Hey everyone, I know that I said I would be updating this story every week until it was finished and clearly, I failed at keeping that promise. It has been almost two years since I have updated this story and I apologize to anybody who was waiting for a future update and has had to wait this long. Things got quite busy in my personal life, and I just could not find time to write this story. Things have since calmed down and I'm hoping to continue this story. I did write a good chunk of this story right before I had to stop so the tone and style may change halfway through, and I apologize if that is annoying or if there are any details that do not track with previous chapters as I have been away from it for these two years and I have barely caught myself back up. I am hoping it is at least close. Please enjoy chapter 3.
Sleep didn't come easy for Ruby she had spent the majority of the night awake staring at the bunk above her unable to fall asleep. She was finally starting a new life tomorrow and she was determined to spend it alone. For now she would deal with having to work with Winter. Which really wasn't so bad, Winter was nice and was only looking after her. Though it was hard to not think of Weiss when Ruby saw her and every time, she did it hurt a little. She knew that Winter and Weiss were different people but they were so similar it was hard to ignore. For now Ruby would just have to deal with that she would move past it eventually.
Eventually she managed to fall asleep though it wasn't for long. Her alarm went off what felt like seconds after she fell asleep but she couldn't stay in bed her training with Winter started soon and she couldn't be late. Shooting up out of bed she got into her combat gear and realized she didn't know where she was supposed to go.
As if on cue there was a knock on her door. She went and opened the door to find none other than Winter outside waiting for her.
"Hello Ruby, I realized early this morning that I never actually showed you where the training facility was."
"That's okay I was about to call you anyways."
"Well then I guess we should get going the two of us have a full day ahead of us as we have our first mission tomorrow."
"Is anyone actually going to tell me what this mission is?"
"When it is time for us to leave General Ironwood will debrief the both of us."
"Fine. I'm just used to being the first one to know what the mission is though seeing as I'm not even on a team anymore I guess I'll just get used to it."
Why did Ruby act as if she was never going to see her team again? She has been acting like she doesn't even like her team ever since her test on patch. Winter wanted to know why but she felt as if she pushed the girls buttons that it would drive her away.
"Well I suppose that will be your first learning curve being here. Why don't we get on our way?"
"Sure, sounds good" Ruby said with a clearly forced smile. It was obvious that Ruby didn't actually want to train or be around anyone, she just wanted to start her mission.
As the two of them entered the training facility Ruby became increasingly more and more shut down. Her posture, face, and attitude were all very serious. She was nothing like the fun loving energetic girl that Winter had seen in the past or that Weiss had described. She looked like a soldier and not a teenager.
"So Ruby, this is our training facility this is where the two of us will train for the day. Today is mostly going to be for my benefit and less so for yours. I need to fight with you and understand your fighting style and semblance. You have the benefit of having fought with my sister for so many years and as her and I have the same semblance you do not have to learn mine. While she uses our families dust I do not, and I have more of a heads on approach to fights than Weiss. Do you have any questions for me?"
Ruby didn't even mother to talk all she did was shake her head no indicating she had no questions.
"Very well then for our first bit of training you and I will face hard light projected grim we have to destroy all of the grim before the time runs out and we will have exactly two minutes to do so."
Again, not speaking Ruby simply pulled her weapon off her back and extended it to its scythe form and got ready for the inevitable grim. Ruby was clearly ready for a fight, but this behavior was so against what she had been told by Weiss. Normally Ruby would have been excited to fight and kill grim but right now she looked like she just wanted to hurt something.
Winter again wanted to say something to the girl but now was not the right time she had to get ready to fight plus she didn't want to get in Ruby's way.
Ruby just wanted to be done with this training and start the mission she knew exactly what Winters fighting style and semblance was. She gets that Winter needs to know hers, but Weiss had already told her about it not to mention her Vytal fight footage. Whatever it didn't matter she just needed to kill grim and right now she just wanted to fight. As she was finishing her thought, she heard a loud buzz and about 15 feet in front of her there were suddenly 20 or more Beowolf's, she lost count the black mass in front of her.
