Yang's POV, three months after Ruby's disappearance, graduation day, Beacon Dorms
Three months. Three months since Weiss died and Ruby disappeared. For almost three months I talked to every information broker I could find, and each one said the same exact thing; "We can't find her. If she's still alive, she's not in one of the Kingdoms." No one, not even Ozpin, could provide answers. It was like she had just fallen off of the face of the planet. I lost hope, and turned my attention to other things. The days quickly started to blend together after that: wake up, take a shower, put on clothes, go to the forge and work on Ember Celia until classes, then study after class until my pencil brakes and Blake has to help get me to bed so I don't fall asleep in the library, again. The I wake up the next morning and do it all over again.
Today is no different.
My eyes open, and I sit up. The wall clock declares that it is 4:13 in the morning, and I groan slightly at the measly four hours of sleep I got last night, before starting my morning routine. Throwing my legs over the end of the bed, I fall to the ground with barely a sound and head to the bathroom for a nice warm shower, after which I put on my clothes, and leave a note telling Blake that I'll be in the forge if something comes up.
The forges are, as expected at this ungodly hour in the morning, empty. I smile softly to myself as the heat of the furnaces washes over me, slowly melting away my fears and anger and leaving behind only determination. I go to one of the drawers and pull out the fruits of the last three months, three bands that would fit on my arms. One band is gold with red highlights, another gold with blue highlights, and the final one in the drawer is gold with black highlights. I take a moment to look at the three bands, symbolizing my team-mates, before gathering the metal plates and Dusts I'd need to finish the modification. While I rummage through some containers and throwing Dust on the furnace, I send out a prayer that my little sis will come back. I don't hold out much hope anymore, after three months of prayers gone unanswered, it's hard to believe that this will be the one, but I know I have to try, for her sake. After everything is collected, I begin the work of finishing the final golden band. My tired mind quickly kicks into autopilot and I lose myself in the steady and rhythmic bang of the hammer...
"Yang, YANG!" An unexpected voice cuts through the din of the forges and I turn around to see my partner standing in the doorway. "What, is something wrong?" She narrows her eyes slightly in annoyance, and I flinch out of habit. Did I do something wrong?
"Did you forget, graduation's today." My eyes widen and the temperature in the room rises by a good three degrees. "WHAT, why didn't you tell me earlier! Let's go!" I shout as I hurry to place the completed bands in the drawer and sprint out the door. "Yang, wait!" Blake shouts as she sprints down the halls after me. She has to yell three times before I slow down and let her catch up to me.
"What?" I ask again as she gets closer, still walking towards the auditorium. I'm starting to sound like a broken record with all these 'whats'.
"The ceremony starts at 11, I just wanted to let you get ready." I stop dead in my tracks and look at her, a blush forming on my face.
"Oh. Well then... let's get back to the dorm and get ready!" My partner nods and we start making our way back to the dorm room.
The halls are almost empty because classes were in progress for everyone except the other 4th years who were probably in their dorms getting ready for the first day of being a full Huntsmen, so we get back quickly enough. I look around the room that had been my home for the past year, and think back to the room that held team RWBY for three years before this one. Blake looks at me, and I know she's thinking along the same lines, and I give a silent nod to Weiss and a prayer to Ruby. They should be here with us, not dead and gone. These thoughts fuel the fire in me and I promise, not for the first time, and definitely not the last, that I'll be the best Huntress I can be for Ruby and Weiss.
As we're getting ready for the ceremony, some-thing's nagging in the back of my mind. "Blake, can I ask you something?" Not stopping her weapon maintenance, she nods slightly for me to continue. "I was wondering, Cinder attacked Weiss and Ruby, and then Ruby disappeared." I pause, and she nods again. I fumble with my words a little before getting to the point. "What if Cinder comes after us? You know, to finish the job or something." Blake stops cleaning and looks at me.
"If she dares show her face anywhere near Beacon, or us, she'll learn why you don't mess with Huntsmen." Her face is devoid of expression as she speaks, but her eyes have a bonfire lit in them that sends a shiver of both fear and excitement running down my spine. I forgot, before coming to Beacon, she was one of the top in the White Fang. She killed people, even if they did deserve it. Out of all of us, she might be the only one willing to actually kill a person if it comes to that. I'm glad she's on our side.
Blake's eyes soften and her mask of anger shatters when she laughs. "You know, Yang, I would've expected you to be the one to threaten anyone who gets in the way of you finding Ruby." I laugh, trying to ignore the dark thoughts at the back of my mind. I fail.
"Yeah, but I'm getting this nagging feeling that something big is going on, and we're just at the edge of it all." I say, expecting ridicule, but to my surprise Blake is nodding.
