So this chapter is neither fluffy nor funny I think. I'm not actually sure what to tag it as, as I wouldn't call it angst either. In the end, this chapter is very Ruby-centric. Mostly, its something I feel I left a tiny bit unresolved in Face to Face, and decided this was a good moment to deal with it.
Note-For those curious about the memorial, it does bear a resemblance to the Vietnam War Memorial in my mind, albeit with some differences.
Disclaimer-I don't own RWBY.
The entirety of Beacon Academy was outside, eagerly awaiting today's arrival. Shortly after teams RWBY and JNPR graduated, Ozpin came up with the idea of having guest speakers a few times a year, of graduated hunters. And of course, his first choice was always the most famous of current hunter teams, RWBY, JNPR, SSSN, and CFVY. However, due to conflicting schedules, seldom could he get more than one or two to appear a time. Today, he had only managed one, but it was her first appearance as a speaker, and perhaps the most highly anticipated yet.
Every member of team RWBY had appeared at least once, save the elusive Ruby Rose, always off on another hunt, another adventure. Today however, she had managed to find time, and was going to arrive. The professor's hadn't bothered trying to keep the students from flocking outside in droves, well aware of the palpable feeling of excitement. Ruby was not just a hero to most of Remnant; she was a role model for each and every student currently in the academy. She was everything they aspired to be, and so they spent the entire morning excitedly whispering, recounting the exploits each and every one of them knew by heart, but still listened with the excitement and joy of a small child hearing their favorite bedtime story.
The roar of the Bullhead's engines were muffled by the dark red motorcycle helmet Ruby wore, obscuring her face. Though the pilot had tried to talk her out of it more than once, she was more than determined to put on a good show. Though it had taken her a long time, and though she still thought it wrong, she understood and accepted people viewed her as some sort of hero. And with all the times her team had come back and told her how much the students asked about her, she had decided to live up to the larger than life image they had of her…plus, the bike was really cool.
It had taken her the better part of a month to build her, relying on Yang's knowledge of motorcycles, a multitude of books, lots of pouting in Weiss' general direction to convince her wife to let her build the thing in the first place, some help from Scarlet for the paint job, and work with Azure to weave durability glyphs into it so she could do exactly what she was planning on doing today.
Her newest toy was a beautiful piece of engineering, at least in her mind. Ever since Yang had let her take Bumblebee out for a spin, she had wanted one of her own. Cars were nice, but you couldn't feel the wind whip past you, couldn't feel the power resting between your legs, couldn't feel the push of the air against you as you slammed down on the accelerator. What she loved most though, was the lovely job Scarlet had done on the paint. The red-haired young man was talented with painting, and had taken the time to paint everyone on team RWBY's symbols on the fuselage. The majority of the motorcycle was white, with red accents, leaving no doubt as to whom it belonged to.
Her contemplation was interrupted by a shout from the pilot, giving her the two minute warning. Her back to him, facing the back of the Bullhead, she merely lifted up a hand up and gave him a thumbs up. The red warning lights started spiraling as the pilot hit the button to lower the back ramp, the rush of air blasting back at Ruby. Her omnipresent cloak snapped back behind her, fluttering in the wind. Smiling beneath the helmet, she waited impatiently, leaning down over the handle bars as she revved the engine slightly. She heard the pilot begin the countdown, counting each second off in her head with him. As soon as he said 'one', she was off.
Gunning it as fast as she could, Ruby skidded out of the bay of the Bullhead, smiling beneath her helmet at the sheer power bursting from beneath her legs. Though it took her merely a second to cross to the edge of the ramp, it felt like an eternity until she flew out into the open sky, the bright sun shining down on her. The Bullhead quickly flew off behind her, but all she could feel was the open air around her. Laughing happily beneath her helmet, she took her hands off the handlebars and spread them out as though to grasp the sky itself in her arms.
As she felt the force of gravity catching up to her once more, she angled herself backwards, bringing the front wheel up slightly. Looking down as the ground rapidly approached, she couldn't help but grin at the excited waves and shouts coming up from the students below, not that she could hear them over the air rushing past. Waving energetically to them, she quickly began channeling her Aura into the bike, making the symbols all over glow. The durability glyphs had been hidden directly beneath the symbols, providing an excellent visual as the bike glowed a brilliant white. Bracing herself, Ruby gripped the handlebars tightly as she neared the pavement.
