A/N: So I'm a week late...again… Is this the point I announce my schedule is now bi-weekly?
On a serious note, I've had several test the last few weeks, and it has sucked. I'm also going to promise that if a chapter is late, it will be 3k+ before A/N.
Anyway, for the chapter...A lot is happening. I had a lot of fun writing this.
Also forewarning, there will be an incredibly emotional scene in this chapter that even I wasn't ready for.
Alright, no more yapping out of me here, let's go on to the chapter.
I don't own RWBY or RT.
Guilty Rose Chapter 34
Roman knew he had done some despicable things in the past, even enjoyed doing some of them. Despite that, he still considered himself a man of standards. He is a professional thief after all.
And one of those standards was not to attack a former business partner out of personal feelings.
Adam Taurus obviously didn't share this standard, otherwise Junoir's men wouldn't be mopping up White Fang grunts off of the dance floor.
"Tell me again, what did you do to piss off the White Fang?"
Roman looked up from his glass giving the man tired glare.
"For once, this wasn't actually my fault, I completed my contract with them to the letter with minimal antagonizing."
Junior crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh don't give me that look. I'm serious, I finished my contract with him. I just...refused to continue working with them when they offered more work."
"Uh huh, and you gave me that file on all the White Fang bases and those instructions on how to distribute them because you just refused their offer."
Roman took sip from his glass and chuckled dryly.
"Believe it or not, but yes. I had to do that so I could walk out the building in one piece."
Junior glanced over his club before sighing and shaking his head.
"From how they acted, I think I am inclined to believe you."
Roman put his glass down and gestured for a refill.
"What happened to the good old days when crime was simple?"
Junior snorted as he poured the man another drink. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his adopted daughters approach, looking especially annoyed.
"Yo, Pops, we want daiquiris."
Junior snorted again and whipped up two more drinks and set them on the bar. The girls took them and immediately took sips.
"Ugh!"
"These are virgin."
"Of course they are, I may be a crime boss, but you're still my daughters."
Melanie pouted and Militia stuck her tongue out at him. After Junior gave them an unimpressed look they turned to Roman.
"So where's Neo at these days?"
"Yeah, she hasn't been by in a while."
Roman groaned and shook his head.
"She found herself a girl at Beacon, so she spends as much time there as she can."
"No shit?"
"Who?"
"No cursing Militia."
"Fuck off, you're not my real dad."
"I'll still bend you over my knee like you're my real daughter."
Roman huffed and picked up his glass to take a swig while the pair kept exchanging biting words that didn't seem to actually be biting.
"I think that's a record for how long they went before arguing."
Melanie shook her head as she snatched the appropriate liquor for her daiquiri only for the bottle to be snatched back mechanically by Junior. It was her turn to huff before turning to Roman.
"So Neo got herself a squeeze, you know who it is?"
Roman chuckled dryly again.
"You know that blonde that wrecked this place a while back?"
Melanie winced at the memory.
"Tell me it's not her."
"Nope, but it's her little sister."
Junior and Militia stopped fighting when they heard that and all eyes turned to Roman.
"Did you just say Blondie's little sister?"
Roman just looked at them half-heartedly curious.
"Yeah, apparently the girl turned up a while back after escaping some nasty shit, if what Neo has told me is to be believed. I don't buy it, but I've nearly had an umbrella driven through my foot so I don't argue anymore."
Junior and his daughters exchanged meaningful looks before all of them slumped down.
"Alright, I'll bite, what happened?"
Militia was the first to speak up.
"Blondie broke down after beating our asses is what happened. Poor girl kept sobbing about how much she missed her little sister. It was pathetic."
Melanie shot her sister a look before turning back to Roman.
"When we finally got Yang to calm down we got the whole story out of her...we couldn't really hold it against the girl for getting so emotional. I don't even want to think of what would happen if some took Militia, even if she is an insensitive bitch at times."
Militia shrugged noncommittally, seemingly to accept her description.
"Anyway, if she's been found, I kinda would like to hear what happened. I mean, Pops couldn't find her for Oum's sake."
Roman took a swig from his glass before shaking his head ruefully.
"You ever hear of the Guilty Rose?"
"Of course we heard of that psycho, you don't make the news...like...her… Oh, fuck, you have to be kidding me."
"Nope...also don't ever let Neo hear you call her Rose a psycho."
