A/N: Here we go, a nice long chapter. Hopefully this one gets some proper feedback~!
Because its a proper doozy.
Finally got to see my newborn nephew the other day. He's adorable! Little Nora's growing as well. Energetic as can be. Feels strange, being an uncle. Makes me feel older than I already am..
Quick warning here, this chapter gets emotional...and heated.
There, disclaimer over.
EDIT: In case anyone missed it, we went back an added a proper Ruby scene to the end of the last chapter.
We're sure most of you noticed it by now; but better safe than sorry.
For some reason, I'm just so tired these days. Doctors can't figure out why. I'm usually an active fellow -given my age- but as of late it feels as if I've lost my energy at times...
With my fifteen year anniversary on this site here, I find myself reflecting on the little things in life. What was once a lazy pastime meant for me and a few friends really grew and evolved over time. There are days when I look back on the last fifteen years here and I wonder if anyone will remember me; if I made an impact, despite never making a single cent on any of these stories. Some days were happier than others, and some stories I enjoyed writing WAY too much; to the point where I'd stay up all night working on them.
And of course, there are times when I look to the future and wonder what will become of things when I'm gone.
Of course, I try not to dwell on the latter overmuch; I'm still alive and still writing. In an ideal world, I'd like to keep doing so for as long as I can. But old age is catching up to me and these days, the world is filled with so much madness and death. The recent earthquake in Turkey/Syria serves as a terrible example. Even before that, so many friends and fellow writers I once knew are gone, now. Will I still be here in twenty years? Ten? Five? Its a chilling thought. But for now, I'm still here, still writing.
We're having a Q&A this time, because its necessary:
Q: No way WBY is getting off scott free.
A: They are not.
Q: Can we actually see Ruby interact with her team here?
A: Bear in mind that Team WBY is at their lowest point here, and this chapter reflects that. Ye be warned.
Meanwhile, Ruby is bouncing back -or trying to- and she's damn determined to cling to that.
Needless to say, emotions clash.
Q: Is Ruby part of the pairing? I get the feeling we're near the end.
A: Suppose both of those things depends on fan feedback, among other things. Salem is nearly here, and she's ready...
As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes! They're tributes to legends far better than me.
Now, then. Are you ready? Yes? No? Maybe so? Because! Here. We. Go.
Minor verbatim for Volume 9.
"Me? Invincible? I'm not. I feel fear, just like anyone else. And that's okay.
There's nothing wrong with a little fear. Everyone experiences it every now and again.
Because, you see, it is when we are most afraid that we find out who we really we are. That's how we truly become strong."
~A proverb.
Face Your Fears
"Hello, Oscar. I'd like to talk with Ozpin."
Credit where it was due, the poor farmboy flinched only a little. He didn't squirm in his seat, didn't try to run, and certainly didn't try to attack him.
"I...don't think that's possible." he looked down, studying his boots. "He's locked himself away in my head. Sealed himself off-
Naruto smiled, looked over his shoulder, and nodded once. A smiling Penny closed the door behind them. The harsh click of a lock filled the room. Oscar jolted a little; doubtless he didn't like the sound of it, much less her and Ciel now moving to flank him. Naruto could imagine his mindset. He felt helpless. Powerless. Trapped.
It was a feeling he knew well.
Taking a deep breath, he barreled onward.
This was for the best. In the end, he would understand.
Naruto laid a matted-black pistol down on the table. "Can you hear him now?"
Oscar paled, not quite comprehending. He would soon. "Sir...?"
"How about now? He flicked the safety off.
Oscar quailed under his gaze. "I can't-
Cocked the chamber. "Now?"
"Why are you doing this?!"
"Because we've run out of time." he set the pistol against his head; not Oscar's, and tightened his finger around the trigger. "My clones spotted a massing of Grimm on our borders. Radar's picked up something big in the skies. We have...maybe a week, at most, before she's here. I NEED to speak with him. Now." when the boy didn't answer, he growled at him. "Nothing? Alright. Lets make this simple. If he doesn't answer me in the next three seconds, I'll lower my aura, pull this trigger and...well." A rusty laugh escaped him. "Have you ever seen what a bullet does to man's skull?
"You'll die!"
