Chapter 5 - - - Support . . . pt. 1
Ruby scowled at her phone as she and her team were treading through town, upset at the letters placed by her class subjects.
The weekend where students were finally allowed off campus and into town had finally arrived, along with their grades for their first quarter. And while most students were comfortable with the grades they had received, or even ecstatic to learn that they were even passing class, Ruby was not among those students. She was barely passing higher leveled mathematics, she wasn't fairing any better in English Literature, and her grade for history was… less than admirable.
Weiss seemed to share the same sentiment as her.
"Ruby!" She shrieked aghast upon accidentally glancing over at her leader's phone. "What-Why do you have such deplorable grades for your standard courses?!"
Ruby for her part merely grumbled, shoving her phone into her pocket before mumbling replying, "I'm just having a hard time keeping up in class… is all…"
The Schnee heiress scoffed at the notion, "Please. You?" She started in disbelief; "The one who has possibly the most organized notes I've ever seen in Grimm studies? The one who possibly has the same, if not more, organized notes for sparring class? Given, Dust class is a more practical sort of assignments so you are not required to take such extensive notes, but from what I have seen your notes for that class are clearly organized for easier understanding. So I have difficulty believing that you'd be struggling in your other classes if you have such note taking skills. Especially since I have witnessed you going up to our professors on multiple occasions after class to ask a number of questions."
Ruby merely reached into her bag and pulled out her notebooks for the courses she was having trouble in, wordlessly handing them over to her teammates.
The three gave each other questioning glances before they each took one. The contents of the pages though shocked them all, even causing Weiss to be a bit light headed.
Every single page had Ruby's usual messy handwriting, but instead of her usual organized (yet crudely drawn) diagrams and short hand, the pages seemed littered with words. Weiss recognized a sentence here and there to be direct quotes from their teachers.
It seemed as though Ruby was literally copying everything she thought was important from her teachers word for word. There were many words highlighted here and there as well, indicating that she had no idea what those meant. Many sentences that she had written in her own words were structured terribly and sometimes were grammatically incorrect. Furthermore, there were a few words that weren't even spelled correctly, but instead spelled as how they would be pronounced.
"I was mostly home schooled until I came here." Ruby mumbled, rubbing her neck out of nervousness and slight embarrassment.
Since Ruby had moved so often growing up, she couldn't exactly go to school all the time. Cinder had taken care to at least enroll her a few times for primary school, mainly as a place for Ruby to be safe at while she was out of the house with Roman and Neo, but after many incidents of the teacher(s) calling the police after hearing a few stories from a young Ruby ("One time, for my birthday! Ci- My big sister had everyone bring a WHOLE bunch of cake for me!" Ruby exclaimed in excitement. The teacher nodding along with an affectionate smile, "Oh? And you ate it all?" Ruby shook her head, "No. I got full and my tummy hurt. So everyone else had to finish it all. If they didn't, Ci- I mean… My sister said that she would make sure they finish it all, even if she stuffed it all down their throats." The teacher paled, "O-Oh I see."), Cinder decided it would be less of a headache for them all if she waited until Ruby was old enough to know better than to blab.
So, since then, everyone took turns teaching Ruby. Often times they would go out to steal some workbooks and textbooks for her, occasionally grabbing some for themselves as well.
"And my family didn't really care for math, so they only taught me the basics. English was more or less self-taught. I was given a bunch of books to read so… I learned that way. I didn't think there would be more to it, like… reading stories and poems in depth and analyzing stuff and all those other proper ways to write." She said with a wave of her hand, shrugging slightly. "My sister has an interest in military history though, so that's what she taught me. That's probably why I'm able to hold my grade in history right now, but everything else kind of just…" she motioned a hand over her head, throwing a short lived whistle as a sound effect.
Ruby had mostly told her teammates the truth with those three academic subjects. Though, the fact that her family didn't care about math was a lie. Everyone at home cared about educating him or herself since no one had the luxury of growing up in school or being able to attend one. In fact, it wasn't too uncommon for her to go around the house and seeing one of them hunched over a book and trying to scribble notes. After a lot of observation on Ruby's part, she was simply able to find out what exactly makes it easier for her to learn something. Which then led to Ruby being able to be a master note taker.
It was just; with math there was only so much of it one could study by oneself. So while they had enough knowledge to run an organization and keep track of money and products, crunching numbers for higher-level courses was not something any one of them could do, and as a result, were unable to teach Ruby.
Luckily though, they were all well versed in forging their own weapons, in a manner of speaking… Emerald, Mercury, Cinder, and Roman all confessed to eyeballing their calculations, "getting a feel" for it, and went through a lot of trial and error. Neo stated that hers was incredibly simple to do, so it didn't take a lot of work for her part. Their lack of mathematical engineering though, unfortunately meant for Ruby that she would only be able to build rather simple machinations for her weapons as opposed to her grand dreams of creating a super weapon that included a whole bunch of guns and a giant super galactic laser beam.
Instead she had to settle with her swords turning into a crossbow with a slow reload action.
Don't get her wrong, she loved and adored her hook swords, but it was still quite sad that she couldn't make her dreams come true.
"So since I wasn't taught much on those subjects, I don't really…" Ruby nervously trailed off, her face slowly grimacing as she continued. "Know… how to take notes… for them…"
Yang had a thoughtful frown on her face as Ruby confessed her lack of education. It was evident that Ruby had been trying her hardest to keep up with classes. There were times she lost focus in class, and Yang simply chalked it up to her simply being a regular student who couldn't sit still for long periods time. Especially since technically, those subjects are not exactly requirements to become a Hunter or Huntress, which is why many students usually don't care for those classes so spacing out in them is common. Now, after hearing Ruby explain herself, it was clear that she lost focus because Ruby simply just didn't understand what was going on. Yet, she still legitimately cared for her grades and her learning environment.
So it would be a pity if she couldn't get the most of it, and Yang didn't want that for her leader.
"How about we help you study then?" Yang suggested eagerly, "We can have study sessions together! It'll be fun!"