"Tell me your kidding though, Blondie's sis is the Guilty Rose?"
"Yep, she's the real deal too. Hell, she's the real reason why I can't work for the White Fang anymore, too many run ins."
Roman glanced over to find the trio sunk in their own little pity party.
"Oh stop. The girl may not be entirely harmless, but she's still trying to be a good kid. I'll even ask Neo to bring her by here some time if it'll make you feel better."
The poor attempt at reassurance seemed to somewhat work as Junior let a long sigh.
"Fine, bring her here. Also get Blondie to come along, I still owe her a drink."
….
Rose could barely focus on the match going on before her, her mind was too occupied with what happened the previous night.
Cin had just accepted Ozpin's deal, which was all she could hope for. But then Cin asked Rose to go back to her dorm so she could talk to Ozpin. It was when she reached the ground floor that she received a voice call from Mercury.
"Yes Mercury?"
"How much have you told Rose about Salem?"
Rose immediately realized that Mercury was trying to let her in on the conversation they were having behind her back. Rose immediately dashed off to her dorm with her scroll pressed to her ear.
"I haven't really told her anything about Salem… It's not exactly easy to tell someone I work for the immortal queen of grimm that's hunting them, and everyone like them, down."
Rose couldn't help but gasp.
"On that, I can't help but agree with you. Now then, as for the deal Rose negotiated on your behalf."
"All the information I have for a pardon and asylum."
"That is correct."
"Hey, before we go on, why is it a bad thing that Rose knows what we know? I mean, I know it's not easy to just flat out tell, but is there a reason she shouldn't know?"
"Mercury!"
"Ow, that was a legitimate question."
"Miss Sustari, he is correct, that is a legitimate question. The reason we are not informing her heritage and everything that comes with it is because of her fragile mental state. While she has made strides, especially since the beginning of the school year, I fear she would not handle that sort of news well."
"So, we're not trusting her with the information that she can destroy grimm with her eyes? Or that she's blessed by Oum to protect humanity?"
"Those are only the merits of her heritage. You forget that we just spoke about her being hunted by an immortal witch, and always will be."
"Ah so the plan is not only to not trust her, but also leave her unprepared for when Salem inevitably comes for her. Got it."
The next thing Ruby heard was a loud crack before the line went dead.
She couldn't sop shaking from all the thoughts running through her head. She didn't know how t feel about those revelations. She could destroy grimm with her eyes and she was going to be hunted for her entire life.
But more than that, how could Ozpin not trust her with this kind of information? How could he not trust her period after all this time?
Rose couldn't help but hug herself as she continued walking to her dorm.
And that was how her team found her, trembling and crying silently. Since then, Weiss had yet to let go of her hand, Blake had yet to leave her side, and Yang was still looking for whoever was responsible.
"And the winner is Nora Valkyrie."
Glynda's announcement and Nora's signature maniacal laughter called Rose back to reality.
"The next match is between...Yang Xiao-Long and Rose...would both of you come down."
Rose got up to go down to the are, but Weiss didn't let go of her hand immediately.
"Rose...I know whatever happened last night is still bothering you. So if you don't feel up to this match, just tell Professor Goodwitch, I know she'll understand."
Rose gave Weiss' hand a gentle squeeze.
"I know Weiss, but maybe this match will also help. Sparring usually helps Yang think things through."
Weiss didn't look convinced in the least, and so grabbed Rose's hand with both of hers.
"Rose, I don't want to see you hurt again. So please don't go down there if you're not one hundred percent sure you can do this without getting hurt."
Rose gave the heiress a soft smile.
"I promise, everything will be fine."
Weiss bit her lip, but nodded nonetheless and released Rose.
On her way down, Rose noticed both Glynda and Yang talking. They looked at her and motioned for her to join them.
"Rose, your sister has brought the issue that you still don't wear your aura as thick as you should for an armed match."
"It's not a problem."
"But it is Rose, she use shotgun gauntlets. Buck shot is not easy to evade or block."
Rose unconsciously pouted at the woman, thinking the match would be canceled. Glynda had to look away for a moment as to avoid the massive pools of silver boring into her.
"Miss Xiao-Long has offered a solution so that the match can still take place. You will both fight unarmed."
….
Raven and Summer both stood in Ozpin's office waiting for him to return from one of his walks around campus where he dispenses his wisdom to students.