"I most certainly will." He nodded in agreement. "Without me, Atlas looses its greatest defender. Without me, thousands will die. Without me, The city will fall without my help. Do you want that? I don't think you do...
It was a bluff, of course; the gun was indeed loaded, but with a round incapable of piercing his skull. Penny and Ciel knew the truth of course, hence their calm. But neither Oscar nor Ozpin did. They couldn't. They would see a desperate man with a loaded gun, with one round in the chamber and assume the worst. Nor was there any concrete sign of Salem yet. They'd noticed a massing of the Grimm out in the tundra, but little more. Yet again, neither Oz nor Oscar knew this. He'd explain once the ruse was up, of course.
But would the old wizard take the bait and show himself?
Hopefully. This wasn't a card he could play twice.
"One." he began slowly.
Oscar flailed at him, only for Penny and Ciel to force him back into his seat. "I can't!"
"Two." Naruto closed his eyes.
"Please!" the poor farmboy's voice piqued in distress. "I'm begging you!"
His finger tightened on the trigger. "Three."
Oscar's hand closed around the gun and squeezed, crumpling the metal with an awful crunch.
Blue eyes burst open to regard the "farmboy" who had inexplicably broken free from Penny and Ciel. This barely trained whelp who somehow crossed the room in time to prevent him from pulling the trigger. The same lad who was even now, glaring golden daggers at him. Oscar didn't have a speed semblance, or any, really. Not yet. There could be only logical explanation.
Naruto grinned despite himself. "There you are."
Honestly, he'd expected him to put up more of a fight.
"Oscar" glowered at him, his voice low. "That was unnecessary."
"Wrong." quick as a flash he cast the ruined gun aside and gripped Ozpin's host by the arm, dragging him in to glare at him. "It was entirely necessary. You never would've revealed yourself otherwise." His fingers bit down when he tried to tug away, holding him in place. "Don't even think of hiding again. I don't have the time for this."
The wizard managed to look at least a little chagrined. "I'm afraid I won't be of much help as I am now."
"I'll be the judge of that." He frog-marched him back to his seat and sat him down. "You're going to tell me about Salem. Every detail. Every thing. How your ex-wife thinks. How she acts; the strategies she's used in the past. All of it. Every bit, no matter how inconsequential," he added the last bit when Ozpin looked baffled. "You're going to do it right here, right now, and you're not leaving this room until you do."
"The Grimm-
"Are not as close as I said they were."
Realization dawned in that boyish face. "You lied."
"Badly, I admit." he shrugged again. "I'm not very good at it, but you fell fo rit. Now, about Salem...?"
...and what, dare I ask," came the immediate rejoinder, "Will you do with such information?"
"I'll use it to defeat her." he shrugged a shoulder. "One way or another."
"It won't help you. She cannot be destroyed, let alone killed."
Silence stretched across the room. Naruto let it grow and the tension with it, until it reached its breaking point. And then:
"Who said anything about killing?" Ciel beat him to the punch and ruined the moment. "We have several contingency plans. Penny thought of a rather amusing one yesterday. Would you like to hear it?"
"No, no, no." Naruto clapped a hand to his face as he felt a hot flush creep up the back of his neck. "We are not using the Harem Plan on Salem. No way that'll work."
Ciel chuckled. "But its already working on-
"Finish that sentence and I swear I will spank you!"
Ozpin's brow shot into his hair. "You must be joking."
Penny was not; she was all too happy to tell Ozpin her plan.
By the end of it, Ozpin's mouth worked wordlessly for a moment. "She's insane. You're all insane."
"Nah, Penny's just full of ideas." Naruto heaved a sigh and fanned his face as Ciel cackled in the background. "To be fair, most of them are good ones."
"Oh!" the ginger perked up. "Such as that position you liked last night? Or maybe the-
His head slammed into the desk to drown the rest out. "Penny, no! Not that!"
Gods above and Sage below, what was he going to do with this girl?!
Ciel nudged his mind. "Give her a child. Problem solved."
Naruto made distressed Naruto noises into his desk.
He already little Wendy on the way with Winter, but another one...?!
Ozpin's wry chuckle brought him back to the present moment; and well that it did; if only because it made him focus on more pressing matters and not the horny redhead making eyes at him. Moreover it gave him a very nice target to funnel all that irritation and exasperation on.
