Shortly after dinner, the young girl was led by one of the servants to her bedroom facing southwards away from the sun. Since it also came with an absolutely luxurious bathroom, the girl spent a great deal of time melting herself in the warm waters of a silver bathtub ("Not fair! I bet their own bathtub is made out of gold!") before finally emerging an hour later. As she put on her usual clothes and clipped her favorite red cloak back to her shoulders, Ruby decided to take a spin around the humongous room and indulge herself some relaxing observation.

As expected, the Eastern style bedroom was decorated with various ornaments, trinkets and furniture that were arranged in an odd pattern called fengshui that many Easterners practiced. In her case she learned about them on a trip by sea, where a surprising amount of sailors would practice a variety of superstitious stuff in their daily life, believing that they would protect them from the dangers of the sea. Being a survivalist Ruby saw no reason to dispute them, although she personally believed that the steel in her hands was all the protection she needed to face the world.

Just like literally every room or hallway she had walked by, Paintings of all kind littered the walls in organized rows, with the themes mostly revolving around nature, human life and philosophy. Ruby imagined it not too surprising if some of these were painted by the man himself, but unfortunately she shared no taste in art and passed by them with a curious but very brief glance. On the other hand, the one thing that drew her attention was the small fountain sculptured in the shape of a rocky waterfall placed neatly at the far corner of her bed. The servant had told her that she could turn them off with a switch if she found the water sound too be too distracting, but contrary to their expectations this was exactly what the girl wanted to have by her side. Ruby was used to sleeping out in the open during her time as an Executioner, and more often than not she would have to travel deep into the untamed lands of Remnant to hunt for Demons. As such, she very much disliked confined space where her large scythe became a crutch, and she could not fight at the absolute peak of her abilities. While the guest room she's currently staying in was very big, Ruby couldn't quite shake off the feeling that she was being confined somehow. Therefore the fountain was a very welcomed decoration that would help the illusion that she was asleep in the wilderness.

Of course, when she was at True North she slept under a roof like any non-suicidal person would do. But she loved that life only because her Master made it felt like home, and now that she was gone...

Tok tok tok.

Ruby frowned. She had hoped that the two presences lying in wait outside for the past thirty minutes would go away, but obviously her wish was not be granted. With a gentle slap on Crescent Rose the former Executioner steeled herself and went to open the door. She saw with no surprise at all a respectful Lie Ren and cheerful Nora Valkyrie, seeking her attention at this late hour for god knows what.

"Hi guys," The brunette started with a friendly smile, "I didn't expect to see you so quickly. What is it?"

"Hiya Ruby! It's nothing really, we're just here to invite you to the grounds and BREAK –"

"What she means is that we'd like to invite you to a spar," Ren quickly interjected before realizing that he might have been too direct, "It's just that the night is still young, and Yang had a lot to say about your prowess in battle. This may sound a little sudden, but it would be our greatest honor if you would grant us a practice match... if it does not impede on your time of course."

Ruby was surprised. Setting Nora aside, Ren did not look like the type who would actively seek out conflict at all. While she personally had wanted to work up some sweat after her bath, she suspected there might be more to this unusual invitation than meets the eye. In the past she would've rejected the request outright, before leaving without leaving right away suspecting foul play. But she had changed since then, and the mismatched duo did seem very sincere.

"You do know that I've just finished bathing, don't you?"

"I see. My greatest apologies, we shall take our l –"

"Don't be so hasty! You do notice I'm in my traveling wear, don't you? I was planning to practice a bit anyway, so a duel is no problem."

"Hurray! See, Ren? I told you it'll be alright!" Nora smacked heartily onto the young man's back, causing a grimace as he glared evilly at the remorseless woman. But he quickly turned back to Ruby with a respectful bow and said,

"Thank you, Miss Ruby. We shall guide you to the training ground then."

"Before that," Ruby stopped the puzzled duo before they could start moving, "Could you just call me Ruby? Master Taiyang aside, you guys are the same age as Yang, so having you address me as Miss Ruby is kinda… weird."

"Of course," Lie Ren replied quickly, "With your permission, Miss – I mean, Ruby."

Immediately Nora repeated her name like she had said it her entire life, "Ruby! Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby!"

"Nora!"

It's funny how the same word could have a different effect when said by different people. One said her name like it was carved out of dragon bones, while the other rolled it over her tongue like an exciting new toy. Ruby could only smile wryly at their antics as the party finally departed for their destination.

