Chapter 6: A Simple Change
Death comes for all.
That wasn't something you can change on a whim. When someone perishes, that should be the end of their story, why, when and where notwithstanding. They shouldn't get back up and continue to interact with the world. There are no exceptions. Even for those from Remnant, used as they are to the fact that souls are real and hold more than enough power to reach beyond their bodies to interact with the world, ghosts were nothing but children's tales, or the delusions and hopes of those left behind by loved ones.
At least, that's what Blake Belladonna thought up to a few moments ago.
And yet the evidence is clear. Right in front of her, in fact, in the form of Weiss Schnee, who is now resting comfortably on a bed stained with her own blood.
She saw her impaled by a spear, twice. She felt the stillness of her heart and the fading of her warmth. But… all it took was a matter of minutes, maybe seconds to make it like it was never so…
All because of Ruby.
Speaking of her team leader, she's sleeping peacefully with Zwei in her arms as the sun begins to rise over the horizon, and although both Blake and Yang had managed to catch up on their sleep (despite yesterday's insanity), they still woke up early to check on Ruby and Weiss.
Particularly Ruby.
Blake had so many questions she wanted to ask — where had she gone, what happened the day before, how she did all that — but it was clear Blake wouldn't get her answers anytime soon, considering whatever Ruby did had completely wiped her.
And the words of those black-winged people…
"You know, I thought I remember Raynare saying that your little red friend screamed like a bitch. Maybe you'll sound the same?"
Blake rubbed her hands down her face and shook her head.
She had read plenty of books where characters were brought back from the dead. Sometimes it came at a cost, or it was a reward, or as a simple stroke of luck (or at worst was a complete cop out written down by a hack. She especially hated One Place's and Friendly Tail 'friendship power' bringing back people after they were clearly dead just so the readers wouldn't lose their favorite characters). But they all had the same reason why it happened in the realm of fiction, as reality is far, far harsher than any author's fantasy world.
So how come she isn't dreaming? She slapped and pinched herself hard enough to make sure. Twice.
"Hey Blake, shower's yours." her partner said while walking out of the bathroom in nothing but a towel as she dried her hair.
"R-Right…" Blake nodded before heading into the bathroom herself.
Yang let out a deep sigh once she heard Blake turn the shower on. It felt strange for things to be so normal right now, as if they didn't lose half their team to a gaggle (flock?) of strange same-semblance faunus the day before.
And that included her baby sister.
"Why…" Yang whispered, clenching her fist. That man… he obviously was lying to her. Sure, something really freaky must've happened to Ruby to make her end up like this, but… dead? The evidence to the contrary was right before her eyes.
Almost as soon as they stepped into this town, things were strange, with a small group of faunus apparently living on Earth with no one the wiser, and all of them having the same weapon-summoning semblance, to boot. Was this an Earth-related issue or a Kuoh Town-related issue?
"Arf…?" Yang snapped out her thoughts when she noticed Zwei was wide awake. He had been by Ruby's side from the moment she collapsed after doing her… thing.
"Ah, morning, Zwei." Yang said as she petted the little dog. "You and Ruby must've gone on quite the adventure without us, uh?"
The dog didn't respond with any sound, only snuggling into Yang's gentle pats. It was almost like he was seeking comfort after the ordeal of the past few days.
Yang couldn't help but sigh. Ruby and Zwei must've gone through so much in so little time, and she wasn't there to see it.
If they didn't go their separate ways, if she was there… she would've…
No. No, that had to be a lie. Ruby wouldn't get herself killed. Innocent and naïve as she may be, she was still one of the best Huntresses in Signal and amongst Beacon's first years. She wasn't perfect but…
"If you want to see her, your best bet… is the morgue."
"Shut up." Yang growled before she noticed, then shook her head and took deep and slow calming breaths to clear away her anger.
That reminded her.
The golden gauntlet. She had been thinking about it since Ruby came in and saved the day somehow.
What was it? Where did it come from and where did it go? It was so intricate and beautiful, and yet there was a terrifying presence to it she couldn't quite place.
And the anger… by the brother gods, the anger and the all-consuming rage she felt at that moment… It was like someone else was controlling her body, but at the same time she was clearly the one doing everything.
She had sent jerks to the hospital, likely crippled more than a few bad guys on their adventures, but… she never had any desire to murder someone before.
She didn't even feel guilty about it. Not then, not now. Right now she's just… scared of what she became at that moment.
Yang bit on the insides of her cheeks. She hadn't exactly told anyone about the thing. She wasn't even sure that it was even real or if she wanted it in the first place.
Shaking her head, she went over to her bags and began getting dressed.
"Arf?"
"I'm fine, Zwei. Don't worry about me!" Yang tried to give the puppy a bright smile, which instantly died as soon as she turned away.
A few minutes later, once Blake got out of the shower, they simply sat down and waited for either of their unconscious teammates to wake up. Neither Blake or Yang felt comfortable going outside and letting them out of their sight right now.
Eventually, Ruby began to stir.
"Mm…" she let out, her silver eyes fluttering open. As she sat up, she saw Blake and Yang looking at her with relief clear in their eyes.
Any other day, she would've been glad, and was a little bit. However, she knew that she had a lot of explaining to do once Yang did her thing in three… two… one.
"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed. "I'm so glad you're okay!" The Y in RWBY seemingly teleported to her little sister, smothering her in a hug.
"Yang… you're… killing me… gahk!" Ruby whimpered and choked as Yang's love smothered her with her insane strength.
It took a good few seconds, but Yang finally loosened her hold on her sister, who looked half-dead already (complete with swirly eyes). "Oh! Sorry! Are you hurt? What happened to your clothes and what was all that earlier!?"
"S-Slow down! I'm still waking up." The red cloaked leader cried.
Yang almost refused, but considering the unnatural shade of blue her sister's face was beginning to turn into, she reluctantly let go. "Okay…"
After taking a moment to catch her breath, Ruby looked over to her partner, while Zwei happily licked her hand. "How's Weiss?"
"Already up." The white clad girl grumpily spoke from her bed, her eyes still closed but sporting a scowl on her face. "All your yelling woke me up."
"Weiss!" Blake called out as she went to her side.
"Huh!? Why are you all so…?" said Weiss before looking down at herself. They cleaned her wounds and bandaged her, but no one had changed her clothes, so her outfit was still torn open, allowing her to see the bloody bandages around her waist. "That… wasn't a dream…?"
"No… none of it was." Blake confirmed. "Does it hurt?" She then asked.
"...No, actually." Weiss answered before she began unwrapping the bandages.
"Weiss, be careful, your wounds are… gone?" Blake tried to warn the heiress, only to see that the holes in her abdomen were missing, as if it never happened.
Everyone could only stare in awe, even Ruby. She had no idea how she did that.
"Ruby… are you secretly a wizard?" Yang had to ask.
"No!" the leader responded without a second's thought.
"So how did you do that?" Yang pressed.
"Do what?" Weiss let out, confused.
"She… used one of her chess pieces and healed you." Blake explained, looking over to Ruby's chess set that still laid on her luggage.
"Ch-Chess piece?" Weiss repeated before patting her chest. She did feel… better. Sturdier. Although, the light coming from the window was beginning to annoy her.
"It looked like she used a Rook." Yang helpfully added. "So, uh… you have any other hobbies we don't know about, Ruby?"
"I… Um… It's… going to be hard to explain…" Ruby fidgeted in place. As usual, the young huntress-in-training was skittish whenever she felt pressured to speak. Although, there was something else mixed in that they couldn't quite figure out.
"Ruby, any explanation is better than no explanation. I'm sure it's not that bad." Weiss stated in a firm manner.
Ruby whimpered.
Everyone in the room saw the hesitation, and soon a sense of dread followed. "It's… not that bad, right?" Weiss repeated, sounding much more unsure.
The red cloaked leader "I got… hurt. Like… really, really hurt. I-I'm fine now but…" She tried to explain but she just… couldn't, for whatever reason.
"Ruby, it sounds like you're avoiding something…" Blake stated. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but we can't figure out what to do or how to help if you don't at least tell us what happened when you disappeared."
