Standard Disclaimer:
"Well, at least you've continued the story." Jeneralissima took in the careful way her friend was looking over the piece in front of them.
"Uh-huh."
"You double and triple checked for plot holes."
"Yep-could you hand me the thing with a number three on it?"
She handed over the tool. "You made sure all the commas were correctly placed."
"Of course."
"Riiight." The sarcasm didn't register with Block, who continued working. "You remembered to tell everyone we don't own RWBY?"
"I-uh, yep. Definitely did that. Right in the first part of the chapter; huge disclaimer, a song and dance number, fireworks, guest speakers, military parade-"
"Block." The warning was clear in her tone.
"Relax, hand me the number five, huh? I'd never forget anything that important, Jen."
"Excuse me?"
Block paled. "I mean, your eminence, Jeneralissima the feared, soon to be earth's new warlord goddess-empress whose benevolence-"
"Save it." She snapped. "And hurry up."
"Look, it wasn't my idea to handcuff you to me until I finished writing."
"Actually, it was."
"Oh, right. Sorry about that. You know, if you hadn't argued with me about it, I wouldn't have handcuffed you to the computer first." A loud click echoed through the theater. "And done. I'll let you out as soon as I start the story."
"Writersblock!"
Sun awoke to the same silence that he'd heard for the last few weeks.
Every day, since Yang had left, he had awoken at exactly dawn. Ilia apparently left around eight, and Blake only had her 'meetings' twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) at eleven. Otherwise she was in her room or the kitchen. He kept a close eye on her, as Yang hadn't been exaggerating when she said the cat faunus was dangerously depressed.
Sighing, he rose from the bed. Sleeping was done for the night, for better or worse. He'd resigned himself to the fact that once he was up, he was up, and to fight that was an effort in futility. It occasionally had perks, like on late night duty for a job, but when he wanted to sleep in, it was more of a hindrance than anything else.
Making his way out to the porch, his eye briefly glanced at the tree where he and Yang had sat before the brawler had left. She hadn't called since her departure, and he hadn't managed to make it to the town yet to speak with Jessica because he had started to share Yang's concerns about Blake. The longer she seemed to go on, the less happy she seemed. Yang's departure had been so hard on the cat faunus that she had actually gone to bed for three days straight.
"You're up." Ilia's voice drifted over his shoulder, and he sighed.
"I'm up." He agreed. "Did you check on Blake already this morning?" Whatever Ilia had done to Yang, the chameleon faunus clearly thought that taking care of Blake was more important than fighting with him. She and Sun had quietly fallen into an easy routine looking after Blake. Whoever got up first would check on the cat faunus and make sure she was doing all right. Whoever ate first (usually Ilia) would include a meal for Blake and ensure that it stayed warm (or cold if it was something like the sushi rolls the cat faunus was so fond of) until either it was past an eating time or until they saw her. Either way, Blake would end up with food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and both of her friends would ensure she ate.
Water glasses were regularly left within arm's reach, and (sometimes with a little prompting) emptied. Blake would be taken care of.
"Blake's still asleep," Ilia responded, stirring her tea as she joined him. "All is well."
"How's the life of court intrigue?" Sun asked, changing the subject.
The chameleon faunus shrugged. "Three new assassination attempts were stopped this week. The assassins never even saw Ghira, much less got close enough to threaten him." Glancing at her tea, she looked back up. "Tea?"
He wrinkled his nose. "Thanks, but no thanks." He wasn't sure what Ilia drank, but the stuff was certifiably disgusting in his opinion. It smelled worse than it tasted (somehow), but he wasn't going to say that. He just let her believe he didn't like tea.
"Suit yourself." The chameleon faunus shrugged, sipping from her mug. Looking out over the garden, she smirked. "You know, I never expected Yang to leave."
"Oh?" Ilia had been saying things like this throughout his stay, and Sun had to admit his curiosity was piqued. She rarely elaborated on it, but he felt it was just a matter of time. She always sounded so proud of that fact that he felt that she would tell him eventually.
Pride had a way of outing things, after all.
She shook her head. "I mean, I told her so many times that Blake needed her here, not out looking for someone who…wouldn't even answer her scroll."
A thought struck him. Could Ilia know what was going on with Ruby? He dismissed the question just as easily, but echoes of it stayed in his mind, enough to make him ask, "What do you mean?"
Ilia sighed. "Look, I've tried to avoid saying this in front of Blake because I'm almost certain it won't help her recovery, but Ruby hasn't exactly…been around lately." She set her mug on the railing. "I'm just saying, she's this high profile celebrity, a savior of the world, and then she just vanishes?" She glanced at him. "I don't know what to tell you, Sun, but even if she was working as a spy for me, I couldn't just make her disappear overnight like that. You'd have to…well, you'd basically need to…to die to vanish that quickly and efficiently." The last words were almost a whisper.
