It was a matter of time before Ruby can comprehend of living on her own. After multiple battles in Vacuo, she felt exhausted. Though she insisted on taling some time off for a while, Ruby, now 22, is living in an apartment.
It is now Thanksgiving. She still kept in contact with her friends. Weiss is now engaged to Neptune after he proposed to her a year ago, and the two are staying at the house of Neptune's father, and have invited Weiss' family members (Willow, Whitley and Winter) to come over for Thanksgiving dinner to make up for lost time. Plus starting a detective agency together once they get married. Blake is now chieftess of Menagerie and training the soldiers of Kuo Kuana to prepare for the next battles the next time Salem makes the next move. And even became leader of the new White Fang to rectify its wrongs. And Yang is traveling with their uncle to train more for better understanding of using her strength.
Ren and Nora went back home in Mistral to celebrate the holidays with the Ren Family in the Temple of Ren. Recently, she hears Ren and Nora got engaged as well about 1 month ago. Their newfound ally, Emerald, is now living with the Ren Clan to claim a path of redemption after the crimes she committed. Regardless, Ruby is glad she is doing well.
Though Emerald wasn't fully forgiven by everyone, Ruby is one of the few who is willing to give her a chance. Cause all she needed is friends. Friends she can rely on, and lean to whenever she needed it. After being manipulated by Cinder for who knows how long. Since she doesn't have a family she can trust or talk to.
Ruby cannot help but feel alone. Her father tried to call to invite her to dinner. But she insisted that she is busy. Hunting the Grimm, search and rescuing the people. Catching criminals and former huntsmen that allied with Salem.
Zwei, who is living with Ruby, snuggled to Ruby's leg, trying to comfort her. The corgi wagged his tail. Ruby smiled as she picks him up. "I'm glad you're here with me, boy." Ruby sniffled as she nuzzled on Zwei's head.
Zwei licked her cheek. But not even his presence can make Ruby feel any better. Since Salem is still out there, planning something unimaginable. It gives Ruby the shudders to think that she cannot celebrate Thanksgiving.
The last time she ever had Thanksgiving with her mother, Summer Rose, was when she was very young. At least, that's what her father, Taiyang told her. She wished she could've had more.
The snow falls like the glimmering stars and diamonds. The chill of the cold feels fresh.
She decided to attend a Beacon Academy Reunion dinner party. Since the school was already rebuilt. But then another mission came for her. A Sea Feilong was about to take down a ship of civilians who are coming to Vale to visit their families.
Ruby can not help but think this is more important than a dinner party, since she won't let the people's trips go to waste, to spend time with their loved ones.
Ruby left Zwei some turkey-flavored dog food for him to eat. Digging through her closet to grab her scythe.
Then, she leaves for her mission to start after applying. "I'll be back, boy! Love you, Zwei!" Ruby shouted before closing the door and locking it.
Ruby was then on sea, while a driver of a speedboat gave her support to get to the area. It was snowing. Though it could've been like that on Christmas, it was too nostalgic to think about it.
"Okay, we'll be able to board the ship before the Thanksgiving event comes." The driver said as he stopped next to the ship. He turned to the silver-eyed huntress. "Best of luck." Ruby nodded.
Ruby uses her semblance to speed up the ship and lands on the dock. The captain of the ship turned tonher afyer hearing her landing. "Good, you're here. This is going to be one heck of a night. With the Sea Feilong around, it would take hours to get the ship to Vale."
"Nothing I can't handle. So, who's the other hunter coming along?" Ruby asked.
"It's been a while, Crater Face." Ruby turned to see someone behind her. It was a man, blonde with blue eyes. Wearing the armory that was combined with gold metal. A sword and a shield.
"Vomit Boy?" Ruby smiled. "Never thought you'd be here. But it's great to see ya." Ruby waved. Jaune chuckled a bit.
"Lieutenant Arc, Miss Rose. Thank you for the participation on this mission. Not many huntsmen and huntresses are available since they have plans for this holiday." The captain said in dismay that there weren't many huntsmen willing to take the mission considering that they have plans for this time of month.
"Well, you're in luck. Jaune and I will help take care of it. Right, Jaune?" Asked Ruby.
Jaune was hesitant for a moment to look at her. Ruby looked concerned. "Um... The excitement had gotten..."
"It's fine, Ruby. If anything, I got even more excited to run into a friend, too." Jaune assured her.
"So, you're in for the mission, too?" Asked Ruby. Jaune nods, feeling very numb after seeing each other.