Raising his head, he reached into his desk drawer and drew out a notepad. "Start talking, Oz. From the beginning. Tell me about the Silver eyed warriors while you're at it."
The wayward spirit quirked a brow. "That may take some time."
"We have all night."
With a long-suffering sigh, Ozpin began to weave his tale from the very beginning.
Naruto settled in to listen, and began taking notes. Long, copious notes.
He prayed Ruby was having better luck with Yang.
(.0.0.0.)
"You changed your outfit."
...yeah."
"It looks good." Yang smiled weakly and tried for a joke. "Reminds me of the old one."
...thanks."
Another one-word answer. Not good; not good at all. She winced, plucked up her courage and barreled on. "Going back to basics?"
...kinda."
Damnit. This wasn't working. None of it was, nothing at all.
A pit opened up in Yang's stomach. Because you see, Ruby wouldn't look at her. Her own sister, her flesh and blood, absolutely refused to look her in the eye. Any attempt to catch her gaze was rendered null. Those stark silver orbs sought out the walls of Yang's cell, the ceiling, the floor; hell, even her combat boots now. Anywhere, just not at her. That stung. It stung an awful lot. Yang hated it more than words. Ruby had never been this aloof with her before, not ever, even when they were little.
She gave up and said as much. "What's with the one-word answers?"
"What do you want me to say, Yang?" Here at last Ruby looked at her, and Yang immediately wished she hadn't; for her little sister looked well and truly furious. "Why are you asking me? You know what you did."
Ouch. "Look, I'm sorry. I made a mistake-
"A mistake?" the hitch in Ruby's voice tore at her heart. "Is that all you think it was? Do you have any idea how bad you made us look?" Yang opened her mouth to refute her-and was summarily beaten to the punch. "Are you even sorry?!"
She wasn't; at the end of the day she still didn't trust Naruto. He'd given her no reason to before and he certainly hadn't now. Anyone who worked with Neo couldn't be trusted.
But she wasn't about to say that. Not to Ruby. The truth wouldn't get her out of this cell.
She settled for a half-measure instead. "I did what I thought was right-
"RIGHT?!" the word all but exploded from her sister, echoing harshly in the empty confines of her cell. "You picked a fight in the middle of Mantle, then dragged Blake and Weiss into it! That wasn't right! It was stupid!"
Yang recoiled atop her cot. The words may as well have been a sucker punch for all the pain they caused. One hand she was glad to see her little sister finally sticking to her guns for once. On the other...she didn't much like being read the riot act. Uncle Qrow had not been kind when he'd come to visit her yesterday. He'd had some harsh words for her. She was still wrestling with them even now, a day later. Ruby wasn't helping. It made her feel helpless and small, cornered, back against the wall. Which she was, come to think of it.
It made her want to lash out.
"Well?" Ruby planted both fists on her hips, leaned forward, and glared at her. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
What did she have to say? Loads of things. None of them pleasant. Her temper slipped its leash. "Since when are you on his side?"
"His side?" It was the wrong thing to say and she regretted it immediately, for her sister's face closed down. "I'm not on anyone's side!"
"Yeah?" Yang burst to her feet. "Because it looks like you've gotten really cozy with Him after we got locked up!"
Ruby rocked back on her heels, eyes wide. "Its not like that!"
"No?" Yang seized the initiative, voice rising with it. "Then what's it like? You surrendered to him, changed your outfit, now you're chewing me out because apparently you like this guy-
For some reason that made Ruby even redder. "Why does everyone think that?!"
"I mean, its pretty obvious; you're the only one he'll hold a conversation with, he hates the rest of us. After all," she cast a rueful look for her surroundings, "He didn't hesitate to throw us in these cells. If he didn't like ya, you'd be in here with me. Honestly, we'd be better off without him. Atlas, too."
Ruby hung her head. "...how can you say that?"
"Uh, pretty easily?" Yang shrugged, idly wondering why she'd gone so quiet. "He's a power-hungry. Honestly, I don't know what you see in him...?
...up."
"Up-what-now?" Yang dug a finger in her ear. "Need to speak up there, sis...
"I said shut up!" Ruby's head snapped up, eyes blazing. "Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!"