To Ruby's surprise, Taiyang was waiting for them when they arrived at the training grounds. If he was the real perpetrator behind this invitation, then why hadn't he just said so during dinner? Maybe he wanted to try his hand as well! Immediately a shiver of involuntary excitement shot down her spine as she imagined dueling one of the strongest Huntsmen in the entire Remnant, even though she knew it to be was very unlikely. Deep in her own imagination, she nearly ran into the old man before she stopped abruptly at the final second. The young girl muttered a sheepish apology at the smiling old man, before looking around for a certain blonde woman who would not miss this for the world. But to her disbelief, Yang Xiao Long was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Yang?" Ruby inquired Taiyang.

"She skipped work this morning, so she's making up for it." the old man snorted at the thought, and Ruby could easily see in her head the blonde screaming and thrashing the whole place up right now. In fact, she was surprised she hadn't burned down the house already.

"The mansion's fire proof," Taiyang read her thoughts apparently, "And while my daughter's lazy to a fault, she can work very well when leashed properly. If only she is more responsible…"

Ruby wondered if he meant the leash part literally, but was wise enough to snuff the thought in its basket. Wasting no more time, the former Executioner began analyzing the battleground for the upcoming fight. First, the training ground was a flattened four hundred meters wide square outlined with white paint. The four corners of the zone were marked with a metal post each, and she guessed from past experience that they were conductors of sorts that would form an impenetrable energy barrier around the training ground. The one that made her worry though were the many strange, indecipherable round markings the size of a football littered all over the ground with no intelligible pattern whatsoever. After some hesitation, Ruby decided to ask,

"Master Taiyang, what are those markings on the ground?"

Taiyang answered enigmatically with a hint of humor, "That is a good question, Ruby. However, I would prefer not to tell you what they are now, if only to allow my Guardians to have the slimmest of chance to stand against you. I'm sure it will be an educative experience for you too."

In other words, traps. Ruby had never walked into a live minefield, and it was ironic that her first experience was of the voluntary kind. At least she didn't need to worry that they're lethal!… probably. Ruby sighed even as she pulled out Crescent Rose from behind her waist and stepped determinedly into the ring. At the opposite side, Nora and Ren had just finished their warm-ups and was looking towards her with a most serious expression on their faces. It's been a while since I fought a Huntsmen team. Well, half a team, but still, this should be fun.

As she strode up to them, Ruby took the time to observe closely her sparring partners – no, that mindset won't do; they are her enemies – The first thing she paid attention to were the weapons. She didn't exactly had the best viewing angle during their first meeting. Lie Ren had a standard-sized pistol of leaf green on each hand, with a single curved blade extending down the lower end of the muzzle. They looked to be feather light, effective on all range, and generally an all-rounder kind of weapon. Nora's on the other hand, was the exact opposite. The war hammer slung lazily over her shoulder was easily three times the size of her head, and this time she was definitely sure that its alternate form was a bloody grenade launcher. That thing would break a lot more than just knees, and if she was not careful she could be squashed into a paste. Ruby had zero intention of reliving her three months bedridden experience again, and this time she wouldn't have a genius healer to quicken the process. All in all, Ren and Nora were an odd pair of Huntsmen of completely opposite spectrum, but if they work well together then this little spar might turn out much better than she originally thought.

Just shy of ten feet away from the duo, Ruby stopped her advance and held her crimson rifle loosely with one hand. Despite her casual mannerism, the duo seemed to sense something and immediately spread out into cautious stances just shy out of her field of view. Very good spacing. The young girl chose not to take the initiative. The duel would end far too quickly otherwise, and she hadn't forgotten Yang's forlorn face when she seckilled her this afternoon. A spar should be beneficial to both parties. Exhaling a calm breath of air, Ruby took a single step forwards and uttered,

"Fight me."

The timing was perfect. A quarter of a second before she finished her last word, a green blur cleared the ten feet distance instantly to sweep a murderous dagger across Ruby's throat. The young girl nodded approvingly in her head as she nimbly angled her neck to dodge by a hair's breadth, before letting her legs to run her out of the Huntsman's range. Fearless, the deadly blades chased after Ruby's elusive figure like the claws of a vicious animal as they cut and snarl and bite at even the tiniest of opening. In fact, his offense was so unpredictable and unexpected that for a while, Ruby couldn't mount a counter attack at all!

