot up a few octaves.
"Well, I feel offended anyway." His eyes narrowed, yellow teeth-baring firm and arms crossed over his chest.
Suddenly, his shadow lingering over her became much more noticeable. "Has anyone ever told you that you look a lot scarier up clos-" In a blink of an eye, she was on the floor with one hell of a headache. Though it wasn't the landlord that had struck her, something hit her from behind. All Ruby could do was stare up at the cracks in the ceiling as everything began to twist into blurry vision. "This is my life now. The floor is only one who doesn't push me."
Above her, a bright red hue shone through the vomit yellow aesthetics in the form of a woman. Ruby couldn't make out the face, just that the woman was leaning over her. "Blast it all; what was I thinking? Are you alright, Miss? Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going!" Peachy blobs that were assumed to be hands descended towards Ruby, which the girl instinctively grabbed onto, just thankful for someone to treat her nicely today. She misjudged this place, it might have looked a little shabby, but all the people in it are so nice.
"I'm used to it." Her voice came out strained, the voice you have after waking up in the morning and trying to fight the temptation to return to sleep. "Though you're the first person who was nice about… it…" The woman was strong, Ruby wouldn't say she was heavy, but still, the woman being able to so easily pull her up was surprising. And her voice was so soft too, like the strum of a harp, bring to mind images a burning spear darting behind a bronze shield. Wait, what do those have to do with harps? Ruby's vision started to peel back to a clearer view, slapping her brain awake and telling her that this voice was familiar. Her hand gripped the woman's wrist, pulling herself forward to get a full view at the voice that tickled the back of her mind, flickering joy and shame before her. "Pyrrha?"
There was no mistaking it, even underneath the drab clothing and dimmed lighting, Ruby could instantly see the warrior she knew. The warrior she failed. The warrior she watched die. "Uh, yes? How do you know my name?" It was an odd feeling for Ruby, staring into the eyes of someone she'd befriended and mourned, and those eyes only saw a stranger.
"I know… I heard it. From a friend." Lost in thought, she could only splutter out a quick excuse to avert the image of some sort of stalker.
Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly, rushing over Ruby with a contemplative stare. There was a flash of disappointment or maybe regret. Either way, Ruby could see that her association with Jaune was making Pyrrha question Ruby's own character. Not a good sign. "Oh. You must be a friend of Larry's? You don't look…" Her lips formed a thin line, the expression softening as she shook her head. "It's silly of me, I shouldn't be judging your appearance. Sorry. Again."
"No, no, it's fine." Ruby fought the urge to let out a loud sigh of relief, the last thing she needed was Pyrrha turning on her while she was already fighting the emotional volcano that this reunion had erupted. "But yeah, Larry and me, we go way back. Like way back." Immediately, the ex-maybe Huntress didn't like the way she was speaking. Her voice was awkward, but there was a hint of pride or snark to it, like she was trying to brag about her connection to Jaune. It's just me being frazzled, Ruby justified to herself mentally, I wouldn't do that and especially not to someone as nice as Pyrrha. "How… How do you know him?"
"I suppose he would avoid talking about us too much." The sigh that left Pyrrha's lips was one that had a good few years of experience. "Ex-wife. Well, soon to be, he sorta vanished before we could go through with the divorce papers."
"Oh." It was petty. Ruby knew it was petty and she knew that this was absolutely not the time for such feelings. And yet, that one comment, ex-wife, it struck a jealous chord in Ruby. One that wasn't terribly unfamiliar for the girl. Not only did seeing Pyrrha bring back both the good memories and the bad memories, but it also brought back the feelings Ruby had always pushed away for how insecure and vindictive they made her feel. Jealousy. Jealous of Pyrrha's relationship with Jaune, jealous of Pyrrha even when Ruby finally got with Jaune and now, even when everything was revealed to be fake, she was still jealous of a girl she didn't even know for having a past relationship with a guy she might barely know. This day had amplified all of Ruby's insecurities and it made her feel like such a jerk.
While on the inside, Ruby was having a mental yell at herself for inappropriate negative emotions towards a nice girl who had done nothing to her, on the outside, Ruby put on a brave face. "Terrible day, but one hell of an icebreaker, ey?" She was bad enough at small talk, but this was even worse.