Yang recoiled, raising her good arm to ward off the wrath in those silver orbs. "Whoa, hey! Calm down! Where's all this coming from?!"
"From you, you big dummy! You don't know what you're talking about!" Ruby shouted her down, barely giving her a chance to speak, let alone breathe. "He's been fighting all this time with Penny and Ciel, trying to keep Atlas safe! And you're acting like he's some kind of villain because you don't like him?! Get over yourself!"
"What's gotten into you?!"
Ruby reared back. "Since when do you care enough to ask me?"
There was something in her voice just now. Something cold. "What...?"
"Why?" Ruby didn't raise her voice again. She look so...dead inside, as though that last burst of emotion had shattered something deep inside her heart. "Because I'm your sister? Because I'm the leader?" blank silver eyes stared back at her, cold and hard as the icy tundra outside. "Because I'm supposed to have something to say?" she barked a laugh, tinny and hollow. "Because I don't. Not to you. Not now."
"Ruby-
"I mean, why do I have to be the Leader anyway?" she flung up her hands and paced away to the other end of the cell. "Why do I always have to be the one to pick people up? What about me? It not like any of you listen to me anymore. Remember what you said?
Yand did and immediately wished she hadn't.
"Ruby...when we came here, we said we'd follow your lead-but...things haven't exactly worked out...
Now felt her temper stir; for all the good it did her. "Is that why you're defending a lunatic?! Because he told you what you want to hear?! He's working with Neo! You know what she is!"
Ruby snarled her into silence. "I! DO NOT! CARE!
A hand slashed through the air, moving with such speed that Yang jerked back out of reflex.
"Naruto could be working with an undead Torchwick for all the quacks I give!" she laid a hand on Crescent Rose, still folded up at her back, and took a deep breath to steady herself. "He understands me!" Words burst out of her sister like so much water from a broken dam. "He listened to me! He actually stopped to ask me what I want, how I was feeling, why I'm such a mess! When was the last time you stopped to ask how I was doing in all this, Yang?! When did any of you!?"
What? That was absurd! There had been plenty of times when she'd stood up for her. Hadn't she?
Yang opened her mouth to refute her, to deny her, to prove her wrong...and drew a solid blank. After the Fall of Beacon, it had been one running battle to the next. Then had come Jinn's question and all the hopelessness after it. There hadn't been any time to asses...until they'd come to Atlas. But even then she hadn't done anything, had she? She'd never noticed Ruby suffering, hadn't even realize she was.
Had she really been under that much strain?
"You can't even think of one, can you?!" A peal of hysteric laughter burst out of her baby sister. "Its always me! Me, me, me!" she shook her head, setting her dark hair swaying, a lone tear rolling down her cheek. "I'm the one who has to be strong, the one who has to cheer everyone up, the one holding everything together. But you, you didn't even notice!"
"Ruby-
"Ohhh, now you care!" she darted back out of arms reach, well and truly past the point of no return now; there could be no holding her back. "It only took me screaming for you to realize I was drowning. I'm amazed you even heard me! You've been so busy trying to get into Blake's pants, I thought you'd gone deaf! How's that working out for you by the way?!"
Now it was her turn to flush. "Hey! Don't go there!"
"Too bad! I did! And I brought property! Doesn't feel so nice when someone attacks you back, does it?!"
"I'm warning you...!"
"And now that things aren't going your way, you wanna start swinging!" Ruby stood her ground, baring her teeth in a rare snarl. "That's all you ever do!"
The last thread of her patience snapped. "At least I didn't betray our team!"
Ruby gasped.
Yang cringed at the sound. Regret. "I didn't mean-
A flurry of red petals blitzed forward through the air at mach speed.
"...!"
Pain cracked across Yang's right cheek and snapped her head to the right. Sharp, blinding and hard, strong enough to make her aura flash, her jaw ache. She staggered to the right, eyes wide, catching herself on a wall. Her face hurt. Had someone hit her? But the only one in front of her was...
.
..
...her sister.
Ruby glared at her, silver eyes shining with fresh tears. She looked just as shocked to have slapped her in the first place. But she didn't apologize; and didn't back down. Not this time. Her trembling arm fell to her side. Fingers curled into a fist. She looked ready to haul off an hit her again.
