Chapter 5: Support

Yang sat by herself. It was Dad's turn to help out with an evening patrol and Weiss was taking a shower to clean herself up.

She still wasn't quite sure why Weiss was there. If anything, Yang expected her to disappear. Or she would have if she couldn't hear the shower running. No, even with her ears her mind tried to tell her otherwise. After all, why would Weiss be here? She should be in Atlas. Her dad picked her up. She had left.

Yet a sliver of hope dwelled in her heart for any connection. She desperately needed proof that her bonds weren't nothing. That they were real. That they burned brilliantly. That they were worth more than a passing moment in time. That they weren't disposably the moment they weren't convenient or something else came up, for were they bonds to start with if they could be broken so easily. Or maybe they were still bonds, but not good ones. After all, Yang still had a bond despite not knowing her. Maybe it was an illusion, but there were only so many ways she could describe her desperate yearning for answers even after being abandoned. Even after the message Uncle Qrow passed along.

The pelting of water stopped. Yang looked around aimlessly, not being able to focus on anything else. Her eyes landed on the box that had the mechanical arm. She looked back down to her stump and frowned. If the option was available it should be better, but it felt so dismissive. She knew people meant well, and arm or no arm she wasn't going to feel better, but it also felt like a slap across the face. Like people were pushing her in a direction and expecting her to just move on with things. They thought the same even without the arm, but she couldn't help things would be worse when she would finally accept it. She could already hear the comments. 'It all worked out in the end.' 'It's like it never happened.' 'Now get back out there.' 'Perfect fit. It's like it was made for you – because it was.' 'What's there to complain about. You're lucky.'

Take away all the mental stress that was placed on her, which was no means small, and she also prided herself on her looks. She hated looking at her reflection. A part of her is missing. She didn't care for societal standards of beauty, but that didn't mean she didn't take pride on crafting her own style.

Nothing was the same.

Yang couldn't look at herself the same. She couldn't accomplish tasks the same. She couldn't hold the same optimistic outlook when she was beaten down and crushed so easily. A constant reminder of her failures. Proof that she wasn't enough.

"Yang?" Weiss waved her hand rapidly in front of Yang's face trying to get her attention. Her hair was down and she changed into a white nightgown.

"Oh. Done already?"

This level of spaced outness was something Weiss expected of Blake, the overthinker, not Yang. Weiss' gaze lingered on Yang's missing arm. She wasn't stupid. She could make a few guesses for the change in demeanor. Asking if she was okay felt like the wrong move though, but she wasn't quite sure what to say in response. "Yes, thank you."

Weiss sat down on the bed next to Yang.

"So what are you doing here?" A note of curiosity was in Yang's tone. It surprised even her. Something that wasn't tainted with anger or sadness or passive aggressiveness.

"I may have run away." Weiss was sheepish as she was somewhat hesitant to admit it out loud.

Yang didn't know how to take that. What was the point of going home if she was going to run away? Also, why run away? There was probably plenty she could do. It wasn't like Weiss was low on money so even if some people were having a tough time, Weiss shouldn't have. Add in that her family literally owns a dust company as a supply of energy and defense and Yang couldn't understand why Weiss would leave. "You?"

Weiss scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh please. Is it that big of a surprise? I've told you my father doesn't deal with stress well. Border closures and embargos are stress inducing. Add in things have been rocky for a while – you probably remember my card being declined among other things. Besides, the place is soul sucking. Winter hasn't been home, too busy with work, and I have no clue where she went."

"Your mom was there too though? Or surely, you can go out and spend time with your friends." Yang had her own imagination of what the mega rich lifestyle was like.

Weiss' shoulders slumped as she looked the opposite direction of Yang. Her face took a stony neutral position as if she was an android and someone flickered the off switch. "I…" Weiss only said one words drawled out before returning to silence. "I've had to reevaluate many things, but even before leaving for Beacon things weren't great. I know I've been fortunate to have had many opportunities, but friendships weren't one of them. Trapped to the manor most of the time and most people I met was for business relations. Then on my tenth birthday my father snapped that he only married for the family fortune. The illusion dropped. No longer did Father have to play family and Mom isolated herself – usually in the garden with plenty of wine. I…may have been difficult when we first met, but I really did enjoy our time together. I consider you all my friends. Why else would I be here? Beyond Winter, I've realized Team RWBY is my home."

