True to Ruby's word, the farther they walked, the more the trees took on an ominous shadow as if the light never truly reached their bark. After a while, Weiss felt as if eyes were staring into her back. She was about to turn when Ruby's voice rang loud and clear in front of her.
"Eyes front. Ignore the feeling you're being watched." Ruby ordered, her voice as hard and unforgiving as the environment they ventured through.
Weiss pushed the impulse out of her head, but still felt uneasy as the feeling of being watched seemed to multiply with every step until her brain was almost screaming for her to turn and look. The shadows had spread to almost every tree Weiss could see from her cone of vision, even her peripheral vision gave her the feeling that the shadows were moving, jumping from tree to tree. She endured three miles of the horrible feeling, her intuition telling her to both listen to Ruby's orders and run at the same time.
At last, Ruby walked out into a clearing, leaving the trees behind, and the shadows with them. Weiss sighed in relief as the feeling of danger eased from her mind.
"Eyes front. Don't turn until we get to the cliff." She instructed as she kept her pace steady. Weiss listened as she felt a new sensation pricking at her mind that was very different, yet somewhat similar to the one they'd just left behind.
Weiss continued to follow Ruby's measured strides through another small span of trees until the ground gave way from dirt to stone where the trees couldn't hope to grow. Ruby turned and smiled at her teammate, a smile that was more relief than joy.
"I hate that area. But there was no way around it from the direction we were coming from." Ruby explained with a shrug. "It wasn't always like that though."
Weiss nodded, having the feeling that Ruby was saying more than what the words actually meant. They continued traveling across the stone ground for a while as they followed the edge that turned out to be at the top of a three or four mile drop into more forest.
"On the way back, we won't have to go through there. So you don't have to worry about that." Ruby said as she led Weiss across the cliff. The rock slowly curved, letting them see only a small area of the path in front of them.
"I know it's easier to walk here, but wouldn't we be safer in the edge of the forest?" Weiss asked. "You know, away from the edge of the cliff?"
"Normally, but the grimm around here are odd. You might see what I mean later." Ruby answered cryptically.
They continued on in silence for a while before Weiss identified their goal. A small rock in the distance came into view as the cliff straightened out. Even from that far, Weiss could tell that it was handmade. The angles on it were far too sharp and straight to be natural.
When they finally reached it, Ruby knelt down in front of it and brushed what little snow remained off its surface.
"Hi Mom. It's been a while." Ruby spoke to the stone. Weiss felt the overwhelming urge to cry well up as she realized where they were. Instead, she sunk down her her knees beside Ruby, not knowing what else to do. "You're probably wondering why I brought you here, Weiss. And I'll get to it. I just need some time to figure out how to say everything."
"It's okay, Ruby." Weiss said, brushing the outside of her hand with her fingertips. "I'm… I'm here."
Ruby exhaled a long, slow breath and nodded. The silence between them sat for a few minutes until she took another deep breath to speak.
"I was only five when she died, you know." Ruby said. Her voice was quiet, but loving as if the memories being recalled were both sad and happy at the same time. "I found out the details of her mission when I was eleven by reading the after-action report in Vale's public records."
Weiss held her silence, knowing it was hard enough for Ruby to open up about this topic without her interference. Any questions she had could be answered later, if they needed to be asked at all.
"It was a patrol mission. Like the one we just came from." Ruby continued. "All the intel pointed to a simple, low risk scouting mission that shouldn't have taken longer than a day. It was wrong. Three days later, an entire team was sent out as a search party. Only one hunter returned."
Ruby stopped there. She changed her sitting position so she'd be more comfortable on the hard stone and turned so she was facing Weiss.
"I read the after-action report that hunter made. He described the sensation we experienced in the forest back there in disturbingly vivid detail, but that's where it stopped making sense." Ruby said. "He described shadows that moved impossibly fast, and attacked with devastating power…. At the end of the report, it was noted that he was admitted to a mental institution. In the end, they changed my mom's status to killed in action when a large group flying by noticed her blade embedded in this cliff."
