Chapter 50: Searching For An Answer

You know, I really appreciate all the good words I'm getting so far. I mean, I really took a gamble breaking up the OTP in this story, but I'm glad all of you folks like it. It makes sense, after all. So, now that we're all settled in, you should know that I don't own anything here. Just the storyline.

xxx

"Are you sure we can just leave her here?" asked Blake.

Yang sighed as she ran a hand through her hair. When they brought Weiss back to the dorm room, Yang expected her to just go back to her normal routine, whatever that was for her. Instead, Weiss wouldn't stop staring out the window, as if she was a lonely dog waiting for its master to come back.

"Err… Well, she's not doing anything bad… I think she'll be safe for now," Yang thought out.

To be honest, leaving Weiss there was their only real option. Yang had no idea how she would react spending another night in the Medical Ward, and she sure as hell wasn't going to join them in their search for Ruby. That would just make things worse, if the two of them saw each other right off the bat.

"You sure?" Blake questioned again.

"Why don't you ask her?" Yang asked defensively.

Blake took that as an order and asked Weiss, "Are you going to be okay here by yourself?".

"Yes. I'm a good girl now," Weiss flatly muttered as she continued to look out the window.

Blake gave Yang a questionable look. Yang simply gave a shrug in response.

"Well, you heard the lady. We'll be back in a bit Weiss. Stay… hang in there, okay?" Yang told the white haired girl as she walked over to the door. Weiss didn't respond as Yang walked out of the door. Blake followed her, on a journey to find their friend.

The dorm room grew silent as Weiss was alone, all by herself. She didn't know what she was looking for when she scanned over the outside view. The only things she saw was the tree near their window, and small, scattered groups of people walking along the walkway. No sighting of Ruby, no sighting of anyone to be with her right now.

Disappointed, Weiss slowly turned away from the window. She looked around the room, not sure what to do now. Then, out of the corner of her eye, something caught her attention. One of Ruby's undershirts was lying crumpled on the ground, from where it fell off of her bunk.

Weiss' heartbeat grew as she picked up the discarded piece of clothing. Lightly, she caressed the shirt against her cheek. It felt soft, just like how Weiss would describe Ruby herself. And the scent of Ruby's favorite deodorant still lingered on the soft top.

Inhaling deeply, Weiss tried to take in every smell she could from the shirt. It sent her heartbeat into overdrive. Weiss began to moan Ruby's name over and over again as old memories flooded into the front of her mind.

"Ruby… Ruby…" she whimpered as she buried her face into the shirt. Pulling out her head to breath, Weiss realized that she had been rubbing her thighs together roughly in heated annoyance.

Disturbed by this development, Weiss dropped the shirt and covered her face in shame. She was disgusted at how she was just using something of Ruby's to satisfy her own desires. Weiss never wanted to treat Ruby, or anything associated with her, as some ty to be used and disposed of for her lust. She hadn't had the urge to masturbate ever since she had gotten together with Ruby. But, if she was having it now…

Weiss felt absolutely filthy about what she nearly did. She had nearly repeated one of her mistakes again, in a different way this time around. Ruby was never meant to be used as a tool again. First with her father, and now with her overwhelming lust at a memory. Weiss wasn't a good girl, she was the worst.

She needed to feel clean right now. The imaginary grime coating her soul was just unbearable. Staggering her way over to the bathroom, Weiss opened the door and turned on the light. She stripped out of her clothes, and drew the bath. But, as the warm waters rose, she didn't step in.

Instead, Weiss stared at the filled tub contemplatively. Many legendary suicides were done in warm baths. Apparently, warm water opened blood vessels or something like that. In fact, she could recall one old story. Some famous philosopher slashed his wrists in his bath, in order to escape the shame of the local kingdom ruining his reputation. He was remembered as someone who died before his time.

Maybe Weiss was the same as that old philosopher. Except, she had no one else to blame for ruining her own life. All she needed was something with a sharp edge to go the way of the legend.

Her mind made up, Weiss rummaged around in the drawers under the bathroom sink. She found what she was looking for, in the form of a pair of scissors. They were there in case gauze bandages needed to be cut up evenly. Now, they would serve a different purpose entirely. One that Weiss hoped would make all this hatred and pain stop.

With the scissors in hand, Weiss stepped into the bath tub, hoping to put an end to everything once and for all.

xxx

On the other side of the campus, Yang and Blake were searching the main hall for any signs of Ruby. They had already checked there yesterday, but now the pair was desperate enough to try there again. Right now, Yang had finished checking in a ladies' bathroom. No signs of Ruby were present there.

"Any luck?" Blake asked as soon as Yang exited the bathroom.

"None…" sighed Yang. She mentally checked off another bathroom in her mind. This was the third one she checked so far.

"If I had to guess, I'd say that Ruby is hiding in one spot, and not moving around," Blake thought out loud.

Annoyed, Yang growled, "Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious. Did Lieutenant Dumbass just tell you that?".

"Hey, I'm trying to help you out here. Getting into an argument will only make things worse," Blake heatedly pointed out.

Taking a deep breath, Yang calmed herself. Blake was right, her temper would only get in the way of the search. "I'm sorry, Blakey," she apologized. "I'm just… really scared for her right now,".

"I understand. This isn't easy for any of us," Blake said. Her thoughts briefly drifted over to Weiss, and the pity she felt for the girl. She was taking this the hardest of anyone, for obvious reasons.

A heavy pause fell between the pair as they wondered what to do next.

"Where should we look now?" asked Blake.