That…actually made a lot of sense. Yang suddenly reevaluated the time she's known Weiss. Yang had scolded her that she should learn how to be a better friend when Ruby was in distressed, but that was likely because Weiss had no point of reference. Why Weiss had so many awkward moments trying to fit in on the fun chaos only to come across like a fish out of water. How many times had Yang reduced things to having had a different class upbringing? "I thought you were going through some late-stage teenage rebellion. I didn't think things were actually bad." After all, things like calling home were pretty basic in return for things like allowances.

Weiss gawked. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Teenage rebellion? How dare she be reduced as some snobby brat!

A small snicker left Yang's mouth surprising even her.

"But then why go home in the first place?" Now it felt more personal. Weiss literally went home with someone she want to be around over them.

Weiss went back to that moment. Going through rotation to keep fighting back grimm as some order was trying to be restored. Then she got called away to where her father had landed. He didn't send someone to collect her. He came personally. How his words slithered about. How her reason for being in the Kingdom of Vale no longer existed. How her home and family needed her. How things were out of control and he knew best. That their agreement was null and void. More than his words, it was his presence that shook her with no back up to embolden her. "Have you ever felt trapped? Like logically you know it's an option. There's nothing physically holding you, and yet it's what you know. A routine you fall into. Scared about what happens if you do follow through if the options even crosses your mind in the first place. To consider it when there's no pressure but to have that all vanish the moment the moment of high pressure."

Yang fell silent. Wasn't that similar to her dilemma accepting the mechanical arm? She could contemplate it herself, but the moment someone else brought it up she became distant or angry. No. Yang tried to shake the comparison from her thoughts. She couldn't make that comparison because then she would have to admit that her helplessness was at least partially a learnt trait. It wasn't her fault. She was the victim.

But wasn't a Weiss a victim of circumstances too?

Yang just didn't want to admit that she held some control, no matter how little. The past was out of reach, but her future was still in her hand. Ha. Hand. Not hands, hand.

"Anyways…" Weiss was happy to change the topic. "Where's Ruby?" Yang's demeanor soured again. While the question was basic and should have been expected, Weiss felt like she somehow said the wrong thing. "Or not?"

"For how standoffish you can be you certainly know how to read a room."

"Hey!"

"Ruby…Ruby left."

"Left? Left where?" Weiss was confused. Ruby always spoke fondly on family and home. Even their house exuded colour, warmth, and memories. Individual and family photos were framed giving a cozy nostalgic feeling.

"Her note said Vale but who knows? She could be anywhere."

Weiss felt caught between two people. Wanted to know why she went off alone. Wanted to know why. However, it seemed like a sensitive topic to Yang. Yang was right. After spending a bit of time with someone, Weiss is quick to learn people's habits. She wasn't sure whether it was from business lessons or whether it was from tiptoeing around her parents.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Yang was the one in front of her. It was best to let Yang speak her side first before Weiss interrogated her further. Ruby had proven herself more capable than Weiss initially believed, but she can also get in over her head with ideas. It's never been too much of a problem before because Ruby was all for roping people in and making things a team effort, but Weiss could still recall several instances of Ruby running off by herself anyway.

"No. Yes. I don't know." Yang sighed in frustration. Weiss opened up a bit to her, and it was the first time in a while she was asked about herself. "She was just so optimistic. It was like the weight of what happened wasn't sinking in. You left. Blake left. I lost my arm. People died. Vale is still in disarray. There wasn't enough time to process or grieve. Things weren't okay. One of the first things Ruby did when she woke up was try to rationalize everything to find that silver lining. I didn't want that. I needed someone to agree and understand how bad things turned out."

