Yang Xiao Long hated hospitals. Or more accurately, she hated being stuck as a patient in them. It had been only a few days since the incident at the docks, where she and Beo had had their knockdown drag out brawl. Once they had rejoined her team, Beo unconscious on her shoulder she had lost consciousness not long after.
She had woken up in the sterile hospital room just as a nurse was changing the bandages on her arms and hands. Not long after that, the doctor had come in and told her that her arms had suffered severe burns and lacerations during her fight. Not only that but they were keeping her there for observations until further notice, headmaster's orders.
She knew that her fight with Beo was intense but she didn't think it would have been that serious. Unless this was some twisted punishment on Ozpin's part for her not keeping Beo reigned in.
How was she supposed to have known that the White Fang had been trying to smuggle grimm into the city!? Although, she supposed her forced stay here didn't have any such malice behind it. That didn't stop the boredom though. She couldn't do anything with her hands. Which meant no browsing the web, no channel surfing, hell she couldn't even change the station on the radio in her room without having to call for a nurse which, well she just saw that as a waste of everyone's time.
And so she was left alone in her room alone with nothing but her thoughts. She mused on all that had happened the past few months, her less than orthodox initiation, the drama within her own team, from Weiss' inferiority complex to Blake's secret yet surprisingly obvious heritage. But those all seemed small compared to the shitstorm she had started by trying to protect Ruby from Beo's rampage.
That really was not a conversation she was looking forward to. According to one of the nurses her team had been around to visit but she had either been asleep or had refused their visit. Claiming she wasn't feeling well. All to avoid having to face her younger sister.
Yang's train of thought was brought to a screeching halt, as a knock came to her door and one of the nurses, Yang wanted to say her name was, Mikela? But she wasn't a hundred percent sure. Popped her head inside and said.
"You have visitors, Miss Yang." Her voice had a melotic ring to it, but her tone said something along the lines of "They are coming in this time"
Yang groaned as the door swung wide revealing her teammates standing behind the nurse. As they were let into the room, there was an uneasy silence that permeated the air.
It seemed like nobody wanted to be the first to say anything, what was most likely only a few moments stretched on for what felt like hours to the bedridden blonde. Until finally it was Weiss of all people who broke the silence.
"So, care to explain exactly what in the name of all that is holy happened that night?"
Yang put on a horribly fake smile.
"Well uh you see….okay, fuck it, this tension is killing me. Beo happened… or rather his semblance did."
Blake was next to speak.
"So the stories about the Man-Grimm of the Emerald Forest are more literal than just a wayward boy in the woods." Her voice was a cold monotone. Yang wasn't sure if the others could tell but she could definitely tell that the faunus had it figured out.
Not that it was hard to piece together after the display on the docks.
"Guess not…I don't know exactly how it works but Beo's semblance is well, the best word I can use to describe it is like assimilation. He's able to copy the ability of anything that he ingests the blood of. Like how he was able to keep up with Ruby during that spar."
Yang paused for a moment expecting her teammates to chime in but they remained silent, listening intently. Save for her sister who had been seated over by the window and had remained silent this whole time. And so Yang took a breath and continued.
"When we met during initiation, I saw his semblance first hand, although I wasn't a hundred percent sure of what I was seeing but it came in handy during our encounter with the Burrowing Widow."
As Yang spoke Blake and Weiss remained silent but listened intently. Blake with her eyes shut knowing what came next and Weiss with a look of mild disgust on her face. Ruby's hand clenched tighter around her arm as her older sister continued to speak.
"And he saved my life after that bug's poison got to me. Turns out it wasn't only good for fighting. He used some weird mushroom paste and blood from me and the grimm and well…he uh…drank it and then well…he mixed his own blood into the bowl. Turned his body into some weird antidote machine and fixed me up. Not long after that we ran into Blake and then we seperated after we got to the cliffs."
Yang was about to continue before Ruby finally spoke, still facing the window.
"Skip the part that actually matters." Her voice was cold and angry.
Normally Yang would meet this attitude with an equal amount of sass but she was tired, tired of the tension, tired of the secrets, hell she was just tired in general.
"Okay then" Yang sighed. "After we fought the Nevermore by the cliffs I went to look for Beo, he split off from us before that, I thought it was to just lead the pack of beowolves away so we wouldn't get over run but… when I caught up to him the place was a bloodbath, he tore them apart like he did the White Fang at the pier that night, and when I saw him he was."
"Transformed? Like the docks?" asked Blake.
"Sorta, he wasn't as tall, more Beowulf, less Silverback. But the bone plates, and twisted elongated limbs yeah that seems to be par for the course, that and the you know, bloodlust."
"And he didn't kill you? What did you two duke it out in the woods or something?" Weiss said, rolling her eyes.
Yang shrugged.
"He musta burned out or run outta juice cause once he saw me he tore off the bone mask on his face and passed out. After that we got picked up by Goodwitch and Ozpin and they pretty much told me that I needed to keep his I dunno condition? A secret cause they didn't wanna make people nervous or whatever."
It was Ruby who spoke next, her voice still that same icy anger.
"And you didn't once think about telling us? Telling me?" She said turning around finally, her silver eyes were filled with an uncharacteristic anger, mixed with welling tears in her eyes.
