Chapter 17: Repercussions
"Yang!" Her teammates raced to the door when Yang stumbled in.
"You smell like alcohol." Blake noted, "Where have you been?"
"Alcohol? Is she drunk?" Weiss asked sharply.
"No, I'm not —" Yang tried to protest but Ilia stalked around her backside
"Woah. Okay." Was all the chameleon faunus said, staring at the holes in her clothes made by Drei's attack.
"I'm fine!" Yang turned to shoo Ilia away, revealing the torn up backside of her jacket to Weiss and Blake.
"Yang, what were you doing?" Weiss demanded, grabbing her partner by the shoulders.
"Just relaxing and having a night off." Yang shrugged and felt a bit of pain in her back. Sadly although Aura protected against physical harm it didn't mean it didn't stop pain.
"And how did this turn into you looking like you got in a fight with an Ursa?" Ilia asked.
"Where are your weapons?" Blake's words sent a chill down the brawlers spine. She suddenly remembered how she set Ember Celica down on the table to show Ruby she wasn't a threat.
Yang sighed. She knew she was cornered either way. "Junior's club. Went there for a few drinks, got in a brawl or somethin' and left Ember Celica behind on accident." She said.
"And this has nothing to do with Red?" Weiss asked, removing her hands.
Yang sighed and remembered her promise. "It does. I was told by my friend the other night she'd be there. We met, and Drei attacked me." She said.
"Drei?" Her teammates echoed.
"The dog from the docks?" Blake asked. Yang nodded.
"So Ruby brought her dog." Weiss said "And it attacked you."
"Yeah. I'm fine though, my Aura saved me from any serious damage." Yang shrugged. "At least I have backup jackets."
"Yang, don't keep secrets like that from us." Blake said. Yang frowned, but nodded.
"Alright, I won't." She agreed softly. Weiss app
"Yang. We want to be a team again — you're not helping by sneaking off to see Red and getting nearly mauled by her dog." Weiss pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I'm sorry about that. I just wanted Ruby to come home with me." Yang sighed.
"And I get that," Weiss nodded, blue eyes full of understanding "but please stop being reckless. Or at least tell us where your going and why, so we don't have a panic attack when you show up after being torn into by Red's rabid animal." She said.
"Yeah..." Yang nodded. "I think we should just go to bed now." She sighed.
"Remind me why we can't just pack up our bags and leave?" Ruby asked, throwing Dark Glory in the air and catching it by the handle. The girl was laying on the couch and playing with her weapon.
"Ruby don't do that, you'll stab yourself." Roman chided. "We can't because Cinder needs us, and she'd track us down and kill us in a heartbeat." He said.
Neo tracked the movement of Dark Glory in the air as Ruby threw it again. "Alright I guess. But what will happen when she has no more use of us?" She asked, catching the blade and pausing to look at Drei when the dog barked "I'm fine, this is perfectly safe." She rolled her eyes and tossed the weapon again.
"Well we'll probably move on to another place. Mistral seems good for rats like us." Roman said.
The whole time, Neo had inched closer to the couch, and when Ruby gave a sloppier throw, she snatched it out of the air mid-rotation. "Hey!" Ruby objected, reaching her arms up to grab her weapon. Neo shook her head.
'Don't do that, Ruby. You'll seriously poke your eye out.' Neo signed after setting the weapon down on the coffee table.
"Oh come on, Neo!" Ruby sighed overly dramatically. "I'm fiiine." She whined and let her arms drop down. "I have Aura for a reason." She gave the duo a pout.
"You're not. You were absolutely stupid! Yang was there and you allowed yourself to get disarmed by her?" Roman's voice rose slightly, and Ruby shrank down.
"She wasn't posing an immediate threat, and Drei was there with me." She said, looking anywhere but at the criminal.
"Immediate threat? Ruby that's bullshit! She's a huntress in training, she's a CONSTANT threat!" Roman snapped. "I'm sick and tired of this disobedience! You're going to be coming to Mount Glenn with us and you're working alongside those damn animals as punishment." He said.
"Fine." Ruby said softly. She had disobeyed too many times and the girl recognized she needed to start listening to Roman and Neo before she got into any more trouble.
"Good." Roman nodded. "We're gonna leave in a few weeks, so until that time no tv and no going out and no DustTube." He told her.
"What?! Roman! Isn't physical labor and humiliation enough punishment?" Ruby complained.
"I doubt it. I want you to stop meeting with Yang — any more and I'll make this seem like a joke." Roman's green gaze held a dark and serious gleam. Ruby looked away from him, she could tell he was severely disappointed in her.
"I wasn't meeting her on purpose. She just happened to be there when I went to wind down!" Ruby threw her arms in the air, slumping further and staring at the ceiling.
"That sounds like bullshit." Roman noted
Ruby gave a growl of frustration. "It wasn't! Ask Junior, I never asked around about her! She found me there and wanted to talk."
"And you didn't kill her? Like you promised to?" Roman asked, the second part a growl. The silver eyed thief sprung to her feet.
"I couldn't in front of an entire CLUB!" Ruby's voice grew louder. "Drei was there — he saw the entire thing! I didn't know Yang would be there, I swear it!" She was nearly shouting. Fuming, she whirled onto him. "Well? You know I wouldn't leave the house without you!" She told the dog. Drei yawned, whining. "Don't give me that!" Ruby spat "Tell them I'm not lying!"
Blazing silver met gold head on, and Drei barked once before turning to Roman and his head bobbed.
"She's not bribing you, is she?" Roman asked.
"What kind of idiotic question is that? I'd have no time from then to now to bribe him!" Ruby yelled.
There was a snap of Neo's fingers, and both turned to the mute who walked to Ruby's side. 'I believe her story.' She signed and Ruby opened her mouth to thank the mute, but Neo's hands moved again. 'But,' Ruby felt terror grip her heart 'That doesn't excuse the fact that she let herself get apprehended by an unarmed Yang.' Neo said, giving Ruby a pointed glare. The girl shrunk down.
"I'm sorry, Neo..." Ruby whimpered. She was scared of Roman, yes. But Neo was just as, if even more so, terrifying as the man.
'I'm gonna make you work until we go to Mountain Glenn. Not fun stuff like heists either. Boring tasks, like errands.' Neo signed. Ruby sighed and nodded.
"I... Understand." She said at last.
"Good." Roman said.