"You know, we've been in here so much in the last two months, it almost feels like we're students again."
"Yep, we even have a sober Qrow running around. All we need now is for Tai to clean up his act and be the goofball he used to be."
Raven glanced over at her lover to find the woman fidgeting sullenly. She immediately jumped into action and Wrapped Summer in a warm embrace.
"Oh Sum, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought him up."
Summer snuggled into Raven's chest.
"It's okay."
"You want to talk about it?"
Summer shrugged meekly.
"I don't know. Part of me wishes you would have told me Ruby was yours from the beginning. That way I would have never gotten involved with Tai. Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but we just had no real chemistry."
Raven felt a pang in her heart at that, and so she decided to speak up.
"These last few months with you, they've showed me how much of an idiot I was for not telling you. I missed the chance of a lifetime to raise a family with you. And that led to Ruby getting taken."
Summer immediately jerked back and fixed Raven with a glare.
"How could you possibly think to blame yourself for that."
Raven held the smaller woman's eyes with a solemn expression.
"If I wasn't being such an idiot and just married you instead, or even just tried to be a part of her and Yang's life, I could have bound my semblance to her. And-and then when those bastards took her I could have gotten her back right then and there."
Summer's expression softened and she pulled closer to the woman.
"You couldn't have known that would happen, Raven."
"That's not the point! She's my daughter. I should have been there for her, I should have been there for you."
By this point Raven was sobbing softly while clinging onto Summer for dear life.
"I'm so, so sorry Sum."
Summer began rubbing comforting circles on Raven's back. Raven just nuzzled into Summer's neck and kept muttering apologies.
"It's okay, you're here now, and both of our daughters still need us. So we still can raise them together."
It was Raven's turn to pull back, but there was not anger in her, just remorse.
"I just wish I could go back and do things over again, do them right."
Summer took a moment to consider what she could say to help fix this, but all she could come up with was a joke from all those weeks back. A joke that still made her smile softly.
"Hey, I may not be able to turn back time, but as the mother of your children, I could always offer you another chance to be a parent."
Raven froze in Summer's arms before mechanically craning her head so she could look her lover in the eye.
"Did you just say what I think you just said?"
Summer cocked her head to the side, not exactly sure what was happening.
"I believe I suggested giving you another child, but I was just trying to ligh-"
A brilliant blush spread across Raven's features before she looked down and began stammering before forcing out what she wanted to say.
"I-if you're serious about that then I want to marry you first. Do things right this time like I said I would."
Summer could only stare dumbly for a moment while processed the statement.
"I was trying to make a joke, how did it come to this!… Well, then again, I'm not opposed to having another child, and I'm definitely not opposed to marrying her."
Her mind only cemented the ideas more as she continued to think on them. Finally she opened her mouth to deliver her response.
"I am serious, and I'll happily marry you...but you have to wear a wedding dress too."
Raven pouted cutely. She hated clothing that hampered her movement, such as long dresses, but she loved Summer more.
"Fine, but no heels."
"Deal."
Both women stared at each other in silence until the elevator chimed and opened to reveal Ozpin.
"Did something happen?"
"We just got engaged."
"Oh… Congratulations."
….
Rose and Yang took their positions across the arena from each other. Glynda raised her hand to call everyone's attention to her.
"This match will be fought unarmed, both students understand and accept this stipulation. Begin when the bell rings."
Both sisters took up their respective stances and waited for the bell.
"Hey sis, don't make it too easy for me to win."
Rose was caught off guard by that and ended up staring at her sister for a moment. Then she realized that Yang was just trying to banter with her. So Rose wracked her brain for a decent retort, not wanting to spoil her sister's fun..
"I'll...try not smear the floor with your face too much then."
Yang let out an unladylike snort.
"Nice come back, but you need to work on your delivery."
Rose decided to try again, digging as deep as she could.
"What can I say, I spend more time fighting than flapping my gums."
"Nice one-"
RING!
"-But you're going down little sis!"
Yang and Rose charged each other. Yang went to deliver an opening haymaker, but Rose ducked under it. Rose then delivered a trio of body shots to Yang's exposed side, making the blonde back off defensively.
Rose went to follow Yang, but quickly discovered she had been baited when Yang threw two jabs at her. Rose barely blocked the first hit and hopped out of range of the second.
Both girls kept their distance from each other while bouncing on the balls of their feet.