Weiss gave a contemplative look before nodding in agreement, "It would certainly be helpful, not only to you, but to us as well. After all, it is said that you can learn a subject better when teaching it."
"We can even split the subjects." Blake continued. "That way we teach what we know and get the most of it from each other."
"Yeah! So what do you say Ruby?" Yang asked
"Oh… I uh…" Ruby stuttered, surprise taking over and cheeks tinting pink from all the positive intentions her team wanted to provide her. It was hard not to take all of her teammates' offer, especially since they were throwing eager and hopeful looks her way.
"Okay." Their team leader nodded, "Yeah! Sure! I'd like that." She smiled
Everyone nodded and/or smiled in approval, quickly working out whom amongst themselves would help in what. It was settled that they would simply go by who had the highest grades for the subject; Weiss with Math, Blake with English, and Yang with History.
"Don't worry, with us helping you, you'll be all caught up for classes in no time!" Yang cheered, clapping her hand on Ruby's shoulder.
The young leader sighed in relief, happy with the idea of no longer having to struggle to keep up. "Thank you…" She said. She hesitated for a moment at her next words before nodding to herself. It would be best if she could show her gratitude lest she feel a little guilty later on about neglecting and not returning Yang's good intentions. "You should um… You should try to slow down and get some more sleep." She whispered for only Yang to hear as Blake and Weiss walked ahead of them, chatting among themselves.
Her brawling teammate frowned at what her leader said, taking her hand back from off Ruby's shoulder.
"I know you've been going out a lot in the middle of the night since we got here." Ruby confessed, "And I know I can't really tell you what to do, but you really should slow down and take some time for yourself."
Yang's eyes blinked red, anger taking over as her mouth opened for a retort.
"I'm sure that whatever you're doing is important to you, but it's not healthy for you to keep neglecting your own needs to pursue… whatever it is that you're doing. Sooner or later you're going to burn out and I… uh, I know what that looks like." Ruby hesitantly confessed, thinking of Cinder as she said this.
There was… one particular incident that Ruby could recall when she was younger (she had gone out to help some members of the White Fang with transporting cargo filled with weapons, and they got stopped by police. Ruby couldn't fight properly at the time and was luckily in uniform and wearing a mask, but she got pulled out by the cops since she was a child and they didn't believe she had business being associated with that group. Luckily, Mercury and Emerald had been inconspicuously following them, and were able to help out) where Cinder was being more overbearing than usual. While yes, being a doting and overprotective sister was Cinder's default personality when it came to Ruby, at that time Cinder had wanted to keep a close eye on Ruby at ALL times. Ruby had no choice but to just… deal with it. Unfortunately for Cinder, after two weeks of constantly being by Ruby's side, peering over her shoulder, losing sleep to check on her, lashing out at anyone and everyone who so much glanced at Ruby, and most importantly, taking Ruby's snacks for inspection until they were deemed safe or gone - the younger sister had sat her sister down and told Cinder that she needs to; stop being with her, do her job properly, stop lashing out at everyone, and to get decent sleep. It was a long conversation, but Ruby managed to convince Cinder after a while. For the next couple of weeks, Ruby had been showered with endless snacks and treats from random members of their organization and from the members of the household and she was finally able to eat them without her snacks being snatched away to "be inspected for poison", to ensure "there was no tracking device hidden in them", or overall just be rid of.
… Those couple of weeks with Cinder was probably the longest weeks of Ruby's life if anyone asked her.
"I don't want to see the same thing happen to you." Ruby continued speaking to Yang, concern and fear evident in her voice upon remembering the incident.
"I-" Yang sagged, her eyes returning back to their normal lilac shad.
"I'm not telling you to stop, just to slow down and live for yourself a little." The leader continued, "It would suck if something happened to my teammate."
Yang sighed, running a hand through her hair as a small smile quirked at the corners of her mouth. "Alright."
Ruby gave a questioning look, "Alright?"
Her teammate gave a small laugh, nodding. "Alright, I'll try to slow down."
The young leader gave a contemplative look and stretched her hand out in between them. "You promise?"
Yang glanced down at the outstretched hand, hesitantly bringing up her own before quashing the feeling of second-guessing herself. She quickly gripped Ruby's forearm, her own being held in Ruby's own hand to show that she can be trusted, and that she trusts Ruby's wisdom. "I promise." She swore with a grin.
The two chuckled at each other, but was interrupted by the smell of burnt wood and ozone.
They turned their heads to find the source of the smell and saw a dust shop with caution taped all over and police officers surrounding the area. The two walked up from behind Weiss and Blake, just as the former was trying to question an officer.
"What happened here?" Weiss asked
The officer sighed, "Robbery… It's the 8th one this week… Ever since that Roman Torchwick guy stole a truck filled with Dust, he's been popping up all over the place to steal from the small shops…"
"This is hardly Roman's work… It's probably some newbie…" Ruby muttered under her breath with a scowl.
Blake seemed to have heard the muttering, as she threw a questioning look toward her team leader. She wasn't able to think about it further though, as the officer spoke up again.
"Hey, you girls wouldn't happen to be from Beacon would you?" The officer asked, "Because if you are, it would help us out a lot if you could keep an eye out for him. And if you see the guy, call us. We'll be there as soon as we can."
Ruby was amused at the idea of the officer thinking they'd be able to catch Roman, but schooled her features to throw a jaunty salute. "You got it officer!"
The cop gave a small smile at seeing this displayed action, "Now you girls be safe when you go out in town, I don't want to see you later and find that you were all in trouble."
The girls all nodded, satisfying the officer before they all departed, walking toward a very empty town square.
"I don't think it was this Torchwick figure like they said," Weiss huffed, arms crossed and nose held high. "I think it was the White Fang that's been behind all these attacks."
Ruby quirked an eyebrow, "And why do you think that?" The idea wasn't entirely outlandish, but Ruby wanted to know what Weiss's reasoning was since she had inside knowledge that the White Fang were notorious for attacking Schnee Dust products. So Weiss accusing them of attacking small dust shops was… a little odd.