Without thinking twice Ruby used her semblance to close the gap between herself and the Beowolf pack with one swing of crescent rose she decapitated 3 of the fake Grimm and they turned to little blue pixels on the ground. Before she could react, she heard the sound of an appearing glyph stopping the swing from another one of the grimm just to her right.
Expecting Winter to be true to her word about being more aggressive than Weiss Ruby jumped to her left away from that grimm over two more and out of the way. She was right to do so too as the three grim she had just avoided had already been turned to pixels. Not wasting any time ruby rushed back to where she was once standing to give support back to Winter cutting down two more one arriving while Winter used her semblance to summon a beowolf of their own. Being nothing new to Ruby she knew that the summon was going to be a distraction while the two of them would pick off the rest.
So that is exactly what they did. Winter jumped onto a floating glyph and launched herself straight to the distracted grimm and killed about 6 before any of them knew what was happening. Ruby decided she needed to take on the group of 8 just behind her using her semblance she dashed behind them and let off 4 shots of her rifle taking down 3 of them. The rest charged her immediately. Their charge was clumsy and uncoordinated so all she had to do was be faster than them and that was easy enough. Using her speed, she swung her scythe at the fake beasts taking down 2 of them. She used the momentum of her swing to flip herself behind the remaining 3 shooting one in the back of the head as she landed. The other two chargers her once again. Jumping over the swinging arm of the grimm she hooked her curved blade of her weapon around its arm cutting it off as the weight of the weapon spun her around, she cut off its head turning it to pixels as well. Before she could finish off the last one, she saw Winter standing there while pixels fell.
"Well done Ruby we destroyed all of the grimm with almost 30 seconds to spare."
"Great. What's next?"
"Well sadly it will be more of the same for the entirety of our day until it is time for dinner. You have already shown that you can handle yourself I just need to study you."
"Fine lets just keep going then."
They did so for the remainder of their day by the time they had finished the kill counter had them each over 700 kills with Ruby having the slight edge.
"Good work today Ruby I believe that tomorrow we will have no issues on our mission, though that is not of any concern now. You and I both need to eat and get some rest."
"Right, we haven't eaten all day I didn't even notice we got so busy with all the training."
"Yes, we did get carried away, I am going to go into Atlas to eat tonight I would rather have good food before a mission." Winter wanted to invite Ruby to dinner with her, but she felt like the girl just wanted to be left alone. Though if she didn't take Ruby to dinner the girl would not get good food before their mission. Knowing that Ruby wasn't going to eat she decided that she would take her out for dinner knowing that a malnourished partner would jeopardize the mission.
"Ruby, would you like to accompany me to dinner tonight?"
"I think I am just going to go to cafeteria for tonight and go to sleep early."
Winter felt a little saddened by Ruby declining her offer, but she knew that the girl wanted to be left alone before she asked. She wanted to push Ruby and make her come to dinner, but she knew that wasn't the right choice pushing her would just cause her to fight back.
"Very well, if you decide to change your mind, please give me a call I hate dinning alone so I would be happy to have you"
"I will thank you Winter." Ruby was a little perplexed by the way that Winter had asked her to dinner, but she knew it was only pity Winter didn't actually want to be around her. Ruby knew that she just needed to be alone, she didn't have the energy to go out and be around anyone even if Winter's offer was genuine.
Both of the huntresses walked to the lockers in silence neither of them had anything left to say and Ruby just wanted to shower and get back in her room.
The showers at Atlas academy were much nicer than the ones that she had used at Beacon. The showers stayed warm for much longer and much larger they had their own doors for privacy, fresh towels, handers for your clothes, and best of all they were completely separated from one another. At Beacon Ruby had been so self-conscious anytime she had to use the gym showers at Beacon as there had been little privacy compared to here. All they had was an almost see-through shower curtain that separated the individual showerheads. Ruby decided that she would stay for awhile realizing that she hadn't bathed since leaving Beacon and since she had nobody waiting for her, she was in no rush.