"Ruby, I'm sorry." Weiss didn't know what else to say. What could she say to someone who'd lost a close family member, and not known for sure whether they were actually gone.
Ruby shook her head dismissively. "I was twelve when Uncle Qrow first took me to see the grave he made for her. He said this is the exact place they found her weapon. That was when I started concentrating on my training."
Ruby looked out over the cliff and sighed. Weiss watched, not knowing what to do to help Ruby, but grateful that she was able to experience the trust Ruby was showing her.
"You know, I didn't lie on that first night. When I said I wanted to be a huntress to help people." Ruby continued, speaking more quietly than she had been. "I didn't lie, but I didn't say the entire truth."
"Ruby…" Weiss felt like they were heading to a point that she would rather not visit, but Ruby ignored her.
"See, ever since I found out about mom's death, something inside me has been telling me its not real. That all I need is to become stronger and I can get her back if I can just kill the grimm that took her from me." Ruby said with a shake of her head. "I know that's not how things work, but it's been my goal to kill whatever is in that forest back there."
"I… don't know what to say." Weiss voiced her feelings honestly. She'd never seen Ruby like this before. So exposed and at the same time so raw and unguarded, but strong. Weiss felt as if she was seeing the inner workings of how Ruby for the first time.
"But lately I've been thinking that I can finally let go." Ruby said, turning back to Weiss. "For the last few years, I've worked to become the best huntress I could be, not for some stupid idea of revenge, or to become what I've always wanted to be. I've worked for our team. For Blake and Yang. Most importantly, I worked for you. I was always afraid that I'd let you down if I didn't do well. That you'd be disappointed in me if I wasted my time at Beacon. I never intended to fall in love with you. But I did. I could never have imagined that I would tell this story about my mom to anyone at all, let alone you. But I did. You might not know it, but that's why I wanted my tips died white. Because it reminds me of… everything you've done for me."
"Ruby…" Weiss was lost for words. She hadn't anticipated Ruby confessing her feelings for her when she'd asked her to tell her story, but that hardly mattered at this point. "I didn't know you cared so much."
"Well, I guess you helped me figure out something Uncle Qrow told me a while ago." Ruby smiled. "At the time, I shrugged it off, thinking that being able to protect scores of faceless people would be incentive enough. Now I know he was giving me advice about how I continued to live my life."
Ruby got up and faced back out over the cliff as she took a deep breath.
"If I really want to become a huntress, I need a real reason to put my life on the line." Ruby said. "Right now, I can still choose what I want to do, but there's only so long I can put off my decision. If I continue down the path I've been walking on for years, I'm sure I'll die. It might not be soon, but it will definitely result from being a huntress. I know you say you can't make any choices in your life, but I disagree. I asked if you'd come here with me today, and you chose to follow even though you knew it meant getting back to school a day later and that it would cut into your study time."
"Well, I wouldn't say that-" Weiss started to argue but was ignored.
"You say you serve no purpose but to serve your family, but that can't be true. Otherwise, you wouldn't spend time with someone like me. Someone with average grades, who is on the edge of becoming antisocial, is somewhat of a weapons fanatic, and who will never make enough money to even see the top end of middle class." Ruby turned and looked Weiss dead in the eyes. The steady silver making it clear Ruby was as serious as she'd ever been as she spoke the next few words. "You spend your time with me. Laughing, studying, just relaxing around the dorm, because you want to. Not because your family wants you to. I know you have things you have to do after we graduate, but please, would you just consider that maybe… just maybe, I don't want you to do some of them? That maybe you don't want to either? That maybe, somehow, we can work things out and both be happy?"
"I've already told you I can't!" Weiss cried, her voice cracking at the emotional turn Ruby's dialogue had taken. "I can't go against my family! I can't just say no and walk away! Since the moment I was conceived, I've had my life planned out for me. I can't run away from the life I was given, but while I've been at Beacon I've felt free. And I can thank you for showing me that, but it's still just an illusion! In a few months it'll disappear just like that town we just scouted or your mom! I'll be living the life that was set out for me and then, once I've fulfilled my duties, I'll end it! Happiness is a luxury people like myself just can't afford!"
