Chapter 5-
"Why is Mizu Schnee out here in the middle of nowhere? In a Grimm infested forest with incompetent guards." Ruby stated emotionless, her blade sticking in the ground near the prone woman's body.
"I didn't know." The woman, Mizu said softly, her voice weak.
Ruby was about to question the woman more but then her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell face forward.
Ruby held out her arms to catch the woman as her weapon fell to the floor next to them, this gave Ruby her first real look at the woman in front of her.
She had long white hair like her daughters but oddly the tips of which were a light red that looked natural, she held the same blue eyes but again they seemed to have hints of something more in them but Ruby wasn't able to tell.
Ruby saw the wound on her arm bleeding more profoundly, taking out some gauze from her belt and applied it onto the wound tying it around with some bandages but knowing she could do little more out here she picked up her weapon and used her semblance to get home quicker.
Mizu didn't know where she was, the last thing she remembered were her guards all dying and being surrounded by Beowolves.
Mizu sat up with a start when she remembered the Red Reaper coming to save her, her hand instantly went towards where her weapon would be only to find it empty.
The world slowly came into focus as she saw she was on a bed in a small room, the top half of her body had the clothes stripped away but a new shirt had been placed over the top, and her left arm was emitting a dull ache.
Looking at her arm she saw bandages covering her arm and she remembered being cut by the claws of a Beowolf.
She turned to see a girl sitting in a chair with a book on her lap, she had odd coloured hair and she sat looking at Mizu with an amused smile on her face.
"Ah you're awake, that's good. How do you feel?" The girl asked.
"Who are you?" Mizu asked before she could stop herself.
"My name's Neo." Neo supplied.
"Where am I?" Mizu asked.
"You are in a man named Qrow's house, he is a teacher at Signal." Neo explained.
"Qrow? How did I get to Qrow's house?" Mizu asked quickly, remembering her former teammate.
Before Neo could answer both of them heard shouting coming from downstairs, namely Ruby and Qrow.
"Why the hell was she there?" They both could hear Ruby's voice but only Neo knew her true name while Mizu recognised it as Reapers voice from earlier.
They heard a mumbled reply back from Qrow, quickly followed by Ruby's next one, "Her guards were shit, and didn't know how to use their Aura. So why the hell was she out there? There's only one thing out there and she shouldn't even know it exists." Ruby shouted.
As they seemed to quieten down Neo turned to Mizu with an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry about Ruby, she's very touchy about certain things and well where she found you doesn't help matters." Neo explained.
"That's the Red Reaper." Mizu stated.
"She is, but she prefers the name Ruby." Neo informed her.
"Ruby? I always liked that name." Mizu said as an offhanded comment.
"I've learnt to love that name, but I digress I need to know how you are feeling." Neo said with a loving smile on her face.
"I feel fine, my arm aches a little but it's only dull." Mizu said.
"That's good, we gave you direct Aura injections so the wound should be pretty much healed by now." Neo informed her.
"How long was I out?" Mizu asked next.
"About ten hours since Ruby got you here, so about ten hours give or take a couple minutes." Neo said.
"My husband, I told him I'd call him when I finished and it's been too long." Mizu said, worried.
"Don't worry, Qrow already spoke to him when he called your scroll and he's aware of what happened but he sent your daughter, Winter to come and get you." Neo told the woman.
"Oh" Mizu said, unsure how to react.
"Now that that's all sorted, and before Ruby gets up here. Would you care to explain why you were in the forest with ill-trained protection?" Neo asked.
"Um." Mizu said, unsure if she could really tell the truth to a girl she had never met before, only two people knew the truth and one of them was her and the other was long dead.
"It's alright if you don't want to tell me but Ruby will want answer, as I said she is very protective of that area." Neo told her.
"Why is that?" Mizu asked, curious.
"It's not for me to say, but I'm sure she'll be here in a minute." Neo explained.
Just as she had said almost a minute later Ruby, still with her cloak and hood up covering her head and face still.
Before Ruby even reached the bed Neo had turned to look at her, Mizu saw the silent conversation taking place between them but throughout the entire thing Neo didn't lose the smile.