"Ruby-
"No! You don't get to talk! Its my turn!" her little sister all but bit out the words now. "You don't listen. You never listen! You weren't listening to me when you ran off earlier, and you're not listening now! Not you, not Blake, not Weiss! No! Never you!" a finger stabbed into her chest. "You just charged in! You're worse than Blake with the White Fang! And now I'm left to pick up the pieces! Again!
"Hey!" Yang smacked her hand aside. "Don't talk like that! We coulda taken him-
"He was going to kill you!" Ruby's rasp was a knife, cutting through her argument. "I saw it in his eyes! If I hadn't surrendered you would all be DEAD!"
"You don't know that!"
"I do know!" Ruby stood on the very tips of her toes, fighting for every inch; the better to glare at her. "I talked to him!"
She scoffed. "And what did your prince charming have to say about us!"
"Quit it!" Her sister's pale face blushed redder than her namesake, not with embarrassment this time, but fury. "He's not my prince and neither are you!"
"That's not what I meant!" she could feel things slipping away from her, but she didn't know how to bring them back. "I did what I had to do-
"Of course you did." Ruby shook her head, setting her red cloak swaying behind her. "Because you're never wrong. No time for that, right? No time for little Ruby, right? Gotta stay positive, right? Smiles all around!" her teeth clicked shut on the last word, practically biting it off. "Maybe even finally get our feelings sorted out! Good for you, by the way, we're all so happy for you! Why don't the two of you just elope already?!"
"Hey!"
"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?!" the reaper's voice piqued, almost breaking under the strain of her emotions. "Are we supposed to be making up?! I don't think we will. Not today!"
Yang made one last desperate attempt to reel the conversation back from the edge. "Ruby, I know you're upset. But this isn't about me and you-
"Not about you? This happened because of you!" quick as a flash she bulled into her personal space, eyes wild, finger stabbing into her stomach with nearly every other word. "The fight started because of you!" Each poke had her stumbling backward, retreating in the face of her fury. "Because you wouldn't listen! Because you just had to be stubborn! Not about you?! Its always about you! You never think!"
"H-Hey, I know things are bad but-
A hand slapped over her mouth. "Shut. Up. For once in your life Yang, just be quiet!"
She looked like she wanted to say more. So much more.
An alarm trilled behind her.
"Time's up, Specialist Rose." the guard called through the door. "He's waiting for you."
Yang rounded on her. "Specialist?!"
...don't give me that look." Ruby faced her with a scowl, her wrath spent. All that remained was icy calm. " I'm not going to sit around feeling sorry myself, Yang. Salem's coming. There's work to be done." She took a deep breath. "I'll be waiting when you come to your senses." silver eyes flicked back to the door. "Give the guard my name, and I'll come running."
Her lower lip jutted out in a pout. "And if I don't?"
...I hope you do, Yang. For your sake."
The door opened behind her. Ruby darted backward in a shower of red petals. Yang lunged for escape, only for the metal barrier to slam shut in her face with a harsh clank. Alone once more. She smashed a fist against it, to no avail. The reinforced barrier didn't budge and she wasn't strong enough to break it with one arm. She punched it again, bruising her knuckles. Bloodying them, now.
Bitter tears stung at her eyes. It wasn't supposed to be this way. They were a team!
...weren't they? It didn't feel like it anymore. Was this really her fault?
Because if it was, if she'd driven her own sister away...
She slumped to the floor with a sob.
"Damnit...
(.0.0.0.)
Watts watched the recorded footage with a keen eye from his hidden drone.
A tap of his finger played the entirety of it back now. Slowly.
As he looked on, a smug smile tugged at his mustache.
How easily these children fractured under pressure.
It was almost sad, really.
"One down...
Two to go.
(.0.0.0.)
...hello, Jaune."
"You remembered my name." Arc couldn't fight down his smile as he sat down.
"I did." the redhead -Pyrrha?- regarded him intently, quietly curious. "You were telling me a story before, if I recall. Could you pick up where you left off?"
(.0.0.0.)
The door crashed open.
Naruto didn't look up from his paperwork. "How did it go?"
Ruby marched past him, eyes fixed on the bunk in the corner of the room.