But Ren was not the real threat. Within seconds of their engagement, the clanking, screeching sounds of metal informed Ruby that Nora Valkyrie had switched her war hammer into a different form; a form of threat that she could not see coming because she had to devote all her eyesight to the fighter before her. With Ren constantly blocking in front of her no matter how she tried to maneuver, and the usually noisy Nora sneaking impossibly silent steps to flank her from behind, Ruby felt a sense of danger she almost never experienced against Huntsmen way below her level. They don't just work well with each other, it's like they're two parts of a body! Ruby thought she knew what the woman was going to do, but just before she could dismiss it as too outlandish two loud booms shattered the sound barrier and her disbelief to push her senses into overdrive. Is she insane? At this distance she'll hit Ren as well!

But Ren was nowhere as fazed as Ruby thought he should be. Kicking out three times in rapid succession at her face, chest and hips respectively, Ren staggered her with his speed and used the knock-back to leap gracefully like a swan out of harm's way. His moves were so fluid, so natural that it's as if he had been shot by explosives his entire life, and considering his partner's nature that might actually be true. Running on a head of pure coolness, Ruby hurled herself sideways just in time to avoid getting exploded by the pair of lethal pink balls. The massive shockwave however still sent her rolling over the floor like a ball before she pushed herself up with a forceful stretch of limbs, narrowly avoiding a stealthy stab to the stomach. Excitement and adrenaline flooded through her veins, and try as she might Ruby could not hold back a delightful grin any longer. This was but the opening act and already the duo far exceeded her expectations. Perhaps if given the chance Yang might be able to give her the same wonderment, but deep down Ruby knew that even at her best, even if Yang might surpass them both individually, she would never be able to give her a better thrill than this golden combi did.

But enough sentiment, this was a time of decisions and action. Wanting to change the tide, Ruby zigzagged sideways like lightning before she abruptly took to the heavens with a single whump, red cloak streaking fifty feet across the night sky before she whispered to herself, "Here I come!" In a split second, she pulled the trigger seven times in a rapid succession to send an equal amount of bullets hailing down onto Ren and Nora, and so rapid was the discharge that the gunfire sounded like a drawn out, melodious thunder. Bear in mind that her rifle was completely manual, and still this remained as one of her favorite move if only for its sheer difficulty. As expected though, accuracy was traded off for inhuman speed and only five out of seven shots had a real chance of hitting the target. Usually that was enough to drop her opponents in a splatter of blood.

Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie thwarted them all. Caught off guard and in awe of the bulky rifle's stunning performance, they nevertheless weaved through the hail as Nora even attempted in failure to slam some of the bullets back towards at her. Ruby eyes darted left and right to catch two such return serves sailing past a few feet away, and thought that the crazy woman might be able to hit on target given a year or two. By now gravity had finally caught up with the red dressed girl, and a flash of inspiration caused her to curve her arms perpendicularly away from her body. As Ruby spun once, twice, then grow faster and faster until she was all but a deadly tornado of steel, the girl dove right towards the duo like an unstoppable crusher. If they couldn't get away from this, then this was the end. Even while holding back the sheer destructive power of this move was enough to blow a small pit in the ground.

But her worries were unfounded. Not only the duo perfectly measured her attack radius and skipped out of the way, they had also took the chance to close in the moment she struck the ground with terrific impact, hoping to defeat her while she was still recovering from the execution move. Had Ruby been one year younger, had she not practiced many high level maneuvers the past month to get her fighting sense to speed, they might have forced out her Semblance then. However, Ruby's body was now strong enough to handle the absurd stress, and after spending just half a second to regain her bearings Ruby immediately swung the body of her rifle fluidly with sinister quickness at Ren's head. The surprised young man skidded along the floor as he held up his twin pistols to absorb the blow, but he was doubly surprised to find it as heavy as Nora's swing as he was blown backwards in a most ungraceful fall. By then Nora had run up to cover for Ren and with a most vicious grin, swung the gigantic hammer directly at Ruby's torso. Time stopped for Ruby as she admired the invisible wall of pressure that threatened to blow her away before the hammer had even reached. This rivals the presence of a Rank C Demon. Not bad at all, Nora! Then, she struck back. Never had Nora been more surprised in her life to find Ruby meeting her head on by thrusting her rifle directly at the incoming hammer. Even more unbelievable was that when the dust settled, and Nora thought she had accidentally squashed Ruby into a grizzly mess, she found the young girl to be perfectly fine and her blow stopped perfectly in mid-air. Ruby whispered provocatively at the stunned Huntress, "Hmm, is that all you've got?"