Ruby swallowed. There was no helping it, she couldn't hide something this big away from her teammates. Taking a deep breath, she finally willed herself to say it. "I… I… Igotaspearthroughtheheart." She squeaked, closing her eyes.
No one said anything for a while. The deafening silence only made the leader more anxious.
"...You …what?" Weiss whispered.
"I… I got… killed." Ruby forced herself to say. "It was a girl with these huge black wings and weird clothes. She… she was going to kill someone else and I…" She rambled when…
"Ruby…" Yang interrupted, a scared look on her face. "It was someone named Raynare, isn't it?"
"How did you–" Ruby gasped only to look over to Weiss. "You guys ran into her?"
"Her friends." Blake replied as Weiss held her stomach. "We… We had no idea…"
"Yeah. I met one of them earlier." Ruby said, wincing. She really hoped someone found her or she woke up in time to get help herself. Maybe missing an arm will stop her from hunting her down again.
"None of us did." Weiss shook her head.
Meanwhile, Yang stood up and headed to the bathroom. Seeing where this was going, her partner followed after her.
Ruby could only feel guilt and sadness as she heard her sister vomit into the toilet. She felt sick herself just saying it.
Once they heard a flush and a few minutes to brush her teeth and mouthwash away the bile, Yang and Blake came back into the room. Her half-sister had a sickly pale complexion, but Blake was there to help her get back to sitting on her bed.
"You okay, Yang?" Ruby had to ask despite knowing the answer.
"I…" Yang began before stopping herself. She didn't know if telling the truth or lying would make things worse right now. "Do you know where Raynare is?" She decided to say instead.
"No, not at all." Ruby shook her head. "The last thing I remember before I, uh, blacked out was that she flew off."
They expected that, but it still made them feel terrible. "So… how are you still… here?" Weiss soon pressed. Blake and Yang were wondering that too, but didn't want to say.
"...Mom, I think." Ruby answered, poking her fingers together.
"Mom!?" Yang shouted out, causing the others to flinch. "I-Is she…?"
"I… I don't know. I think it was her soul, a memory, or something?" Ruby shook her head. "I was saved because of something she did, that's all I know."
"So… she rescued you from beyond the grave?" Blake said.
"I… I think so." Ruby mumbled.
"Hold on, if she can do that-" Weiss spoke up.
"Don't… don't even suggest it." Yang however interrupted, not wanting to think about the implications. "I'm still not feeling great about this… but at least you and Weiss aren't zombies with a hunger for brains."
There was a pause.
"Right?" Yang soon asked, sounding a lot more cautious.
"We aren't." Ruby assured before averting her gaze. "But it doesn't mean it wasn't without a… hiccup."
"Of course there's a catch. What is it?" Weiss sighed, wanting to get this out of the way.
Ruby took a moment to breathe before finally managing to say it. "I'm… not human anymore. I'm a Devil now. We're Devils now."
There was a pause. "...What's a Devil? Is that like a… monster or something?" Yang questioned.
"I dunno, I sort of rushed out before I got a full explanation." Ruby sheepishly admitted. It had someone to do with the… Bibble? Babble? Ah, she couldn't remember the name.
"You couldn't have stayed a little longer!?" Weiss called out in annoyance before groaning and looking down at her hands. "Whatever we've become, it does feel… good." She soon admitted.
"But neither of you look like you've changed at all." Yang pointed out.
"Well, maybe it's on the in… side…" Ruby began before trailing off, staring at the top of her black clad teammate's head.
"Ruby?" Blake said.
"Blake, your ears." Ruby let out.
"Hm?" Blake hummed before feeling the top of her head. At that moment her eyes widened. "I… I didn't realize." She whispered as she glanced over to the hastily repaired rapier and its black bow.
It soon hit her that she went all the way back to the hotel with her ears out in the open, to a world where she shouldn't exist. Just another rock on top of the mountain of failure now known as Team RWBY's Mountain of Failure that they've been oh so busy piling up since they came to Kuoh town.
Not exactly a creative name, but at this point, it did not deserve anything better.
"Mmph mmph!" Suddenly, a muffled voice interrupted their conversation.
"Huh?" Weiss got out before looking at the floor… to see her very killer tied-up and glaring at them. "What in the–" She screamed as she scrambled to grab her weapon.
"Oh, right, we kidnapped her." Yang muttered.
"What!?" Ruby exclaimed.
"We thought we could get some information from her but…" Blake tried to explain as she glanced over to the petite, angry blonde.
"PHUCK WHUU!" (Translation: Fuck you!)
"She wasn't very co-operative." Blake finished in a flat tone.
"Aren't you worried she'll try and kill us!?" Weiss nervously questioned. There was a silent 'again' in that question.
"We took turns keeping watch on all of you. Besides, I don't think she has the strength to break out of her bonds." Yang claimed.
"MPH GUHPHING TOOF MAPH SHURE APAHZUHL ESCECHUTH YU AUL!" (Translation: I'm going to make sure Azazel executes you all!)
"She sure looks like she recovered some energy though…"
"Are those your panties, Blake?" Ruby realized with widened eyes.
"I didn't have anything else!" Blake blushed.
"MAAAAAHHHHH!" (Translation: Pure, unfiltered scream of rage, yet impotent in her continuous yet failed attempts to develop the power to murder them all with her mind.)
Blake proceeded to ensure she remained quiet… by knocking her out again.
"So, only a few days into this other world; several people are dead, two of us died and became Devils — whatever they are — there are probably a bunch of people out to kill us, kidnapped one of them, and we can't say any of it to anyone because they'll we're crazy or will turn Ruby and Weiss into test subjects." Yang summarized before exhaling. "I'm gonna be honest with you, gang, but I think it would be better if we just leave and never speak of this again." She let out, sliding a hand down her face.
"W-We can't!" Ruby suddenly called out, before shrinking as everyone looked at her in disbelief.
"Ruby?" Blake let out.
"There's someone we should meet." The leader explained with a determined look on her face. "We need to go to Kuoh Academy."
"The school? Why there?" Yang asked, not exactly eager to meet yet another stranger.
"I made some friends there. Rias could explain all of this a lot better than me." Ruby explained.
"Ruby, Yang is right. We should leave." Weiss stated with a frown. "This place is too dangerous for us. We both got ourselves killed out there, and that isn't even an exaggeration! We need actual Hunters, not… not… kids playing hero!"
"Weiss…"
"Ruby, I implore you, we should call Miss Sleight and tell her to call off the mission." Her partner continued in a no nonsense tone. "It will be better for all of us."
"But… if we leave, something like what happened to Ruby might happen again." Blake pointed out "We need to learn more before we leave. Who knows what else might happen to us?"
"It's an even split." Ruby spoke as she furrowed her brows. "I think the decision should go to a third party."
"And who will that be?" Weiss questioned.
Instantly, everyone turned to Zwei.
"Arf?" The puppy tilted his head in confusion.
"...You know what? Let's just go meet this friend of yours, Ruby." Yang relented in a flat tone as Weiss nodded.
"We still have one problem though…" Blake spoke with a frown before looking back over to the bird faunus (or whatever this girl was). "What do we do with her? We can't leave her alone here."
"Well, maybe Rias and Akeno will know what to do. Send her to the proper authorities or something." Ruby assumed with a shrug.
"Are we seriously relying on some stranger to help solve all our problems here?" Weiss groaned. "For all we know, she could have some sort of ulterior motive for us!"
"Well, it's not like we have a choice." Ruby argued. "You haven't even met her and she was really nice, Weiss. Give her a chance."
"Well, I'm not taking any chances. If we're going to meet this… Rias, we're going in armed." Weiss decided as she retrieved Myrtenaster. Looking at the bow used to keep it together, she looked over the cat faunus. "Blake?"
"Hm?" The black clad girl got out before waving it off. "Oh, keep it. I have spares in my bags."
"I guess we'll have to be taking you along." Yang muttered as she hefted Miltelt to her feet. "Weiss, do you mind if we use your Dust case? She looks small enough. We can shove her inside it."
"MMPH!?" The Fallen exclaimed, her eyes bulging out of her sockets.
"Sure, let me just take out the Dust." Weiss replied. "It's all useless here anyways, no matter how hard I try." She muttered as she began thinking about where to stash it all.