"I'm sorry." Weiss had been too wrapped up with her own situation that she didn't consider how the others were coping.

Yang continued as if Weiss hadn't spoken. "She left a note saying she was headed to Haven. To not worry about her because she was getting Jaune, Ren, and Nora to go with her. Qrow followed them. I've been here with Dad and Zwei. Dad's been hounding me to find my new normal. I want Ruby to be alright, but I can't bring myself to care enough to go after her. Not this time. Not now. Does that make be a bad sister? A bad person? I've only been thinking of myself."

Weiss recalled her mom's words before she left and internally cringed. She hated being accused of being a bad sister. What did that even mean?

Weiss felt conflicted about Ruby. If she was out getting into trouble then Weiss wanted to be together to face the potential danger together. The only thing that eased her was that Ruby wasn't alone.

Yang, however, was the most fragile Weiss had ever seen her, and she had been there to witness Yang's breakdown after her match with Mercury.

Yang wasn't as much of a theoretical person as much an anecdotal, experience-based thinker. That may involve exposing more of her life than Weiss was comfortable with, but Yang was the one hurt right now. Weiss needed to at least try as her friend.

"Then am I a bad sister?"

"What?" Yang's head snapped to face her with disbelief. Yang couldn't believe Weiss was making this about herself.

"You're blaming yourself for Ruby going off on her own while you take time for yourself. I fail to see how that makes you a bad person."

"Because I let her go off on her own and I don't even care."

"I don't think that's true. Even if it's not your first priority you still think about her." Weiss smiles at memories with Winter. "You know, I leaned on Winter a lot. I do love her and look forward to spending time with her, but I think I also turned to her for approval." A beacon of hope and affection in a castle of loneliness.

"Weiss. I've met you and your sister. Ruby and I aren't like that."

Weiss crossed her arms. "Like what?" It was rhetorical so she continued. "The point is there's parts of Winter's life that I don't know about and as much as I want to know more, I think it's okay as it is. Even if we aren't always together, even if we have different goals or interests, we are still sisters and we love each other. Our roles and relations are a part of us," Weiss had too much time thinking about all the roles she had in life when back at Atlas, and while she didn't have everything figured out she concluded that she was all of them, "but they are each only a part of who we are. Winter isn't pausing her life because of me. It can be disappointing at times, but I understand. I'm carving out a life for myself too that she isn't a part of."

Yang liked the feeling of being needed. It fought against the abandonment that plagued her. Sometimes being a big sis as an unfair responsibility when it included helping take care of her, but it was a role Yang eagerly accepted. She loved Ruby and Yang's own self-worth soared to have someone dependent on her. "It just sucks being left behind."

Being left behind. Weiss wondered if that was the point her mom was trying to get at. "But only if you have a close relationship, right?"

Uh, how was Yang supposed to answer that. She didn't have a close relationship to Raven and yet it hurt all the same. The only reason she opened up and was vulnerable to Blake because she needed to see reason and it was a perfect example. Considering how much Blake trusted them with her status as a faunus, it seemed fair to reciprocate that trust. Yang was wrapped up in her thought that she didn't question why the question was asked in the first place. "I think it extends to anyone you would expect to stay – like friends or family regardless of how close you are." Yang saw Weiss' skin pale. "You're turning whiter than you normally are."

"Just thinking about my brother." It was a rarity. Usually when it came to Whitley is was an out of sight out of mind kind of thing.

"You have a brother?" Yang could understand not knowing all the family dynamics but how had she gone this long without knowing Weiss had a brother.

"He's a few years younger and we aren't close. Right before I was about to leave my mom finally decided to be a bit sober to be all 'don't forget your brother'." Weiss also strongly remembered the 'just go off and live your life'. It was both hurtful and brought the anger and spite in Weiss.

"If your home is that bad I guess I can see why. It's sucks getting left behind and then there's no one just as bad off there for emotional support."