The back wheel hit first, the force sending her and the bike bouncing back up for a moment as her Aura flared as it absorbed the impact. Hitting down a second time, she wasted no time bringing the front wheel down, letting the momentum add to the speed as she sped across the lot before the school. Deciding to show off a little, she spun in a tight circle, burning out a massive circle across the lot, the tires squealing in protest as smoke rose up from them. Skidding to a stop before the packed students, she slammed the kickstand down, pulling her helmet off as she rose off the bike, shaking her head slightly to move her hair out of her eyes.
This close, the loud cheers and laughs that had previously been muffled by her helmet hit her full force, making her head snap back slightly in shock as she placed her helmet on the back of the bike. Turning to face the gathered students, she held her hands out wide as she smiled brightly at them.
"Hellooooo hunters of Beacon!" Ruby shouted, winking quickly at an unamused Glynda, the older woman rolling her eyes with arms crossed over her chest. A quick wave of her crop and the skid marks Ruby had left behind dissipated, quiet grumbles from the student's behind her sounding as they apparently disapproved of the removal of her marks that signified her arrival. Ozpin stepped forward, taking Ruby's hand and shaking it, before leaning down to speak to her as the other teachers shooed their students back into the school. Ruby wasn't set to speak until later that day, so they had to go to classes until the assembly began. One young man, with dark green hair and eyes, kept his view on Ruby as he was ushered back into the building, refusing to look away until the doors blocked his view entirely.
Stepping up to the microphone in the front assembly hall, Ruby took a moment to think about the last time she'd been in this room. Seeing the massive mural still decorating the hall above the doorway dedicated to her and her friends, how excited and flabbergasted she had been, and how incredibly honored she had felt. And now, she stood before a gathering of hunters in training just like she was all those years ago. Looking down over their faces, she couldn't help but smile. Coughing slightly, she glanced over at Ozpin and Glynda and grinned, before turning back to the microphone, letting her face fall into a more serious expression.
"So, this is the first chance since I graduated I've had to come and speak to you guys, but I'm glad I got this chance. I hear from your professors you were all very excited to see me, because some of you think I'm a hero, right?" The deafening roar of applause and agreements made her blink slightly, before she let a small, comforting smile cross her face. "Well, I'm here to tell you, I'm not anymore a hero than any of you. You all picked this path, this career, just like I did. You all came to this school knowing that you could, at any time, lose your life to monsters in the dark, and you did it willingly. You guys are a good part of why I can go out into the wilds at any time, and fight for my life, because I know you will be there to take my place if I fall. Because I know I can rely on you to pick up where I left off. Because each and every one of you is a hero, just as much as me. Just as much as Yang, as Blake, as Weiss. As teams JNPR, CFVY, SSSN. You're all heroes."
Ruby took a moment to take a deep breath, appreciating how the entire hall had gone dead silent. "I got into this job because my mom and my dad did it, and because I had a romanticized idea of what it means to be a huntress. I was wrong about what it was, but I will never regret my choice. Wanna know why?" Silent nods and murmured assents followed in her question, the student's hanging on her every word.
"Because what we do helps people. It helps people who may not give a damn about us, but we don't care. We're the light in the darkness, we chase away the shadow, we fight to give other people a chance to live and breathe and love. We give of ourselves, so others can be themselves. Don't forget that what you're doing is right. Times will come when you're hurt, when the people you have bonded with in your time here get hurt. And maybe, just maybe you'll be forced to do things you never would wish to have to do. But you can't forget, you have the right to grieve, to feel, to hurt. It's ok to feel. Just always remember to keep your focus sharp. We need you. Remnant needs every single one of you, and maybe we'll never fully destroy the Grimm, but that doesn't mean we'll stop fighting. Faunus and Human's never give up. We never let the darkness take away our light. We are hunters, and no monster will ever extinguish our light." Ruby let her voice trail off, the silence seeping in for a moment as the student's kept their eyes locked on her, before a cheer rose up from them, applause and whistles sounding. Ruby flushed slightly, before holding her hand up to try to calm them. Slowly, the volume dropped away as people quieted down, waiting for her next thing to say. "So, anyone have questions for me?"
Instantly, voices shouted out, making a deafening cacophony again. Ruby rolled her eyes, but one younger girl, clearly a first year, shoved her way to the front, eyes wide and shimmering as she clasped her hands before her. "C-Can we see Crescent Rose?!" she asked, nearly shrieking in her excitement. Murmurs agreed with her as Ruby chuckled to herself.