"They're an awful bunch of degenerates," Weiss scoffed. "Led by a bunch of miscreants who want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet."
"Those 'miscreants'," Blake started, "are a bunch of misguided Faunus."
"If by misguided you mean criminally insane." Weiss retorted
"I mean that they're very misguided." Blake emphasized, "Regardless, the White Fang is a large organization and they are hardly going to attack small dust shops in the middle of Vale."
"Even if that is true, it still does not change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum." Weiss huffed, nose held high in the air of finality. "Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal."
"That's not always true." Blake angrily started.
Weiss turned to her, an angry scowl set on her face, "No? And what would you know?" She demanded.
"I know that it's people like YOU that force Faunus to take such drastic measures!"
"People like ME?"
"People that are discriminatory! Racist!"
"I'm a VICTIM!" Weiss stated, placing a hand on her chest to emphasize her position. "Those Faunus you're so eager to defend? The ones part of a CRIMINAL organization that you are so sure didn't attack this dust shop? They've been at war with my family for years. War – as in actual bloodshed and death have occurred. My grandfather's company has been a target for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I've had to watch family, family friends, and those closely associated with my family disappear, even executed. Entire trains, trucks, boats, and planes full of dust? Stolen." Weiss said, her hands tightening as her nails pressed into the palm of her hands and causing the area to turn white from pressure.
Her scowl deepened as the creases in her forehead exaggerate to show her frustration, "And every. Single. Day. My father," She nearly spat his title out, "Would come home furious. Which made for a very difficult childhood."
She stomped her foot in ire, glaring at Blake. "So don't you dare accuse me of being discriminatory when I have EVERY right to be when those members of the White Fang are filled with a bunch of liars, thieves, and MURDERERS." She claimed, emphasizing each word by stepping closer and closer to Blake.
Blake for her part shook in place out of frustration herself, her own hands curled into fists but they were pressed so tight against themselves, her nails drew blood. "Well!" She started, "Maybe we're just tired of being pushed around so we have no other choice!"
Her proclamation shocked Weiss, evident in the heiress taking a step back with surprise, and a hint of betrayal showed on her face.
Blake's features turned into surprise themselves, her face paled while she slowly shook her head as though she hadn't meant to say that as she took a step back. "I… I…" She stuttered in fear, glancing between her team members unsure of what to do.
Adrenalin coursed through her body as she heard and felt her heart rate beating faster, her breath quickening, her knees began to shake and pupils dilated in fear. Instincts began to take over, telling her to either fight or take flight.
She quickly went to her usual response, turning her body and taking a few hurried steps to make a run for it.
But the now revealed Faunus didn't make it very far as a hook came from the side at her neck, effectively causing her to choke and fall on her bottom.
Ruby let out a sigh as she held the handle of her hook sword, connected to the hilt of its' partner that was holding Blake at her neck. "Running away from a confrontation only makes you look guilty Blake-y." She stated condescendingly as she walked on over to the front of her team mate, unhooking her swords and pressing one back down to Blake's chest to keep her on the floor.
Everyone was shocked silent at Ruby's action, unsure of what to do and still trying to let the information sink in.
"Ruby, what- what are you doing?!" Weiss demanded, breaking the silence. "You're defending a Faunus! She could be part of the White Fang! She-"
The team leader turned toward Weiss, her silver eyes darkening, framed with glares and a scowl formed at her mouth. "She is a person, your teammate, and an equal." Ruby emphasized. "You think she got into Beacon academy the way you said? By lying, stealing, and cheating? Do you think she worked any less than you did to get in? What about her grades huh? She probably lied about doing her work, stole someone else's homework, and turned that in right? Or maybe, she cheated in sparring class. Paid all her matches to lose just so she could get a good grade."
"I don't-" Weiss tried to defend herself.
"What?" Ruby interrupted, her voice lowering and taking a mocking tone. "You don't… You don't mean it?"
"No! I meant-"
"Oh!" Ruby said, pretending she was coming to a realization. "You mean, Faunus only lie, steal, and cheat at life."
"Yes!"
"Well wake up Princess!" The team leader shouted, "Not everyone can afford to live life in luxury!"
"I have never-" Weiss tried to retort
"If you had a roof over your head, good food constantly at your table, a nice warm bed to cozy up in, and a nice card connected to a well funded bank account," Ruby started, referring to the time she stole Weiss's wallet at the beginning of the school year. "Then surprise! You have a better life than many Faunus could only hope for. If you think that Faunus want to lie, steal, and cheat, them I don't know what to tell you Weiss, except for the fact that maybe you should get out more."
"Take a look around, Faunus have it hard all over the place! Racists are everywhere, and when something goes wrong, it's always the Faunus's fault. And next thing you know, they're in jail without proper trial. Why did they not get proper trial? It's most likely because they don't have money to hire a decent lawyer." Ruby continued, "Getting jobs is difficult as a Faunus, and the only times it doesn't seem to hard is if they're putting their lives at stake to fight the Grimm. But not everyone is willing to put their lives on the line or even have the skill set to fight! So what does the regular folk have to do? Find a job. Which they can't, because just about every owner is a racist! No job? No money! And if they have no money, they can't get food, a bed, or a place to live. So yes, some of them may resort to lie, steal, and cheat, but don't tell me that you wouldn't if you were in their place."
"But I'm a-"
"A victim?" Ruby scoffed, "You're a Schnee. Your family owns the largest corporation that endorses Faunus labor with awful working conditions and terribly wage. It's no surprise why your family, who refuses to change these settings for their employees, and has an openly racist CEO is constantly being attacked. You're a product of your father's mess."
"She could still be a part of the White Fang!"
"If she were, then you'd be dead in your sleep by her hands Schnee." She growled, effectively silencing Weiss once and for all.
Everyone stayed silent, wide eyed at Ruby, waiting for her to continue grinding into Weiss, but nothing followed right after.
