Lol, chapter 69
The grass swayed against her legs, the wind blowing gently, the scent of spring flowers in the air. Yang clenched her hand, looking at the stone grave. She unclenched, sighing.
"Hey mom." She rubbed the back of her head, watching the white butterflies crawl over the stone, and dance in the air. "I uh, I don't really know what to say. I don't know what kind of stuff Ruby liked to talk about when she came here." She grasped her stump, drumming her fingers against it.
"So uh. How have you been, I guess?" The gentle breeze of the wind and the dancing of the butterflies was her response. She sighed, sitting down. "You know what mom? There was a time I really hated you." Her hair blew with the wind, shifting against her back. "I thought you must have hated me or something. Why else would you go on that mission and not come back when you promised you would? Why else would you make me have to replace you?" she shook her head, sighing. "I don't hate you anymore, I know I was just being stupid back then."
She was quiet for a moment, watching the white butterflies on her grave.
"Dad told me that he was in love with Raven and that she didn't really like him back for a while." She rested her chin on her knees. "Was it the same for you and him? Did you help set him up with her because you knew it would make him happy? And that other people's happiness is more important than your own?" She felt something warm slide down her cheeks. "Did you hate seeing them together?" She sniffed. "Did it kill you inside every time you saw them together? Knowing you had no one to blame but yourself?"
The butterflies flew off the grave, joining the rest in their dance.
"When Raven left…. what was it like?" she asked. "Did you feel betrayed? Were you afraid she was dead? Was she…" she closed her eyes. "Did Raven ever keep a huge secret from you? And that when you found out the truth, it made you question everything you knew about her? If she was really your best friend? A-and did you hate yourself for thinking that about her?"
She opened her eyes, staring at the grave, the butterflies still hovering above it. The wind blew again; Yang gasped at what felt like arms wrapping around her. She bolted upright, spinning around. The forest was empty; the grass swaying with the breeze. She looked back at the grave, the white butterflies having disappeared. She eyed the grave for a moment before turning to leave, clutching her stump.
She stumbled alongside him, her head swimming as she held onto his arm. Street lamps flickered to life as twilight descended.
"You should not have drunk that much," Yatsuhashi said. Velvet rolled her eyes, looking up at him with a smile.
"Come oooonnnn, we gotta loosen up a bit. We did that mishion, we deserved a reward." He grunted.
"I don't like seeing you drink like that." He said. She rolled her eyes again.
"We got all the supplies Glynda needed, why shouldn't we celebrate? It's not like we do this all the time." She said. He was quiet as they walked.
The building's around them began to illuminate as the twilight deepened. She groaned in annoyance as the mechanical voice spoke. Yeah, yeah, all Faunus have to be inside, whatever. She let go of Yatsu's arm, walking ahead of him a bit, stumbling slightly. They weren't too far away, they should be able to get back home soon…ish. She shrugged. As long as they didn't run into any police, she should be fine.
She slowed as two men in front of a building looked at her, their eyes narrowing at her ears. They stepped away from the building, stepping in front of her.
"Didn't ya hear? You're supposed to be home by now."
"Thought animals were good at listening to directions. You stupid or something?" She frowned, balling a hand into a fist. One of the men cocked an eyebrow, the other laughing. She heard Yatsu running up.
"What's with that stupid beret, you think we won't notice you're ears if you wear em like that?" the first man said. The other man sneered, holding out a hand, reaching for her beret.
Velvet yelled, her first slamming into the man's face, hurling him to the ground. The first man staggered back, his jaw dropping, his eyes shooting wide in fear. She lunged at him, grunting as she felt someone grab her from behind. She looked back; Yatsu had her in his arms, shaking his head. Velvet struggled against his grip, turning and scowling as she watched the two men flee.
He watched her pace, leaning against the wall of their apartment.
"You shouldn't have stopped me. Those guys-"
"Would have gotten the police involved. And we would be in prison." Velvet stopped, scowling at him.
"We're Hunters."
"And you're a Faunus." She stormed over to him, glaring up at him, her hands on her hips.
"So what, I'm supposed to just take crap like that? I'm supposed to just stay in my place?"
"No. But picking a fight with random bigots will not solve the issue. And given who you are, I don't want the police to have an excuse to…to…" Her expression softened as he trailed off. He sighed, looking away.
"If Coco was there… she'd have kicked their butts." She said. He looked back at her. She was looking at the floor, a far away look in her eyes. Her ears twitched beneath her beret. "If Fox was with us they wouldn't have even tried to mess with us."
He got off the wall, wrapping his arms around her, stroking her hair. She embraced him, holding him tight. She smelled of cheap liquor; Coco's favorite kind.
"Why?" she asked. "Why did it have to be them?"
He couldn't answer. She shook her head, her hair brushing against his arms.
"Why am I even here? I wanted to become a Hunter to help people. But everyone hates me. Everyone hates me over something I don't have control over." He squeezed as he felt her tremble. Her voice broke. "Why can't everyone be like Coco? Why are they all so hateful. Why are they all like this?"