"Yeah, I can't think of anything to do on this special day. You?" He asked back. Ruby sighs. On the one hand, she is exhausted being on her own. She only left her team to let her friends live their lives happily while she tried to figure her own life herself.
"Well, I don't, either. The others were busy at this point. So I heard you got enrolled into Vale Military. Congrats." Ruby compliments him. Even if he is happy to give himself a name of his own. It didn't make him feel any better either.
"Thanks... I guess." Jaune muttered.
Then they heard a growl. The captain was instructed by Ruby to get inside to check the wellbeing of the passengers. While she and Jaune were on the lookout.
They remained vigilant of the surroundings from the water. Until they see it. The creature. The Sea Feilong. Ruby wasted no time to split herself into rose pedals to leso into action.
Jaune then blocks a laser beam with the help of his shield. And held off longer than before when tbe beast stopped. Ruby is impressed to see how strong he is becoming. While he felt the same to see how fast Ruby is becoming.
The Sea Feilong then smashes its tail on the deck to hit Jaune. But it missed, and Jaune took this chance to thrust his sword onto the tail. Ruby uses her sniper to keep the creature distracted.
Ruby then avoids the laser beams by shofyer herself into rose pedals again and speeding high above and spiraling her scythe down on the head. Causing the Grimm to screech in pain.
Jaune then grabs Ruby's hand to combine their combat strategies. Together, they put the finish to the Sea Feilong. The captain is impressed for how stronger they are together.
After the battle, Jaune and Ruby boarded off the ship when the civilians arrived at Vale.
The two remained silent. After years of their friendship, they parted from their teams and friends to find some purpose. They both worried about Salem ending the world too much that they had forgotten how to enjoy their lives.
For some reason, Jaune had no desire to see his family. At least, not yet.
Ruby hung her head down. Not knowing what to say. It was painful to see his face. Sad, unsure.
"Hey, you wanna have some hot chocolate and cookies at my apartment? Or do you have anything else to do?" Asked Ruby.
Jaune checked the schedule. But to his relief, he has the rest of the night off. He wipes the sweat off his forehead.
"No, I think I'm free for tonight. We could use some catching up." Jaune replied.
At Ruby's apartment. Jaune is amazed to see her new home. There is a red and black carpet underneath the chaise lounge. A table filled with stories she wrote based on her adventures with her friends. The wall is decorated with axes, swords, maces, and shuriken. And loads of books on her shelf. And a flat tv screen. A small kitchen with a coffee maker. Plus cookies, fleshly baked with chocolate chips. Ruby had just finished her hot chocolate and placed them on a tray.
"I was going to the Beacon Dinner Party. But I don't feel like it for tonight since I can't let the passengers down so that they can enjoy the holidays. But it was a coincidence that I saw you there." Ruby admits.
They both sat on the lounge seat as they parted inches away. The tray of hot chocolate and cookies was placed on the coffee table. Jaune picks up the mug of hot chocolate and sips it carefully.
Ruby turned on the television to watch eother a movie or see anything on the news.
One taste, and he felt the flavor of genuine feeling. Jaune can not speak for a second until he puts the mug down. "Wow... Ruby, this is amazing. I mean. How did you make this extremely delicious?"
"Mom's recipe. It's one of the few things to remind me of her." Ruby said.
"Oh, that's right. You told me about her. I guess she really is a super mom, huh?" Jaune said. But stops when he sees the shine in her silver eyes. Her hair is long, reaching down about half-inch on her back.
It was tied into half-bun. She grew into a beautiful huntress. Jaune never saw that side of her before. How strong and brilliant.
Ruby looked at him and smiled in response to that comment. "I never get to know her much. She was gone when I was little. I can only remember the times she would bake good stuff. Read me fairy tales."
Jaune felt bad for mentioning her. After seeing a sad expression for hearing about her mother. "Sorry, I shouldn't..."
"No, it's fine. I think I just needed to get some things off my chest. It's never easy being on my own." Ruby huffed, it's been a while since she had talked to someone.
"Yeah, me too. I wanted to attend the dinner party. But I can't..."
Ruby looked at him, wondering what made him feel down. "Is something wrong? You haven't been yourself since we last talked?"
"Well, everyone else has plans of their own. So I let my team go home. Being in Beacon, it brought many memories. Both happy and painful ones." Jaune replied. But then quickly changed the subject. "You?" He asked.
Ruby sighs, taking a bite of her cookie and dips it in her hot chocolate. "Same. But I think they deserve some time off. Because who knows if we will ever win against Salem."