"Hey, what do we tell Sleight?" Yang soon questioned with a frown. "There's no way she'll believe any of this. And she knows Ruby was missing."
"Lie to her. Whatever you come up with, it would still be more believable than the truth." Blake casually suggested. "I'll help you make up an excuse. And we probably would want to keep both of your changes a secret for now."
"Atlas would be interested in something like reviving the dead." Weiss muttered with a frown.
"Pfft, who wouldn't?" Yang added. "I'm not letting some scientist or whatever go near my baby sister."
"I don't think science can explain any of this." Blake pointed out in a flat tone.
"We really shouldn't be talking about this right now…" Ruby said. She was already distressed about everything from before, she didn't want to think about when they returned to Remnant.
"Let's just get this all over with." Weiss muttered as she began removing the inert Dust vials out of her case, a frown on her face all the while.
She couldn't help but feel mad about all this. Somehow, they've managed to get into even worse trouble than before in a supposedly less dangerous world. This had to be a joke at their expense, at her expense, because right now it feels like the very worlds were out to make sure that–
SPARK!
"Huh?" Weiss let out as she looked at the suddenly very glowing Fire Dust vial.
KABOOM!
Ruby opened her eyes first… or at least she thought she did as she got off the floor, having been blasted back by the sudden explosion. "This feels familiar." Ruby muttered before coughing.
Everyone, and the room, was covered in black soot. The only person standing was Weiss, who could only blink.
After that, complete silence as well… Everyone was too stunned to even say anything, especially Weiss. She barely felt a thing.
And that's when the fire alarm went off.
Oh, they were so in trouble.
After the unplanned explosion, and changing into clean outfits (Ruby kept wearing the uniform, everyone else were in their combat outfits), Team RWBY had begun making their way to Kuoh Academy. However, they were also bringing along all their luggage. Yang notably was carrying Weiss' collection of Dust and made sure to stay a good distance away from the group.
"Guys, cheer up. At least we're all together again." Yang tried to brighten the mood, but it sort of fell flat given the fact…
"We got kicked out! We're homeless!" Weiss snapped before groaning and covering her eyes. "This has to be the absolute lowest we've ever been, it hasn't even been a week! Agh!" She then complained, however what was supposed to be a groan ended up being a yelp as she nearly tripped on her own two feet.
"Whoa, Weiss!" Yang got out as she managed to grab the white clad girl before she face planted.
"I'm sorry, I just… feeling a little weak…" Weiss assured, breathing a little heavier than usual.
"Oh! Right, I forgot to mention that as Devils, we don't like the sun anymore." Ruby grimaced.
"So that's why you have your hood on?" The heiress realized before letting out an actual groan. "Guys, give me a second while I get my umbrella." She grumbled as she opened her suitcase and retrieved it.
She hadn't brought one with her from Remnant, but she did get one during her outing a couple of days ago. It was really cute; it was designed to look like a cartoon white cat with a red bow on her ear. It was also a greeting kitty, apparently.
"Japan really likes cats." Blake couldn't help but note.
"And birds." Ruby added as she spotted one flying above them.
"Okay, seriously, are black birds common on Earth?" Yang wondered with a raised eyebrow. If she didn't know any better, she would swear that the raven was following them.
"I'm starting to notice it too." Blake spoke with a frown. Okay, this might be her paranoia flaring up again but she swore that raven really was following them…
"I'd check but um…" Ruby spoke before patting her empty pocket.
"Right, we need a replacement phone for you." Weiss muttered. "Well, let's try and stick together as much as we can until then."
"Already planning that." Yang said as the others nodded. None of them wanted a repeat of the past few days.
After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the school. It wasn't Beacon Academy, but it was a lot bigger than they were expecting from an Earth school. Despite it being a Saturday, there were plenty of students around, either performing club activities, leaving the school or heading in through the front entrance.
"Wow…" Ruby let out in awe. She didn't really get the chance to take it in before, given the fact that she was in a hurry/being drained by the sun, so it was just like seeing Beacon for the first time.
"It reminds me of home a little, but it's so much more… lively…" Weiss remarked.
"We should probably stop gawking. There are people staring at us." Blake advised as she instinctively tried to hide a little.
"Hey! Move it! There's nothing to see here!" Yang called out, causing a few students to leave the school a little faster.
"Are the people in Japan so surprised by foreigners?" Weiss muttered with a frown.
"Oh, don't worry, Whitey. Stares are the least of your problems here."
Team RWBY jolted before spotting a girl walking over to them with a smug smile on her face. "Huh? And you are?" The heiress had to ask.
"Aika Kiryuu. A pleasure to meet you." The girl introduced herself with a bow. "And I must say, you speak a lovely Japanese. You actually sound quite a lot like Gremory-senpai."
"I'm what? I do?" said Weiss, extremely confused before turning to Ruby.
"Devil power." The leader mouthed.
Weiss had to resist groaning. As Yang would say: Just roll with the punches.
Not exactly helpful advice in real life (she still could feel her ribs ache), but in this context, it was.
"Thank you." The heiress responded with a practiced curtsy.
"You mind giving me your names?" the glasses-wearing girl soon asked.
"My name is Weiss. My friends here are Ruby, Blake, and Yang."
"Hiya." Yang waved.
"Quite charmed to meet you all." Aika replied, smiling all the while. "Are you transferring in?"
Team RWBY flinched. "E-Erm…" Yang let out while rubbing the back of her neck.
"We're… seeing where this goes." Blake answered. It wasn't exactly a lie after all. They didn't know what else they could do right now.
Aika hummed. "Hm, I see. But what's with the bags? Kuoh Academy is many things, but a boarding school, it is not."
It was at that moment one of the bags shook.
"E-Erm, um- just a, well, you see…" Ruby instantly tried to say something to distract the girl while Yang tried to stop it (which involved punching the case until it stopped), but was coming up with nothing.
However, she didn't need to as Aika let out a very concerning smile. "Ah, I see what's going on. I won't tell, but please remember to turn it off." She recommended, leaving Weiss and Ruby confused while causing Blake and Yang to blush up a storm. "Anyways, welcome to Kuoh Academy. Enjoy yourselves."
With that, the girl walked away, having earned mixed feelings from the team.
"I have no idea who I just talked to or what we talked about." Weiss managed to get out.
"Me either." Ruby said. "We better hurry and find Rias."
"And get away from these people." Blake added, annoyed by all the looks directed at them as they headed off into the school.
Ruby had led her teammates over to the old school building, going through the main building on the way there. However, it took a little longer than they would like because their leader was going rather slow, taking the time to look around the place as if she was searching for something.
"Ruby, I saw you looking around the place while we were walking." Blake finally spoke up. "Didn't you say that you knew where this building was?"
"I do, just… I wanted to see Issei. The… The guy I saved." Ruby admitted.
"Aw, is my little sister finally growing up?" Yang teased.
"N-No! It's nothing like that!" Ruby denied. She was actually pretty sure he wouldn't be trying to date anyone any time soon.
On the other hand, her partner sighed at the older sister's frankly terrible joke. "Ruby, don't mind her. You just wanted to see if he's doing okay, am I correct?" Weiss guessed.
"Rias told me he was. I just… I need to see it with my own eyes." Ruby responded with a shrug.
"He probably went home." Yang guessed. "You'll catch him next time."
The leader nodded to that, not really wanting to say anything else. The rest of their walk was in relative silence (with the occasional disturbance courtesy of their kidnapping victim) until they stopped in front of an overgrown building by the woods. "And this is the place." Ruby informed the group.
"This is where you were staying all this time?" Yang assumed, frowning a little.
"It looks a little…" Weiss began.
"Abandoned." Blake finished.
"It's a lot nicer inside." Ruby stated. "Now, let's hope I remembered where Rias' clubroom is."
"What a strange name…" Blake couldn't help but mutter under her breath as they entered the building.
"Ruby, are you sure anyone is still here?" Yang questioned while they went down its halls, looking for the clubroom.
"Um… maybe?" Ruby sheepishly said.
Weiss' eye twitched. "Ruby!"