He couldn't answer.
"I just want to help… why is that so hard?" she sniffled. "I wish… I wish I could go somewhere, and be able to just do that. I want people to look at me the way Coco, and Ruby, and Yang looked at me. I want to be a person." Yatsuhashi looked at their weapons leaning against the opposite wall.
He had an answer.
Glynda adjusted her glasses, her scroll in hand. Velvet and Yatsuhashi stood before her, wearing backpacks.
"You're sure that this is what you want to do?" she asked. Velvet nodded.
"Yatsuhashi was more sober then I was when we came up with the idea, but," she paused "Even after sobering up I thought it would probably be for the best." She shifted, resettling her backpack. "I think we'll be able to do more good in Vacuo. I'll be able to help more people without being held back by this curfew, or the humans being… well… the way they are." She said. Glynda sighed, but nodded her head. She smiled at them.
"You will be missed. But I hope that you'll find what you're looking for over there." Velvet nodded, smiling back. She played with her hands for a moment before lunging forward, embracing her. Yatsu lumbered over, joining the hug. Glynda smiled, closing her eyes, and hugging them, painting their faces into her memories. They broke the hug after a moment, Velvet beaming at her.
"When the CCT gets repaired, we'll make sure to keep in contact, Headmistress." Yatsuhashi said.
"It's just Glynda, for you two." Yatsu nodded politely, Velvet giggling.
"Thank you for everything… Glynda," Velvet said. Glynda smiled at them. They nodded at her one last time before turning to leave. She felt something slide down her cheek as she watched her children leave.
She slowly climbed the stairs, gripping the rail. She reached the top, glancing at her bedroom door, and then at the room further down the hallway. She hesitated for a moment before walking down the hallway, past her bedroom door. She stopped in front of hers, clenching and unclenching her hand as she looked at the door knob. She took a breath, and opened the door.
Ruby's room looked exactly the same. Those crimson walls covered in those band poster's she had saved up so much for. Her bookshelf crammed full of books and comics, a few figurine's of her favorite cartoon character's stacked there as well. Yang chuckled as she looked at the figurine of a girl in a frilly pink dress, the memory of the fight she had to win to pay for it replaying in her mind. Her bed wasn't made, the black comforter tossed lazily over the mattress. She sighed, her shoulder's slumping. Everything was coated in a fine layer of dust, the air stale and stagnant tasting.
She sat down on Ruby's bed, closing her eyes, gripping her knee.
Why?
Why did she leave?
Why does everyone always leave?
She shook her head, opening her eyes, looking at the remains of her arm.
Why would Ruby want to bring her along.
while you've been here, she's been out in the wilderness. she must be terrified. what a great older sister you are, moping around while she's out trying to help others.
She scowled.
when she needed you most you couldn't be there to help her.
"Where was she when I needed her?" Yang growled.
out stopping the people who caused all of this. being the hero that she is. you're not the only person who needed her, she must have thought you'd understand that.
"She... she left me though…"
and she'd change it if she could. but she knows she has a job to do. just like summer did.
Yang's lips parted; that grave, those butterflies.
Yang gasped, a spark igniting, fire shooting through her body, her aura crackling around her, the end of her stump itching, burning. She staggered to her feet, gasping, sweat coating her, pain pulsating throughout her body, the end of her stump growing hotter. She fell to her knees, her eyes widening, clutching her head, every inch of her body sizzling, her blood searing as it coursed through her veins. She fell to the floor, thrashing on the ground, grasping her head, gasping and groaning in pain, every nerve burning.
I-!
I won't-!
I wont let Ruby end up like her!
Yang screamed, squeezing her eyes shut as the flames consumed her. The flames shot through her body, firing to the remains of her arm, her screams growing louder as they burst forth. Her eyes snapped open, the fire in her body dying, flames sputtering from the end of her stump, elongating, sparks falling as it took a form. She grit her teeth, watching the flames contort, bending, and growing longer, forming a palm, digits extending out of it.
Her breathing was ragged, sweat dripping down her body as the flames began to calm. She swallowed, turning the flaming hand over, flexing the fingers, watching them move. She clenched her hand, watching the flames form a fist.
Yang smirked.
He patted down the soil, smiling as he buried the seeds. They should grow in well. He wiped at his brow, flicking the sweat away. He looked up as he heard the door open, his jaw dropping.
Yang stood on the porch, a fiery yellow arm forming from her stump. She rubbed the back of her head with the flaming arm, giving him a sheepish grin.
"You said you wanted to get to train me, right?" she asked. She brought the arm down, sparks leaping from it as she flexed her fingers.
Tai smiled, nodding at her as he got to his feet.
I originally wasn't going to include Velvet in the story past her last appearance but since we now know where she is in canon, I wanted to try and match it encase she shows up further down the storyline when RWBY get to Vacuo. I had some writer's block with this chapter so hope you like how it turned out.