Chapter 5
…
"Oh no…" Tai uttered ghastly, his hand shaking along with the note he held in it.
He was gone just for a day.
He left early in the morning, and returned early in the morning the following day. Just roughly 24 hours of absence, yet apparently more than enough time to shatter his world once again.
"Ruby..." He whispered her name. The note slipping through weak fingers, and he rushed to Yang's room.
If she's gone too then I…He slammed the door open, and a hinge broke loose and rattled as it fell to the floor.
"…"
Just a brief moment of stiffening silence. Thereafter, a feverish observation that Yang was still here. And only then a realization that instead of one, he was met with two pairs of eyes.
"Ruby's gone, Yang!" He exclaimed in a form of a desperate shout, completely ignoring Jaune's presence for now.
She blinked in response, and then simply looked the other way.
"I know."
He wasn't sure he heard her right, and so he moved closer to her.
"What?"
"I read the note, so I know she's gone." A partial lie. She knew Ruby wrote one, but didn't bother to read it.
"Where?" He placed a trembling hand on her shoulder. "Where did she go?" The desperation was his voice.
"I don't know," She lied again, but her tone was so indifferent it'd be impossible to tell.
"…"
He took heavy, heavy deep breaths and slowly retreated his hand back. Emotions, but mostly fear rushed through him in waves, and he was ready to storm out of the room and chase after his missing daughter. And just as he spun himself around and slammed his foot down to the floor, he finally acknowledged there was someone else in the room.
Truth be told, he was ready to keep ignoring his presence regardless, but he just barely managed to recognize the boy.
"You're Jaune, right? One of Ruby's best friends, right?" He asked, but didn't wait for an answer. "Where is she? Tell me, where is she? You must know." He literally demanded, his fingers digging deep into Jaune's shoulders.
"I don't know." He lied as well.
To be honest, it was somewhat disheartening to lie straight into the face of someone who was that desperate. He didn't like it, but he also cared a whole lot more about Ruby than the man in front. She made it clear she didn't want him to know, and he wouldn't betray her.
"What do you mean, you don't know?" He lowly asked, his fingers digging in so deep that Jaune's face started to show signs of pain. "Don't lie to me, damnit…You know, don't you? You know where she's heading! And you're going to-"
"He doesn't!" Her cry cut through his desperate rage effortlessly. As it did, they both turned to give her a look and froze. "Ruby left with-out us noticing, and that note is all what's left behind! We don't know where she's heading or what she's after! Got it!?" She finished in a single breath, and left herself quite breathless.
"…"
He voicelessly stared at her for some moments to come, and eventually, his hands fell limp by his side. He bared his teeth, his jaw clenched tightly shut. Then his palms balled into trembling fists, edges around eyes hardened tenfold and soon thereafter, he stormed out of the room. Out of the house and down the snowy road.
"Ruby!" His cry of desperation and plea reached far, but even so was met with just howling of wind. "Ruby, where are you?!" He strained his vocal cords beyond their limits, and continued to aimlessly chase after her. "Damnit, why aren't there any footprints!?" He spat angrily.
Maybe right when Ruby left there were some left in the snow, but right now, he couldn't see any. Perhaps it was snowing at a certain point, covering her tracks completely. His chances of finding her plummeting down even harder as a result of it.
"Ruby! Ruby. Ruby…" His voice started to fade, his throat hurt and lungs were burning. He still had some strength left in his legs, quite plenty in fact, but emotional and mental exhaustion got better of him, and his sprint crumbled down to slow dragging of feet.
Why?
A voiceless question in mind, he stopped altogether and soon doubled over.
Why is this happening? Again?
First it was Raven, now it was Ruby who left him.
Why?
He fell to his knees. His insurmountable pool of aura and raw strength amounting to nothing here.
Bending lower, his face was soon buried into the snow, and not only did it hide his tears, it also muffled his sobs.
What? What did I do to deserve this?
He couldn't phantom, and most likely never will.
And so, he grieved alone on the snowy road.