"Not bad little sis, not good, but not bad."
"That's more than I can say for you?"
Yang snickered at her sister's attempt before charging again. This time though, Rose was ready for her and sidestepped before jabbing at Yang's cheek. The hit landed solid, throwing Yang off enough so that Rose could push her advantage.
Rose started off with a low kick to throw her sister more off balance, she then followed the low kick with a high kick. She attempted to follow that kick up with a roundhouse, but Yang caught her foot and threw her back.
Rose stumbled and nearly fell as Yang regained her balance and charged her sister. Rose caught her footing just as Yang was upon her. From that point, the spar turned into a brief slug out.
Yang threw a heavy right hook that glanced off the aura of Rose's nose. Rose then responded with a flurry of six jabs that Yang could only block two of. Decided to kick Rose back, but the small faunus stepped in to evade it and kneed her sister in the side.
Yang grunted and jumped back, taking deep breathes to keep her semblance in check. Rose mirrored her sister's action, but that was to keep herself rooted in reality and not get lost in another flashback.
"Come on Rose, you're okay, you're not back there."
With one more breath, Rose recentered herself and looked at her sister who, despite her smirk, looked no better than Rose.
"What's wrong sis, got nothin' else?"
"I'm good."
Rose dashed forward this time. Yang braced herself for the upcoming barrage. She figured if she could weather this last ditch effort, she could win the match.
Yang threw her arms up to protect her head, thinking that would be where Rose was aiming.
She was wrong.
Rose stopped a mere foot and a half away and began delivering brutal body blow after brutal body blow. After the tenth hit, Yang couldn't take anymore and broke out of her defensive stance. Her semblance flared and she roared as she delivered a straight punch right at Rose's face.
Rose managed to bring her arm up just in time to catch the punch.
CRACK!
Rose was thrown several yards, and Yang realized what she had done and immediate deactivated her semblance.
"Rose!"
Yang was terrified that she actually hurt her sister, but she was relieved when her sister got back up. The relief was short-lived because when their eyes met, Yang's heart froze.
Rose's eyes were no longer the vibrant silver they were supposed to be, instead they were almost glazed over. Yang knew instantly that her sister was locked in another one of her episodes.
Before Yang could recover fully and brace herself, Rose dashed forward with her knife in hand. It wasn't until the blade nearly met her neck that it stopped. Yang glanced down to find her sister wrapped in a purple corona.
"That is enough Rose! The match is over."
Rose blinked a few times before she came back to her senses. The first thing she realized was that she had a knife to Yang's neck. The second thing she noticed was the unbearable pain coming from her arm, which was bent in a way that no arm should bend. Her vision began to blur and she could feel her body give way. The last thing she heard was Glynda's voice.
"Team RWBY, please take your leader to the infirmary, that will be all for this class."
A/N: So yeah, that was a thing. Like more of a thing than usual.
Recap time!
So a Roman check-in after all this time, that was a lot of fun. I really loved writing Junior and his daughters. Especially when Militia decided to talk back. Anyway, I will be playing with that later.
Rose sitting in class, that was an interesting scene to write. You see I didn't want to write Rose being there when Cinder gave Ozpin all the information she knew because inevitably silver eyed warriors would come up. So I had big bro Merc do his thing. He took one for the team so Rose could know that she needed to start asking questions.
Raven and Summer, the heavy scene...I honestly didn't plan that scene out in the least. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change a thing about it. I didn't realize how much I wanted Raven to apologize for not being there until I wrote that chapter. And then there's Summer just being her awesome self. And then, the BIG announcement. Yes, Summer and Raven will be getting married, and they will also be making another baby. Why, some of you may ask. Because I have planned this from damn near when I decided on having them get together. I will announce the child's name soon, and she will be important later on.
Finally the fight scene. I don't have much to say there. I liked writing the action sequence, and I'm sorry this has taken so long. I am a little disappointed in the end, but that's just because I don't think I did my absolute best.
End of recap.
ANNOUNCEMENTS!
I will be trying to get back to a weekly release schedule as I have been, it's just hard cuz life sucks and I have no one to sit here with me to help.
I have a very important introduction planned for next chapter.
I hate to beg for reviews guys, and I promise that any review is appreciated, but please review. When I get reviews it really motivates me to write. So remember, more reviews means quicker updates.
End of announcements!
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Please read write and review!