Sun nodded. Ilia wasn't putting out any 'I killed her myself' vibes. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but wouldn't her death have been headline news?"
"Her missing should be headline news!" Ilia snapped, snatching her cup back up. "I've had a couple agents look for her, and nothing!" She sipped her drink. "So I have to help my… my best friend who's just lost someone akin to a sister to her. I have to support her while her girlfriend," she spat the word venomously, "leaves to chase someone that should, by all rights, be here already!" She glared at her tea, as though the leaves within had wronged her.
Sun quietly evaluated, but decided to ask anyway. "Are we the best people to help her?"
"Sun, we're the only people who are willing to help her."
"She has her therapist," he pointed out and found the withering glare directed at him instead of the tea.
"I cannot put too fine a point on this, Sun Wu-Kong. We are all she has. Her so called- partner has left her. Her parents are struggling under the weight of running an emerging superpower-" When he raised an eyebrow, she laughed mirthlessly. "I forgot you haven't been here recently. Yes, we found a dust vein under the desert. Suddenly the entire world wants access to our dust reserve, which is fifty times the size of all Atlas' exports and mining operations combined." She smirked as she drank from her mug. "Why do you think Ghira and Kali haven't been by to see Blake? They're some of the biggest targets on Remnant right now."
"And you're not?" Sun asked curiously. He actually had heard about the Manajorie vein, but hadn't followed it closely enough to realize the full scope.
A wry smile met him. "I publicly left my job to help my best friend and her girlfriend recover from the ordeals they suffered in the Land of Darkness. I give the Chief and Chieftess an update every day on their daughter's recovery."
"...and if you just happen to stop by to see some old friends in the security division, it's pure coincidence."
"In a nutshell." Ilia slowly changed color. "I'm very good at blending in."
"It's not going to fool anyone for very long," Sun pointed out, wincing at her smirk as she changed back.
"Most of my contemporaries, probably not, but they aren't who we're trying to fool. We just need it to be generally known; after that, it becomes hearsay that needs to be verified." Her smirk took on a decidedly dark look. "And they won't be getting any verification from my office, I can ensure that much."
Sun decided he didn't want to know. "Are you really okay with all this?"
Ilia shrugged, drinking from her mug. "I'm helping Blake."
"Ilia, we aren't-"
"Maybe not, but at least we're here," the chameleon faunus interrupted easily. "That's better than her so-called girlfriend, huh? She chose to go somewhere else."
Sun raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I thought you were worried about Ruby?"
"I prefer to worry about the living," Ilia countered easily, then froze at what she'd just said. "Sun, I swear-"
"What. Did. You. Do. To. Ruby."
"Ah, good morning, Blake."
Maria Calavera shrugged off her shawl as she lounged in her favorite chair. At her age, she found that a good book could occasionally be the best form of entertainment. She smiled to herself as she remembered what her younger self would have said to that. There was a time it wasn't a good night unless she woke up with a pounding headache and had to untangle herself from a bunch of arms and legs in the morning. The more, the better.
Of course, that was before her eyesight had become mechanical. Not to say she hadn't continued that lifestyle; she had for a while, but eventually she had learned to appreciate the finer things in life, not just what could be found between the sheets-or people's legs, as it were.
Now, of course, those memories were just that: memories. Maria wasn't exactly a spring chicken to begin with, and the last few months had only added to her age. The farther she roamed, the more she hurt. A few months ago, in a fit of youthful impudence, she had decided that she was still young enough to chase after a full huntress crew, and it had unfortunately taken quite a toll on her.
That wasn't to say that team RWBY had seen her as a burden; at least they assured her they didn't. They had listened to her, and Ruby had seemed to see her as almost a surrogate grandmother. The youngest member listened to her, asked questions, and took her advice to heart. Maria appreciated that. At Ruby's age, and if she was honest with herself, even now, had someone tried to give her advice she probably would have just shrugged it off.
It had felt good to be needed, and more importantly, wanted.
Still, she was paying for it now, she thought wryly, stretching her aching back. A wild tear across Remnant when she was twenty, thirty, or by the Grimm, forty would have been fine. Heck, even twenty years ago she would have been raring to go! Or at least she wouldn't have been this sore.
Damned old age.
Although she found herself hurting every time she moved now, she still winced a little at the thought of dying. She wasn't afraid of it; few Hunters were. You accepted that death was the price of living; if you were a Huntress or Huntsman, that bill was probably just a little less far away. You had to accept that every day you picked up your weapon could be your last. As long as you understood that, you could live and die content. That was hard to do when your charges had just suffered a devastating loss, however.
She sighed as she thought back to Weiss Schnee. The white haired girl had a decent head on her shoulders and an ego a mile high, but she also had a sense of loyalty that was not to be faulted.
Ruby had been lucky to have her as a partner. Really, all of RWBY had been lucky to have such dedicated teammates.
Maria glanced at the clock. Speaking of Ruby, the girl should be here soon. Marking her book, she pushed herself off the chair, ignoring the popping in her shoulders and back. Grabbing her cane, she made her way to the kitchen.
Just enough time for the chocolate-chip cookies to bake.
Yang Xiao Long barreled into the small town with the subtlety of a freight train.
It probably would have been less obvious if she hadn't been riding a Grimm at the time. Or if she hadn't been screaming obscenities at it as it tried to buck her off, or that minor detail that she was still considered an international hero.
Still, for Yang this was about as subtle as she got.
A few shotgun blasts from her gauntlets ended the rampage before it could begin, and as the monster disintegrated in the street she brushed herself off.
"Um, hi." She waved to the crowd of people, most of whom were still staring at her in open-mouthed shock. "I'm Yang." Some snickers rolled through the crowd at that thoroughly unnecessary introduction. Deciding that everyone was more amazed by her entrance than anything else, Yang decided to crack a joke. "Jeez, why's everyone look so Grimm?"
The groans that emanated from different parts of the crowd made her smile, even more so than the few laughs. Tension broken, much of the crowd went back to whatever they had been doing while a good few made their way to her.
"That was so awesome!"
"Can I get your autograph!"
"Did you really beat… her?"
The last came from a little girl, and Yang crouched down to meet the girl's eyes. She couldn't be more than seven, and Yang caught a glimpse of a Ruby plushie under her arm. Yes, she and the rest of the team had been made into plushies, and yes, they all thought it was weird. After negotiating a decent percentage and ensuring quite a bit of the proceeds from each sale went to charity they had tentatively given their permission.
Sometimes she regretted it, but when she saw things like this she was glad they'd agreed.
"Is this your doll?" She asked the little girl, who nodded up at her with big green eyes. "Did you know she's my sister?" Another nod. "Take care of her, okay?" She paused, then continued, "Ruby is the one who stopped Salem." She ignored the flinches at the name. "She's never coming back. I promise."
"Really?" The little girl asked, eyes wide.
"Really." Yang grinned, and then looked at the mother. Standing, she gave a smile. "Sorry, I thought everyone knew."
The woman who was the girl's mother smiled back. "It's all right. She showed up shortly after the invasion of Atlas. We don't know how or where she was from, but I let her stay, and, well…" She trailed off. "We don't know anything about her, but she's very taken with that doll, so I often wonder if she ran into your sister."
Yang shrugged awkwardly. There were many city husks that team RWBY had cleared out as they came closer to the Land of Darkness. "I can honestly say I never saw her before, I'm sorry."
The woman looked surprised. "Oh, no! I didn't mean it that way! I was just explaining why she asked. We've told her, but…" she shrugged helplessly. "She always asks."
Yang smiled kindly at the girl, who seemed struck by a bout of shyness and hid behind her mother. "I hope it helps." Focusing on the woman, she asked, "Have you seen Ruby, by the way?"
She was greeted with the usual surprise, then the pensive expression, sorrow, and surprise again. "No, actually. I wonder why I didn't notice that."
Yang forced a laugh. "Don't worry about it. A lot of people have been saying that."
"Yer lookin' fer your sister, eh?" An older man, a Huntsman by the look of the blade on his back, cut into her conversation.
"Yeah." Yang responded automatically.
"Hmmm." The Huntsman spit off to one side. "You'll be wantin' to come wit me den."
"Conners…" One of the younger men in the crowd said warningly.
"What?" Conners asked belligerently. "If he is what'n he says he is, it tain't no harm. If he ain't, then she'll no doubt set 'em straight." He glanced at Yang, who was looking at him curiously. "Let's git'n over to the inn. There's someone there you need ta meet."
The crowd parted as the older man led her toward the center of town. Yang noticed a couple of the young men fall in behind them, and she casually flicked her bracelets to reload her spent cartridges. A chuckle from her guide had her giving him a quizzical look.
"I doubt you'll be needin' those, n'less you have to defend our contact from those boys." He laughed. "Guy came in a few nights ago, been tryin to crawl into a bottle ever since he got here. Lien's good. He's payin', so inkeep's been lettin' him stay. Keeps talkin 'bout your sister, you too, says he failed ya. Most think he's full of it, but money talks, and he ain't started any fights yet-hells, he's ended a few." Connors nodded to the young men following them. "That said, the boy's ain't 'bout to let him try anything, apparently they forget what I'm capable of." The last was said with a glare at the two, one of whom weathered it well, while the other looked away.
"You always say that confidence kills, grandfather. You also say you're too young to die."
"Pah." Conners looked like he wanted to spit, but manners wouldn't let him indoors.
Yang decided she liked him.
"Anyhew." Conners drawled, getting back on topic. "It ain't my place to tell you one way or another, but if this guy is lyin' or tries somethin' the boys an' I'll be havin a little chat wit him."
"I can take care of myself." Yang retorted hotly.
"So says the woman who beat the Witch of the Dark Lands, an' I believe ya! I was brought up that you try to do the decent thing, an so I'll hold em down while you get your likks in if you have ta!" He grinned, and she matched it.
"All right." She found herself half-hoping that the guy was actually a fraud. It would be a setback in finding out where Ruby's bod-where Ruby was, but it might be fun.
"He's right over here." Conners motioned around a corner, and Yang glanced once before devoting her entire attention to the figure who was staring at the amber liquid in the bottle.
"Uncle Qrow!?"
Eyes devoid of emotion slowly rose to meet her own. "Yang?"
"Uncle Qrow!" Yang grabbed the bottle, meeting no resistance. Conners seemed satisfied that she knew her uncle and quietly left the two of them to their conversation, taking the two boys with him. "What are you doing here?"
"Forgetting," came the blunt answer. "If you're smart, you'll forget too."
"Qrow…" Yang just stared as her uncle unsteadily got to his feet.
"Yeah, yeah." He sighed out, stumbling only a bit, and Yang could smell the alcohol. He patted her shoulder. "I know. Drinking's bad. Ruby's mad." He made a strangled choking laugh. "Heh, rhymes. Ruby's not mad. Ruby's not anything. Not any more." He tried to go to the bar, but Yang intercepted him.
"What do you mean Ruby's not anything?" When he remained silent, she grabbed his shoulders and tried very hard not to shake him. "Qrow. Where. Is. My. Sister?"
Qrow stood for a moment before quietly responding.
"Let me go, Yang."
"Not until you tell me where Ruby is."
"No."
Yang shook her head. She must have misheard him. "What?"
Qrow met her eyes, the soulless depression gone, replaced by grim determination. "I. Said. No." The last word was punctuated with a shove. "Go home, Yang."
"Not without Ruby."
"Without Ruby." Qrow responded automatically, still walking to the bar.
"Like hell." The blonde snarled, reaching for her uncle.
Her wrist was suddenly caught in his grip. "Leave it, Yang," he said softly.
"You couldn't take me when I was seventeen, Qrow. My mother couldn't take me when I was seventeen."
"If I told you where to look for your sister, your mother and father would both kill me. Twice. Painfully."
"Do I look like I care?"
"Fine." Qrow growled. "Don't care. See what happens! I'm not telling you anything!"
"She's my sister!" Yang growled, pulling her wrist free. "You are not keeping me from her!"
"Yang-"
"Stay out of this, Conners. This is a family matter."
"Would'ja be willin' to take it outside then?"
Yang glanced around. The bar was silent, and everyone was staring at her.
"With pleasure." She slapped a wad of Lien on the counter. "Sorry about this," she told the bartender. As everyone stared at her curiously, she turned to her uncle. "One last time. Tell me where my sister is."
"Yang-"
"Wrong answer."
A hard punch to the sternum had her uncle bent over as the unexpected drain on his aura left him slightly breathless. Yang didn't stop there, though; using his own momentum, she spun them both, hurling him through the front window. Flipping her gauntlets to a different ammunition type, she glared at Connors. "I know you won't stay out of this if you have your way, so I suggest you focus on keeping everything in the street and everyone else out." With that, she followed her uncle through the window.
Qrow may not have expected to have a baptism-by-window that day, but her uncle had not stayed alive by failing to adapt. She was unsurprised to see his blade out, though not a scythe yet. He eyed her warily. "Yang, what are you doing?"
"Where is my sister?"
"I already told you-"
"Wrong answer."
Yang leapt forward, unsurprised to see her uncle take a defensive stance. He might have qualms about hurting her, but while she didn't want to hurt him, he was standing between her and her sister.
Sucked to be him.
Her prosthetic was easily blocked, with him ducking her other fist. He tried to use her momentum to throw her over him, but she just smirked, rolling and landing on her feet, still facing him. "Try again."
Three dodged punches, then a solid block from his blade. "I taught you that move. Did you expect it to work?"
"Where is my sister?"
"It's not-"
"Wrong answer." She pulled the triggers on her gauntlets and his eyes widened slightly before the momentum blasted them both away from each other.
"What the hells, Yang?" her uncle demanded, coughing from the smoke.
"You can't tell me anything if you're dead." Yang shrugged, swapping cartridges automatically. "I can, however, wear down your aura until you can't fight anymore." She smirked. "Especially since you won't hurt me."
Qrow narrowed his eyes slightly. "I won't kill you."
Yang shrugged, lacing her fingers behind her head casually. "I guess. I got another arm you could take off me." She made a show of stroking her chin with her still human hand." Or maybe a leg, possibly two." She smirked as her uncle slowly paled.
"Do you really think I would do that, Yang?"
"Nope!" The blonde replied cheerfully, bouncing on her toes. "Like I said, you won't hurt me." She crossed her arms as her smile morphed into a look of fierce determination. "Let me make this clear to you, though, Uncle Qrow. You've been through a lot with Ruby, you've seen a lot happen to her, but when I needed help she was always there for me. I don't really give a pile of Grimmshit what you think I can or cannot handle. I will find my sister." She uncrossed her arms. "And right now, you are in my way." She crouched for a moment and then launched herself forward. She vaguely registered that he had shifted his weapon to a scythe, but she didn't care about that. He would block, and that was critical, but most importantly, he was listening.
"Yang, you can't-"
"Can't what?" she snapped, letting him block her fists and kicking him in the chest. He stumbled back, and she pressed her advantage. "Can't kill an unkillable being? Can't handle my mother? Can't stop a genocidal maniac bent on world domination?" A quick blast from both of her gauntlets had his scythe fall, and she continued hand-to-hand. "What can't I do, Uncle? Bring Weiss back from the dead?" She saw him pale and took advantage of the sudden shock to head-butt him. Both of their auras flared, and she felt her vision beginning to redden. "Trust me, I know that Weiss will never come back." Three blows, two blocks, a flash of his aura. "I know that I couldn't help then, that I can't help now." A kick that was blocked, another that wasn't. "You can't stop me, you won't stop me." Headlock, a barrel pointing at his head, a crack as his aura shattered. "Because let's be real, Uncle. If this was Tai or Raven, you'd mow me down in a heartbeat to save them." A click as she readied her shotgun.
"I've just lost one sister, I'm not about to lose another."
They stood in the street, silence weighing heavily in the wake of the battle.
"Now. Where. Is. My. Sister."
"Gone."
"Where?"
"Yang-"
"Where, Qrow!?"
"To the Dark Brother."
Yang released him, dropping her arms to her side as he fell to his knees. "I see."
"Yang, you can't-"
"I can."
"Please, Yang." Her uncle grabbed her hand. "I can't lose you too. He's already made allowances for Raven, and she made an allowance for me, but if you go…"
Yang carefully pried his hand off her. "No."
"No?"
"They owe us. Both of them. One or both will explain what they've done to my sister."
Qrow's voice cracked. "I don't want you to do this."
"I always would have." Yang shrugged dismissively. "Even if you hadn't said anything, I would have eventually found out. I would have eventually made my way to them." She held up her arm. "See this?"
He glanced at the still cocked shogun. "Yes."
She pulled the trigger.
*click*
He blinked. "It was empty?"
"Of course."
"But it would have been locked back!"
Yang shrugged uncaringly. "Not if I didn't want it to be. Now, do you have anything you want passed to Ruby?"
"I-Yang, you-"
"Going once."
"Yang, plea-"
"Going twice."
He slumped, and Yang tried not to feel too bad for him. She understood that something had happened. That the Dark Brother had done something to her normally unflappable uncle. She understood he was just trying to keep her safe.
But she had to speak to Ruby. Everyone had forgotten her, and there had to be a reason. A reason only her sister knew.
"Tell her I-we-love her."
"I was going to do that anyway." She felt bad when he looked at her in surprise. "Uncle Qrow, I know my family is a bit weird, but I know you only do this because you love me." She sighed. "And I realize I went a little overboard, and I'm sorry."
"A little?" Qrow muttered, before shaking his head. "I'll probably feel less dour after sleeping this off, but you only got me because I was drunk."
Yang smiled a bit, understanding that he accepted her apology. "Never mind that Huntsman Qrow Branwen is more dangerous drunk than sober."
"You know your dad is going to have your hide when he finds out about this." Qrow gave her a smirk as she felt her smile dim.
"Yeah, and he'll tell my mother." Yang sighed as though she was put-upon and tried not to laugh as her Uncle's smirk slid off his face.
"On second thought, maybe we should keep this between us."
Yang shrugged. It was a nice thought, but at the end of the day Tai would find out. The man had developed a sense of what his daughters got up to no matter what, and Yang had simply resolved that she would eventually get caught.
All she could do was hope that enough time had passed since whatever hijinks she had pulled that her father would simply laugh instead of trying to lecture her.
Glancing around, she felt a flush of shame as she saw the state of the inn. Carefully picking her way to the entrance, she was unsurprised to see people back up as she walked up to the door. Making her way over to the proprietor, she hung her head.
"Sorry about that." She motioned to the window. "I'm kinda a little driven, and, well…My uncle was keeping my sister's whereabouts secret." She glanced at the roll of bills still on the table. "Do you need more to fix it?"
He chuckled. "I do want one more thing, but I think you'll be willing."
When Yang left, she was promised liquor on the house if she ever came back. Above the bar was her picture, a signature below it. The proprietor couldn't have looked more proud.
"She's dead."
Ruby looked up from the body still smoking from where it landed. Blake choked.
"Wh-what?"
"She's dead." The red-clad huntress stared at the cat faunus accusingly. "That's what happens when you take a bolt of magic like that. You die."
Yang appeared at her side. "Ruby, tell me you don't-"
Ruby turned to look at the broken body of the witch. "Oh, I do."
A moment passed, an eternity of time in a single second...And Salem exploded. Ruby let out a breath. "She's gone."
Blake stared in disbelief at the gore. "Wha-How?"
Ruby didn't meet her eyes. "The power of friendship? Who cares? The witch is dead. It's over."
"Ding-dong, the witch is dead," Yang sang half-heartedly, looking down at the still smoldering body.
"I'm sorry," whispered Blake, and Ruby looked up at her, unshed tears in her eyes.
"It wasn't your fault. It was her choice. It could have been any of us." Yang's hand rested gently on her shoulder.
"I don't blame you, Blake," Ruby said, eyes still brimming with tears. "It was her choice."
Blake tried to bite back the prickling in her own eyes. "Why, though? Why would she do that for me?"
"I would have done it." Ruby replied, looking back down.
"I would have too, in a heartbeat." Yang added.
"Yes, but… Weiss? For me?"
Ruby looked back up, tears now streaking down her face. "Don't you get it, Blake? We'd do it for you or for anyone. You're our family."
"We all love you."
Blake pried her eyes open, tears tracing their way onto her pillow. Another dream, another memory. Time spent staring at her friend, a friend that wouldn't be back to make fun of her tea or joke about Yang's habits or help her with her hair.
One more friend she'd killed.
How did she keep doing this?
It was bad enough Sun and Ilia had nearly died all those years ago, but Weiss was… wasn't supposed to even like her. Sure, they got along reasonably well, and the white haired huntress had appreciated the support, but they were just teammates.
Weren't they?
Obviously not. Blake had to admit that had she been in a position to take the hit for Weiss she wouldn't have hesitated, but for the heiress to take a shot that would kill her no matter what-
Why?
Why for Blake? For Ruby, of course, even Yang clearly had charmed the white haired girl, but Weiss hadn't really spoken with Blake since Beacon. Oh sure, they'd talked, but nothing concrete. Not like in Beacon, where the heiress had made it clear that they were a team. That she cared, at least a bit, about what happened to Blake.
Before Blake had left them all to fend for themselves.
Weiss had always seemed a little distant after that. She always seemed devoted to Ruby and Yang. The two sisters who embodied the family the girl so obviously craved. The heiress clung to them when she'd lost her money and status, when all she had was her blade. When even her name worked against her, she relied on Ruby and Yang. Blake had just been the tag-along. When she declared them family, Blake had felt like an outsider. The girlfriend being introduced to the family.
But had that been what she wanted to see?
Had Weiss sensed that, and was this, her final act, her way of proving she accepted Blake?
Did she drive a girl she saw as her friend to something akin to suicide?
Ruby was too accepting, Yang was too close; Blake was sure she was to blame.
Wasn't she?
A creaking door pulled her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see Sun entering with a sandwich. "Oh, good. You're awake."
Blake nodded mutely, and he handed her the plate and a glass of water that he had apparently been carrying with his tail. "Eat, drink."
Blake grabbed the sandwich. "Thanks."
Sun shrugged. "No problem, princess." As she ate, he stared out the window. Eventually he spoke. "Ilia is worried about you. Ever since you started avoiding her."
"Don't care." Blake responded, the level of vitriol in her voice surprising herself. "She knows something. I just can't tell what."
"I almost guarantee she knows nothing about Ruby," Sun admonished gently.
Blake shook her head, grabbing the glass of water. "She can't hide things from me. She's tried. She's failed. She's hiding something now, I just don't know what."
"What if it's your birthday gift?"
Blake searched her brain; what day was it? Time had stopped mattering to her when Yang left. If her girlfriend had given her a date of return, then she'd be eagerly counting the days down to when she'd see her again. She suddenly decided it didn't matter. "If it was a gift, she'd tell me that's what it was. She hasn't, and I doubt that's what the issue is."
Sun sighed. "Look, if it isn't about Ruby, then what is it about?"
Blake ran through what it could be about. "Yang," she decided. "Possibly my parents, but I doubt she'd keep from bringing something like that up."
Sun stood up, stretching as he did so. "Look, I'm sorry if I'm not as concerned about this as I should be, but Blake, I've noticed a change in you since you overheard the conversation."
"What's that?" Blake asked, curious.
"You have purpose." Sun replied. "The entire time I've been here, you haven't even seemed to want to breathe, much less do anything, but now," he grinned, "Now you have something to look into, and now you seem alive!"
"Go away." She grumbled.
"Your will, princess." Sun replied, closing the door as she threw her pillow at him.
'Was he right, though?' she thought. 'Am I… better?'
Well, she was distracted, she supposed, but better...? Something to bring up to her therapist later this week, she decided. A few minutes, a shower and clean clothes later, and she started to wonder if maybe she had turned a corner.
Or maybe Ruby needed her.
She sighed as she left her room, searching for her friend. "Sun?"
"Yo?" He took her in. "Well, well. You clean up nice, Blake."
"Shut up." Blake dismissed his flirting. "Do you know where Yang is?"
"Have you called her?" the monkey faunus asked.
"Well…"
"I'll take that as a no, then." Sun sighed. "You know, she'd probably like to hear from you."
"But what do I say?" Blake murmured.
"Hello never hurts."
Blake narrowed her eyes. "Really? Shall we discuss that theory?"
"Sure." Sun replied, no hint of jokes in his demeanor. "What do you want to say on the subject?"
'Well, maybe I want something a little less formal, but "hey" sounds bland, and "hello" is formal. "I love you" is true, but I'm still mad she left.' Blake huffed. "I don't know." She replied. "I just…I want to see her."
Sun nodded a bit. "So tell her."
Blake blinked. "Huh?"
Sun held up his scroll to his ear, leaning up against the side of the door frame. "Hey, Yang," he said in what Blake guessed was supposed to be an overly sultry approximation of her voice. He swapped to the other side. "Hey Blake!" he replied in an overly girly voice, almost bouncing. "Ohmygosh! I've wanted to talk to you for forever! I've been messaging your scroll almost daily hoping you would call, but I'm too strong to admit I want you regularly in my life and afraid you were still mad at me and wouldn't want to talk." He leaned against the other side, the back of his hand against his forehead in an obvious damsel in distress pose. "Oh, Yang, I've missed you soo much. I'm mad at Ilia, and still furious at you for leaving, of course. Sun, being the amazing, handsome, brilliant, and did I mention dashing? Yes, dashing faunus he is, convinced me that I was being silly and that I should call and tell you…" He paused, and grinned at her. "I miss you! Yes, baby, you are my favorite, and amazing, and beautiful, and I want to see you."
He ducked another pillow that she grabbed from the couch, and leaned up against the other side of the doorframe in the same position he'd taken for Yang the first time, only this time with a hand on his heart. "Oh my darling! Of course I would love to see you! Perhaps we can get away from it all and meet in the next city I'm going to be in! Doesn't that just sound wonderful?"
A swap. "Yes, of course, dearest! I'll be there straight away! Sun, being the incredible friend he is, will no doubt find a way to get me there quickly and without any trouble." Sun then stood in the middle of the doorway, doing his best flex. "Of course," he said in an overly deep voice. "A strong faunus like myself will happily do what I can to facilitate such beautiful love."
"Oh yay!" He seemed to get which one he was impersonating mixed up though, as he gave the 'Yang' the sultry voice instead of Blake.
And Blake finally lost it.
She'd tried to hold it back. She really had. She knew he was doing it for her benefit, and she appreciated it, but it was too much.
She laughed.
She laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She laughed till tears began to leak out of her eyes and she couldn't breathe. She couldn't stop, and when she started to, looking at Sun, who was pretending to be put out at her laughter, just set her off again.
"Oh….Sun...why?" she got out between gales of laughter. "Yang….Darling….Yay!" she gasped out, falling onto the couch.
"You know, I was just trying to give you advice." Sun said in an overly officious tone. "I mean, I didn't think it was that funny." He grinned. "Okay, so it was a little funny. A lot funny. You can stop now."
For some reason this gave her another round of giggles, and it took her a few more minutes to get those under control. When she finally got ahold of herself, she was surprised to see her friend holding out a glass of water. "Thanks."
Sun shrugged, joining her on the couch as she sat up. "You know what they say: laughter is the best medicine."
She rolled her eyes. "Nonetheless, thanks."
"You're welcome." He paused until she had started to drink again. "So are we calling 'darling dearest?'"
Blake swallowed hard. "I…I don't know. I didn't let her say goodbye, and I haven't gotten a call from her in a few days."
"You've gotten a message from her every day since she left." He pointed out. Pulling the glass of water gently out of her shaking hands, he held it for her. "Blake, call her. I bet she misses you as much as you miss her."
"Are you sure?" Blake asked, feeling stupid.
"Yes." Sun said seriously. "Just because you two were mad at one another doesn't mean you can't still be hopelessly in love together and get over it."
"Here," he said, thrusting his scroll into her hands.
"Sun!"
"Blake!"
"Take it back!"
"Sorry, my hands are full!"
"That's a pillow!"
"Hello?" A voice came from the scroll. "Sun?" The monkey faunus hid behind the pillow.
"Um, hi?" Blake said into the scroll, and winced.
"Blake?"
"Yes?"
"Hey! You okay?'
"Um. Yes?"
"It's good to hear from you! Did you get my messages?"
"Every one." Blake admitted. "I've…really appreciated getting them."
Sun, still hiding his face behind the pillow, slowly got up and started inching out of the room.
"Good." Yang replied, sounding relieved. "I-I hoped I wasn't blowing up your scroll and annoying you."
"No, no!" Blake almost yelled into the scroll. "I just…I wasn't feeling the best."
"I understand-" Yang began before Blake interrupted her.
"You really don't." She winced at how cold that sounded, and hurried to explain. "But that's my fault, not yours." She took a deep breath. "I haven't really been talking to you about it, and I should have."
Silence, and then, "Is there something I should know, Blake?"
"Yang, I'm pretty sure…" Blake paused. "Can I, can I come see you?"
Her girlfriend seemed to pause forever. "Do you want to?"
"More than anything." Blake blushed at how frank that sounded. "Sorry, I just…I need to tell you something."
"Something you can't say over the phone?"
Blake hesitated. "I-I'd rather not."
There was a heavy sigh. "All right. I'll be in Mantle tomorrow; can you make it up there somehow?"
Blake glanced at Sun, who peeked out from behind his pillow and nodded. "Yeah, we-we'll be there."
"Oh, okay." Yang sounded less excited for some reason. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yes, tomorrow. Yang?"
"Yeah?"
"I miss you."
"I miss you too, kitty cat."
Blake ignored Sun mouthing 'kitty cat?' "I love you."
"I love you too."
The call beeped as it ended. "Hey, Blake?"
"Yeah?"
"We only have a few hours. You need to pack."
"Yeah."
"Do you want me to tell your therapist about tomorrow?"
Blake shook her head. "No. We disappear. No trails."
"Blake, you really need to stop doing this. It's a dangerous habit."
"Not this time." Blake felt in her gut, like all the other times, it was going to need to stay quiet. "Maybe eventually, but not this time."
Sun looked at her closely. "Do you really think that Ilia is up to something?"
Blake nodded her head. "I don't know." She continued nodding.
Sun sighed. "Okay, as long as you're sure."
Unnoticed behind them, a shadow moved in the kitchen.
"Come in, dear, and be quick about it!" Maria called cheerfully in response to a knock at the door. The front door jiggled a bit, the lock turned, and she heard footsteps in the entryway. "Take your boots off. I don't want to have to deal with any more mud than absolutely necessary, young lady!"
Muttered grumbling came down the hall, but two thumps were eventually heard, and Maria smiled. "The cookies are nearly done, I just need them to get them out of the oven." She grabbed her cane and two hot pads. "Just wait for me in the living room, please, I'll be out in a moment." As she hobbled across the tile, she listened to the soft padding of feet to the door of the kitchen. Smiling a bit, she called out, "The bowl is in the living room already."
"You know me way too well." A tired voice came through the door, and Maria shook her head as she removed the two cookie sheets from the oven.
"Perhaps, or perhaps you are just predictable." Smirking as she turned off the oven she added, "You know, if no one's eaten from that bowl by the time I get in there, I'll take it to the sink."
A heavy sigh followed her words, but quiet steps (quickly) made their way down the hall. Softly smiling, Maria grabbed a different bowl of cookies she'd made the day before. Carefully balancing herself, she made her way down the hall to the living room, where the happy sounds of someone licking a bowl clean could be heard.
"Now, Ruby, I have a good idea why you're here." She settled into her chair, holding the cookies in her lap. "I have only one question, though."
Silver eyes met electric ones as the old woman asked gently, "Would I have more time if I hadn't helped you all those months ago?"