"I guess." It was almost comforting that Pyrrha found this conversation as awkward as Ruby did, wringing her hands together as her eyes failed to find an appropriate spot to stare at without being weird. "I just came by to drop off his stuff. I didn't know he'd have company." Finally, Pyrrha's eyes, those kind eyes that shined brightly even under the dim lighting, decided to meet Ruby's bland ones. They were joined by a small smile. A smile that Ruby could imagine was once much wider but had been worn down over the years. "I didn't even know he had friend friends."
"I don't think he's expecting me. We sorta had a falling out today, so I've come to talk it out." Her shoulders hung low as she talked, voice rife with regret. On top of all her other conflicting emotions, then came back the gut-punch of a moment where Jaune broke up with her. No matter how much she denied her feelings on the matter, that it wasn't that bad, that she completely understood Jaune's reasoning; it stung. It still stung. "Then hopefully we can meet up with our other friends, Ren and Blake." A few moments of silence was traded between the two, Pyrrha, seeing Ruby's obvious discomfort, reached out to pat Ruby on the shoulder. This small act of kindness made Ruby push on a small smile, reminded that Pyrrha was an old friend. A dear old friend that she had the privilege of seeing again, even if the circumstances were completely screwed up. "I'm Ruby, by the way."
Pyrrha started to recite her own name, then awkwardly laughed as she remembered that Ruby already knew. From then, her hands retracted and fell into her pockets. "I hope you do better with him than I did."
"I'm sure you were fine!" She meant it. More than anything, Ruby meant it. Pyrrha was fine. No, she was amazing. Ruby was jealous because Pyrrha was so much better, so good, on a level that Ruby always had that doubt she could ever reach both as a person and as a huntress. "Some things just don't work out. Even when it looks so much like it should."
"Heh, I get that feeling." The weary glance Pyrrha offer was matched by Ruby's own, both girls taking comfort in the common ground. "Just don't get your hopes up too much. Reality can be disappointing." They didn't know each other, not in this word, Ruby didn't even know herself, but she could feel the years behind Pyrrha's words. It reminded her of Ozpin speaking of how many mistakes he'd made in his long life, she could just feel that it wasn't a light or ill-informed statement.
"It can be," Ruby began softly, closing her eyes for a moment as she felt her distressful emotions bubble over her and burning scars into her flesh. However, the pain she felt internally didn't compare to the pain caused by looking into Pyrrha's eyes, or Jaune's, or Ren's or Blake's. They were all hurting too. And whether the adventures they shared were real or not, the friendship that bonded them was still fresh in her heart. "but that's exactly why we should strive to brighten it up, right?" Even if memories threatened to come back and add extra details, even if the situations they believed were real were just simulations, they were still friends. They spent almost an entire year together and, even under a falsehood, you can't come out of that without some kind of bond. They were her friends and she couldn't let them down, no matter how much her optimism seemed to be delusion.
"Maybe." Pyrrha seemed to consider Ruby's simple words for a moment, but didn't seem to come to a positive conclusion for them. "It was nice talking to you, but I have places to be. Be careful with Larry, he seems out of it at the moment."
"It was nice talking to you to." Ruby gave her a small wave as the fellow red head moved past Ruby and towards the front door. "Oh, and Pyrrha?"
The woman came to a stop at a snail's pace, as if every step she was telling herself to get out of the building as quickly as possible. "Yes?"
Ruby took a deep breath. Maybe it was the guilt of a simulated death that Ruby's heart could never let go of, or maybe it was just as simple as not wanting to let a good person doubt themselves, but she had to help somehow. She didn't know whether she had any of her speeches still in her, but she had to try. For Pyrrha's sake, she had to try. "Sorry… Uh, about how your life turned out. I hope things get better."
The silence that followed was as heavy as steel, forming chains that choked Ruby into silence as she waited for any sort of answer. Pyrrha just stood there, her head staring directly ahead, not offering Ruby even a cursory glance of how those words affected her. Ruby got nothing but a slow nod and the departing figure of the back of Pyrrha's head. "That's nice of you to say."
"So…" A pause. Just an extra second to again take it all in. "You're a daddy?"