Instead, she let out sigh, taking her sword off Blake's chest knowing that she would not make a run for it now as Ruby continued talking to Weiss, "I'm sorry you had to go through what you have, but this war you mention your family is in? War is a two way street, and there is always two sides to a story. Just because you're on one side, doesn't make it right. That's why… you really should get to know someone before you accuse them of a stereotype. And if it seems like they fit it, then you should see where they're coming from before you challenge them…" She finished softly, holstering her swords before stretching a hand out to Blake to offer her help back up.
Blake hesitantly reached out, taking Ruby's hand and was pulled back up to her feet. She muttered thanks to her team leader, awkwardly dusting herself off as she saw Weiss shuffle nervously on her feet at the corner of Blake's eyes.
Ruby merely grinned, before facing the two. "So? You think the two of you are going to get along now?"
The two warily glanced at each other before hesitantly nodding.
Their leader frowned at the sight, before a mischievous smile took its' place on her face. "Well then, if you think you're going to get along, then prove it." She demanded, causing the two to look at her in question. She sighed, rolling her eyes before deadpanning, "You two need to kiss and make up."
Blake and Weiss blanched at the suggestion, but couldn't start protesting as they saw Ruby merely cross her arms and straighten up; standing in a way that told them she was not arguing the issue.
"Leader's orders." She stated.
The two casted nervous glances to one another, slowly and awkwardly turning to face each other and shuffled in place, looking at everything besides the person they had been previously arguing with.
A few minutes passed in tense silence, until Weiss merely huffed in annoyance, not at the situation, but at herself. She was not like her father, and she had been trying her best to change the direction he had been setting the company in. To take the first step, she had enrolled into Beacon academy, fighting for her right to do so and against her father's wishes for months on end. Now, it seemed as though it was time for her to take the second step that she did not foresee, and that was to change her views on Faunus. And if that meant accepting that she had been prejudice and bigoted, then she will do so with dignity. So she straightened her shoulders before closing the large gap between her and Blake. When she was finally face to face with Blake, she waited until the now exposed Faunus took her golden eyes and met with her own pale blue ones before speaking.
"Are you still part of the White Fang?" She asked first
Blake looked nervous once again, glancing away and fidgeting with her fingers as she tried to stutter out a reply. "W-well, I-I. I m-mean. I-I didn't…"
"Blake." Weiss said in a soft tone, only meant to garner her teammate's attention once more.
The use of her name seemed to break Blake out of the fear that threatened to take hold of her again. She took a deep breath, and let it out to calm down before straightening her shoulders and looking back into Weiss's eyes. "N-No. I mean, I was… but I'm not anymore…" She quietly spoke.
The heiress's shoulders sagged in relief, before she schooled her features once more and continued to stare straight into Blake's eyes to show that she was being serious and would mean every word that would come out of her mouth. "I still don't condone the White Fang for their actions… But I do apologize for grouping every Faunus together with them and being so ignorant. It was wrong of me." Weiss said.
"And while my apology doesn't seem much right now, I promise that from now on, I will try my best to keep an open mind and ensure that I strive to treat you, and every other Faunus I come across, better than what I may have in the past." Weiss vowed.
"I…" Blake started, shocked at how quickly Weiss came to terms with herself and accepted Blake. True, it took a lot of prodding, but the most Blake had expected was indifference from the heiress. What came from her though, was much more than Blake could hope for. "Thank you Weiss."
The white haired girl merely smiled, stepping forward to wrap her arms around Blake's neck to show that she was okay with this and to thank Blake for accepting her apology. Something that she would haven't thought of before as Weiss had never been physical in showing her gratitude or affections, but she felt that a hug was necessary in this scenario.
Blake, though initially shocked at the hug, slowly returned the gesture, tightly wrapping her arms around Weiss's back in appreciation for her apology and acceptance. "I'm sorry I almost ran away…" She said, nearly regretting her decision to do so. Had she succeeded, she might have never gained her teammate's trust and acceptance, so she was grateful that Ruby had stopped her in time.
The two let go of each other, smiles stretched across the corners of their mouths and eyes welling up in happiness as they turned toward their leader while Weiss gracefully rubbed a stray tear from her eye before it had the chance to ruin her make up.
The now grateful duo faced Ruby, about to thank her for her part, but paused upon seeing her. Ruby still did not look impressed if her body language was anything to go by.
Her arms were still crossed, a hand was tapping against her arm impatiently, and her chin was slightly held high.
"What?" Weiss asked defensively
"We made up." Blake added in a slightly confused tone.
"I said to kiss and make up." Ruby stated with a small frown, "Not to just make up…"
Immediately, the two began spluttering, turning to each other with blushes tinted pink and completely missing the sly wink Ruby tossed Yang's way.
"B-But I-"
"W-we can't just…"
"I-It's not even the right mood and-"
"W-We couldn't…"
Ruby merely raised an eyebrow in silent demand, causing the two to stop their blubbering. "Go on. I'm waiting."
The two didn't want to face Ruby's wrath by ending up on the floor; again in Blake's case, and Weiss did not want to stain her white dress in hers. So the two hesitantly turned to face one another once again, faces completely red and completely prominent in Weiss's pale complexion. Their eyes once again tried to look their best anywhere but at each other, and their feet shuffled in place.
Finally, Blake sighed in frustration as she realized they wouldn't get anywhere if the two of them continued standing in place. So she took another deep breath to calm her nerve, slowly letting it out before placing her hands on Weiss's shoulders with determination and her cheeks still blazed pink. When Weiss looked up, Blake suddenly felt shy and nervous again, but her fear of falling on her tailbone again due to Ruby won out. "W-We should just…"
Weiss seemed to understand her intentions and sense her fears if the small grimace was anything to go by. "Y-Yes. We should…"
The two fidgeted once again.
"Right…" Blake nodded awkwardly.
"Yes…" Weiss said.
Neither one of them budged though and stayed in nervous silence for a few seconds; that is… until they heard a snort come from the side.