Flinging her cape out dramatically with one hand, she gripped her weapon before flipping it out, letting it extend to its full range and spinning it once. Though she was not as physically strong as Yang, Yatsuhashi, or Pyrrha, Ruby's ability to wield her massive, heavy scythe had only improved exponentially over the years. In her hands, Crescent Rose looked like it weighed nothing as she gracefully twirled it, letting her cloak flare behind her, looking for all the world like she was dancing with the weapon. Wordless gasps and excited tittering came from the crowd as she dashed back and forth across the stage, leaping overhead of the students and rebounding off the walls, using her semblance to speed around the room in a cyclone of rose petals. Flipping off the wall once more, she landed back on the stage, resting Crescent Rose over her shoulders as she grinned down at the gathered students, not even remotely tired from the demonstration. "That good enough?"
The young girl who had asked nodded rapidly, looking like she was barely holding in a squeal of joy. Ruby smirked slightly, before looking back over the rest of the audience and gesturing to another person to ask their question. As she smiled and laughed, answering as many questions as she could, one pair of eyes kept locked on her, nervously fiddling with his hands as he kept quiet.
The roar of the motorcycle faded into idle noise as Ruby let the kickstand down, turning it off and slinging her leg over it to dismount. As late as it was, Ruby was reminded of that day nearly eight years ago, when Azure had brought her out to the courtyard before the CCT. In all that time, Ruby had not once come back, not once come to see how different it was. Parking the bike outside the ring of buildings that surrounded the courtyard, she slowly slipped through one of the alleys, the shattered moon in the cloudless sky the only light, leaving everything ephemeral. Ruby took a deep breath, before striding out of the alleyway, getting her first view of the area in eight years.
A massive stone wall, made up of interconnecting tablets, stretched from one end of the courtyard to the other, bisecting the circular area perfectly. Ruby remembered the comment Azure made about how it would be built in the path she had cleared long ago in her unthinking rage. Apparently, they had kept to that. Etched onto the wall were rows and rows and rows of names, situated directly below pictures (if they could find them), dust enhanced to be able to survive any weather that came upon it. Every person who lost their lives during the attack. Ruby ignored the small weatherproof terminal at the end of the wall, designed to guide people towards a specific person if they entered a name. Ruby had done her homework beforehand however, and knew exactly where she was going, continuing her steady walk towards the third statue on the east side.
Eight statues were placed, four on each side of the wall equidistant from each other. Massive metal works, standing many meters high, each intricately detailed to resemble a member of teams RWBY or JNPR. They stood with their backs to the wall, weapons drawn, depicted in a pose as though they were guarding over the wall behind them, standing a silent, eternal vigil over them. Ruby glanced up at her statue, her scythe swept up behind her as though she were preparing to bring it across, cleaving through whatever stood in her path. Even her cloak had been detailed, each patch and small tear she had way back when seamlessly integrated into the statue.
Ruby tore her eyes from the looming statue above her, looking beyond it towards the smooth marble of the wall. Stepping up to it, squinting in the low light, she carefully found the third column of names on the tablet before her. Running her finger along it, she carefully traced down from the top until she reached the central picture and name. Ariel, no last name. Just a first name and a small, grainy picture of a smiling little girl, her front tooth missing and leaving a gap in her wide grin. Briefly, Ruby wondered if they had designed it intentionally, placing her statue directly in front of the one she had failed to save.
Closing her eyes, Ruby let her mind wander back to that day…the gunfire, the smoke, the thick stench of oil and grease and blood. The pain, how she was struggling to breathe after her fight with Penny, how the fingers on her right hand were still broken at the time. Her Aura had been slowly healing them, but still, it was not quick. Everything in her had ached, she was terrified, with no idea what to do, when she had heard the scream.
That scream, the one sound that never had left her, the single desperate cry for help from Ariel. Ruby had tried, oh she had tried, but etched into her mind forever would be those lifeless, accusing eyes. She had eventually moved on, eventually intellectually understood that she had done everything she could have at the time. But that doesn't mean the guilt disappeared. Reaching into the inner breast pocket of her jacket, she pulled out a small, rumpled piece of paper, hundreds of creases visible across it. Unfolding the paper, she read once more the lines that she had taken to heart, that she used to help move on, as she stood before the memorial to the one she couldn't help.