"It's the only place I know, okay!?" Ruby exclaimed as Weiss began to scold her leader. Meanwhile, Yang noticed the little puppy begin sniffing the air, his head turning towards a door they were standing by.
"Arf?"
"Hm? Zwei, what is it?"
Zwei leapt off where he had been sitting and began scratching at the door he had been looking at. "Arf arf!"
"Huh? Is there someone in this room?" Yang assumed as she tried to open it, but it didn't budge in the slightest. She could try to force it open, but breaking and entering didn't seem like a good first impression. "...It's locked."
Ruby soon managed to escape her partner's wrath and picked up the puppy. "Zwei, the clubroom isn't there. It's upstairs. You know this."
"Then why are we wandering around downstairs?" Blake asked, eyebrow raised.
"...I need the toilet." Ruby confessed with a blush.
"Ruby!" Weiss called out before pausing. "...Actually, I may need to go too." She sheepishly admitted.
"You two are definitely partners. Just wait until your periods synchronize, it'll be fun." the faunus couldn't help but say.
"Don't patronize us, Blake." Weiss groaned as she and Ruby wandered off to relieve themselves after being unconscious for a while.
Zwei shook his head as he was taken away from the room. He swore he could hear whimpering in there.
Eventually, once Ruby and Weiss had taken care of business, Team RWBY arrived at the Occult Research Club's room. As soon as they got to the door, Ruby knocked.
"Um, it's me. I'm back with my friends." Ruby announced..
"The door is open!" A voice (and wow, did she sound like Weiss) called out.
With that, Team RWBY entered the room. Inside the room were Rias and Akeno, as Ruby expected, but also two new faces. Both had black hair as dark as night and glasses with an aura of authority, but it was the more petite girl with short hair that gave off the same… Kingly(?) feeling that Rias gave off.
Speaking of whom, she was the one who spoke first after having their conversation and tea interrupted by their arrival. "Rose-san, you're okay!"
"And you brought friends." Akeno spoke, looking at one of her teammates in particular.
"Y-Yeah. I am." Ruby mumbled out as she shifted slightly, allowing the rest of her team inside the clubroom. "Oh, uh, these are my teammates. Say hi, too, e-everyone. They know about everything so… yeah."
"Weiss Schnee." The heiress introduced herself before freezing as she crossed eyes with Akeno.
The raven haired girl waved a little sheepishly, while Weiss couldn't think of anything other than waving back.
While that, her other two teammates followed suit.
"Blake." Meanwhile, the faunus let out a curt greeting.
"Yang, how's it goin'?" the blonde finished off before directing her gaze onto the other people in the room. From the looks of Ruby, she hadn't met them before. "And, uh, who may you two be?"
"I'm Sona Sitri, and this is my Queen." The short haired girl spoke first, bowing.
"Tsubaki Shinra, a pleasure to meet you." The longer haired girl followed with her own bow.
"Y-Yeah. Hi." Ruby shyly mumbled, bowing slightly. "I guess you're Devils too."
"That is correct." Sona said. "We're also aware of your unique situation."
"Unique… situation?" Blake spoke with a frown, sounding a little cautious.
"Your King Piece." Rias answered before directing her gaze over to the white clad girl. "And it seems you already got yourself a servant."
Weiss sputtered at that. "Servant!? How dare you!"
"Schnee-san." Akeno quickly said, trying to comfort the newly reincarnated girl. "Calm down, she did not say that with ill-intent. It's simply how things are."
"A-Akeno." Weiss got out, still looking a little stunned by the sight of the girl.
Meanwhile, the rest of RWBY looked at Weiss in disbelief. "Wait, you know her!?" Ruby exclaimed.
"From when we were out learning about Japan. She was the, um, shrine maiden that guided me through town." Weiss explained, averting her gaze away from the Queen. "I… I guess you aren't one then."
"And you aren't involved in music." Akeno assumed with a small smile, which only made the white clad girl blush.
"I-I am a trained singer and… while I do actually have real songs. They're… not to my liking." Weiss mumbled.
"I still would like to listen to them someday, if possible." Akeno tittered before narrowing her eyes. "...And you've been reincarnated yourself."
"Not by choice." Weiss mumbled with a sigh.
Rias' Queen smile dropped, seeing the dour look on the heiress's face. "...I'm so sorry."
"Why would you be?" Weiss answered a little too harshly before flinching. "Just… I'd not talk about what happened right now. Can we… save all of this for another time?" She then said in a much calmer tone.
Akeno let out a breath. "Sure. I'll brew a new tea pot in the meanwhile."
"That would be… nice." Weiss admitted with a nod.
"Come now. Sit down. There's plenty to discuss." Akeno then instructed.
And so Ruby found herself back where she was yesterday: dealing with Devils while hoping for the best that nothing else bad happens.
"I thought this meeting would be a little more private." Blake said as she narrowed her eyes.
"Well, Sona and I are co-overseers of Kuoh Town. Whatever happens here is our responsibility." Rias answered as her fellow King nodded. "That also means I had to inform her of your circumstances. My apologies."
"At this point, as long as the whole world doesn't know, I think it will be fine." Weiss sighed as she shook her head.
"Allow me to formally apologize for what happened. I wish I could have stepped in but my peerage and I were… busy." Sona soon said, bowing to the otherworldly girls.
Although the apology rang a little hollow at this point, they couldn't help but notice how… skittish the president seemed. "What do you mean by–" Weiss spoke up.
"Overseer? It's a rather self-explanatory role." Sona (almost too quickly) assumed, interrupting the white clad girl before she could probe further.
"They are in charge of ensuring the safety of this town from our enemies." Tsubaki informed, saving her King some embarrassment.
"And they are…?" Blake pressed as she leaned in.
"Anyone who would disrupt the peace." Akeno answered. "And I would say you have certainly done that."
"It's not our fault!" Yang called out. "Those stupid black winged people went and… and…"
"We are aware." Sona interjected.
Instantly, an uneasy feeling washed over the team. "How aware are you?" Weiss asked.
"We know that there were several incidents. One at the park, another around the abandoned church, and one in the residential area." Rias answered. "We have reasons to believe they involved Fallen Angels in some capacity."
"...Is that all you know?" Blake pressed, subtly glancing over to an increasingly uncomfortable Yang.
The crimson haired princess frowned. "...We also know that at least one Fallen is dead. We found remains but it was obvious it is not where they died. It seems they tried to dispose of their friend."
"D-Dead?" Ruby repeated, only to freeze as at the edge of her vision, her sister flinched. "...Yang?"
"...I… I just…" Yang stammered and started but… it was no use. No excuse or words she could even use to explain the blood on her hands.
"What did you…?" Weiss slowly said as she stared at the blonde in disbelief. What made her even more shocked was that Blake barely even reacted. "You…"
"Weiss. Don't." The faunus interrupted, not wanting to make this worse than it already was.
Yang only remained silent. There were no words she could use to explain what came over at that moment.
"Is… Is Yang in trouble?" Ruby asked in a cautious manner.
"No." The two Kings responded as they shook their heads, throwing the team through a loop as they collectively went…
""""Huh?""""
"There would've been… complications if you were a Devil, but since you are an unaffiliated human, we might be able to sweep it under the rug." Rias explained.
"Under the… I… I killed someone." said Yang in an increasingly panicked tone.
"In self-defense." Akeno added somewhat casually.
"It wasn't!" Yang snapped as she shot up from her seat. "I… I…!" She was beginning to pant, to huff and clench her fists.
"Yang, calm down." Ruby said in a pleading tone. "Please." She then begged.
Yang looked down at her little sister, silently staring into her eyes before she began to relax. "...Okay."
"You should neither feel guilty or seek repentance." Rias began as Yang sat back down. "These Fallen are entrapping innocents into their schemes, manipulating and killing whomever they please. I would not lose sleep over such vermin. It's just one less person out there destroying lives. It's a necessary evil."
Ruby looked uncomfortable at that. Her eyes glanced over to the Dust case that contained their kidnapped victim. "If they're saying that… what will they do to her?" She thought, her heart feeling so… cold at the thought.
Silently, Ruby and her teammates shared a look. It didn't go unnoticed by the pure-blooded Devils, but they decided it would be best to leave it well enough alone for now.