The sudden shift in mood caused them both to furrow their brows in question as they both tried to comprehend the sound.
A snicker came soon after, which was… definitely odd.
They both turned their heads to the side to investigate this out of place sound. Only to find Ruby and Yang both covering their mouths, the latter especially though was hunched over, and had eyes twinkling out of merriment and welling with tears of happiness that were pinned on Blake and Weiss. Upon making eye contact with her, the flood-gates opened and she let out a belly filled sounding laugh, throwing her head back to amplify the sound coming out.
The two glanced over to Ruby confusion evident in their eyes as they made eye contact with silver eyes. This only caused Ruby to bend over, hugging her stomach tightly as her snickers turned into low laugher.
Blake and Weiss, still confused, kept glancing back and forth between their other teammates. Then, realization clicked in both their minds and they let go of one another, scowling and glaring at Ruby.
"You were joking with us!" Weiss pointed a finger at the young leader in accusation.
Ruby couldn't say anything, as she was still too busy laughing, but she did nod her head.
"We thought you were being serious! Do you have any idea how scared we were that you were going to do something if we had not complied with your order?" Weiss demanded as Blake grumbled in agreement.
"Th-That's why it was so funny!" Yang laughed, "Y- hahaha! You two were SO scared! Hehehe, and you were both so nervous that—hahaha! It just looked so funny!"
Ruby and Yang continued laughing for several minutes. Blake and Weiss tried to scowl at the two for pulling such a thing over them, but found they couldn't begrudge them for too long as they too, soon found themselves chuckling and giggling along.
Finally, when their laughter died down, Yang wiped an eye and gave her leader a high five as she complimented her on a job well done and Ruby let out a sigh of contentment.
"Alright guys, you're all going to get along now right? Cause, I want to head home to spend time with my family." Ruby asked, throwing a thumb over her shoulder to indicate she wanted to leave.
"Yes Ruby, we'll be fine on our own." Weiss sighed with a smile
"You've been waiting for to go home to visit them forever. Go on and get out of here." Yang waved her off with a grin
Their leader smiled, and turned to leave, but stopped before she could run off.
"And Ruby?" Blake asked, causing Ruby to turn and face her in question. "Thank you." She said with a smile.
Ruby merely grinned and threw them all a jaunty two-finger salute before taking off.
The remaining members of the team all sighed in contentment as they watched her run off. When she disappeared from sight by going around the corner, the three turned around to walk in the opposite direction from where they came.
When they saw the dust shop still taped off, Blake let out a whimsical sigh.
"What's wrong Blake?" Yang asked
"Oh… it's just… I still don't think the White Fang are behind the thefts; they never needed so much dust before… At least… When I was…" She trailed off.
When Blake was young, and before the White Fang had become such an extremist group, they were the ones who took her in when she had nowhere else to go. She had happy memories in the organization as she grew up, but those warm memories slowly grew colder and less seldom as the years went by. She was barely a teen when the White Fang movements and protests became more violent. It wasn't until just recently when she realized that despite what they were doing, wasn't right… So she ran away…
But, even then they had never caused so much chaos or hit so many smaller shops. It just… Didn't make sense.
Weiss glanced at Blake in concern, "If there is anything we can do to help ease your worries, then we'll be happy to help. Right Yang?"
Yang nodded with a grin, "Right!"
Blake was about to thank them, but stopped when she heard sniffling coming from up above them.
It seemed as though both Yang and Weiss heard this sound too, as they all looked up at the same time.
Upon sight of a blonde man with messy hair, and open shirt, and scruffy jeans hanging upside down from a lamppost with his tail and stuffing a banana in his mouth, the three girls quickly backed off and away from under him.
"That was-" a sniffle, "So sweet. You guys are definitely like… best buds and it's just so- so beautiful." He said with a full mouth.
"Er…" Yang sounded, not sure of how to react.
"Have you been eavesdropping on us you-" She quickly caught herself before saying something derogatory and bit her tongue to think of something else to replace the word with. She couldn't think of anything so forgone it and reiterated her statement. "Were you eavesdropping on us?!"
"No!" The man denied, tossing his banana peel into a nearby trashcan, let go of the lamppost, and flipped down. "I wouldn't say it that way at least… I overheard you guys talking and wanted to know what about. So I got closer to get a better ear in without you knowing!" He smiled proudly
"That's the definition of eavesdropping!" Weiss irksomely stated.
"But that's just… I don't like that word. It sounds mean." He petulantly stated, "Anyway. So I overheard you guys talking right? And you obviously have a problem that you need to fix as a team! So I think what you need to do is to go where you think the group is most likely going to hit, and catch them in the act!"
"Sounds like trouble…" Yang grinned, although happy at the idea of causing trouble.
Blake nodded, a firm and determined look in her eyes. "It's worth looking into."
Weiss frowned in thought, "In this case, the place that is most likely to be targeted next would have to be the docks where there should be a cargo exchange from my father's company." She quietly stated before going into further detail, "According to the police officer, criminal activities had taken a rise in this week seeing as that Dust shop we saw was the 8th one to be stolen from. Taking into consideration that the most recent thefts have taken place around here, then it is only logical that the docks would be the next place of activity."
Blake and Yang both turned to stare at her in surprise and disbelief, along with a little admiration at how she had deduced the facts and her reasoning so well.
"Well this should be fun!" Yang cheered, "It'll be like a stakeout!"
Blake gave a small smirk, happy to see the normally quiet and solemn teammate open up and express happiness. She turned to the other Faunus, "Thank you for giving us the idea… uh…"
"Sun." The man supplied with a grin "And no problem, anything for a sister!" He added, holding a fist out for her.
Blake gave a small smile, bumping her fist to his lightly. "Hopefully we see you again soon."
"Don't worry! You will," He smirked, "My boys and I are from Haven and are here for the festival, so I'll see you real soon." He winked, causing Blake to shuffle a little uncomfortably.