Weiss glared. "We were never each other's emotional support. He doesn't like Winter and our relationship isn't better off. Besides, she's such a hypocrite. 'Don't forget your brother?' Ha! Try forgetting all your children!" Weiss realized how intense she was getting and coughed into her hand then smoothed out her nightgown over her thighs. "Sorry. We were talking about you."

Weiss' stomach growled and her cheeks pinkened.

"C'mon." Yang nodded her head towards the door. "We can grab something to eat and talk downstairs."

Tai was coming home from patrol when she saw the lights shining through the windows of his house. Yang must have forgotten to turn the lights off, but did she have to have so many on? Energy wasn't cheap.

He got closer and closer. He was approaching the door when he got an inside view from the window.

There was somebody there.

Tai recognized her from the team photos he'd received from his daughters. It was easy enough to place. That wasn't what surprised him though. Yang was talking. He could see some of her playful sass and it was heartwarming to see. Lately he had been getting moody sass even he could even evoke that many emotions at all. He even spotted a small smile. It still wasn't those radiant ones littered throughout their photo albums, but it was an improvement.

He felt himself relax a bit. He knew she was strong and make it through, but it was great to see it rather than hoping for the someday.

He stepped away from the window before he was spotted. He would do another round and give them a little more time. He was happy but it was best not to tip the scale.

"She is sure full of energy." Peter Port watched as Artoria return at a distance.

"She's been at it non-stop since Wednesday. It doesn't matter how capable she is, she'll succumb to sleep soon." Bartholomew Oobleck chugged his coffee. She had barely taken any breaks and it was as if all self-care had gone out the window since Glynda talked to her.

"I'm not so sure." For all Peter talked of his achievements, he'd hit his limit. He was going to take a well deserve break come next week. Artoria kept working like a well-oiled machine.

"Even if her body can keep up, the mind requires rest." Working herself into the ground wouldn't help anyone. She was no doubt grieving. They've had months to start processing the civilian and student casualties. It also couldn't compare to a familial lost. Much less a child. Children were the future. They weren't meant to die before their parents.

"You two should take her with you next week. It would do her well to take a break, but at this rate forcing her may be the only way." Glynda felt drained. Her semblance was incredibly useful but her aura could only recover so fast. With Ozpin gone, the Vale Council had dropped rebuilding onto her amongst a few others.

Glynda hated being the bearer of bad news, but she was never one to shy away from the truth. She only felt bad that Pyrrha had been found in the tower and Qrow had passed along that the person she had been fighting was the same person who attacked Amber. Many security functions were down so there was little footage of what happened exactly.

"I wouldn't mind that, but convincing her is another thing." Oobleck had discovered Artoria's drive and charisma for himself. She was level headed for the most part but that only led her to double down on her convictions.

"Let me talk to her." Glynda internally sighed. She walked forward to meet Artoria half way.

Artoria spoke to get the first word in. "The Goliaths have been cleared from the southern corridor."

Glynda's mind froze as she processed the information. They had been causing problems, but strategically they had to choose their battles. To have an entire hoard taken care of was something perplexing. "That's good news." She eyed the sheath that hadn't left Artoria's side since Glynda asked about it. It had mysteriously shown up on top of Pyrrha. Artoria didn't explain and Glynda didn't ask. It clearly held meaning to the woman. "In that case take the evening to rest. I'll find another mission for you come morning."

"That's not necessary. I can start the next one now." That's what Glynda feared. It's why she only proposed the evening and not a longer period of time.

"Be that as it may, it best to hear back from some others first to plan accordingly."

"Then I'll find something to do on my own." Artoria had spent most of her time operating outside the four kingdoms. The kingdoms had organization, defense funding, and some semblance of a plan of action. The rest of the continents were much more feudal and often benefitted from additional aid.

Glynda adjusted her glasses. A thin layer of sweat sat on the bridge of her nose slanting her lenses and impacting her vision and comfortability. "I believe it's best if you rest. It's been days. You've done more than your share of the work. Overworking yourself won't change what's already happen and a few hours of rest won't be delaying our efforts." Glynda turns leftward a little to nod to the newest small group of refugees. "If you are still insistent they could use help with handout or the wall." Much of the efforts were securing the city so that there would at least be a place of relative peace again.