Mizu was used to reading body language with her husband and the endless meetings she had to do, she saw Neo clearly telling Ruby to relax and calm down while Ruby was trying to hold out but after a full minute Ruby finally relented.
Ruby sat down calmly on the edge of the bed and while she kept her hood up her whole demeanour seemed to relax.
Mizu watched as Neo entwined their hands together causing Ruby's body language to almost melt and completely relax but it was clear Ruby could change in an instance.
"How are you feeling Miss Schnee?" Ruby asked quietly.
Schooling her emotions she was shocked that Ruby wasn't more aggressive but it was clear that whatever Neo had said changed her attitude.
"I am fine thank you, and thank you for saving me." Mizu expressed.
"You're welcome Miss Schnee." Ruby said.
"Please call me Mizu, I don't like being called Miss Schnee." Mizu stated.
"As you wish Miss Mizu, now I must ask what you were doing out in the forests today. There is nothing there except trees, snow and Grimm." Ruby asked gently.
"Why were you there Ruby? If there is nothing there." Mizu challenged.
"I was training." Came a readied response by Ruby.
"Please don't insult my intelligence Ruby, I deal with board members who try to lie to me on a daily basis alongside my husband, so please don't try to lie to me now." Mizu stated.
"I was visiting my mother, now why were you there?" Ruby stated coldly, which resulted in a disapproving gaze from Neo.
"I visit that area each year when I can get enough time to do so, it used to be somewhere a close friend of mine spent time and I would join her." Mizu stated.
"If you went there a lot then why were you so ill-prepared then?" Ruby asked.
"I uh, believed myself to be prepared enough as a trained huntress but I seem to be out of practise." Mizu said, embarrassed at the fact.
"I see." Ruby said, "I assume you would know who I am, correct?"
"You are the Red Reaper." Mizu stated.
"I am, and you know my real name. So the question is, what are you going to do?" Ruby asked, her voice was calm and relaxed but there was an underlying threat.
"Nothing, I know who you are and have known of you for years but I was only aware that a woman was fighting the White Fang that was it." Mizu stated.
"Twenty." Ruby stated.
"What?" Mizu asked, confused.
"Twenty attempts on your life and that of your family in the last ten years all made by the White Fang." Ruby stated.
"What?" Mizu shouted as she sat up, "We've never heard of these. I know the White Fang hate us but I didn't know they attempted to kill us." Mizu said, scared for her family.
"Each attack I stopped before they happened, the closest of which got in a mile of your houses wall." Ruby stated with an earie calm.
"But how did you know?" Mizu asked.
"I have my ways of finding out things about the White Fang. But that is two attempts each year but I've stopped them before they happened, do you wish to know why?" Ruby asked.
"Of course."
"You are not evil, nor are you daughters and you do not deserve to die however it is different with your husband. You would be surprised what sort of things you can find out." Ruby said and the other woman could hear the smile in her voice.
"What do you know?" Mizu asked, worried.
"You carry the Schnee name but it is your husband in charge of what should be your company for the simple fact that he is a man and it is seen that a woman shouldn't be in charge but you whisper in his ear as much as you can but you are seemingly unaware of what he does." Ruby stated.
"That is where you are wrong Ruby, I am aware of what he does but as you can understand those who run the company alongside my husband. I know they are sexist and bigoted people but as a woman I can't do much other than try to misdirect them and help where I can." Mizu said.
"Help how?" Neo asked, speaking up for the first time since Ruby had come in.
"I help the Faunus used as slave labour by freeing them but if I can't try to give them food and water, I have a large amount of support with guards and staff of my company and even a couple among the board and currently trying to seize control of the company." Mizu told the two women.
"Really? How do you plan on doing that?" Neo asked.
"An extremely hostile takeover. I plan on divorcing my husband while having him arrested alongside almost all of the board members and corrupt guards in one swoop." Mizu informed them.
"I see." Neo said, the smile never leaving her face.
"You already knew all of this didn't you?" Mizu asked.