Ruby stared back at Weiss for a long moment that stretched as if it would never end. When it finally did, Ruby sounded defeated.
"So I guess that's it then." She said to the still air between them.
"Yes… I suppose it is." Weiss breathed as she came down from her shouting high.
Another long moment passed and Ruby looked down at the stone between them.
"We should get going. It'll be getting dark by the time we get to the wall." Ruby said half to her mom and half to Weiss.
"Ruby…" Weiss started, wanting so badly to apologize, but unable to find the words since she'd only spoken what she knew .
"It's fine. Let's just go, okay?" Ruby asked quietly as she turned to the forest.
She walked away without waiting for a reply.
Not a single word had been exchanged between the two teammates on the trip back, only a simple farewell before they parted ways inside the city. Ruby had mumbled something about stuff to do downtown and Weiss was exhausted from the mission and the stressful atmosphere that hovered over them on the way home.
Weiss walked slowly down the dark streets, passing smiling people walking in the opposite direction. They were most likely headed to the city center for the nightclubs and bars that were popular among the young crowds. Technically, Weiss was part of that crowd too, but her responsibilities to her family outweighed the wish to drink away the bad day.
She wasn't an alcoholic, but on days like this she did enjoy something strong to help her fall asleep. Especially considering she'd be up with her torturous thoughts otherwise. Normally it was easy enough to swipe something from Yang's stash, but the results were somewhat disappointing. But expected due to the cheap liquor Yang tended to buy.
Weiss sighed and turned down another random street as she worked her way closer to the cliff where her dorm sat waiting. She passed yet another group of people who were all laughing and yelling at each other as they started their night without any worries. Weiss glared at them as she passed, the few who took notice of her lost their smiles and fell silent until she'd passed completely. A few whispers broke out but Weiss ignored them. She must have looked odd, with her dirty white outfit and large old backpack. The only thing that justified her dreadful appearance was the gleaming rapier at her side. The warning to her enemies that she wasn't easy prey.
Weiss turned another corner to find herself facing a dead end. She started turning back when she noticed the bright white sign that was just above her head. It was a liquor store, and the place looked abandoned. The exception was the security guard sitting on a lawn chair and smoking beside the entrance and the freckled ginger reading a magazine behind the counter inside.
"Well, that's tempting…" Weiss mumbled to herself as she walked through the door, ignoring the guard's look that made her feel like she was a potential criminal.
She made her way to the back of the store where the large label on the wall indicated the vodka section. She quickly found a quality bottle and took it up to the register. She didn't wait for the teen to get to his job and dropped some lien on the counter with a generous tip. She opened her backpack and placed the bottle in it while the boy was fumbling with the register and left, ignoring his calls about her change.
She found her way back to beacon soon after, her feet long since numb from the endless walking of the past two days. She opened the door to her dorm to find both her teammates were in for the night while Ruby was still absent.
"Yo, Ice Queen!" Yang greeted as she dropped the text book she was studying. "Where'd you leave Ruby?"
"I don't know. She left me at the wall, saying something about downtown." Weiss said, dropping her bag onto the foot of her bed and tossing her jacket over it.
"Well… that's strange." Blake said from behind her book. "Did you two have another fight?"
"No. Ruby and I have just come to an understanding. That's all." Weiss replied as she picked up her nightgown. "I'm going for a shower."
Weiss left her teammates with frowns on their faces. It wasn't anything new to Weiss as this had happened almost routinely over the past few years. Every time, it seemed everything was her fault. She was the one who made Ruby cry. She was the one who let her eat too many cookies. She was the one who laughed at Ruby's mistake.