"Alright, alright. This is not why we are here to discuss." Sona let out, deciding to get things back on track. "We are all gathered to figure out a solution to all our situations that benefits all of us."
"We're already in a delicate situation right now, but your arrival has made it much more so. We all need to tread carefully now." The crimson haired King added in.
"Hm?" That got Team RWBY's attention.
"We're currently in a shaky sort of peace with the Fallen and Angels." Rias revealed. "If word gets out about this, that would ruin it and it would be back to war. I'd rather not be the one to cause that."
"Well… now that we're all acquainted, how about we start by asking each other a few questions." Ruby suggested.
"Allow me to ask first," Sona spoke. "Why are you all here?"
Ruby silently looked over to her teammates, wanting their input before she said anything. They nodded, so the leader told the Devils everything they needed to know.
"So, let me summarize this." Tsubaki began. "You've all come from your world, Remnant, to study Earth? Is that right? And there are others like you here already around the world?"
"That's the basics." Blake nodded.
"And this tear in reality…" Rias muttered with a frown.
"Do you have any ideas what made it?" Weiss had to ask.
"Nothing specific, but it definitely has to come from this world rather than yours. At least, based on what you seem to know." The crimson haired girl replied.
"Our knowledge?" Yang spoke as her teammates perked up at the implication. "I mean, we're not flooded with experts on interdimensional travel on our own world but…"
"Just thinking out loud. Don't think too much about it." Rias said while waving her hand.
"Okay…" The blonde replied, but seemed a little suspicious anyhow.
"Hey, um… I've been wondering, why is Weiss all better? I mean, I was healed too when I… came back, but I thought you had to… you know…to speed it up?" Ruby had to ask while her cheeks began to heat up, which greatly confused her teammates.
"You were overflowing with energy, even before you left." Rias said. "You most likely poured a lot of that power into her and healed her wounds in the process. Speaking of your energy…" She soon began, gesturing to her Queen to begin her reading of Ruby.
Dutifully, Akeno nodded and began doing so, only for her eyes to widen. "Hm?"
"What is it, Akeno?" Rias asked as Ruby started to shake, expecting the worse.
"Your energy… it's more stable now." Akeno informed, causing Ruby (and the rest of Team RWBY, even Zwei) to relax. "You're still growing in power but it's not spiking randomly all over the place. You could say it's more… controlled? It's growing in a more even manner than before."
"So I'm not… mutating?" Ruby cautiously assumed.
"Not anytime soon, at least. That could still change in the future." Akeno explained. "It seems as though sharing your power with Schnee-san is stabilizing it. Your connection is working just as a regular connection with a King should, but for the benefit of both of you instead of just hers."
"But… I'm not doing anything." Weiss blinked owlishly as she heard the beautiful thunder priestess' words.
"You don't have to. Your mere existence is allowing Rose-san to grow her power in a safe manner." Akeno explained.
"What are you saying?" Yang soon spoke with narrowed eyes.
"I think Akeno is implying… that instead of the King keeping her peerage's demonic power in check, it's vice versa." Rias clarified, a little amazed by the revelation.
Blake realized where this was going. "So that means… the more people Ruby reincarnates, the more stable she'll become."
"And thus is able to use more and more demonic power safely." The crimson haired King concluded.
Yang didn't hesitate. "I want to be a Devil."
"Yang!?" Ruby gasped.
"Ruby, you can't convince me otherwise." Her older sister got out as she shook her head. "I'm not letting my baby sister suffer through any of that ever again!"
Both pure-blooded Kings were stunned by how gung-ho the blonde was (and even reminded Rias of her newly obtained Pawn).
"You're really willing to sacrifice your humanity so easily?" Sona questioned in a serious tone. "You should at least give it some thought. This isn't something you can take back."
"I already decided." Yang stubbornly replied.
She was powerless to help Ruby for the last few days. She needed power, more power, or else she couldn't protect the ones she loved.
Plus… maybe this whole Devil thing could help her get control of that golden gauntlet.
"Y-Yang." Ruby whispered, sounding more concerned than surprised.
"It's my decision, Ruby. I can't… I just can't sit by the wayside and leave you alone. No. No way.." Yang insisted, her eyes flashing red. "I want to be the same as you." She then repeated in a much more determined voice.
"...O-Okay." Ruby relented. "I guess it would be nice to have my big sister around for the next couple thousand years." She then mumbled.
"Yeah, I'm sticking by your side until– wait, what?"
"C-Couple thousand…?" Weiss squeaked, her brain's functions slowing to a halt.
"Yeah…" Ruby could only say, averting her gaze.
Yang looked a little less gung-ho about the whole thing but she still looked ready to dive into hell for her little sister. "I-I'm still going through with it. Blake?" She let out before turning to her partner.
The black clad girl had gone silent, looking around the room to take in all these strange items and symbols around her before turning her gaze over to Ruby.
"I… I won't do it unless you tell me to." Ruby promised.
Blake swallowed. Oh Brother Gods, what has she gotten herself into ending up in this team?
But… with that type of time and power… just maybe she could do some real good back in Remnant.
"I'll… do it too, Ruby. Make me a Devil." Blake responded with a nod.
"You're sure?" Ruby let out, still not so hot on the whole thing.
Blake looked at the leader straight in her silver eyes, and smiled. "I am."
Ruby looked at her teammates one by one. Weiss, while obviously scared and worried, knew she would have to accept her second chance. Blake seemed cautious but willing. Yang was the most eager, looking ready to take the fight straight to their enemies once she had reincarnated.
It was… crazy. These past few days have been nothing but heartache and death.
And yet, her teammates stood firm regardless. And… as the leader, she should be the shining example as such.
"...Thank you, everyone." Ruby said, smiling with tearful eyes.
"Well, I think congratulations are in order." Rias spoke up as she clapped her hands together. "I would say you've officially gotten yourself a peerage, Rose-san."
"They're my friends first." Ruby got out with a frown. "A peerage makes it sound so… what was that word again, Weiss?"
"Dehumanizing?"
"Yeah, that."
"Well, peerages can be like a family. I ensure my servants are treated with the utmost care." Rias claimed before noticing Weiss and Blake wincing at her words. "Ah, I misspoke. Don't worry, they are just as much family as my older brother and my parents."
"Thank you, buchou." Akeno said in a grateful manner.
Ruby soon cleared her throat, getting the Devils' attention. "Should I do it right now then? I have my pieces right here."
"I would recommend having a discussion about it with me before deciding." Rias advised. "There's a lot you need to know before leading a peerage."
"Where did you get those Evil Pieces, by the way?" Sona asked.
"My mom gave them to me. No idea where she got them from, though." Ruby answered, still looking a little troubled by the fact. "Um, I have a feeling that I'm not supposed to have them in the first place."
"In order to even get a set, you either have to be of noble birth, or a High-class Devil." The Student Council President explained. "But to have a real King Piece instead of registering… you're breaking quite a few rules here. Completely subverting several established systems, actually."
"Yeah that's not exactly unusual for us." Weiss deadpanned.
"This is different." Rias however spoke. "It shouldn't exist and even then, it is illegal in our society. Devils, let alone a human, shouldn't be in possession of one."
"So… are we in serious trouble?" Yang had to ask.
"I'm not sure." Sona confessed. "Nothing like this has happened before, but I wouldn't say anything to the higher-ups just yet. I have the feeling that should you be found out, not only will your pieces be taken away, so will your peerage members."
"What!?" Ruby and Weiss exclaimed, shooting up from their seats.
"T-Taken away?" Yang repeated in disbelief, feeling her heart burn at the mere thought.
"Given to another King, if I had to place money on it." Rias clarified as the image of her future husband (and that sickened her to even think about) flashed through her mind. "And… I don't know what will happen to you, Rose-san, but it'll likely be nothing good."
"So… we can't stay. We have to leave before they come after us." Weiss assumed.
"I don't think that will be a good idea either." Tsubaki got out with a frown. "For all we know, Rose-san's Evil Pieces are stolen and simply hiding away won't solve that."
"And, I doubt there will be other Devils in Remnant to help you understand what being one entails without risking injury or exposure." Akeno then added.