Jaune didn't even seem to be processing the information, just counting every crack on the wall in front of him under an intense stare, his voice monotoned and distant. "Apparently. A little boy named Jaune."
"Oh, that explains… A lot." Ruby appreciated that Jaune's back was to her as even she didn't know what kind of a face she was making as she stared at him. Her words came out in a forcefully casual tone, accompanied by many stilted pauses and stumbling as her mind kept swerving between different words to try and come off as supportive. "Hard to believe." After her talk with Pyrrha half an hour prior, Ruby had knocked on the door of Jaune's apartment expecting the worst. She was expecting snarky comments, frustration delivered through flying objects, hopeless wailing, something more emotionally exhausting to deal with than just his silent slump. She didn't know whether this meant he was taking it well or taking it horribly. Silver lining, sitting on a box while the two recounted their day and making small comments about the state of his apartment wasn't as awkward as she expected their conversation to be. It would almost be friendly if everything hadn't been so depressing.
"Tell me about it. I'm still trying to understand it all." Jaune looked at that wall like he was faced with the most convoluted mathematical equation of all time, the cracks forming multiplications, fractions and algebraic letters in an effort to confuse him.
Thoughtfully, Ruby stroked her chin, desperate to ease the tension with a good idea. "Do you need milk? I know milk always help me when everything is hitting hard."
She heard it. It was sharp, it was short and it was low, but she heard him chuckle. "Pretty sure the milk in my fridge is expired."
"Then we'll get you more! Anything you need to deal with this." Her lips parted to birth a toothy grin, as well as a small growl from her stomach at the thought of a drink or food.
"Ruby…" He turned to her and, to her surprise, he bore a small smile.
"Oh, I wasn't butting in, was I?"
He simply shook his head, breaking off his staring contest with a gentle cough as he strode closer to her and sat beside her on the makeshift sofa. "Are Ren and Blake okay?"
The two scooted closer together now that the air seemed to lighten, in a manner that was completely plutonic. "Oh, they're great. Blake's Butler is so nice!" Her hand came up to rub the back of her neck in that awkward manner it always did, a small smile of her own breaking through. Their situation was still bad, but after facing what seemed to be the brunt of it, it was like a veil had come down and they were allowed to be comfortable with each other again. They could distract themselves and focus on the future for now. "That reminds me, they said to call them as soon as I found you."
He nodded as he watched her rifle through her pockets for her scroll. "So, everything went well?"
"Oh yeah, everything went fine… You know, outside of the Grimm attack."
He continued nodding in a delayed few seconds before suddenly freezing into a statue and pushing his eyes wide. "WHAT!?"
"Oh yeah, I almost got eaten by a Nevermore. No big deal." She waved her hand in a dismissive wave as if she were still a huntress who could treat such situations casually.
"Are you okay? Do you need a hospital or something!?" The way he broke through any emotional barriers he'd raised, the way his body instinctively shot forward to pull her under examination, it sparked a fire in Ruby's heart that made her feel very warm inside. She was flushing red briefly, but a smile fought it's way through. He still cared this much, even after all he said.
"Whoa, whoa, I'm fine. My self-confidence has been hit over the head a little, but I'm good!" Her voice was light with humour as she patted Jaune on the back before pushing him off her. "Team CVFY saved me."
Begrudgingly halting his protective assault, Jaune leaned back and gave a pointed look. A whistle drew under his breath. "They're real people too, huh? What are they like here?"
Ruby hesitated, she didn't want to say anything bad about them, but she didn't exactly feel like the more complimentary words really fit here. "…A bit standoff-ish" A sigh broke free as she looked back on her encounter with them, how insignificant they made her feel. That wasn't their fault, was it? They probably didn't mean to intentionally anyhow. "You know, they have busy lives. Apparently, they're quite the celebrities…" Her voice fell for a brief regret. "Because they're Huntsman… And we're not."
"Must be why we had them as over-powered killing machines in the simulation." Jaune's face, on the other hand, drew together into a more thoughtful look. Again, the stare of a man trying to solve a problem. "So… Grimm, huh? Anything different about them?"
Ruby shrugged. "Not really. It's just they don't have an immortal witch on their side now."