As she closed the bathroom door, a new thought came to her. I'm the one who rejected her. I'm the one who broke her heart…
Weiss didn't quite know what to make of the new situation. She remembered every tiny detail that had happened since her explosive first encounter with the scythe-wielder. The hot water felt nice, washing away the feelings that lingered with the caked on dirt. She started wondering when Ruby's infatuation with her had all started. It definitely wasn't that first day, nor the first month. Throughout her education, she had been slowly spending more and more time with her team leader, though it was only obvious in retrospect.
She remembered their first all-night study session. Ruby had been goofing off most of that day and Weiss had refused to let her sleep until she finished studying all the material in her Grimm Studies book. Needless to say, Weiss had failed somewhere around four the next morning when she'd fallen asleep while Ruby was actually working. She'd woken up cuddling Ruby and had quickly removed herself from the situation. Ruby either never knew what had happened, or she chose to ignore it.
Weiss's birthday that first year was interesting. Ruby had decided to take the whole team to the carnival on the docks. Weiss remembered she'd complained about missing her study time but was ignored by the others. Eventually, Ruby had gotten her alone on the ferris wheel to give her the present she'd made. It was a small key-chain with a cute little dog on the end. At the time, Weiss had been speechless at the unexpected gift. Even now, she still had it attached to her backpack.
Weiss thought over many more memories as she scrubbed the remaining dirt from her skin. Ice skating, the food fight incidents, the tournament, a hundred missions into grimm territory, the trips to the Forever Fall, and the time the oil ran out on an extended mission in the middle of winter. Not a single one gave her any clues to help solve the mystery she was facing.
In the end, she realized it didn't matter. None of it did. Nothing had changed in her life. It was all still planned and moving forward as expected. She was still to be married and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it even if she wanted to.
That thought was also new.
If I could get out of my arranged marriage, would I?
The question was simple, yet her answer was somewhat confusing as she thought over the proposition. On the one hand, she simply did not want to be married. If it was her choice, she'd take over the company on her own and deal with finding a successor later on, when the situation called for it. Any business acquisition that came from her marriage would definitely be possible with the resources her family had access to. There was simply no need to use her life as a bargaining chip in a deal. But therein lies the problem… I'm worth that entire fortune, but it wouldn't cost that much to marry me off. In fact, I suppose it may even increase that fortune rather than deplete it.
She sighed as she considered the alternative. If she were to give up her inheritance and disown her family, she could simply do what she chose. She could get a job at a small firm, or go on hunts as someone who would by that time have huntress qualifications. She'd be entirely free from any obligations to her family or the company, at the cost of the uncertainty that would come from parting with her riches. She was smart enough to know that financially, she'd be lucky to stay out of debt. Socially, she'd most likely be pushed out of most lower level business jobs due to her social skills. She may be able to make up for that with her skills in analytics or politics, but she doubted it. Another option would be to rely on her modeling career, but that too would likely end quickly as she would lose sponsorships from the dust company and she wouldn't stay the same age for ever. The only guaranteed job was becoming a huntress like her partner, and even then it would be plenty of work for little pay.
Logically, she worked well with Ruby and has increased her kill efficiency at a steady rate over their time at the combat school. She would make a valuable addition to any team, but that was the problem. Her combat style suffered when she was alone. At least when she had Ruby by her side, she could focus on each kill while Ruby controlled the crowd. She could provide support to her teammates quickly, and from a distance. But she couldn't defend. She could only redirect incoming attacks in order to minimize their effectiveness. Something that was of crucial importance for the solo hunter.
She knew the statistics of the job opportunities hunters had. Only thirty six percent were for teams greater than one person. And those jobs tended to get messy. Her chances of success in the industry seemed laughable at best.
She stepped out of the bathroom to find only Blake remaining in the dorm. As always, she was reading.
"Yang stepped out then?" Weiss asked rhetorically as she moved her jacket to a laundry pile and started unpacking her backpack.
"Yes. She went to find Ruby." Blake answered in her usual monotone.