"So… what do you suggest?" Blake questioned.
Rias and Sona looked at each other before nodding. "Well, we would like all of you to attend Kuoh Academy." The Student Council President answered in a formal manner.
That threw Team RWBY through a loop. "Wh-What? Why?" Ruby had to ask.
"We aren't looking into enrolling into any school right now." Blake said with narrowed eyes.
"Well, we need to keep you close in case there is any other incident relating to you and the Fallen." Sona explained. "We also need to teach you more about being Devils in a safe and private environment."
"But if you're learning about our world, how about we do something in exchange." Rias continued. "We can teach you common knowledge about Earth. From important subjects like our technology and history, to pop culture and other social aspects. If you clam up on something as common as the Bible, it could put you all at risk… besides, I can't believe I get to use my private research for something productive for once!" She then added, sounding excited at that last part.
As a major Japanophile, this was the day she had been waiting for. If she didn't need to seem so composed, she would be grinning ear to ear.
She was sure everyone else in the room was thinking the same thing. There were a mix of smiles and shivers from the devils.
"Dibs on taking them out on field trips." Akeno said with a smile. She knew what Rias was thinking, and if she was going to use this as an excuse to indulge in her otaku-isms (which buchou would deny as such a term), she might as well use it as an excuse to do some shopping.
"Well… that might help with our mission…" Weiss admitted as Yang gave her an 'are you kidding me' sort of look.
"And get Atlas and their researchers off our backs." Blake added. Coming back without much info would raise suspicions about them and leave a serious mark on their academic record (she was pretty sure she and her teammates still wanted to be Huntresses after all).
"Finally… we need you all to learn to read and write Japanese." Rias concluded. "It would be better for all of us if you learned."
"Being a Devil doesn't come with that?" Yang got out.
"Magic can't solve everything." Akeno muttered. Silently, she noted that it could solve a lot of things, but not everything.
"I'm still wrapping my head around all this." Weiss let out with a sigh.
"Very well, feel free to discuss it privately with your friends." Sona stated.
"Thank you. Team RWBY, huddle up!" Ruby declared as she and her team stood up and walked off.
"Team… RWBY…?" Rias muttered under her breath before turning to her fellow King, who only shrugged.
Meanwhile, Team RWBY had found a nice and quiet corner of the room and began their discussion.
"Should we trust them?" Weiss whispered in a cautious tone.
"Yeah, I'm not exactly too keen on putting my life in the hands of strangers from another world." Yang replied in a flat tone.
"Guys, we really should!" Ruby argued.
"You're way too trusting, Ruby. Remember what Weiss said earlier today; For all we know, they might have ulterior motives." Blake countered.
"They did say those chess pieces are evil…" Yang pointed out.
"That's just a name." Ruby grumbled. "Guys, let's think about this before we do anything else."
"Sure. Why would they want us to be their allies in the first place?" Blake soon threw out.
"Because we rock?" The fiery blonde assumed.
"These past few days say otherwise." Weiss deadpanned.
"Maybe they're interested in Remnant? Our technology? Our abilities?" Blake suggested.
"It's a possibility. Remember, they're in a stalemate with two other factions, but once one gets the advantage, it'll start back up again." the white clad girl soon reminded. "I don't want to get involved in any sort of war."
"But we still need to learn about being Devils." Ruby spoke up. "We could really hurt someone…" She then added in a dour manner, remembering her mistake in slicing Kalawarna's arm off earlier.
"So we either become linchpins for war or ticking timebombs." Blake summarized with a frown.
"That's… I can't even make a joke here. This sucks." Yang groaned as she slumped.
"Okay, okay, okay." Ruby got out before taking a deep breath. "I think I know what to do. We just take their offer but make sure we stay independent. Our problems and their problems will be separate and that is the end of that."
"Hmmm… that works." Weiss said.
"All in favor, say aye." Ruby then got out.
"Aye." Her teammates responded in unison.
"There we have it. Team RWBY huddle, over!" Ruby declared before returning to the Devils. "Rias, we have come to-"
"...You do know we could hear you the entire time, right?" Akeno pointed out in a frank manner.
Blake palmed her face while her fellow RWBYs blushed. Right, they weren't dealing with human level senses.
Weiss was the first to recover. "That means you heard we accepted your deal." She guessed.
"But choose to remain unaffiliated." Rias added, looking a little saddened by it, but accepting all the same. "Likely for the best. Our leadership is just as much of a danger as that of the Fallen or the Angels. However, you will owe us."
"As long as it doesn't involve anything too drastic, I think we can agree on that." Ruby assured with a nod.
"But there are a few problems here." Blake then spoke.
"Hm? What is it?" Sona responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Well… Ruby's 15, and we're all 17, turning 18 soon." Weiss informed.
"Fifteen?" Akeno repeated in disbelief.
"Yep, where we're from, Ruby skipped a few years because she's so great." Yang added, causing the red cloaked girl to blush just as crimson as Rias' hair.
"Don't worry, we already have a solution to that." Rias revealed as she pulled a folded up piece of paper from her cleavage ("Did she really have to put that in there?" Everyone thought with a sweatdrop). "There was no way Ruby could attend a normal class without making up some ridiculous excuse, so we've been working on a solution since the day we found her." She explained before sliding over the piece of paper.
Thankfully, it was written in a language the RWBYs could understand. However, they were less thankful as they read what was on the paper.
"The Kuoh Academy Student Education Program for the Disadvantaged: The Allowance of the Best and Brightest Hidden Under Society's Watch to Thrive and Succeed in an Inclusive Learning Environment with Special Support and Resources for Academic Excellence in the Post-Modern World Program (sponsored by Kuoh Academy Student Council and the Occult Research Club)." Weiss read aloud, looking in disbelief at the paper. The whole thing took up the entire page. "...What."
"It has select students, say the Occult Research Club and the Student Council, teaching people who have not received a formal education and do not have the resources to get one because of their background or history." Sona explained.
Yang raised her hand. "...Um, in basic?"
"It's a front and an excuse to teach you everything you need to know." Rias answered. "We'll enact the program on Monday and have you all enrolled as its first students. Plus, should you recruit more people into your peerage, they'll be able to join the program as well if they wish to. Think of it as your own club."
"You can do that?" Blake questioned with a raised eyebrow. She also noted how fast this was organized. "Our own Student Council isn't that powerful."
"Maybe not as students, but as Devils…" Sona said. "Plus, it'll look good on our college applications."
Team RWBY sweatdropped.
"So, what do you say?" Rias asked.
"Can we change the name?" Yang requested. "The Kuoh… whatever, whatever, is too much! Why make such a stupid–"
"Yang!" Ruby called out.
"Sorry, sorry."
"I… do admit, we had a little bit too much fun with the name." Rias confessed with a small blush. She was actually just as proud to have gotten a colon, parentheses, and a dash in there as she was regretful over failing to get an eleven-word alliteration. "Well, what do you have in mind? We can take suggestions."
"Ruby?" Blake got out as she turned to the red leader. "You're going to be our King here. It should be up to you to name it."
Ruby's eyes widened before letting out a smile.
She already knew what the new name would be.
But… there was one thing she had to take care of first…
It was night when Ruby finally found what she was looking for: an empty lot at the outskirts of Kuoh Town. There was no one around and with her enhanced senses, she was alone. She was supposed to be asleep right now, having been generously allowed by Rias and Sona to stay at the old school building, but she had snuck out to do her secret thing.
What was that secret thing?
It was stupid. So stupid that she didn't even tell her teammates about it. She could hear Weiss yelling at her right now.
This is boneheaded! This is absolutely stupid! I can't believe you're going to do this! You dolt! Imbecile! B-
And that was all the names Ruby remembered her partner using when executing another crazy plan. There were more she could imagine Weiss saying, but those were more… Yang words.
Except this time… she knew that she would be right (or at least this mental version of Weiss). This was about to be the stupidest thing she has ever done (and she tried to stuff chocolate chip cookies up her nose!).
But, here she was. About to do it anyways despite everything.
Ruby wanted justice served… but not in the way she knew would happen if she let the Devils decide it.