The second she saw the cot, she flung herself onto it, grabbed the pillow -buried her head in said pillow, and went berserk. She kicked and thrashed and beat at the bed, throwing a spectacular tantrum as she hadn't since she was small. All her sadness and sorrow, all her rage, all her grief, she poured it all out into the mattress, thrashing like a hellcat. A stronger huntress would've torn it to pieces; lacking such strength she could only flail at it until her energy was spent.
Still made her feel better, though.
Naruto sighed somewhere behind her. "...that bad, huh?"
Ruby made angry Ruby noises. A stream of angry gibberish muffled itself against her pillow.
Stupid Yang! Why wouldn't she listen! Was that so much to ask?! Just this once?! Apparently so. Her sister was very much a brick wall when she wanted to be, and she was known to nurse grudges from time to time. She'd meant to visit Weiss and Blake today after dealing with her, but after arguing with sister -who should've understood!- her temper was so frayed that she didn't dare. She absolutely didn't dare. She couldn't face Blake like this.
Certainly not Weiss.
Because had felt...good to blow up at Yang, to vent.
She feared what she might do -what she might say!- in her current state of mind.
"Want some cookies?"
...ha?"
At first Ruby thought he was joking; but no, a faint aroma tickled her nose through the pillow. She hadn't noticed it before during her hissy fit. She did now. Mmm. Chocolate chip. Was he playing a trick on her? She hoped not. You didn't play pranks with cookies. It just wasn't done. She heard the faint rustle of a tray now, and the delectable scent grew stronger still.
Her head snapped up. Sure enough, Naruto was there, tray in hand.
"You made some?!"
"Strictly speaking, Winter and Penny did." he offered her the tray with a laugh. "Ciel and I tried, but we wound up burning our batch. Can't cook to save my life. Seriously." whiskered cheeks dimpled in a grin, as though recalling some old joke only he was privy to. "I'd burn water."
A giggle trickled past her lips. "You're messing with me."
"I'm really not." he offered her a cookie. "Here. They're fresh out the oven."
Ruby accepted it happily, content to munch away on two or three of the while her mind whirled. It felt like a wall had come down between the two of them since she'd taken Naruto's side; in return, he'd become more open with her -kind, even!- more willing to share her burdens and troubles than ever before. Was this how it felt to have a confidant? It felt...kinda nice, really. Why couldn't her team do that? They had, once, before the Fall of Beacon. Where had they all gone so wrong?
Naruto nudged her with an elbow. "You're looking pretty cross, there. Wanna talk about it?"
Ruby knew she really shouldn't...but she was going to anyway. She needed to vent.
"Its just...ugh! Yang is so...so...so...!" Her head hit the pillow again. "I can't think of the word!"
"Stubborn?"
"That!" Ruby burst upright in a shower of crimson petals and swallowed quickly. "Exactly that. How do I make them stop?!
He tilted his head, regarding her as a bemused fox might a particularly plucky rabbit. "Do you really expect me to have all the answers?"
He certainly had more than her!
"Alright, alright." he held up a hand to forestall her miserable look. "Don't pout. You can't make your teammates do something they don't want to. They have to come around on their own. Best you can do there is nudge the process along and be honest with them, just like I've always been honest with you."
"But you lied to Ozpin earlier today." Penny had already texted her about it. "To get info on Salem."
"Yeah." He looked away, scratching a whiskered cheek as he did. It made him look surprisingly boyish. "Truth is, I'm a terrible liar. Never was very good at manipulating people. They usually came round to my way of thinking after I fought 'em, but I don't think that's gonna work here."
Ruby winced, recalling the brawl in Mantle. "Bad idea."
He nodded his agreement. "Very bad idea."
Silence reigned for but a brief moment.
Ruby dethroned it with a sigh. "So what happens now?"
"Now?" Naruto clicked his tongue. "Now I go over what Ozpin gave me, and hope its enough to give me a few ideas before she comes a 'knocking on our door."
"I'll help you!" she flushed and cursed herself for the slip. "I mean, would you like some help?" peering past him, she saw the stack of papers on his desk and winced. "Kinda looks you need it...
Something in his face softened.
...I'd appreciate that." a tired smile creased his face. "But I was hoping you could help me with something else.
"Me?"
"You." He tapped her forehead. "I need you, Ruby. Not just your silver eyes," he barreled on before she could think otherwise, "You. When Salem comes, I need you on the front lines with me."