Weiss simply nodded as she added more laundry to the pile and sorted the gear that would need to be returned to the armoury. She pulled the bottle of Vodka, still cold from the freezer she'd bought it from, out of the backpack and placed it on the bookshelf just beside the window.
She shoved the backpack under her bed and sighed as she took a glass from the clean stack on the back of the study desk.
"Would you care for a drink as well?" Weiss asked her faunus teammate before she returned to her bed.
"No thanks." She replied shortly, looking over the book to see what Weiss had been offering.
"Suit yourself." Weiss shrugged as she sat back on her bed. She took the top of the bottle off with a flourish that had been trained into her. She poured herself a generous amount and started sipping it while she looked out at the shattered moon floating just above the library across the courtyard.
All was silent in the room for a while as Blake read and Weiss sipped her drink, trying to push thoughts of betrayal out of her head. The fragments of the moon slowly changed shape as they twisted in the void of space from whatever impact that had shattered them from the orb eons ago. Weiss watched as she finished her glass and poured a second.
"It's not my business to butt in, but if you'd like to talk about it, I'll listen." Blake offered at length, setting her book aside and rising to take a glass. She sat down across from Weiss and gestured to the bottle between them. Weiss replied with a nod and Blake took the bottle and served herself a small shot.
Weiss kept silent for a while until she had her thoughts sorted. Out of everyone she knew at the academy, Blake was probably the one person she'd be able to talk to. She wouldn't judge her too harshly, and she often saw things in an analytical light just as she did. If anyone could help her organize her whirlwind of thoughts, she had the best chance of success.
"Alright. But I have no idea where to start." Weiss said as she downed the rest of the glass and placed it down on the shelf beside the bottle.
"Maybe you could start with why Ruby ran off as soon as you got to the wall." Blake suggested after a moment.
Weiss thought about it and really couldn't find an answer that she'd be happy with, so she started telling Blake about the patrol. She told her about how she'd confronted Ruby about her attitude during the missions, she spoke about how they visited the grave and what took place between them. She explained how Ruby had walked off, how her expression was still burned into her memory.
Weiss poured herself another drink as she fell silent, waiting for Blake to speak. Waiting for her to say anything that might make her feel better about her situation or resolve it.
"I suppose that makes sense then. I had a feeling this would happen sooner or later." Blake sighed while placing her glass down on the shelf. She stretched out on her bed and turned to look at the heiress with her bright amber eyes. "You shot her down pretty hard."
Weiss felt the familiar stab of guilt run through her as she nodded her response. There was no denying it, she'd been unintentionally brutal with her partner.
"I know it's not what a Schnee does, but you could start with an apology." Blake suggested, knowing that Weiss was looking for advice. "Maybe take her out on a date or something."
"But I can't do that!" Weiss argued only for Blake's eyes to lock onto hers and narrow in an unspoken threat. "Yang would kill me for toying with Ruby when all is said and done."
"That doesn't change the fact that you need to apologize." Blake stated firmly. "And like you've said, and I quote: I'm free right now. Just make sure you tell her that it can't possibly continue post-grad. She just needs to get you out of her system."
"Are you sure it's that simple?" Weiss asked hesitantly. She was afraid that Blake didn't know Ruby as well as she did.
"Have I ever told you about my first boyfriend?" Blake asked in reply. Weiss shook her head and Blake sighed. "To make a long story short, I thought I was in love until I actually started dating him. After the third or fourth date, I realized the feeling wasn't what I thought it was and I didn't actually care for him that much."
Weiss took in her words while nodding. When she spoke, she couldn't hide the hesitation from her voice. "So you think Ruby would be okay if I… dated her for a while?"
"Bingo." Blake answered and turned away while pulling the covers over herself.
Weiss looked back out the window. The fragments of the moon continued to turn just as they had for millennia as Weiss slowly came to a decision about Ruby.
"Hey Rubes!" Yang yelled loudly in the moderately populated communications room of the Vale Cross Continental Transmit Tower. A few people looked up in confusion at the blond as she walked to the far side of the room where she'd spotted her sister sitting at a booth.