"That sounds fantastic," Weiss chipped in. "I suppose we'll end up seeing you in classes for the next few upcoming days until then. I should warn you that we have this fabulous team leader who is a grade A prankster and she just LOVES pulling one over other students. She especially has made it her personally mission to prank each and every single student at school, so I'm sure she'll love knowing we made a new… friend. Especially one who seems to hold such a wonderful sense of humor! I suggest you proceed with caution when you next make your way to class." She politely smiled, causing Sun to look dumbfounded.
"She's not joking." Yang added as Blake nodded.
"But I-"
"Well then! I hope you'll excuse us, as you may understand, we are in a bit of a hurry." Weiss smiled before pushing her two teammates away toward the general direction of their destination as they exchanged farewells with Sun.
As Ruby turned around the corner, her phone had vibrated to indicate she received a message. Pulling it out, she slowed down to a slow, walking pace as she checked it.
From: Roman
-Hey Red, I know you're supposed to come home today. So I know you're gonna stop through town, which is why I want to tell you to stay away from the docks. I have a heist going on there and don't want you to get caught up in it. I'll see you at home later tonight, so save me some cake. I know Cinder is most likely waiting at home for you with one, like always.
Ruby rolled her eyes, "Way to ruin the surprise." She said to herself as she dialed Roman's number with a smile.
"Red?" Roman answered with surprise.
"So you're going to the docks?" Ruby asked with a grin, "It sounds like fun! So I'm coming with you. Where are you at right now?"
"Wha-?! No! You can't come!" He sputtered. In the background, Ruby could hear the sound of joyous clapping, a sign that Neo had heard her and excited about the idea of her tagging along. Ruby could share Neo's excitement seeing as it had been a long time since they last had worked on a heist together. Roman continued unperturbed though, "Cinder will kill me if something happens to y- NEO! Where are you- NO! Don't you dare get that damn costume!"
Ruby gasped in offense, fully aware of what outfit he was talking about that Neo was certainly obtaining for her right now. "Roman! It's a uniform!"
"That thing is not a uniform!" Roman growled, "It's an overplayed joke that needs to stop. It's not funny anymore! In fact, it stopped being funny the third time you wore that thing!"
"You're just jealous because I look cute in it and you don't." Ruby huffed, sticking her tongue out at the phone.
"Ugh! Look, you still can't- Neo! I told you not to get that! She's not coming!" Roman yelled in frustration.
"So where are you guys?" Ruby asked
"And what makes you think I would tell you if I don't want you here?"
Ruby felt the phone buzz in her hand and saw a message from Neo with the Warehouse number they were currently located at; 236. Ruby scanned through her memories, trying to remember the location of that warehouse, and grinned when the image came to mind. "Great! I'll be there in 15!"
"What? But you-" there was a lull in his sentence, most likely from seeing Neo with a phone in her hand. "Neo!" He hissed in exasperation.
"See you later Roman!" Ruby smiled, ending the call before he could continue his protests.
Ruby sent a quick text to Cinder, telling her that she'll be helping Roman and Neo with their heist and will return home with them. After it sent, she quickly set off, not noticing the fact that someone had walked in her path and caused her to collide.
"Oof!" Ruby grunted, stumbling back a few steps. "Sorry." She said, looking up to genuinely express her statement to whomever she bumped into.
But she didn't see anyone.
Confused, she looked around in the general area the person she bumped into should be, and found a lightly freckled girl lying down on the street. Concerned, Ruby tiptoed closer to peer over the new girl and at her face. "Um… Are you okay?"
The girl's green eyes connected with Ruby's silver eyes, starring into them blankly before a warm, mega watt smile, stretched across the girl's face to show dimples. "I'm doing fan~tastic! Thank you very much for asking!"
Ruby gave a small smile of amusement, holding a hand out for her, "Here, let me help you get up."
The girl stared at the hand dumbfounded, although analyzing the appendage before another smile prodded the corners of her cheeks and reached up to grab hold of it in a tight grip. "Thank you for your kind gesture!" She announced rising up, barely bending her legs to support herself.
"No problem mate-y," Ruby grinned, not noticing the inquisitive look forming on the girl's face. "Sorry for bumping into you again, but I really gotta run. Hope I bump into you soon!" She waved off with a salute before turning around to run off again.
But once again, she found herself running into someone and the impact caused Ruby to stumble backwards a few steps as she let out a groan. Another apology began to form at the tip of her tongue, but upon looking up, she met with familiar green eyes and orange-like hair. She quickly did a double take, looking behind her where the girl previously was to in front of her, wondering how she moved so quickly.
"What did you call me?" The stranger asked
"uh…" Ruby scrambled through her thoughts, trying to figure out what she had said.
"You called me mate-y!" The girl claimed, "A word derived from the slang, 'mate' originating from Mistral and used as a term of endearment for those close to oneself and commonly used to replace the word, 'friend'. Am I… your friend?" She asked in disbelief.
"Well I did call you mate-y and said I wanted to bump into you again," Ruby informed the new girl. "Although I didn't think it would happen so soon… But I guess we are!"
The girl let out an joyous giggle, throwing her hands into the air in happiness. "SEN-SATIONAL!" She cheered, with a double fist pump. "My name is Penny! It is a PLEASURE to be your friend! Mate-y!"
The young leader couldn't help but smile at Penny's enthusiasm. "I'm Ruby. I don't think I've seen you around Beacon though…"
"That is because I am here to enroll in the tournament." Penny exclaimed
"Really?"
"Yup! I am combat ready!" She stated with a formal, militaristic salute.
"That's awesome!" Ruby smiled, though she held a slight grimace internally at the reminder of the tournament. All those extra students she has to take notes on and create profiles for before the festival… ugh. "Then I guess we really will see each other soon!"
"Indeed!" Penny nodded happily. "Hopefully later today!"
Ruby gave a small frown and shake of her head, "Sorry Penny, but I promised my family I would spend time with them for the entire weekend. I haven't seen them for nearly two months. But I promise we'll hang out sometime! For now, I really have to get going, I said I would meet up with them soon."