A tiny sound from behind her had her instincts sharpening instantly, well-honed combat reflexes triggering as she spun about, Crescent Rose deployed before she had even finished spinning. With some tiny trace of amusement, Ruby realized she had taken the same post her statue directly ahead of her was in, as she gazed outward into the moonlit night, searching for the sound. There! A figure began walking from the shadows towards her, hands up in the air. Stepping out of the shadows came a young man with dark green hair and green eyes, his hair falling in a shaggy mane as he approached slowly. Ruby cocked her head at him, reverting Crescent Rose as she straightened up. "I saw you at the assembly. You're a student at Beacon, aren't you? What are you doing out so late?"
The young man gulped, clearly nervous as he pulled at his collar. Shuffling his feet, he sheepishly glanced at the ground for a moment before looking up, catching sight of the paper in Ruby's hands. A slightly choked breath came from him, his jaw wide, before he shook his head determinedly. "Umm…I see you still have my letter."
Ruby glanced at the paper in her hand, her eyes flicking back up towards the young man's eyes, returning once more to the paper in her hand. Her eyes went wide in revelation. "Jasper? Were you following me?"
He quickly shook his head no. "No, no, I was coming here to see my family. But I'd be lying if I said I didn't hope you were going to come here too. I wanted to talk to you at the school, but you were kind of busy."
"Your family?"
Jasper gestured to the wall behind her, at the image of Ariel. "Yeah. All the kids from the orphanage who didn't make it are on this tablet." Taking a couple steps forward, he pointed at a picture just above and to the right of Ariel. "See, this is Oran. He was the oldest of us. He loved to read for all the little ones, used to spend all afternoon after school reading out loud and helping whoever needed it with their homework." Stepping to the side, he placed his hand on another picture just below Oran's. "And this is Lily. She loved to knit all the time. The scarf I'm wearing? Yeah, she knitted that for me one winter when I got a cold. Everyone had something from her. She was just barely younger than Oran, and they totally liked each other, even Ariel could see it, but they were far too embarrassed to say anything. Oh, and here's-"
Ruby stood still at Jasper's side as he continued to name off each and every person at the orphanage, from the other kids to the volunteers who spent their time running it. He painted a picture of a surprisingly happy place, where everyone pitched in to help everyone else, where they were all one big family, loving and caring for each other. Ruby kept her hands in her pockets, clenched tightly around the letter she had been holding, as she listened to every word he spoke, letting him take her through the life he'd lived eight years ago.
It took Ruby a few moments to realize he'd stopped speaking, his voice trailing off as he stood calmly by the stone, his hands now nonchalantly in his pockets. Ruby turned her head slightly to the side to look directly at him as he took a deep breath, turning to face her completely. "I wanted to talk to you for a reason. I know you got my letter, Mr. Silva came to see me a few weeks later and told me about it, and what it did to you. I wanted you to see them, to see my family. Because see, they may not be here anymore, but they are always with me. And what you did? You saved millions of people, made sure they still had a family. I don't know if you still beat yourself up over Ariel, but I want you to know those of us left never once blamed you and we won't. You're the reason I decided to become a huntsman you know? You're my hero, Mrs. Rose. You, your wife, your entire team, and all those people you live with. And it's not just me. Everyone at school loves to see the newest story about you guys. Because each and every one of us strives to be just like you. Professor Ozpin told us before you arrived that you hated being called a hero, and I'm sorry for calling you one, but I'm just telling you how we all feel. You're what we all look up to as a true hunter. So, I'm sorry, but you'll always be my hero, and if I can be tenth the person you are, I'll be happy with what I've accomplished in my life."
Ruby stared at Jasper, eyes wide and seemingly frozen in place. Jasper tilted his head at her, a bit concerned, until he was suddenly yanked forward into a crushing hug, leaving the young man gasping for air. Idly he wondered if this was what was referred to as a 'Yang hug' that Blake had mentioned during her speaking engagement the previous year. When he was pretty sure he was going to pass out from lack of oxygen, he was released, Ruby taking him by the shoulders and looking into his eyes directly, smiling through watery silvery orbs. "You know what, Jasper? I think I'm ok with being your hero, but I'd rather be your friend. So, from now on, just call me Ruby, ok? I can't be that much older than you anyways."
Jasper gaped for a moment, before a slow smile spread across his face, him shyly glancing away. "Thanks…Ruby."