As the thinker of the team, Ren realized almost instantly her ploy and shouted out, "Nora don't!" His desperate warning however was too late as the woman flew into a flying rage and began swinging like a madman. Each one of her hits was powerful enough to squish five times the weight of Ruby Rose, and yet despite throwing everything she has at the smirking little girl Nora simply could not break through Ruby's impenetrable defense. The more she grew frustrated, the worse it got until finally, for the first in a very long time, Nora's arms grew too tired and wavered for an instant. That was all the opening Ruby needed to dive deep into her embrace, wink, and slam the butt end of her rifle directly at her chin. The berserker fainted unceremoniously towards the ground, and that was one down, one more to go.

Ruby turned around to look at Ren with doe eyes, and was rewarded immensely by an obvious shiver down the young man's spine. She knew that he knew how she repelled Nora's powerful strikes as if she was equal to Nora's strength. It was all just technique. She twisted her entire body to focus all the force into a single point, then she met Nora's blows halfway before the woman could perform a full swing, thus negating a majority of her explosive strength before it got a chance to blossom. The provocation was simply to guarantee Nora does not realize her trick, and after that it was just performing the same maneuver over and over again, sometimes even using the counter force to bolster her own until the woman runs out of juice.

"Why don't you use the traps? In fact, why haven't you used it earlier? You could've taken me by surprise." Ruby said with a smile as she walked slowly towards Ren, even purposely stepping over some trap markings with all the arrogance of a tyrannous queen. But Ren didn't panic. He simply fell back into his usual stance and said,

"Less talk. More fighting."

Ruby laughed gaily, her blood pumped full with adrenaline and pleasure, "Ahaha! Alright then Ren, give it all you've got!"

Chains of ethereal glowing white materialized into existence, and once again Ren had acted before she could finish her sentences. The young man may be polite, but he sure as hell didn't mind playing dirty. Hundreds of Dust-formed chains erupted from all around her like dangerous serpents of the sea, but not only Ruby was utterly unmoved she could not help but feel a tiny twinge of disappointment. Spikes, bombs, ethereal minions; those were the level of threat she was hoping she could fight. Binds, she thought secretly with no small amount of derision, really? I run rings around these things since five! The slithering masses of white sailed at once towards her like spears with such explosive speed most Huntsman would find themselves captured before they could move a muscle. But not Ruby Rose, the fastest Executioner in the world. Once again the world seemed to slow as she took the time to count the number of binds coming at her, then fired at every one of them with a Dust bullet from her rifle. Is this it? Again she thought with no small amount of disappointment, I was hoping for something –

Abruptly Ruby realized she had been fooled far too late. The Dust bullets dissolved into nothingness the moment they made contact with the chains, and by the time she recovered from her shock she found herself pulled to the ground in a painful crash. Did it just absorb my bullets!? Within seconds her entire body became completely enveloped by the white bindings, and even Crescent Rose was no exception even though she managed to keep a firm grip on the handle. Not that it was much help now, as she tried to fire a few more shots and found even the Dust cartridge to be absorbed by the trap. Ruby berated herself mentally for letting arrogance getting into her head; if Ren followed up with a quick dagger now then she had no choice but to –

But no. As she had predicted the young man had skidded to a halt just barely out of the corner of her eyes, but what really surprised her was that she noticed Ren was barehanded when he made the dash with his right arm arced backwards as if he was ready to deliver a punch. But why? Why purposely put his daggers away when it easily could've dealt equal, if not more damage? Wait a minute, if I remember correctly Yang said –

Abruptly, Lie Ren's view turned completely red, and for a moment he thought that the former Executioner had perhaps cut his eyes. But he didn't feel any pain, and soon he realized with a start that it was a sea of little red things scattering all over the sky. Mesmerized, the young man reached out towards the closest clump and snatched a small piece of it in his hands. Are these… petals?

Abruptly he felt a bump at the back of his head, and the young man quickly spun around to see Ruby Rose smiling widely with her wicked red rifle pointed towards him, "Checkmate. That was a really, really good surprise at the end though. I can't believe you actually forced out my Semblance! Well played!"