With a groan, she opened the Dust case and helped the kidnapped Fallen out, ignoring the surprised look as she pulled out Blake's panties from her mouth. She looked terrible, sweaty and dirty with a hint of depression, but she was… mostly unharmed.
"H-Huh? Where am I?" The blonde Fallen mumbled weakly, right before snapping to attention when she saw a very nervous Ruby stepping back.
"Erm. Hi." She let out, unable to figure out anything else to say.
"You." Miltelt growled as she tried to stand up, but the absurdly strong black ribbons that bound her limbs didn't budge at all. "Are you here to finish the job your nekomata friend started?"
"Neko… what?" Ruby responded in confusion before shaking her head. "Never mind that- whoa! Hey, stop!" She soon exclaimed as Miltelt did her best to bite her ankles.
"Just because I'm still tied up and one wing down doesn't mean I can't kill you!" The gothic lolita called out.
"I… I don't want anyone to die right now! Especially me!" Ruby said. With no other choice, she quickly held the Fallen down to get her to stop. "I-I'm letting you go."
Mittelt, struggling at first, stopped almost instantly as soon as she realized what the girl just said. "...E-Excuse me!?"
"Yeah, you're free to leave." Ruby insisted. "I only want you to tell your friends to leave us alone, okay? Or I'll get all the Devils I can to take care of you!"
"You think it's just that easy? Letting me go without any other strings attached?" Miltelt questioned with narrowed eyes. "I could come back for revenge."
She had a point but that didn't deter the leader. "I know. That's why I'm trusting you." Ruby responded before untying her restraints, a little annoyed by how good Blake's knots were.
Rubbing her wrists, she stared at the newly reincarnated Devil with… curiosity. At least it was better than murderous intent. "...What a naive Devil."
Ruby pouted. "Just go already! Before anyone notices."
The Fallen took a hesitant step back, and while Ruby didn't let her eyes off her, she didn't even twitch. "..Mittelt."
Ruby blinked. "Huh?"
"Remember my name, because we will meet again." Mittelt informed, a small smile beginning to appear on her face.
"...I'll be waiting. And… Please don't make me regret this. If you ever try to hurt my friends or myself after this, I won't be as kind or forgiving at the time." Ruby said in a much more serious tone than she had ever heard from herself.
"Hmph." Mittelt hummed out before heading off, disappearing into the night. Once she was out of sight, Ruby let out the breath she was holding in.
"Oh I am in so much trouble…" Ruby thought as she clutched onto her skirt.
"Showing mercy to your enemy is asking for trouble to begin with, you know?"
That was the last voice Ruby wanted to hear.
"Rias!" Ruby yelped, stumbling away from the very unamused-looking crimson-haired girl. "I-I can explain–"
"You don't need to. I heard everything." Rias sighed as she shook her head. After all, Ruby wasn't exactly good at the whole stealth thing (Who says "Sneak, sneak" while sneaking?) "I was also aware that you had a Fallen with you at the meeting, and yet none of you ever brought it up. I understand dealing with matters privately, but not like this. So I have to ask you: Why?"
"Why? I thought… I thought you'd kill her if we gave her to you!" Ruby called out as she stomped her foot.
"Perhaps. And is that so wrong?" Rias countered. "Rose-san, I have to be blunt with you, but there are those who are better off dead. Besides, if we didn't, she could have been a useful political tool. A way to get the Fallen to admit that they're operating in Kuoh to begin with, and perhaps get some concessions at the negotiating table… in short, she would have been a lot more useful alive than dead."
Those words… it made Ruby clench her fists while biting her lip, stopping herself from doing anything more. "That's…"
"Barbaric? Monstrous? Inhumane?" Rias assumed with a frown. "Did we not speak about this earlier? There are those who are beyond any sort of redemption, Rose-san. I am sure you would not show such mercy to Raynare, would you?"
"..." The red cloaked girl turned away.
"Then tell me, why did you let her go?"
"I…" Ruby swallowed, going quiet for a few seconds before she finally sighed. "...When I was growing up, I read tons of stories, fairy tales. About heroes saving the day and the bad guys losing. My mom… I always thought of her like one of those heroes. I'm here now because I want to be like her, a great hero that saves the day."
"And you still believe that?"
"I do." Ruby answered without hesitation, looking directly into the older girl's eyes. "I… I accept that I'm not human anymore, that… I'm like this because of my mom somehow, but that doesn't mean I should throw my morals away. And… I know that a hero from those stories won't lead someone to their death on purpose."
Ruby then took in a deep breath before standing up as tall as she could.
"I'm Ruby Rose and I am a Devil, but I am not giving up on my humanity."
"...Hm." Rias hummed, beginning to smile. "You're really from another world, Ruby-san."
Ruby didn't respond in kind, frowning instead. "Are you going to tell the others?"
"That's something you should do, not me. Just as you wouldn't have let Raynare go, I expect Weiss-san won't be happy about letting Mittelt go, you know?" Rias stated, causing Ruby to tense and whimper, before turning around. "I'm going now."
"O-Okay. I'll see you later then." Ruby said as she turned around as well.
With that, the two Kings began walking away from each other… until the crimson haired princess stopped and looked back.
"Ruby-san,"
The red cloaked girl halted her stride as soon as she heard Rias, spinning to meet her other King's gaze. "Yes?"
Rias turned fully and looked directly into Ruby's silver eyes. "Make sure you don't regret your decisions later. As a King, you must be decisive. One wrong move… checkmate."
Ruby narrowed her eyes and stood her ground. "I'll keep that in mind. And… I'll prove to you that the move I made was right."
"We shall see." Rias responded. "Do you want me to teleport you back?"
"I'll walk." Ruby responded in a firm manner.
"Suit yourself." Rias said before vanishing in a flash of crimson light, leaving Ruby alone to stew in her last words for a bit.
"...I should've said yes." The red cloaked girl groaned before looking up at the night sky.
She felt so much stronger now. Maybe she could actually walk back with no one else the wiser.
"...I guess normal knees aren't on the table anymore." Ruby realized before disappearing in a burst of rose petals.
The days leading up to Monday were a blur.
After a good night's sleep, it was all hands on deck to get everything ready for their introduction. They started their Japanese lessons, worked on locating an actual place to stay, signed even more paperwork, and got their stories straight while they talked with Sleight and the various changes to their situation… minus everything involving the whole "dying and getting reincarnated" thing.
That was going to be the worst conversation if or when their friends and family find out.
But, at this time, there was no need to worry about Future Ruby's problems. Nope, today, Present Ruby was dealing with a whole new type of Grimm not even Crescent Rose could deal with.
The ever accursed Public Speaking Nightmare.
Ruby nervously adjusted her new uniform, especially the shining pin on the breast made just for them: A king chess piece with her rose symbol in the background. Simple, yet elegant, as Rias would say.
These Devils really work fast.
"How did we end up here?" She couldn't help but wonder as she listened to the assembly happening on stage, with Sona- erm, Shitori-kaichou leading it.
"Today, I would like to officially announce the Beacon Program, officially endorsed by the Student Council and the Occult Research Club." Sona informed as one of her members brought out an enlarged poster on an easel as Rias stepped onto the stage. "From today forth, select students of all years will be given the opportunity to teach special classes for less fortunate people of all ages here at Kuoh Academy. Everyone deserves a chance to grow and study in a safe environment, so the school has decided to provide that chance, so please treat our new classmates with kindness. You may identify them by the special pin that they wear but do not be confused, they are official parts of the student body and should be treated as such, no matter their age or circumstances."
With a nod from the Student President, Rias continued. "We here at Kuoh Academy strive to ensure the new generation does not repeat the mistakes of the last, that we shall do our best to give everyone here a start to their new lives once you have graduated. The world outside is not one to take so lightly, but I am sure with enough knowledge and effort we shall all become great. We all have the potential to, or else why are we here? Remember that as we march closer to whatever destiny may take us."
"Now, I would like to introduce to you one of the first students to enroll in the Beacon Program and their group leader: Ruby Rose!" Sona concluded before she and Rias stepped back and clapped.
That was her cue.
"You got this, Ruby." The leader thought to herself as she walked onto the stage, her signature red cape flowing behind her.