Ruby felt her heart hitch a little. She believed him. When was the last time someone needed her?
Unbidden, she found herself laying a hand on his. Naruto jolted, but didn't pull away. His hand was warm, jut like before. Without thinking, she threaded her fingers through his own. Oh, jeez. Had it gotten warm in here, or was it just her? Her eyes flitted up to his and found him watching her warily. He looked tired. Exhausted. This close, she could see the dark circles under his eyes. She found herself wanting to wipe them away, to take all his pain and cast it into the wind, just like he had hers.
"How are you holding up?" the question slipped out of her before she could think to hold it back from him.
"I'm holding." he was honest if nothing else. "There'll be time to rest once Salem's dealt with-
"Nope."
He twitched. "Don't start-
"Nope." she chirruped, speaking over him.
"Now listen here you, I'm your commanding officer and-
"Nope again, she declared with a light giggle. "Not having that. You're not allowed to take all these burdens on alone; not by yourself. I've been doing that, and it nearly broke me." he tried to look away, so she grabbed his face instead and forced him to look at her. "You don't get to make the same mistake as me, buster. Got it?
Naruto mumbled something under his breath It didn't sound complimentary. Ruby pressed her advantage. "When was the last time you slept?"
The Specialist didn't answer; probably because he knew she wouldn't like that answer.
"You need to rest."
"I'm not tired." it almost sounded like a complaint. "Ow!" She scooted closer and pinched his cheeks, warping his words into a laugh. "Okay, okay. I'll call it a day. Happy now..?"
His eyes flicked down to her lips and his words trailed off.
Ruby looked up at him and felt something stir in her, a little ember of warmth pooling in her stomach. In an instant she became intimately aware of just how close she was to him; she'd all but crawled into his lap to get a good hold on those whiskered cheeks of his. And now that she had...what came next? She knew she really ought to let go; scoot backwards and apologize. But she couldn't bring herself to move. Neither did Naruto for that matter; he was eyeing her warily.
"Uh, Ruby...?"
She didn't hear him, lost in her thoughts all alone.
Yang had called him her prince. She'd meant that as a mockery. Naruto wasn't a prince; he'd never claimed to be.
He wasn't even a Huntsman. Not really. He was a Fighter. Just like her. He ran headlong into danger, even if he was terrified of it. That wasn't just courage-that was bravery; the stubborn strength to persist in the face on unspeakable odds, the will to win the day. Was it really so wrong to want some of that bravery for herself? She'd been so stressed lately and he was right here, she was still holding his face, and she wanted...
.
..
...what did she want?
On blind impulse, Ruby leaned in, closed her eyes, and pulled Naruto's face down to hers. Her lips brushed his.
It felt...nice. Really nice. Had she really been missing out all this time? She'd never kissed a boy before; she could see the appeal now. Naruto made a baffled noise beneath her, but didn't protest as she drew back a little to breathe. Even then, she didn't dare open her eyes for fear of what she might find there. Shock? Anger? Disgust? Something worse? Her heart was beating so very fast and she didn't think she could bear to look at him right now. Facing your fears was all well and good, but she was still new at this, damnit!
Still, his lack of resistance emboldened her enough to lean in for another.
"Please don't say anything." she muttered, blushing fiercely. "Just let me have this...
"...!"
The door to his office swept open with a musical chime, admitting Penny in a flurry of movement.
"Salutations, Ruby! Are you enjoying the cookies-oh!" she stopped short upon seeing them and made a happy noise. "I'm sorry, were the two of you copulating?" a gleeful grin spread across her freckled face. "I can come back later~!"
Ruby jerked back, eyes snapping open, her courage shattering like so much glass, the moment lost. "PENNY?!"
Naruto slapped a hand to his forehead. "Penny, why are you like this...?"
"Like what?" innocent green eyes blinked in confusion. "Friend Ruby looked like she was enjoying herself; is that not a good thing?"
Enjoying...?! Ruby's brain fizzled all over again, her face turn seven shades of scarlet. Had she really just...?!
Run. Flee. Fly. She needed to do all those things, right now!
She didn't run. She absolutely blurred.
"Gottagobye!"
Penny blinked as the door shut in her wake. "Was it something I said...?"