"We lost," Lie Ren said mildly in a vain attempt to mask the unexpected afterglow that had his whole body shivering in excitement. Short and one-sided it may be, it was still the greatest and most thrilling battle he had ever experienced in his life, "Thank you, Miss, I mean, Ruby, it is a great honor to fight you."

"Ahaha! The same goes here, Ren! Be sure to tell Nora my regards when she wakes up later!" Ruby laughed happily as she holstered her rifle, with Taiyang arriving right on cue before asking with a cool smile, "So, Ruby. Did you enjoy the fight?"

"Yeah, totally! Nora and Ren are awesome!" the young girl didn't notice his cheeks reddening a little at the heartfelt praise, "There are some kinks here and there and their recovery time could use more practice, but they're practically good enough to compete in tournaments already! Speaking of which, why haven't I seen them on TV?"

"Ah, that will be my fault," Taiyang said with a remorseful look, "I rely on them to perform various responsibilities, and hence there really isn't time to register them into anything major."

"Huh. Can't you have older subordinates to do the work instead? Feels like a waste of talent."

Taiyang laughed heartily, "Besides me, Yang, Ren and Nora are the figureheads of the Xiao Long family. Of course I can delegate their work to someone else for a while, but ultimately they are the ones our men place great trust and expectations upon, so it's impossible to have them focus on practice for an upcoming tournament. Still," Taiyang stroked his beard with a thoughtful look, "You have a point. They are young, and I shan't squander their bright future on petty criminal activities, eh?"

"Oh c'mon, I didn't mean that! You're doing this on purpose!" Ruby turned red in the face, and before the old man could tease her any longer she called for a tactical retreat, "Anyway, I'm all sweaty from the exercise so I'm going back to my room for another bath. See you guys tomorrow!"

And just like that, the young girl zoomed away like an arrow before vanishing around a corner. That she had ran faster than any moment during the duel was both a source of great admiration and exasperation for Lie Ren – if she went at them seriously they might've been taken down without realizing it. She hadn't even used her rifle's second form. Just how much was she holding back?

"So, Ren. Was this fight satisfying for you?" Taiyang addressed the young man kindly as Ren quickly bowed his head and answered,

"Yes, Master. This has been most educative experience. I can't believe she's just fifteen years old."

"She's an Executioner, after all. They have no choice but to be the best. Especially since she's Summer's daughter…" the light in Taiyang's eyes grew dim with remembrance, but he soon recovered, "At any rate, let's talk about your test. Did you manage to connect the final palm strike?"

Ren stiffened at the question. This has been the sole reason he had sought out Ruby Rose for a duel. Master Taiyang, for whatever reason, had suddenly declared a 'test' for him to land a Qi Strike onto Ruby Rose, and that he was also allowed to bring Nora along and use the training field. He was uncomfortable with the notion from the start because he knew exactly how destructive that technique was, and even after seeing a glimpse of Ruby Rose's true strength he still would prefer not to use it against a human being. But the Master's orders are absolute, and in the end it had turned out for the better, "I… believe so. The strike was shallow, but it definitely connected an instant before she used her Semblance."

The conversation stopped right then. For a long while Master Taiyang said nothing at all, and he continued to stare blankly at Ren with a weird glow in his eyes that disturbed the young man to no end. No words could describe his relief when Taiyang finally spoke again, "Hahahaha! That's good. It was a very impressive setup you have by using Ruby's confidence against her, and although I have to deduct points for your failure to stop Nora from rampaging – don't show me that face, she is your partner and hence your responsibility – I suppose that you passed. Now, go get some rest. I should get back to my room too, lest that useless daughter of mine starts burning important documents out of frustration."

Taiyang gave the young man an amiable pat in the head, and Ren sighed with secret relief that his Master, his foster father was acting the same as usual. But before he could excuse himself Taiyang spoke up again,

"Speaking of which, I'd like to see you and Nora at the gathering hall eleven a.m. sharp tomorrow. Try to keep the girl from oversleeping again, eh? This is very important."

"Of course, Master. Have a good night."

"You too, Ren," he thought he heard an odd hint of sadness in the Master's words, "Good night."

And just like that he was gone like the wind, leaving Lie Ren pondering with no small amount of strange doubt and anxiety as Nora snored away at the side in peaceful obliviousness.

It was ten in the morning, and Ruby Rose already had her backpack slung to her shoulders with one final look at the room to make sure she didn't forget anything. The night had gone by surprisingly restful, the breakfast was nice, and even Nora's grumpiness because she was 'beaten by a little girl' could not put a dent in her mood. Had the woman seen her fight seriously, she would know that there's no shame in losing at all to a Exe – I should stop calling myself that; it'll bring back unpleasant habits – mercenary who could seckill a Demon. Once everything she made sure everything was in place, the young girl exited her room, said her goodbyes to her hosts, and headed straight towards the front gate. No need to spoil the day with a sauna of stink.

Not to her surprise, she saw Yang Xiao Long leaning against a wall at the gate waiting for her, her magnificent golden hair swaying softly along the wind. She wasn't around during breakfast or when she made her final rounds, but despite limited contact Ruby thought that Yang wasn't the type to see an acquaintance off from the shadows. The blonde woman gave her a hand wave before beckoning her over, and Ruby strode right up to the blonde with an easy smile, "Good morning. You didn't show for breakfast."

At that the blonde sighed while looking like she was going to curl up and cry, "It's all because of that monster. I had to work all night – all night! – until 5 in the morning before I finally got into bed. Doesn't he know that a lady needs her beauty sleep? What if I lose hair!?"

"Hmm… that's never been a problem for me, but I get what you mean." Ruby normally operated on a 4 hours bi-cycle or a 2 hours quarterly-cycle depending on her needs, and if she was on the hunt she could work 48 hours straight with only 2 hours of sleep. But of course, unlike her most people could not alter their sleeping habits on a whim.

Not wanting to dwell on the subject any further, Yang looked up towards the blue sky and asked mildly, "So, where are you going next?"

"I can't tell you the specifics, but North is where I'm headed. It will be unfamiliar territory, but I guess there's always the chance the land might be tame." Ruby looked up towards Yang with an expectant look on her face, but when the blonde simply stared blankly at her she sighed and said with slight dejection, "It's a joke. Remnant is never tame."

"Oh. Uh, okay." Deciding that the brunette could use some help to defuse the terrible joke, Yang pondered for a good subject, "Say, tell me a little about your life on the road. It must be cool eh, travelling to many places and see all sorts of things? Speaking of which, how many towns have you visited? Fifty? A hundred?"

Ruby hummed for a bit before she answered slowly, "I guess it's just okay? Most of the time I just think about surviving another day, and paying attention to the stuff that'll keep me alive is often more important than just sightseeing. Also, you might be surprised but I haven't traveled to many settlements at all. I visit them only to refill my Dust supply, and sometimes tinker a little with my weapon."

"That sounds like a bore."

"Well, I said before that my life's goal is to hunt down Demons, right? While those things do sometimes appear at populated areas, they're usually weak and quickly rooted out by The Order. It's just not worth risking capture to take down the small fries," the brunette's eyes threw a sharp glint for an instant, "Not to mention that after a whole year of tracking, I've finally found my target, so I really can't afford to waste time on pointless stuff. For now I have other things that I must do, but when I'm done with that…"

The determination on Ruby's face said everything. For a while Yang watched the young girl with a strange longing welling inside her heart, but she quickly dispelled it and laughed a little too loud than usual,

"Well, I'm sure you'll be fine, big sis. You are crazy strong after all; I doubt there are many things in this world that can stop you."

Ruby shook her head, "Not really, I'm not as strong as you think. You won't believe how –" Ruby paused upon nothing Yang's unusually downcast expression, and suddenly she realized what this was all about, "Hey, you… watched my duel last night, didn't you?"

The corner of Yang's lips pulled up a little as she admitted freely, "Yeah. Would you believe that Da's computer had access to the security cameras? All this time and he never told me, the old coot!" the blonde woman clenched her fists so tight that her skin faded into white, "It was a good thing that he did, though. Otherwise, I would never realize how big this world truly is. Just the distance between you and me is like standing at the opposite ends of Remnant."

Ruby bit her lips, not really knowing what to say to comfort her, "Yang… if it makes you feel better, I wouldn't have chosen a life like this. If I have a dream, it will be to live in a small house, go to school, make friends, get a dog," her eyes betrayed a hint of pain as she whispered the last words as if it was her heartfelt wish, "Spend more time with my family."

The blonde chuckled a little and tried patting Ruby's head, whom ducked out of the way like lightning because she hated getting her hair ruffled,

"That's not a bad dream at all, Ruby. Don't give up just yet. But you see, that's exactly why we're so different from each other. Me, I've always been a family girl, and like my Da I've watched over my family and my clan for as far as I can remember. I got their back and they got mine, and together we can be anything else we want in this world!"

The girl pumped a fist into the air like some superhero in a movie, but she then let it fall slowly to the ground with an terribly weak smile,

"But, hmm, how should I put this. Maybe I'm being selfish, but I guess sometimes, I just wish there is more of 'me' than there is 'us', you know? Would you believe me if I tell you that I've never left this city? I'm the daughter of a hero, and heir to the biggest criminal organization of this city. I can't leave. There's always more stuff to do, more backs to watch over from harm. At least we're tight enough that there's never been a case of backstabbing within the family, but really... there's no freedom to be found here. Whatever the family says, I follow, even if it takes something important from me; even if it goes against what's right. It's tiring. I'm really tired of this. I… I guess that sometimes, I just wish I wasn't here."

A gust of wind blew by, whiffing up mini dust storms on the pavement no one noticed nor cared. Ruby kept quiet, for this was beyond any kind words or pretty advice she could offer. In the larger scale of things, perhaps their predicament was exactly the same as these dust storms. Small, insignificant, ignorable.

Unless they cared to change it themselves.

"… Say, is traveling really all that fun? I've heard some great things from wandering peddlers, even though most of them are straight up bullshit." Yang started suddenly. The change of subject was welcomed by Ruby as she answered,

"That's because a trader's a liar no matter where they go or what title they call themselves. Peddler? Pssh," Ruby flicked a finger as if she was throwing something dirty, "Also, I never really thought about it, but it probably is not 'fun'. To begin with I have to avoid people because of my old job, so I only travel by foot. That means a lot of walking, climbing, swimming, and dealing with all sorts of things trying to eat me alive in ever creative ways, and the worst of them all are bugs. I swear they're more dangerous than the Grimm, and in fact there are days I want to burn the whole forest –"

"Uhhh, yeah, I think that's more than I want to hear for now," Yang interrupted her before the young girl shattered her dreams of glorious adventure completely, "What I want to ask is, um, do you think I could've made the cut?... You know, running out about Remnant and seeing new things… maybe even travel together with you."

Ruby's eyes widened at the final statement as she stared directly at Yang, the latter's pretend smile fooling no one. It wasn't even a real question. Yang was not going to leave Jiu Xu. Just like her, for the sake of her beliefs, the woman had made up her mind long ago to remain in this huge, yet tiny world for as long as she was needed. Playing the what-if game would only deepen the wound and change nothing.

And yet… and yet Yang wanted to know. She had asked for her help. If Yang trusted her this much to reveal something so close to her heart, then at the very least she was obligated to try.

"This is all conjecture of course," Ruby averted her eyes and looked away, unable to meet the blonde face-to-face, "You're plenty tough despite what you think, so I don't think you'll have a problem once you get used to fighting outside. But you're new so you're going to make plenty of stupid mistakes, possibly irredeemable ones. Your hair and attire are a problem too, since those… assets will stick out even in the middle of the thickest crowd. Way too much attention in my opinion, and visibility's definitely something I don't need in my travels."

"I… see," Yang drooped her head to the ground and kicked at a random small pebble by her feet. It didn't fly far, "I... guess I'm not good enough then. Never –"

"But!" Ruby interjected suddenly, freezing the woman with her sudden outburst. It was unbelievably difficult, but Ruby looked up at Yang with face of determination and a heartfelt smile, "Who doesn't make mistakes when they try something new? A new environment is just a different playground, so as long as you endure there's no reason you can't take on the wilderness. Speaking of visibility, maybe you can try getting a haircut –" "I will kill anyone who dares hurt my hair." "… Or we can just use you the way you are. You're charming and charismatic, so it should be easy to get what you want from other people, especially those greedy 'peddlers'.

So, yeah. If you really want to tag along with me... I don't think I'll mind. I'll be happy to have you."

Yang stood frozen like a statue for a second, then another. A strong wind swept past their cheeks, and finally the blonde woman snapped out of her reverie. She then broke out into the brightest smile Ruby had ever seen in her life.

"Thank you, Ruby. Even if those dreams will never come true, I – thank you. Thank you."

Ruby turned towards the gate. She pretended that she didn't hear the muffled sobs as Yang turned away to hide her face and trembled uncontrollably. Taking a peek at a nearby clock post and noting that it was time, Ruby strode for the streets and didn't look back.

"Don't mention it… Goodbye."