In an instant, hundreds of students' eyes fell upon the skittish newcomer. Now, Kuoh Academy was officially famous for its excellent academia, and unofficially famous for its beautiful female students, but the new girl was… different. Almost otherworldly thanks to her incredibly dark red hair, silver eyes and the way she held herself. Sure, the cloak screamed chunni but it only added to her charm, and her attitude screamed at everybody's protective instinct.
She wasn't a beautiful and elegant older sister type like Kuoh Academy's Three Great Ladies, but all it took was a single look for almost everyone to fit her into the 'little sister I must protect' tier, somewhat similar to Koneko Toujou… no…
The Academy's Gem.
In contrast…
"You don't got this, Ruby!" She mentally cried out, blushing as she heard more and more comments about her. People were whispering so many things about her, like her hair, skin, her eyes! She could even hear some weird people wondering what her bare feet looked like.
Is it an Earth thing to overanalyze every inch of her body!?
"Oh, crap crap crap crap…" Ruby thought as she pulled out a prepared stack of cards containing her carefully curated speech out of her uniform's skirt pocket (Why did Earth give girls such small pockets too!?).
Already, she was sweaty, scared, and the urge to excuse herself for a bathroom break so she could hyperventilate in a stall was beginning to overtake her.
So, all in all, a Ruby Rose standard oral presentation (on a subject that wasn't about weapons).
"Um, hi." Ruby began as she shuffled through her cue cards. "I-I'm Ruby Rose, as you just heard from Sit-Shitori-sen… no, Shitori-kaichou. Yeah, so… Um… I-I grew up in the, uh, I grew up with my sister and dad and, er, we had… erm, we didn't get the o-opportunity to go to school like e-everyone here. S-So my older, uh, half sister, my friends and I decided to join t-this program to be… Um…"
Ruby paused as she looked down at her cue cards. To the confusion of the students, she soon began frantically shuffling through them, sweating all the while.
"...whereisitwhereisutwhereisit…" They heard the girl mumble (unaware that the mic was picking her up) as she tried to find the next part of her carefully prepared speech.
Why didn't Rias number her cue cards!?
(She did, her finger was covering where they were placed.)
As she searched for the right cue card, several students began to openly talk amongst themselves… and take pictures.
SNAP!
"Dude, that girl is so cute." A bald headed boy let out as he adjusted his camera to take better shots of the girl.
"76-55-81." The glasses-wearing boy beside him said aloud. "Decent already, but with potential to go further beyond." He then commented, which caused the friend to his right to start nodding in approval while the friend to his left, Issei, flinched.
Meanwhile, several rows in front of the Perverted Trio, two girls stared at the girl with wonder in their eyes. "I wonder if we can get her to join kendo…" The shorter haired of the two muttered as her fellow twin-tailed club member nodded.
"Her speech sucks." Aika bluntly stated before smiling to herself. "Oh, she'll be fun to corrupt." She then thought, her eyes glimmering at the prospects.
Meanwhile, Issei stared in shock. This… This was not how he was expecting to see his savior, especially not like this. Did Rias forget to tell him beforehand, or was it kept from him?
Dammit, how did he miss this development!?
Issei, however, was currently forgetting the brand new set of training weights and h-manga in his room, thanks to Rias recommending him to relax until his body acclimated to its changes. This wasn't exactly the first time something like this happened, and it probably wasn't going to be the last.
Meanwhile, Rias was feeling slightly guilty for enjoying the look on Issei's face, mostly because in the middle of helping Sona organize everything, she had simply forgotten to tell her Pawn about Team RWBY's enrollment.
Well, at least he didn't go out and do something horrendously reckless. Maou knows she didn't want to deal with a hero complex alongside all the other problems.
All the while as everyone had their minds in different areas, Ruby was doing her best to stop her body's natural instinct to whimper into the mic. Blake was right, the worst thing about enhanced hearing was being able to hear everyone around her.
Well, this was going to be her life until they were ready to return to Remnant. If she wanted to survive in this world (which she was doing a terrible job of so far, what with having already died once), she was going to have to step up and get used to it all.
And… no matter what, she was going to find Raynare and make her pay for everything she and her friends had done.
"Welcome to Kuoh." She whispered under her breath.
While Ruby was single handedly triggering every girl's (sans Aika) protective instinct and totally bombing her speech, the rest of her team (well, peerage by tonight) were backstage watching the entire thing.
"I still can't help but wonder why Rias asked Ruby to do the speech…" Blake deadpanned. The job should've gone to either the Schnee heiress or the social activist in their team, both of whom were well used to speaking in public, and not the girl who couldn't introduce herself to anyone new without a stutter.
"I guess this will be our lives for a while." The blonde of the team breathed out. "I wonder how JNPR is doing." Yang mumbled under her breath.
"They're in a country with so many poisonous creatures that there's two per letter in the alphabet, right?" Weiss quietly recalled. "I fear Jaune may be in the hospital by now."
Yang wanted to say that it was a mean thing to assume… but couldn't deny the high chance. "Probably." She shrugged.
After all, they might be having just as insane of a week as they had.
Ah yes, Australia.
There was no place more dangerous than this former prison colony. Filled to the brim with all sorts of creatures that will kick your ass if you look at them funny, it was a miracle people managed to thrive in this post-apocalyptic, harsh, and unforgiving wasteland…
…If you are in the outback during the warmer seasons.
That's what Jaune and the rest of Team JNPR figured out when they landed in Melbourne about a week ago.
Currently, they were in the middle of the city, standing outside one of the biggest malls (shopping center, as it was called here), enjoying some lunch while they waited for Nora to return… and for the rain to stop.
"...I thought it would be a lot… sunnier here." Pyrrha admitted as they stared at the city's soaked streets.
"It says it'll be scorching tomorrow." Ren informed as he checked the weather app on his phone. "We could check out the beach then. We've been exploring the city all week, it would be a nice change of scenery."
"Oh yeah. Sounds nice." Jaune agreed with a nod. "I want to know what 'getting shrimp on the barbie' means."
"Plus, we need to look into these drop bears…" Pyrrha murmured with a frown. "It might endanger any future expedition teams."
"Y-You sure?" Jaune nervously said. "I don't want our faces eaten off by those things."
"We are supposed to be in the most dangerous country on Earth." Ren pointed out. "We have to face these things eventually. It's better if it was us aura-enhanced huntsmen trainees than the aura-less researchers, after all."
"Don't worry, hopefully we can fend off these creatures and ensure Earth is a little safer to explore." Pyrrha let out with a smile.
Plus, she bought Jaune an actually good-looking (and matching) swimsuit, and couldn't wait to rock it at the beach, learn to surf, and try to get Jaune to properly notice her feelings for him.
"Hey, look what I got~" Nora sang out as she skipped down the escalator where they were waiting by.
"Huh?" Jaune turned to see his teammate carrying several large bags with a single logo on all of them. "What's Lego?"
"I dunno what to call them since we don't have a Remnant equivalent… It's also the name of the store, but they looked sooooo cool!" Nora answers as she raises her yellow paper bags.
Ren blinked before checking the very large bags she was carrying. "...You bought boxes of plastic bricks?"
"No! They aren't just plastic bricks!" Nora responded in an offended manner as she pulled out one of them. "Look, they're supposed to be built into these things!"
"Eiffel Tower, Coliseum, Stellar Envoy…" Pyrrha soon noticed before frowning. "Nora, how much did this all cost?"
"Huh?" Their hyperactive teammate paused to calculate. "...Ohhhh…" And then she winced.
"...Guess we're preparing salads tonight… again." Ren sighed before calling their mission director. "Hello, it's us again, Miss Peanut. Can we get some more money? No, it's not for another movie, seeing Morbin' once was fine enough."
And so, the adventures of Team JNPR in this strange and mysterious land continued.
Whew! Done! Sorry for the massive delay of the chapter. A combination of laziness and other stuff I do is what made writing this up take… 4 months!? Ah crap. Oh, and I'm pretty happy that RWBY has found a new home at ViZ Media.
Anyways, thank you to Maglad and Aemon for proofreading. Let's hope the next one doesn't take another third of the year. Place your bets on the next chapter on what pieces Yang and Blake will become!