"So, Grimm are just back to being a natural predator of our world?"
"Pretty much." Her arms came around her chest as she spoke, as if protecting herself from a sudden unseen chill. "I don't know why, but that doesn't feel as comforting as I thought it would be. You know, taking Salem out of the equation." There was something more unnerving about the Grimm not having one big evil face controlling them.
Jaune seemed puzzled by another aspect, squinting at her curiously. "How did they get into an underwater city without… Flooding everything?"
"I don't know." Ruby shrugged, raising her brow at the fact that of all the facts to focus on, that's the part Jaune questions. Though at the mention of the city's environmental situation, another question immediately came to mind. "Why is there an Underwater City?"
She found it adorable the way Jaune's face lit up as he'd found the answer to something for one, shaking his scroll at her to show the internet page he'd been looking at. Adorable in a completely non-romantic or attractions sense, of course. "The internet says it was built during a whole paranoid craze of thinking Atlas was going to unleash super weapons on the rest of the world. The founders found a region under the sea with special properties brought on by the gravity dust in the area, made it possible to house life. It said something about gravity pockets and stuff, but the science is kinda out of my depth. Makes it difficult for anyone to attack from the outside, at least."
Ruby shot out of her seat, eyes practically shining like stars at the prospect. "That sounds so cool. Incredibly dangerous, but cool!" She found herself pacing in front of Jaune, each step ringing out and guiding her thought process in understanding the information. "So, it's like some sort of war-time shelter? But then the war never happened?"
Jaune nodded. "So, they made it into a tourist hub."
They both shared a long, silent stare as everything around them seemed to slow down. It only then hit them how both meaningless, yet shocking the information felt for them to repeat to one another. "Everything has changed so much, yet also so little… It sure is disturbing."
"Ruby…" There was that soft utterance of her name that made her heart swell. Again, in a friendly manner.
She broke the quiet with a sight, slinking closer to Jaune and finding it too awkward to sit next to him now. "Hey, Jaune; um… Awkward question incoming." Her head nodded nervously to the lack of response, Jaune just waiting for her to continue. It wasn't an easy pill to swallow, to broach the topic she was holding on the tip of her tongue mere hours after she and Jaune had their big dramatic break-up. "Listen, I have literally no idea where I'm supposed to live. I don't have any clues in my stuff, I don't have any keys and I'm not allowed on Schnee property because I'm not fancy enough." He was silent. She could see that he understood where this was heading, but he wasn't budging, he needed her to ask for it, for both of their sakes. "Do you think I could crash here while we sort this out?"
For a moment, his face was unreadable and that made Ruby worry. That things would be too uncomfortable for him to take her in. However, his face eventually broke into a warm small smile as he reached forward and took her shoulder in his hand, much like Pyrrha had done. "Of course, Ruby, I wouldn't leave you out on the streets."
She shook her head, the smile breaking wide as she mentally told herself she shouldn't have worried that much. Jaune was too good a guy to let that get in between his friend's wellbeing. "I know you wouldn't."
Suddenly, his eyes darted to the side, voice dropping to an awkward stutter. "…As friendly roommates, right?"
Ruby followed suit, mouth now completely dry as she turned her eyes in the opposite direction. "O-Of course. Just roommates. Like back at Beacon's dorms."
He nodded, ignoring the cute blush that dotted her cheek, finding the ugly wallpaper far more enticing. "With no other relationships attached."
She nodded, not even entertaining the thought of saying that no matter what anyone else said that Jaune rocked that tacky moustache. Such a silly thought. "Yep. Just roommates."
"Because… Because we couldn't-" They both nodded because they agreed with each other so completely with no doubts in their minds.
"Not now, not after all the revelations and stuff." Neither noticed how, with their backs turned on each other, the two slowly found themselves leaning on the other as they talked. "You were right."
"Good."
"Good."
There was silence.
There was a small cough.
There was a creak from the apartment below them.
There was nothing between them.
Ruby shot to her feet, fumbling for her scroll as she hastily rushed out "We should go call Blake now before this conversation gets any more awkward!"
Jaune clasped his hands together, marvelling at Ruby's excellent point and not the way his heart fluttered at the squeak that accompanied her stumble. "Great idea!"