"Yeah, I've felt the same kind of thing." Then the conversation ends, everything we needed to say already spoken, now and in the past.
Well, almost everything.
"Blake." Blake looks up again. "I want you to know that, whatever happens, I'll stand with you. Until the very end, don't ever forget that if you need something, I'll help." My partner only nods, tears starting to dot her face. She stands. I stand. Silence reigns for only a moment before we embrace each other, as comrades and partners. It was at that moment that our scrolls went off. We quickly released each other and I grabbed my scroll. I held it out and we looked down at the message:
From: Beacon;
Attention all fourth year students;
The graduation ceremony is going to commence in ten minutes in the main auditorium.
Attendance is required.
-Professor Goodwitch and the Beacon staff.
"I guess we'd better get going, huh?" Blake asks, a smirk on her face. I blush slightly and nod. I flourish my hands to signal for Blake to leave first, and she laughs as she does. I follow close behind as we make our way to the auditorium. Very quickly we run into JNPR, and so end up standing together for the ceremony.
As I look around the room, I can't help but notice the missing Hunters. Almost every team had lost at least one member, while others were completely gone, with no members remaining. JNPR, MRNN (maroon), GLDE (glade), and SHDW (shadow) were the only four out of almost sixty teams not to lose a single member. Lost in reminiscence, I only realize that headmaster Ozpin walked up to the microphone when he began addressing the everyone, something very reminiscent of initiation. "Ahem." The single cough silences everyone in the large room.
"Thank you, everyone. Four years ago, I stood in front of this same group of students and declared that I saw nothing but wasted potential. Today, four years later, I'm glad to say that I can't in good faith repeat my self." Many students cheer at this statement, but Ozpin continues through them, forcing them to get quiet or miss something. "Each of you has learned how hard knowledge is to obtain, and I'm proud to see that that challenge hasn't stopped you. I have seen each and every one of you face the tests, weather the training, and adapt to the trials standing in your way. I have seen you raise to a challenge, and struggle under the expectations placed upon you. I have seen each and every one of you grow, not only as Hunters and Huntresses, but as individuals." He pauses for a moment as his current train of though ends, only for a new one to replace it.
"I have also seen many of you beat yourself up about a choice that you've made, so I want to make something abundantly clear. No choice is perfect. One event will have multiple 'right' choices for every person confronted with it, regardless of what it is. The fact that some are not with us is not because they were wrong or because they failed, but because they made a choice. The loss of team-mates, partners, and friends is one of the many tests that you have to pass. It is one that not everyone takes at Beacon, but one everyone must take sometime during their time as Hunters. This is one of the reasons I don't allow the other years to view this ceremony, because they often have yet to learn this for themselves.
"That is also why today is not only a day of celebration, but a day of realization. A day about realizing that no one is immortal, no one is unkillable, and everyone makes mistakes. The lower years have yet to learn this for themselves as you have. Each of you came to Beacon for different reasons. Some came for fame, glory, recognition, some came to prove to themselves or to others that they are worthy, and others came just to fight monsters. But regardless of your reasons for enrolling, you now have a common goal, the protection of Human and Faunus lives. The protection of the four Kingdoms from the Grimm. I have faith that each of you will do the best that you can, regardless of your choices." With that he walks away. Muttering can be heard throughout the room as Ms. Goodwitch takes the stage.
"Tomorrow you will enter your names on the Official Hunter website and get your Hunter identifications. You are also encouraged to choose mission's off the mission board at that time. You may want to get any outstanding personal issues worked out as it is not often that missions take place near Vale." She pauses and everyone in the room seems to hold their breath, me included. "Congratulations, one and all, on becoming Hunters." People look around in confusion as Ms. Goodwitch leaves. Unsure about what to do or to say, I decide to walk with Blake back to the dorm, the slight boost in spirits from the speech already draining from me.
I remember the "Hey, Blake? I'm gonna head back to the forge, I need to finish something before we pick our assignment."
"Yeah, of course. I'll see you later today?" I nod, saying a few words of affirmation, eager to finally test my upgrade to Ember Celia. 'Don't worry Ruby, I will find you.'
A/N I'm really sorry, but I have no excuses for the long delay between chapters, but I don't see it changing. NOTE: I decided changed the layout of all the chapters in that I'll be keeping the POV's with the same people at one time. That means that the chapters will be shorter over-all but will hopefully be easier to read and understand. Also, I want to say that I don't plan on leaving this story to sit abandoned, at least not without telling you wonderful people about why first, so don't worry about that. I also want to give a super huge thank you to the people who are reading and reviewing this story, because it tells me that people still like it, and that means a lot to me. Thank you.