Yang felt a pang of guilt run through her as she saw her sister's expression. Before she steeled herself.
"Hey Blake, Weiss, can you give me and Ruby a minute alone?" she said in a voice that said that she wasn't going to take no for an answer.
The two other girls looked to one another and then to the sisters before silently exiting the room. Leaving the two sisters alone, silence and tension filling the space between them.
Ruby opened her mouth to say something before Yang cut her off.
"Before you start yelling at me about how you feel betrayed that I kept a secret, you are going to listen to me." Yang had said sternly. With an expression that reminded Ruby of their father on the rare occasions the two of them had done something wrong.
The young reaper didn't want to acquiesce to her sister's demand, she wanted to shout, to rage, to berate her sibling for lying to her face for nearly three months. But she didn't, instead she found her older sister's intimidation tactic working as she stayed silent giving only a defiant glare to the bedridden blonde.
"Okay gonna stay quiet? Good. So, first things first I suppose like I was saying earlier I didn't exactly have a choice in keeping this all a secret, Ozpin sorta gave me a direct order as head of the school not to and I wasn't in a position to really say no after all. Second, before you start saying 'but we're sisters and all', its precisely because we are sisters that I kept it secret in the first place." Yang said matter of factly. "Because I knew that if you knew that Beo was like something out of those horror movies you and Uncle Qrow absolutely are obsessed with you would without a doubt be chomping at the bit to fight him while he was transformed. And like you saw a few nights ago, he doesn't fight for fun, he goes for the kill. Until he came here every single fight was for keeps. And sure you beat him in that spar but that was only because he was handycapped if you had tried to fight him that night he would have torn you to shreds like he did the white fang. Sure you can fight, but I KNOW for a fact that you can't fight at that level yet, seeing how you froze like a deer in headlights once you realized that people were actually dead."
Yang's words hit Ruby like a gut punch but she did her best to not let it show.
"You still don't get it." Ruby said
"I'm sorry? Get what?"
"I'm not angry about you not telling me! Not really I'm angry because you were treating me like a little kid! Again! First you abandon me when we first get to this school, and don't think I don't remember you not wanting to even be on the same team originally! And then when we ARE put onto the same team you spend half your time with some boy you found in the woods!" Ruby shouted her entire body shaking in frustration. With each word hanging in the air like a blade suspended by a thread.
But for Yang everything that was being said simply made her more frustrated.
"You can't be serious, that's why you're mad!? Because I wanted to spend my time outside of our tiny home on Patch with other people? Ruby, we've lived together most of our lives! Excuse me for wanting to try and branch out in my own life outside of you and Dad! Besides, it gave you a chance to make new friends too!" Yang fired back.
"New friends!? You can't be serious, Yang. I left all my friends back at Signal, I came here to study with you and the second you ditched me I already got into trouble! It was miserable."
"You met Jeanne didn't you? And Weiss too not to mention all the late night sugar binges you and Nora go on, and you can't tell me you still don't have any friends because if I'm not mistaken you also spend half your time here in the weapons forge with all the other weapon maniacs!"
"They are called aficionados, thank you very much!"
"Whatever! My point is you shouldn't need me to play babysitter for you."
"Did you never stop to consider that I just wanted to spend time with my sister!" Ruby screamed, her voice cracking as she began to tear up.
Both sisters were quiet for a time after that. Time seemed to once again stretch itself out longer than normal and Yang once again broke the silence.
"Ruby…I, I didn't mean to shut you out. If it seemed that way I really am sorry but all those things, reaching out to other people, finding new experiences on your own. All that stuff is part of growing up. It was gonna happen sooner than later, and you can't forget that no matter what at the end of the day I am still your sister. Nothing's gonna change that, I'm not gonna be going anywhere." Yang said, trying to be as soft spoken as she could. She didn't want to fight anymore, especially not with her sister.
Ruby collected herself wiping away some tears. And reflecting on the words said between the two, she had come to a realization of sorts.
"I know that..'' she began. "Its just…I felt like you were leaving me behind again. Forgetting about me, its stupid I know that, and its childish and unreasonable."
"Ruby I think you sometimes forget you are a kid, you're only fifteen remember"
"And a half!" Ruby butted in.
Yang smiled "Yes and a half. And you are a good team leader, but sometimes you gotta know when its best to pull back a bit, let us take the load. I'm sorry I didn't mention Beo sooner, I just didn't want you getting hurt."
"It-it's fine I guess I just let it all boil over…I'm glad you're okay Yang" Ruby said giving her sister a hug.
After the two broke off, a thought popped into the young reaper's head.
"By the way, you mentioned Professor Ozpin made you not mention Beo's semblance to us. Did he say what would happen if you didn't?"
Yang thought for a good long moment. As her mind drifted back to her conversation with the Headmaster. The longer she thought the clearer the answer became to her as she felt something snap as she realized that the headmaster in fact did not mention any sort of punishment.
"Why that coffee drinking son of a-"
Elsewhere on the Beacon Academy campus, Cyrus Ozpin sneezed and shivered.
Bit of a shorter chapter but after conferring with my editor I realized that what I had written here is fine for its own chapter. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter dont forget to leave a review I do read all of them, with that said until next time (Also chapter release before a year mark quick someone write it on the calendar!)