"No problem Ruby mate-y!" Penny nodded in agreement, "I look forward to our next meeting!"
Ruby smiled, waving goodbye to her new friend as she quickly ran off. When she was out of sight, she quickened her pace, ensuring that she took side alleys to avoid cameras as well as scaling and jumping from building to building.
Before long, she had arrived to Warehouse 236 within the stated time she had told Roman, slightly out of breath as she had to push herself a little more and saw Neo waiting for her outside with a small smile and duffle bag by her side.
Ruby smiled widely, eagerly running up to her friend with hands in front of her. "Neo!" She called out in excitement, throwing a hug around the shorter girl when they were in reach of each other. They quickly released their hugs, still holding each other's forearms lightly as the two of them bounced excitedly in place. "It's been so long! I missed you soooo much!"
Neo's eyes switched colors really quickly, a sign Ruby easily read as her expressing the same sentiments as the two of them settled down. The petite girl then bent over to lift the duffle bag by her side, holding it out for Ruby.
Ruby for her part, excitedly hopped in place before taking the bag and unzipping it. Reaching in, she pulled out her "uniform", a black coat with long tails nearly reaching the back of her knees and red lining on the inside of the coat. The wrist belts, military shoulder straps, and wait belt were white. And although the front initially looked formal, it was quick to prove viewers wrong as it held a hood with a Grimm face in front and floppy Beowulf ears attached and the ends of the tails were frayed.
Although the outfit did indeed look like a costume, over the years it had become her default outfit every time she went to help on a mission or was around the White Fang, quickly becoming a "uniform" for her, just as how members of the White Fang had a uniform compromising of a black hood, black pants, white vest, and gray waist sash. Initially, Ruby's uniform had started out as a cute project for Neo's and Cinder's amusement, as they simply wanted a 6 year old Ruby to follow them around in a Grimm costume. Roman though, upon seeing a Grimm Ruby, had thought of a joke on the first day and handed her a toy scythe when they came home, claiming that she would then be, "The Grimm Reaper". Neo and Cinder and joyously approved of the addition and claimed that Ruby would have to wear that every time she goes around with members of the White Fang.
She smiled, gently handing the uniform to Neo to hold for a moment so she could take off her red sleeveless jacket. After, the two traded the outfits so Ruby could put her uniform on and tightened the wrist and waist belt as Neo handed her a White Fang Grimm mask that closely resembled the muzzle and fangs of a Beowulf. Finally, after the mask was pulled over and snug, Ruby pulled her hood over to reveal the rest of the upper face portion of the Grimm she was identifying as.
"How do I look?" Ruby asked just as the door behind Neo opened
"Like a joke." Roman deadpanned, emerging from the door. "C'mon now, hurry it up. We don't have all day."
Ruby pouted before Neo got her attention to hand her the plastic scythe prop that was standing against the warehouse. "Thanks Neo."
Neo merely grinned before signing 'Don't listen to him, you look perfectly deadly'
"Aww! Thanks!" Ruby grinned, throwing her free arm to give her friend a side hug.
The now in uniform girl picked up her duffle bag, throwing her red jacket on top of it before following Neo inside the warehouse and setting the bag by the door.
"Red!" Roman piped up, "Make sure you leave your swords too. I don't want police tagging you with them if they end up coming."
Ruby pouted, but relented with his demand as she upholstered her swords and gently placed them in her bag, "Don't worry Crescent Fall, Autumn Moon. Mama's not gonna be gone for long." She whispered to her weapons.
"Oh my God…" Roman groaned, "I didn't think you were still so… obsessed with your weapons."
"They're my babies." Ruby sniffed, "And I won't have you slandering them and calling them mere weapons!"
"But that's what they-" Roman didn't get to finish his sentence as some grunts interrupted him
"Hey! Little Fall is back!"
"What?"
"Really?!"
"Oh thank God! Finally!"
Roman was nearly pushed to the side by a whole group of White Fang members, causing him to spin and nearly stumble as they all rushed over to Ruby and greeted her in happiness.
"Hey guys!" Ruby grinned as she was showered with handshakes, hood ruffling, pats on the back, fist bumps, high fives, and the occasional friendly shoulder bump. (Full hugs and embraces were off limits apparently).
Just about every White Fang member at the main base knew "Little Fall" (as they all knew her as Cinder's sister and Ruby wasn't allowed to give her actual name to minimize the possibility of her name being given in an off chance a member was caught or held hostage), and they all adored her, or at the very least, are happy to find her present. In the beginning, they didn't think much of her and had thought of her as some brat that walked around the base thinking she was all that for being close to Cinder and everyone else in her gang. After a few months the members of the organization found that she actually wasn't bratty, instead she was just this happy child who was eager to try and "help" around and soon, everyone just enjoyed seeing a kid running around doing mundane errands or trailing after someone. They also noticed the complete difference in their bosses' moods when she was around versus when she was gone, so her presence at the base was typically anticipated for just about everyone.
And after an incident of some jerk trying to bully her, everyone quickly learned that an unhappy Ruby meant VERY unhappy bosses, and unhappy bosses were incredibly frightening. They also learned that Cinder, Roman, and Neo in particular have something like a sixth sense meant for Ruby, and they can usually sense if something is amiss with her, and find her in minutes. If those three didn't sense anything, and Ruby tried to hide something, then Mercury and Emerald can tell immediately that something is wrong and can convince her to cough up whatever has happened.
This was unfortunately learned during the incident with the jerk, as they had fooled a 6 year old Ruby into going into a supply closet to "help with something", and locked her in there. They had claimed that they were sick and tired of seeing everyone bend over backwards for some brat and threatened to hurt her if she told on them.
Within minutes, Cinder, Neo, and Roman had thought something felt off, and all went on their gut feelings asking everyone where Ruby went. When it was clear that she had gone missing, they had everyone scatter to search for her. The base was a flurry of activity as just about everyone ran around calling her name in panic, checking every door, cabinet, nook and cranny for the little girl, and within the half hour, Neo had found her. After messaging Cinder, Roman, Mercury, and Emerald to stop the search, Ruby was brought forth and surrounded by her household as her sister and Roman tried to question her in regards of what had happened.
