It had been several hours since RWBY and JNPR arrived at the hospital with an unconscious Ruby, yet the girl had yet to wake up. Not that they had been able to see her. They were running tests, trying to figure out why this happened. Had it happened to someone in their forties, they would have chalked it up to low blood sugar and standing up too fast. But Ruby was young and healthy. The doctors had been giving Yang occasional updates, seeing that she was Ruby's family, and the most recent update shook the blonde to her core. It made her feel sick. Nothing had been confirmed, but it was narrowed down to a few things.
"What did they say?" Pyrrha asked when Yang returned.
"I-It's not good." Yang told them.
"What is it?" Weiss asked.
"They haven't confirmed anything," Yang began, "But they said it could be a few things; fatigue caused her to fall, and the table knocked her out. She could have just plain tripped onto the table. They said that cough of her's could have caused shortness of breath, causing her to pass out."
"That's not that bad…" Nora said.
"Or it could be lung cancer…" Yang quietly added.
Silence fell upon the two teams, all of them staring at Yang, who looked as though she was about to cry.
"If it is cancer?" Jaune asked.
Yang made eye contact with the blonde boy for a few seconds before speaking.
"Then she's got a few months at the most." She said.
"A few months before what?" Jaune worriedly asked.
Yang looked away as tears began to slowly cascade down her cheeks. Blake quickly put her hand on her partner's shoulder.
"Hey," she said. "It might not be cancer."
"And if it is?" Yang angrily asked. Her eyes were now blood red as she stared at Blake.
"Then we will do everything we can to help her in her time of need."
Yang grinned, wiping away the tears.
"Miss Xiao Long?" A voice asked from behind her. Yang quickly stood and turned around to face the source. It was the doctor.
"Did you find out what it is?" She worriedly asked.
He nodded.
"Please tell me." She begged.
He shook his head. "I can't tell anyone anything until the girl's father arrives."
Yang's eyes turned red. "I'm her sister!" She shouted.
He nodded. "Yes, but unfortunately you are under the age of eighteen, so you cannot step forward as a guardian for Miss Rose. I can only disclose the full details to a parent or guardian, and they, in turn can decide who else receives the information."
Yang quickly pulled out her scroll and began dialing her father's number. He quickly answered.
"Do they know what it is yet?" He asked.
"Yeah." She said. "But they won't tell me because you're not here."
The man angrily groaned. "I won't be there for another hour or two, dammit! Let me talk to 'em."
Yang handed her scroll to the doctor, and he brought it to his ear.
"Mister Xiao—." The doctor began.
There was a long silence before he spoke again.
"I cannot disclose the medical details of a minor to another minor."
There was a pause, before he spoke again.
"I suppose that might work." He said. He handed Yang her phone back and motioned for her to follow him. He led her back the way he came, down the long hospital hallway.
"While," he said. "I cannot tell you what is wrong with your sister. She can."
He led her down several hallways before he stopped in front of a big, blue door. He turned and opened the door for the blonde. The first thing she noticed, was a soft noise coming from the room as she entered. The doctor closed the door behind her as she walked the short hallway to where Ruby was.
The girl was sitting on the bed with her knees against her chest and her arms crossed. Her forehead was resting on her forearms and her body rhythmically shook. The noise was coming from her; she was crying.
Yang quickly sat down on the edge of Ruby's bed, hugging the girl tightly. It seemed to calm her down slightly.
"What's wrong, Rubes?" Yang asked, not really thinking about the circumstances.
"It's not fair!" The younger girl sobbed.
"What isn't?" Yang asked.
"Th-They told me," Ruby began, her voice quivering. "That I ha-have lung cancer."
Yang tightened the hug between the two.
"It'll be okay." She told her.
Ruby roughly pushed the blonde away, resulting in Yang falling off the bed and onto the floor. They were both shocked by what had happened, but Ruby quickly got over it.
"No!" She yelled. "No it won't!"
"Ruby—"
"I'm going to die!" Ruby yelled even louder. "This year!"
Yang shook her head. "No." She said. "Maybe if we start treatment soon, we can get you to twenty."
Ruby threw a pillow at Yang, which she caught.
"You don't understand!" Ruby sobbed. "I don't want to die at twenty! I don't want to die…"
The girl began to sob even harder and it broke Yang's heart.
"I don't want you to de either." Yang told her. "And I'm sorry, but it looks like twenty is pushing it."
Yang herself began to tear up.
"Seventeen." Ruby muttered.
"What?"
"Best case scenario, with chemo, I live another two years."
"Dammit." Yang quietly cursed. She suddenly punched the pillow as hard as she could.
"Mother fucker!" She screamed. It was all sinking in for her; she was going to live three fourths of her life without her beloved baby sister.
Ruby whimpered sadly as she watched her older sister tear apart a pillow.