"Those files are quite old, are you sure you don't have the incorrect directories?" A pink haired receptionist asked from the screen in front of Ruby. Yang stopped just out of view and just far enough back to observe the conversation without intruding. Sure, eavesdropping was wrong, but this was her little sister that she had to keep safe. Running away after a patrol and making a business call definitely fell into the category of not normal.
"Those are the correct ones." Ruby nodded. "My scroll has the proper authorization codes for the entire database. I'm sure you'll find that sufficient."
"Very well, let me see…." The receptionist looked to the side and read some files that Ruby had transferred before turning back. "These codes are from the heiress's scroll. How did you get them?"
Yang's eyebrows shot up in surprise as she connected a few dots. Ruby was talking to Schnee Headquarters in Atlas, and she was asking for files that only Weiss, or someone with administrator level privileges had access to.
"I'm her team leader at Beacon. She lent them to me as a personal favor. She also instructed me to request new codes be sent to her once our business here is done." Ruby replied with a friendly smile.
"As much as I'd like to help you, these files are only available for viewing by the Schnee family." The receptionist said.
"And that's why she gave me her access codes, not some guest access codes." Ruby argued. She wasn't about to lose this argument. It was difficult enough to convince Weiss to give her a copy of her access codes, not when she'd been issued her own guest codes. There would be next to no chance to do this again.
"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to patch you through to my manager." The receptionist said with a smile of apology before the screen went blank and the Schnee Dust logo replaced her.
Ruby leaned back into her chair, her fists pressed into her eyes and a sigh of frustration on her lips. She stretched and turned her head to the side to find Yang not two feet away.
"Yang!" She jumped up in surprise.
"Yo, lil' sis!" Yang ruffled Ruby's hair before Ruby could block her and relaxed against the outside of her terminal stall.
"What are you-?" Ruby snapped her mouth shut as the logo disappeared from the screen to be replaced with a white haired woman that looked strikingly similar to Weiss. Her white hair, while not long like Weiss's, was tied up in a bun at the back of her head with a single strand of hair falling on either side of her face. Her eyes were a deep brown unlike the crystal blue Weiss had, and her facial structure looked more pronounced, with closer to hollow than full cheeks, and a sharply pointed nose. The word sculpted came to mind.
"Hello Ruby Rose, I am Winter Schnee. I've been informed you have requested a set of files that is not for normal use. Is there any reason in particular that you want these specifically?" Winter asked as her eyes scanned down the list on her computer screen.
"Uh, well…" Ruby hesitated partly due to her surprise at talking directly to Weiss's sister and due to the questionable motives that had driven her to request the files.
"Let me be honest with you, Ruby." Winter continued, ignoring Ruby's hesitation. "Under all circumstances, I have instructions to not give you, or anybody else outside my family, access to these files. However, if you are simply going to deliver the files to my sister, I have no reason to refuse. So… why do you want these files?"
Ruby took a moment to see the logic behind Winter's words. But something her partner had told her before she'd first met Winter, kept her from answering. Instead she asked another question. "Why would you want to help me? You don't even know me."
Yang watched the interaction from the side with interest, wondering what files were so important that Ruby needed to make a deal with Weiss's sister to obtain. She'd only heard Weiss talk of Winter a few times over their years at Beacon, and it had been fairly negative. One warning in particular that Weiss had given them was to never make a deal with her unless it was absolutely necessary.
"I've already said I can't help you in this matter." Winter stated firmly, giving the barest tilts of her head, indicating the camera behind her. As she turned her head, Ruby could barely make out an ear-piece in her ear, meaning the camera would only be picking up Winter's voice, not her own.
"Alright, then." Ruby agreed with a hesitant nod. "What is it you want from me?"
"Since you have given your word you'd deliver these files directly to Weiss, I'll start the transfer." Winter typed a few words on her keyboard. Ruby watched as all the files she wanted were downloaded and then one last file transferred along with the others.
"Did all the files download correctly?" Winter asked shortly.