"For a few hours then."

Artoria was reminded of her own fallen kingdom as the people put in effort to rebuild. What kind of mess had she left them in? Pyrrha flashed in her mind and hand found its way to her sheath. The events of the past and present overlapped. She never gave her people the utopia she promised. Pyrrha was never given a chance to live in that future.

Artoria always thought that as long as she suffered the most then others were better off, but maybe that was willful ignorance. Pain was pain. Suffering was suffering. One being worse off didn't erase the suffering of others.

That still didn't lead to a solution though. She couldn't let emotions control her. She could never abandon her ideals, but she couldn't find a path to fulfilling her ideals either. She always knew everyone couldn't be saved, she killed many on her path to an unreached utopia, but failing to live up to her ideas made her fall back into her emotions. Artoria felt greedy. She wanted it all. To reach her utopia but also wanting to be a person without the responsibilities she had taken on. She couldn't do that with reckless abandonment, though.

She ran. From one extreme to another, she ran. The king to the girl to the king again. Even when she obtained a miracle, a loving family, she couldn't find balance. She ran. She couldn't find peace with them and she couldn't find peace without them. Perhaps it was merely a part of being human – but she wasn't human. She couldn't be. Shouldn't be. Even without her kingdom there had to be some way to atone. Some kind of magic that could let her change everything.

They deserved better. Her people deserved better. Her friends deserved better. Shirou deserved better. Pyrrha deserved better.

Weiss caught Yang staring at the mirror. Her eyes always finding their way back to her stump.

"It's superficial compared to what you went through, but can I share a story?"

"Huh? Uh Sure."

"I'm lucky that I didn't lose my eye." Weiss traced her scar with her index and middle fingers. "But knowing it could have been worse didn't curb my hatred of seeing my reflection. I take pride in my appearance and made sure everything was pristine and symmetrical. Anything less was an imperfection that needed fixing." Weiss lowered her hand. "I don't hate my scar. It would have been better if I hadn't been injured, but I refuse to live my life in shame of it. Switching things up made things easier. Like my hair. It adds more weight to one side of my head, but it brought about a new balance."

"You're right. That is superficial." A scar is different than losing a limb. Yang lost mobility. She had to relearn things. It was more than something cosmetic.

Weiss rolled her eyes as she silently huffed. She warned her upfront for a reason. "All, I'm saying is that living in a memory keeps you there."

"Weren't you telling me you got stuck in memories when your father came for you."

Yang always had a comeback. It was both irritating and something Weiss found admirable. "I'm not saying to forget. I'm not even telling you it will make you feel better, but you're trying to put a puzzle piece in the wrong puzzle. I'm just saying that it may be beneficial to switch something up to rebuild your confidence."

"If you haven't notice, I've been tying my hair up more and have been wearing different outfits."

"Yeah, and that's part of the reason I know you're not doing well. As much as having your hair tied back is totally beneficial," Weiss wished she was dressed and tied her hair up to prove her point, "I know you prefer having your hair down. And while your outfit has complementary colours and is stylized, it's low effort for you."

"Says the girl who slaps on a dress and calls it a day."

"I don't know why I even try." It was too early for this. If Yang hadn't opened the curtains Weiss probably would have still been asleep. That was one thing she didn't miss from dormitory days. She was up now though and there wasn't a chance of her falling back to sleep. Urg. Moments like this made Weiss see more of the similarities between Ruby and Yang. Stubbornness at its finest. Weiss got off the bed and walked over to Yang, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Sorry. I just wish there was something I could do to help." Things were always best when there were clear outlines. "I promise to stop prodding as long as you promise to tell me if there's anything I can do to help."

Yang searched Weiss' face and relaxed at her sincerity. "For now, just being here is enough."

Author Note: I've learned two things from the last chapter. One: Don't write when tired. Two: In my head these chapters work better in the 8k-12k word range but I'm not used to writing chapters that long so I'm sticking with more chapters but shorter.