Jaune felt the same. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried. But I am not." Jaune confessed. Taking a bite of a cookie. Jaune cannot take another thing that might ache his heart. The battles he was emotionally scarred. The losses of one of his teammates.
Ruby cannot seem to shake the uneasy feeling of sadness and lonliness.
"Are you still thinking about Pyrrha?" Ruby said. She knew he would think of Pyrrha. And she still feels guilty for not being able to save her from Cinder. Even if it wasn't her fault. She still feels grief. Woshing she could've save Jaune from the sadness by traveling back in time to fix things. But it was impossible. All she can do is just think of the alternative options that she wished she could've taken.
"All the more reason I don't want to go to the dinner party. Even if Beacon is rebuilt, it didn't make me feel any better. Whenever I go to the campus. I see... her. It's like seeing Pyrrha everywhere in the campus."
Ruby cannot imagine seeing a ghost of her past. But hearing Pyrrha's voice in her dreams. Hearing her shouting for help, for Jaune, and all the fighting. It was a nightmare Ruby wished to forget. But she cannot.
They both lived with regret. The silence filled the air. Suddenly, news of Weiss and Neptune's engagement was announced on television by reporter Lisa Lavender. They seemed, it reminded them of all the times they could've find something to be happy with if they hadn't worried about Salem much. It got Jaune and Ruby pondering of how the happy pair managed to enjoy the life even if the world might end someday.
"SDC's former heiress, Weiss Schnee, and MCPD Detective and son of the former prosecuter – Neptune Vasilias, announced their engagement. The two were spotted at the cafe after an anonymous tip was sent by a forum. It had been 7 years since the last public appearnce of the ex-heiress after the Fall of Beacon Academy. As she and her now-fiancé had exposed her father – former SCD president – Jacques Schnee's, crimes..."
Ruby changed the channel to a movie. With the story of a knight and a huntress fighting an evil vampire. She and Jaune cannot see the familiar faces that might cause them pain.
"Well, I'm glad the others are doing fine." Ruby said.
"Yeah." Jaune agrees.
"It's like no one else seem to worry about the workd being in danger when..." Ruby oaused to see the photo of her mother, sister and father. "I am not sure if I will ever be happy. Or if we can succeed."
"Nobody asked you to be perfect. Nobody asked me to be perfect. All my life, I tried to be the man my dad convinced me to be." Jaune replied. "Bearing my name, and they all have to follow. Even if people looked to me, I never wanted to be on a pedestal. The way I see the eyes of people. I understood Pyrrha for feeling this way. If I hadn't met her, then maybe she would still be able to live her life."
"Don't say that." Ruby said. Jaune blinked as he looks at Ruby.
"I am not saying it doesn't hurt when people say stuff to boost that kind of image. But from the beginning, I am aware of your... transcripts." Said Ruby.
Jaune's eyes widened. "Wait, how did you..."
"You think I wouldn't check up on you only to hear you and Pyrrha talking on the rooftop?" Jaune was at a loss for words. He geared that once everyone found out he cheated his own transcripts to get to Beacon, his family name would go down the rubble. But not only that, but it would make his family disappointed in him.
"Um...well."
"Relax. I never tell a soul. Let me tell you something, when Pyrrha gives you the opportunity to train with her on the roof, I can tell you got determination in your eyes. Take it from me, I find it hard to believe I am leader material when I was selected. I guess when reality strikes, that's when we learn that no matter how much we fight, there is always the hard times. Because once we earn the freedom, it can also be taken away. Just like what was happening for years too. We were kids, only to become full-fledged huntsmen. But with or without, we both fight with everything we got. The same goes with you, Jaune." Ruby assured her.
"Pyrrha was here for a reason, and I think time had given you a gift. Whether it was a blessing or a curse, Pyrrha belived in you no matter what. Just like I do too. And I know that somewhere, she is watching you and proud of all you did. Don't waste that."
Jaune felt a glimmer of hope that one day in the future, the next generation will be given the same hope he was given.
"I... I think Pyrrha will be happy to hear you say it Ruby. Thank you." Jaune gently hugs her. Making Ruby flustered, but hugs back. Ruby wasn't sure what this feeling is. But Jaune's presence gave her joy for some reason. But only the future can wait.
This one-shot is part of the RWBY Redux Series. Sorry for the wait. But I wish you a late Happy Thanksgiving to the readers.
Right now, I am still writing the next chapter of Volume 4 Redux. But have a nice day.