Still in fear of the jerk that threatened her, Ruby stayed silent to Cinder and Roman's frustration and so Mercury and Emerald had taken over the interrogation and took it upon themselves to investigate the incident. The two of them took Ruby off of Cinder, Roman, and Neo's hands, and began walking around the base with her in tow, claiming that they were going to "play a game". They quickly went around, gathering the schedule of members who had been on break for the past hour, then they would ask Ruby who her favorite staff members were and have her point them out so they could question them about who wasn't fond of the little girl. As they gathered a list of names, then crossing them to those who were on break, they would send Roman the names for him to round them up. Once they finished, the two had led Ruby toward the room where a dozen and a half of members were standing around. The two asked her which one had locked her in the closet, and despite her facial features being hidden by a mask, they pointed out the jerk, sent Ruby out to play, and no one knew what happened after. It wasn't even something anyone was curious or even wanted to think about, as the jerk had been left alone in the same room as Cinder, Neo, Roman, Mercury, and Emerald. The other members who weren't fond of Ruby were forced to stay in the room to watch, but were too traumatized to even say what had transpired.
Needless to say, the members of the main White Fang Base had ensured that Ruby was well taken care of while in their care, whether it was out of fondness or out of fear, it didn't matter. It wasn't that difficult as she was rather easy to watch over as a child and quickly became known to "look after" those working with her, ensuring that everyone with her was relatively happy and as she grew older, safe. From a kid, she would ensure her "caretakers" were having fun, engaging them in silly activities and occasionally sharing a snack. As she started learning how to fight and started participating in-group missions, she carried first aid kits in the case someone got hurt and ensured no one got left behind. And when she got hurt and Cinder blamed those who were supposed to keep an eye out for her, she would quickly interject and make sure no harm came to them. (Like in the incident when she was helping members transport cargo and the police nearly caught her.)
So it was no surprise for Ruby to be rather popular and liked at the base. Especially at the moment, with everyone being extremely grateful for her presence as the last two months had been incredibly tough on all of them. Cinder and Neo were both a lot more violent than usual, and the former especially had turned incredibly intimidating. Roman and Emerald had both turned verbally abusive, irritable, and impatient, snapping at those who weren't working to their standards and expectations. Mercury had become an insufferable taskmaster and troublemaker as he was seemingly always looking for a fight. And as the days continued by, it became evident that they all were struggling to accommodate to their new home situation. Cinder would become more agitated and stressed, taking her anger out on anyone she could. In turn, everyone else in the house would become more stressed and antsy as well, taking it out on those working under them.
Overall, the members of the White Fang were simply ecstatic to see Ruby. Not only would their bosses take it easier on them all, but typically their personalities changed and they all began to regularly rewarded the members of the White Fang. This complete change in their moods were much more preferred.
"Alright ALRIGHT! That's enough!" Roman shouted, causing everyone to quiet down as he pushed his way through the crowd. "You can all suck up to her some other time, now get in your groups and your asses over to the airships." He ordered, causing them all to grumble as they made their ways to one of the three ships.
Roman sighed, dragging his hand down his face. "God, it's like they can't think when you're around." He stated as Neo nodded in agreement
Ruby stuck her tongue out at the two, "It's cause you guys are always so mean to them."
"And you're too nice." Roman accused
Ruby huffed, crossing her arms and hugging her prop. "Someone's got to be."
Roman rolled his eyes in amusement before affectionately ruffling her hood. "You got that right at least." He sighed before asking, "I'm not going to be able to convince you to stay am I?"
Ruby and Neo both shook their heads, the latter hugging Ruby and giving her brother a pointed look that said, "Don't you even dare try to send her away! I've been waiting for us to do something together forever and now I finally have this chance!"
Roman gave another sigh before pointing his cane to the ship furthest in the back, "Alright fine, then you can lead Tango." He said, referring to the dozen members on the ship.
"YES! Thank you so much Roman!" Ruby cheered, throwing herself and her arms around Roman's neck and causing him to nearly stumble off balance.
He reflexively wrapped his free arm around her to ensure her safety and he spun around once to help balance the extra weight on him as he let out a soft chuckle. "Alright I get it Red. Now hurry it up over there before I change my mind."
Letting go, Ruby flashed a beaming smile at him and gave her signature jaunty salute before running off toward the ship with her toy scythe propped over her shoulders and throwing a fist up. "ALRIGHT! Let's go Team Tango!" she cheered, causing the faces of the group to light up in happiness and imitate her gesture with a unified shout of agreement.
Roman rolled his eyes once again, catching Neo's changing colored eyes twinkling in amusement as the two walked to their designated ships (with their teams throwing looks of envy toward the Tango ship). As Roman climbed up to the front ship, he nodded to the pilot to start the ship up. He peered out to look back at the other two ships, shouting as loudly as he could to ensure everyone would hear him, "Alright boys and girls, light 'em up and remember!" He began, "We're on a crunch time! So we have to move in, grab the Dust, and head out all in less than 30 minutes! If all goes well, we'll be done with the dust and we can come back to celebrate!"
He waited until Neo and Ruby indicated everyone understood, though with Ruby her gesture was not necessary as he could hear the excited cheering from her ship. He rolled his eyes once more, gesturing with his cane and nodding to the pilot for them to take off and make their ways over to the docks.
AN: Hope you all enjoyed Part 1 of Chapter 5! Don't worry, part 2 will be coming shortly in 2 days! :)
Again, thank you JupiterMonkey4 for beta-ing and being superb! If any of you guys are interested in reading something with a take on RNJR after the events of Vol. 3 in Ruby's perspective, head on over and check out JupiterMonkey4's story, In the Name of Victory. (Seriously, check it out when you got the time)
Until next time dear readers!