"Yes. Thanks." Ruby nodded.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Winter replied and the screen faded black.
Ruby swiped her scroll out of the terminal and scrolled to the extra file and opened it.
"So what's that all about?" Yang asked as Ruby shuffled past her, engrossed in whatever was on her scroll. "Ruby? Hey wait up!"
Yang followed her sister in silence as they boarded the elevator back to the ground floor. They were alone, so Yang had nothing to do but whistle along with the terrible music. She took in Ruby's appearance that was little better than Weiss's when she'd returned to the dorm. Her face had dirt from the past couple of days along with some smudged tracks that indicated the path of tears that had been wiped away. Despite this, her eyes were hard and focused the way Yang had rarely ever seen them.
"Sooo…" Yang breathed, hoping Ruby would come out of her thoughts.
"See for yourself." Ruby held out her scroll to the brawler as she closed her eyes and leaned back on the railing of the elevator.
Yang took the scroll and turned it so it was right side up. What she saw was a rather short message in a basic text file. Nothing about it screamed special, but it undoubtedly would give her a clue to Ruby's strange interaction.
She scrolled past the usual opening filler that she was used to seeing in Schnee contracts from every time she applied for experimental dust or prototype weaponry or foundry materials. She stopped at the actual content of the message and read aloud.
"I, Winter Schnee, hereby give Ruby Rose the following files detailing Weiss Schnee's responsibilities post graduation under the pretext that this exchange remains between Ruby and her team, extending only to those named at initiation, and myself." Yang read as her eyebrows worked their way up her forehead in surprise. "This agreement authorizes all parties free and complete access to listed documents under the understanding that any interference with said documents or events relating to them may result in the disinheritance of Weiss Schnee and the reinstation of Winter Schnee as heiress of the Schnee family and all that entails. In addition to the above, Ruby Rose, should she accept the transfer of these documents to her portable scroll, will be held solely responsible for any repercussions resulting in the breach of this contract which may include, but may not be limited to, fines, imprisonment, loss of rights, and death."
Yang looked over at Ruby who took a deep breath and let it out slowly as she opened her eyes to look at Yang. The two stood in the slowly descending elevator until it stopped gently and a bell rung indicating the door had started to open.
"I'll answer your questions on the way home, okay?" Ruby asked Yang tiredly. Yang couldn't remember the last time she'd heard Ruby's voice so completely exhausted, yet still thrumming with the tone of Ruby's resolve.
"Alright, but I just have one question. What did you need these files for that couldn't wait till tomorrow?" Yang asked as she held the door to the CCT for her sister.
"Yang… I'm in love with Weiss…." Ruby admitted with blush as she walked beside her big sister.
"Well, dur. I mean, you wouldn't be staring at her all the time if you weren't." Yang laughed at the obvious.
"I don't do that!" Ruby argued quietly as she trudged along beside her sister.
"Sure, sure." Yang let it go since she could tell Ruby wasn't in the mood to be teased. "But it's not like she's getting married off or anything."
"Nail on the head." Ruby replied with a grimace.
"No… but arranged marriage went out of style, what? A hundred years ago?" Yang replied in shock.
"Apparently someone forgot to send the Schnee's a memo." Ruby said as she looked back to the massive tower behind her. "And my semblance makes me the perfect messenger."
Yang looked at her sister for a moment before breaking up into laugher.
"That was so cute! You trying to be all bad-ass!" Yang's laughter removed her ability to speak momentarily until she could force it down again. "Now stop dawdling like a noodle and lets go home!"
Ruby yelped as Yang scooped her over her shoulder and ran down the street. Ruby's shouts of protest ignored as she pounded on her sister's back. After a few blocks, those shouts turned to laughter and Yang smiled to herself as she listened to the giggles of her sister. But even beneath the happiness of hearing her sister laugh, Yang's thoughts remained angrily on her white haired teammate.
You better do something fast, Schnee. Or someone's gonna get hurt. And I'll be damned if it's Ruby…