"I have no idea. I mean, we've checked all the places she would need to go to eventually. Unless she's a ninja like you, she's found a damn good hiding spot," was Yang's clueless reply.

"Maybe she left the campus?" Blake suggested.

Yang briefly hummed in thought, before shaking her head. "Nah… I doubt she can afford an airship ticket. And, I'm pretty sure that she has no idea how to access her student account," dismissed Yang. "No, she would still have to be here…".

"I think we should just ask around about Ruby some more," added Blake.

"I guess. Let's see… we've already talked to JNPR. Who else do we know that could've seen her?" Yang mused.

"Sun might know something. That, or Velvet," Blake contributed to Yang's thoughts.

"That's a start. Let's go talk to Sun first. He's the type to have his ear to the ground," conceded Yang. With that, she and Blake walked off towards the cafeteria. It was nearly lunchtime now, and that was a good place to look for one of their friends.

Hopefully, Sun might have something for them to go on.

xxx

"Sorry ladies, haven't seen Lil' Red around," Sun told Yang and Blake right before he took a large bite out of an apple.

Yang and Blake had found him exactly where they thought he would be. He was sitting at a nearly empty cafeteria table, with some well-dressed guy with blue hair. When they asked Sun if he had seen Ruby, the new guy looked somewhat confused.

"Who's this 'Ruby', anyway?" the blue-head asked Team Bumblebee.

"My sister. Have you seen her? She's kinda short, has a red cloak, and has reddish hair. Oh, and she's young, too," Yang asked of the new guy.

"I only just got here. Even if I've seen her, I wouldn't know if she was Ruby or not," he replied back. Then, he leaned on one elbow, and added, "But… I'm willing to help a fine young lady like you to look," he said in a smooth, seductive voice.

Yang wasn't the only one pissed at this clown's behavior. Blake growled furiously, "She's taken, you know,". It was very clear she was trying her best not to bust a cap in this jerk's head. Her trigger finger got incredibly itchy all of the sudden.

Yang took her anger one step further. She grabbed the guy's tie and yanked him forward so she could glare at him face to face. "You're barkin' up the WRONG tree, asshole. My sister's missing, and you're hitting on me? I've beaten the shit out of bigger guys for a LOT less, fuckwad," she said through barred teeth.

The blue haired guy tried his best to sound calm, but his voice wavered a little. "H-hey, I didn't mean to offend," he defended himself.

Sun tried to intervene. If he didn't all that would be left of his friend's head was a smear on the hardwood table. "Hey, hey! Calm down! We don't want a fight, you know?" Sun tried to de-escalate the situation.

The blonde brawler held her glare on the asshole for another minute, before letting go of his tie. The guy was sweating profusely as he settled into his seat. Then, Yang stood up, about to leave.

"Well… at least you tried to help, Sun," Yang said as a goodbye. But, before she turned around to go, she added. "Oh, and YOU," she fumed as she pointed at the blue haired guy. "If you ever try to do that again, I'll break off your fingers and shove them up your urethra. Got it?!".

"Y-yeah…" the well-dressed man meekly mumbled.

With a huff, Yang spun on her heel and stomped out of the cafeteria. Blake made an "I'm watching you" gesture to the new guy as she followed Yang out.

As the pair made their way out of the eating hall, they could hear Sun and the other guy talking.

"She nearly took my head off!" the new guy exclaimed.

Sighing, Sun replied, "That one's on you, Neptune,".

xxx

"What an asshole!" Yang angrily said as she walked over towards the Theater Club office. If Velvet was going to be found anywhere, then it would be there.

"I completely agree," seethed Blake. Normally, a handsome guy like that would be interesting to oogle, but his personality and actions had rubbed her the wrong way at the worst possible time. He had tried to flirt with someone on an important mission. That alone was enough to make Blake resent him on a deep level.

"I mean, why would Sun want to hang out with someone like that? Ugh! What a fucking douchebag!" Yang fumed some more.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Blake said, incredibly confused at the question Yang presented. Maybe Sun owed him some money or something? There was no way he would hang out with someone that repellent willingly.

"Gahhh… I just want to find Ruby and go back to the room," groaned Yang. Today was already wearing on her nerves. If she didn't find Ruby today… no, she WOULD. She would give up looking until she was found.

"Maybe Velvet has some answers for us," sighed Blake.

"I hope so," Yang tiredly agreed.

The Theater Club office door was getting closer and closer by the second. Maybe a solution was behind it. Or, maybe nothing. It was like one of those prize doors on some crap game show. Except, there was nothing fun or amusing about this at all. The rest of the team depended on finding Ruby. There was no way they could recover without her.

Stopping in front of the office door, Yang lightly rapped her knuckles on the weathered wood. The light was shining through the crack under the door, so that meant someone was in there right now. That was a good sign.

However, nobody answered the door. After waiting a minute, Yang tried knocking again. When that got her no reply, she said, "Hey, uh, Velvet? Are you there? It's me, Yang,".

Blake and Yang could hear some small movements on the other side of the door. That proved that someone was in the office.

"Hey, I know you're in there. Can I talk to you for a bit?" Yang said to the door.

Shuffling steps were heard from inside the office. They sounded slow, as if the person inside was trying to delay answering the door. But, after a minute of tension, the knob of the door turned and the door opened.

Now the pair could get some answers.

xxx

A lot of things are coming to a head now. Who's to say what's going to happen next? Like with the prize doors, something good, or something different can happen. But, either way, there will be a solution. Time will tell what it is. This is The Draigg, signing off behind the door.