"We did, but it was only because you contacted a few Hunters. Like Qrow and Ozpin that we were able to find out." Ruby informed her.
"Why did you ask me about it then?" Mizu asked, unsure.
"We wanted to know if we can trust you, Ruby shared something to get you to trust us and we wanted to see if you would return the gesture." Neo informed her.
"I see, but why do you want that trust?" Mizu asked once more.
"Because you know my name and I will reveal my identity to you, however I wish to know I can trust you not to tell anyone." Ruby said.
Ruby reached up to remove her hood and reveal her long red and black hair and her soft but defined features and silver eyes, her headphones remained firmly in place for a moment before she finally removed them to show the other woman her red tipped wolf ears.
Mizu grew pale as she looked at the girl, recognition at who she looked like and the similarities were scary to the woman.
She couldn't have questioned Ruby more because the three women all heard a loud knocking at the door before shortly being kicked open.
Ruby was out of the door before Mizu even heard the sound of the door being kicked in and Neo followed quick behind Ruby.
Mizu climbed up out of bed as she let her arm be limp at her side as she slowly walked out of the room, she spotted three other doors to her left but she turned to her right, towards the stairs and the noise coming from below.
When she reached the top of the stairs she had a clear view to the door and she saw Neo standing by the open door, calling out.
"Ruby!"
Mizu kept walking until she finally reached the door, what she saw outside shocked her but she also seemed to predict it.
Winter was standing outside, clearly the one who kicked in the door and now Ruby had her large scythe around her neck, she was half crouched on the floor balancing her weapon on her shoulders as she was ready to take off her head.
"Ruby! Release!" Neo shouted out at Ruby, her voice commanding and intimidating.
Ruby's face flashed with a brief second of some sort of emotion before she released Winter from her weapon as it collapsed down and then a flash of rose petals found Ruby in Neo's waiting arms.
"Now that is all sorted, please come inside and sit down." Neo said, not worried about the girl wrapped around her body, Ruby strangely had her arms and legs all tied around Neo as her face was buried into her neck.
Neo directed the two Schnee's inside the house and to the living room to get comfortable while she made some tea for them all.
During all of this Ruby stayed attached to Neo like a backpack while Neo acted as if nothing had happened, once sitting down in the living room Neo had gotten Ruby to climb off her and sit down next to her.
"Now Ruby, you have something to say correct?" Neo asked sweetly.
"I'm sorry for my actions." Ruby said quietly but clear enough.
Winter smiled at the girl as she was now calm herself, "Its fine, I'm sorry for kicking in your door." Winter replied.
Ruby had her headphones back up again hiding her wolf ears, making Mizu doubt she had seen them but she noticed a slight twitch underneath the headphones.
"Now that that is all sorted, introductions. I'm Neo, I spoke to you over the phone earlier. Next to me is Ruby." Neo said with a smile, clearly acting the part of the host.
Winter nodded in response saying, "I'm Winter Schnee, and it's a pleasure to meet you." Winter said.
"Mizu, are you ok? You looked a little pale earlier." Neo asked.
"I am fine thank you. I believe it was just everything catching up to me." Mizu replied.
"It has been a long day. Why don't we all retire for a little while before dinner? There are two spare rooms upstairs you can rest in." Neo offered, ever playing the host.
"I think that would be for the best." Winter said, speaking up on her mother's behalf.
"I'll show you the rooms." Neo said with a smile, standing up as she took the two women out of the room while Ruby remained behind.
A/N
Ok don't get used to this, it's only because I wanted to ask something to people that I'm updating so fast.
Including this chapter I have about 14,000 words written and I've only just reached the part where Blake tells everyone she's a Faunus in the show story line. I'm also working on Surfing Blues alongside this story to get it finished.
But the main reason I've updated is because I want to write some other things, like one-shots and the like I've got one sort of written but likely to change. But I'd also like to hear ideas/prompts from you lot, it will be Ruby x Neo stuff although depending what it is I might be open to it. It'll be about two thousand words or so depending on different factors but if you have an idea either PM or leave a review.
Anyway thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed.