RWBY: A Thorn in My Heart

Chapter 2: Shallowness, the Sharpest Blade

Beacon Academy, an elite school where only the brightest and most talented teenagers assemble to hone their fighting skills further in their goal to become huntsman and huntresses. Ruby walked down the halls of this school with her baby in his stroller with a smile, she felt lucky the academy allowed her to raise her infant while pursuing her dream job. Thorn looked around the halls lined with colorful pictures of grimm and small statues of famous huntsman of old with fascination. It was hard to blame him, wether a child or an adult, this prestigious school spared no expense (as Ozpin put it) in decorating to give itself a proper showcasing to students, faculty, and visitors. But while Thorn was fascinated with the sights before him, his mother's smile quickly descended as she heard a sound worse than a nevermore's screech. She heard the words, "Bastard Baby" and "Slut" whispered two teenage girls from the corner as they snickered at her with her baby. Ruby felt a painful knot in her chest, "How could they say those mean things to us?" she thought to herself. She thought people would find Thorn cute and love him just like she did. How naive she was, wether human or faunus the teenagers around her all had the potential to be cruel and shallow, and she was experiencing that dark reality firsthand thanks to the school board. While some in the academy knew Ruby was raped during a mission and didn't have a choice in becoming pregnant, many students were kept from knowing this by faculty to avoid scaring them into knowing such a possible danger in their career choice. As a result, those teenagers wrongly assumed Ruby was "easy" giving her sneers and whispering in her presence hurtful comments about her Faunus son. Some boys completely disregarded her as "used goods" and some boys did hit on her in a gross manner thinking they could have a quick score which only dampened Ruby's self-confidence as a girl. Ruby pondered this painfully until tears stung her eyes. Not able to take anymore of the looks she was getting she rushed down the halls to her dorm room. She nearly activated her speed semblance to get their before she slammed her heels on the floor to stop herself from colliding with a familiar face. It was the face of a beautiful cat-girl with long blake hair, she met eye to eye with her purple eye make-up that emphasized her majestic appearance that made boys and girls astonished by the sheer beauty of it all.

"Whoa there Ruby! whats the rush?" She exclaimed in shock.

But her panic quickly subsided as she looked down to see the bright eyed dog faunus baby in his stroller giggling with joy from the fun "ride" he just got to go through. She instantly felt her heart melt at the sight of his cute face and kneeled down to pet his head. Her soft palms were soothing to the infant who have small coos as he smiled and grabbed them to feel with his hands. As Blake looked up to tell Ruby how cute her baby is, she instantly formed a frown at the sight of her friend crying.

"Whats wrong Ruby?" she asked softly with hints of fear in her tone. She knew this had been a rough year for Ruby, but she thought the silver eye maiden had been doing better since her birth and therapy sessions with the school Psychiatrist, at least thats what Yang told her. Blake's cat ears went down at the thought of her, her partner was a bit dense at times that was only surpassed by her temper.

"People just being jerks.. I-I'll be okay after I put thorn down for a nap with me." Ruby meekly stated with a sad tone as she wiped her face. Thats when Blake saw people glaring at her with their mouths partly covered talking and remembered something. She had to hold Yang back a couple weeks ago from hitting Cardin during a class sparing match that got too heated. Yang told her that Cardin got the edge over Ruby during a vertigo bout and said something about Ruby being "easier" since becoming a mother after he won. Of course Cardin meant weaker as a fighter rather than a slut, but Yang didn't care either way. Cardin was a jerk for saying something so insensitive so she was going to pummel his face until it couldn't feel anything anymore. Though Blake reciprocated this desire, she knew Yang would likely get expelled if she went through with it and got her to help ruby to the nurse instead. Blake's recollection was cut short by a small group of boys led by Cardin the devil himself.

"Hey Rubes, feeling better after our match? maybe you can join me and the guys for some fun in town later?" he said with a creepy smile on his face saying it all. He looked down at her son in his stroller with a cocky sneer forming, "Once your done dog-sitting that is" he mockingly stated as his friends laughed. As he said this he put his hand on her shoulder, sending an icy chill down the red-haired girls back. She had always felt uneasy since her assault being around men that she didn't know. Almost every time one just touched her she could swear she saw "his" face and what the monster did to her that night. Nausea nearly overtook her as she covered her mouth with her palm and ran.

"S-sorry.. I got to.. change Thorn!" she fearfully stated as she pondered an excuse to get away from these creeps and ran into her dorm room as fast as she could. Her speed causing Thorn to squeal again with joy from what for the infant was like a fun amusement park ride. Blake turned to see where Ruby went with concern before giving a death glare to the jocks and running off towards her. She understood how Yang felt and wanted to maim them for hurting Ruby's feelings like that. But as she walked towards her dorm door and heard the sound of her leader crying she realized something. She had been the complacent one. She assumed Ruby was coping fine with her treatments and getting better, but Blake hadn't been trying to crack the mask at all. She ignored the signs until now of how hurt her leader was. She always left it up to Yang to comfort Ruby more closely as she didn't feel it was her place to give such contact. Now that Yang was on vacation, Blake realized her leader needed someone to hug her and give her aide beyond professionalism. She had to be the friend and confidant Ruby needed.

Blake opened her dorm door to see Ruby face-first into her pillow crying as Thorn lay in his crib. She approached quickly and placed her hand on her back, rubbing it gently. Ruby looked up from a teary fit in what she believed would be privacy, looking at Blake with profound sadness before being shocked by a sudden hug from the cat Faunus.

"It's okay Ruby…. I get this feeling I really do" Blake said as tears began to sting her eyes while caressing Ruby's red and black hair. Blake didn't know what rape was like true, but she knew how much those glares and sneers from shallow jerks could feel like daggers. She received many from humans growing up. Even now she was uncomfortable being in the halls and getting them now that she removed her bow and revealed herself to the school as a cat faunus. She knew the school's policies of tolerance were naive, they only just really focused on training people to kill "Monsters" like grimm or as bigots like Cardin would say, white fang faunus goons. She had practically grew up in the organization to try and promote peace like her father did before her. But violence and hatred wasn't just the human way at that time it was also her peoples way too as she experienced with Adam as he originally promoted more hostile attacks on people to get their "message" across. She was soon overcome with a small sense of happiness while hugging Ruby, not just from the cease of tears on her shoulders she felt were a good sign, but also how Adam had really changed for the better since fighting alongside them in the war against Cinder and the White fang and becoming a professor.

Ruby, however, only stopped crying because she felt shocked by the unsolicited hug. She was always more comfortable giving hugs rather than receiving, and she then began to remember Timbers attack on her that night. How he hugged her while forcing himself on her. She could see that creepy grin on his ugly face as he finished as Blake touched her without permission. Suddenly, everything started flashing white before her, she didn't feel very good.

Suddenly, Blake heard Thorn crying from his crib and was forced back rather unexpectedly with an unfamiliar strength from Ruby. The only thing she saw from the young mother was a creepy smile and desolate eyes still wet from her tears.

"Ruby?... Are you… okay?" Blake meekly said, fear beginning to scratch her spine as she saw her depressed team leader and friend act strangely.

"Peachy Blake!" Ruby joyfully (almost too joyfully) exclaimed as she quickly picked up her son. The speed of which surprised both son and Blake as the infant cried even harder from the shock.

"Oh don't worry kiddo! Mama is here to rock a bye you to sleeeeeeeeep" she sang as her eyes turned red from her previous tears before slightly chuckling. She gave short, quick cradles while continuing her strange behavior. Blake as aghast as she saw Thorn's ordeal as he was getting green from nausea, an infant wasn't supposed to be stimulated this much. Before she could so much as open her mouth and voice an objection, Ruby suddenly paused and stopped her bizarre singing.

"Rub.." Blake could only meekly utter as she grew pale white seeing the horrific of Ruby beginning to fall backwards while still holding her baby. Blake quickly pounced like a lion to catch both before the infant or his mother could suffer a serious injury. Thorn was crying in his mothers arms that soon went limp, forcing Blake to grab him quickly as Ruby laid helpless on the floor unconscious.

"Ruby! What's wrong?!" Blake screamed, her voice gathering the attention of Sun, and some other students in the hallway outside their dorm including their friends and rivals Team JNPR whom opened the door to a horrific sight.

"What the heck just happened what's with the screaming?!" Nora exclaimed with a high-pitch voiced before her boyfriend Ren covered her mouth.

"Maybe well find out without more screaming Nora?" he implored her with a mellow tone. He knew she was always immature and hyper but couldn't really help but almost raise his voice in unison, he was worried once his eyes caught sight of Ruby collapsed on the floor. Jaune instantly pushed them aside and ran towards the fallen girl. Seeing she was in bad shape he knew he had to act.

"Help! Get a nurse quick! Something's wrong with Ruby" Jaune told passing students, he couldn't ignore his first friends pain and had to handle this matter responsibly. He had to keep an eye on her and give first aid while a professional came. But the students had drawn out his voice and only stood by taking photos on their scrolls to post news rather than help. "What the hell is wrong with you people?!" he screamed in aghast. Nora and Ren were picking themselves up as Pyrrah decided to go in their place with a disappointed "Are you idiots kidding me?" look towards the passing students. Ruby needed help, not media gossip.

"Ruby? Please get up, what's wrong?" Blake said with panic in her voice as she placed a hand over Ruby's forehead. She felt it burning up and realized she was sick with fever. Blake hoped Pyrrah could get help fast, she didn't know what to do as a surge of complicated emotions rushed to her head like blood.

Nurses Office

The school nurse exited the infirmary room and closed the door quietly. She didn't want to disturb any patients. She looked on as a group of students and a couple of adults looked on with concern, some biting their finger nails like corn on the cob. She raised her hands to motion them to calm down with reassurance.

"Your friend and her Baby are going to be okay, they didn't suffer any injuries". Nurse Thompson said with a tone mixed with professionalism and kindness.

Her response was met with sighs of relief from Blake, Sun, Weiss and Ruby's parents (whom were called when the incident took place), and team JNPR. They were relieved at the news as they were allowed in the infirmary with promises to be quite as to not overwhelm the patients. They saw Thorn was not shaken up and sleeping peacefully in a baby bed in the infirmary while his mother lay in a bed with a cold wash cloth over her face. She was giving lamaze breathings as she slept, her face still a little red from fever.

"That's a relief, I guess a fever really makes you act strange huh" Blake said with a tone of relief belying some fear in her heart. But while she and the other teens felt the crisis had passed, Taiyang, Raven (whom came as soon as they heard ruby collapsed), and Nurse Thompson knew better from experience things were far from over for Ruby.

"Kids, I'm sorry, but I still think Ruby could be in danger" Raven said with a sad but stern tone. Though she wasn't close to her step-daughter, she knew how fear and pain could affect people, that's why her brother Qrow wasn't hear as he feared his bad luck semblance would hurt Ruby even more. She turned to the Nurse who gave a nod to confirm her suspicions.

"She's right I'm afraid" the Nurse confirmed with a stern but sad tone. "Blake was it? You told me about Ruby's behavior and problems before her collapse." She then scrolled through her list of the symptoms ruby exhibited before. "I have seen these signs before in teens and young parents like her and I think she is exhibiting signs of severe depression".

"If things continue at this rate, she may suffer another mental and physical collapse and worse, may never recover." she said somberly. The thought of their friend becoming catatonic gave the teens a shocked look of fear on their faces that showcased their uncertainty. They didn't know what to do to help her.

Taiyang's heart sank as he realized his fears had been realized again. He hadn't felt this way since he found out Ruby was raped and impregnated, though he could not really feel surprised this time. After all she had endured for a year, it was only a matter of time before the anxiety overwhelmed her.

"So, what do we do Nurse Thompson?" he said with a somber tone.

"She is going to need comfort from those she trusts. Perhaps a vacation from the academy away from those bullies will help her recover a little mentally". She said with hope in her voice. While running away from a problem didn't solve it, this solution would give Ruby some space to breath and work on it at her own pace.

The teens pondered to each other where they should take their friend. Pyrrah suggested he home in Mistral before her boyfriend Jaune pointed out it was too small to handle them all and cottages were too expensive. "Though with her hero status, she may get bothered by press or boys again which could damper her mood." Ren also pointed out. They need a low-key location that could hold them all. Hearing this, Weiss called her father for permission to stay at her large mansion but he hung up when she mentioned Ruby's faunus son. Weiss gave Blake an apologetic look as Blake gave her an assuring smile. Blake knew the dust company Weiss owned was run by bigots who treated faunus unfairly. She and Adam targeted them in the past for such treatment, but knew Weiss was working to better herself and the company towards he people. Suddenly Blake got an idea in her head from that thought. She knew a place cut off from most of the kingdoms and didn't have access to news from them. This meant Ruby could avoid any hounding press as a celebrity or as many sneers from teenagers who weren't sympathetic to her plight.

"Lets take her to my home in Menagerie" the Cat Faunus exclaimed.