"Yes, yes you did...
Naruto watched her scarper. She'd been doing an awful lot of that lately.
The taste of her lips lingered on his. He touched a hand to his mouth, frowning a little.
A faint crackle of glass echoed directly behind him. He didn't need to look to know who it was.
Neo draped herself over his back, grinning like the cat that caught the canary. She slung her scroll before his face, revealing the message typed within, the blue glass of the phone reflecting the shit-eating grin she wore.
"Told ya. She likes you. Pay up."
Not a chance!
He blew out a sigh. "Neo, no. Not going there."
The little imp only grinned up at him and nodded eagerly.
She typed something else in her Scroll and held it up for him to see.
Naruto balked, blinked, then considered her "suggestion" a moment longer.
Come to think of it, that plan was just crazy enough to work. "Huh. Neo, maybe...
A/N: What Neo wants, Neo gets.
The next arc -ha, the pun!- is a'coming, and all hell's about to break loose...
As ever, the Embers rule remains. If folks don't like this story, welll...it won't be continued! That's no joke, folks. I'm so busy these days with virtually no days off. That makes my free time terribly limited and as such, I can't afford to focus on something folks don't like.
Reviews are my fuel. I can't write without them~! Not a wit or a word!
So in the Immortal Words of Atlas...Review, Would You Kindly?
And enjoy the previews! They're mostly the same.
Wouldn't do to spoil things, now!
And as ever:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS AHEAD!
BEWARE~!
(Previews!)
Ruby sat down.
"Weiss, please, I'm begging you, listen to me...
Her best friend took a long, deep breath. And then:
"Alright." Ice blue eyes met hers, wary, but not angry. "Start talking."
"You're tense. C'mon, lets spar." Naruto began to bounce on his heels. "A good fight always works out stress for me."
Ruby drew Crescent Rose and eyed him warily. He hadn't said a word about their kiss.
Was he ignoring it? Pretending it hadn't happened? Or maybe...?
"Alright, you're on. Don't cry when I kick your butt."
He grinned. "Now there's the Ruby I know~!
"My, my. Seems you're in quite the predicament...
She glared at the ceiling. "Who are you?"
"Someone just as disgusted with Atlas and that irritating blond, just as you are." the smug voice replied. "Consider me...an interested party."
Are you ready, Emerald?"
"Y...e...s...
"Listen to yourselves! None of this matters right now!"
"LOYALTY ALWAYS MATTERS!"
James heaved a sigh. "Are you with me? Even now?
Naruto thumped a fist against his chest. "To the end."
Even you can't reach her. Not through the many Grimm. You'll die!"
...never tell me the odds. I have a plan."
"And what, pray tell, is this plan?"
He told James.
Penny squeezed his hand. "I do not like this plan. Please be safe. I love you."
She rushed the last bit out, freckled face red.
Naruto laughed a little. "Love you too."
"Excellent! Can we have a child now?"
"Penny, why?!"
"We already have Tyrian in captivity, but not his accomplice.
"You believe it to be Arthur Watts?"
"I do. Who else could mess with the code in Mantle so easily? Then there's Hazel, and this girl...
Watts smiled. "Ready?"
"Always."
...go. Now!"
Neo smiled at Emerald.
Emerald scowled back. "Get out of my way!"
Neo shook her head slowly. And behind her, the world...shifted.
"Take...the...girls!"
"You won't take them." he stalked down the stairs to meet the abomination, nanites already swarming around him. "You won't hurt them. You won't touch a single hair on their heads."
The Hound snarled at him, baring its fangs. "TAKE!"
Naruto snarled back. "COME ON THEN!"
A massive paw swiped at his face. He caught it. Then the other. They grappled with one another, arms straining...
EDIT: Hey, you made it!
As ever the Embers rule persists, reviews are my fuel, my fire, my life. Without them, I lose all inspiration, all hope, all ability to write. That's no joke. I have so little time to write these days with two jobs, and silence hurts. So by all means, speak up! Make yourselves heard! Every bit of feedback, no matter how small or large, matters! Really, it helps a lot. Its a joy to talk with you all and bandy ideas back and forth; it really is. Sorry if this seems shorter than usual, working on a tight schedule here.
Looking forward to talking with you all after work!
R&R~!