By the time she finished her shower and gotten dressed she was the only person in the locker room as she heard Winter leave long before she finished. She felt bad for not going to dinner with Winter, but it was for the best she needed to be alone and every time she looked at Winter, she saw Weiss and she was reminded of the life and team she had left behind. The thought made her heart hurt, even if her team didn't need her, she still felt like she needed them.
Her walk to the cafeteria felt like it took ages as all she had thought about was her team and what her new life would bring. She tried so hard to get their attention to make them see that she mattered, she trained until her hands bled and she couldn't stand anymore and still they had forgotten her and left her alone like garbage. The best thing she could do was move on.
She was given this opportunity because of her training her uncle saw it and she was going to show everyone else she deserved to be noticed. She didn't hate her team and she wished them the best, but she also felt nothing but pain when she thought of them and it almost made her sick.
Being in the cafeteria had not helped her stomach, there were far too many smells of foods she knew she didn't like. So, she settled on a plain turkey sandwich and potato chips. She knew she had to eat despite not wanting to, heck she didn't know if she could keep down what she did eat. She went to look for a place to eat but seeing as she didn't know anybody in Atlas other than Winter, she decided that she would eat in her room alone.
The sandwich was bland, and the chips needed salt but she managed to eat it all after she had returned to her room. The fight to keep the food down was a nice distraction from it all. It kept her from thinking about her old team up until the point it was gone, and she had laid down on her bed. She only had four contacts on her scroll her dad, Qrow, Winter, and General Ironwood. None of them she really wanted to talk to. She wanted to talk to Yang. She used to be the one thing the one person Ruby could always talk to but now she had nothing to say to Yang. She doubted that Yang even cared that she was gone at this point she had her life of bliss with Blake and Weiss and there was no room for Ruby anymore.
She tried so so hard to make the thoughts leave her brain she knew that life was behind her and that she needed to move on. It just didn't make it hurt any less. She had only been gone two days it was going to take time to move on. She just wished it came quickly. With that thought she decided to close her eyes and get some rest the mission she had to go on tomorrow was the only thing that mattered now, and she had to be up early for the briefing.
Winters dinner had been a quiet one she decided to go to an upscale restaurant just on the edge of the Atlas. She sighed internally wishing that Ruby had joined her, but she knew that the girl just didn't want to be around anybody. She felt as though Ruby was intentionally avoiding her, but she couldn't figure out why.
Every time she had tried to do something nice for the girl she seemed to just get pushed away or denied and there was a look of pain in Ruby's eyes every time she saw her. That is when it dawned on her, it was her appearance that shook Ruby the most as she looked so similar to her sister. Yes, she was taller and wore her hair differently not to mention the lack of a scar over her face, but the similarities were uncanny nonetheless.
There wasn't anything that winter could do about how she looked so she decided that it wasn't worth worrying about. It hurt her knowing that just the sight of her hurt her new partner. She knew it was because Ruby had missed her team, they were so close before everything went down between them, and she knew that it was going to take Ruby an awful long time to get over that pain. She wasn't sure it would ever happen it had taken her years to get past her team separating after she was selected to be general ironwoods second hand.
She had the general idea of what had happened between Ruby and her team, but she didn't get the whole story and she knew that. It wasn't any of her business, she was just so worried about the girl that her thoughts weren't able to go elsewhere. She could only think about what was happening to her. She hadn't decided what was causing her to worry so much. Sure, she had gotten a known Ruby over the past few years that she was teammates with her sister but they were never extraordinarily close. Maybe it was just Winter feeling motherly and wanting to make sure that she was happy just like she wanted to make sure her sister was happy. She couldn't tell if that was why she was so protective over Ruby because it felt ever so different from how she treated Weiss. There was something else there that she couldn't quite put her finger on that made her want to make the girl happier.
As she returned back to Atlas Academy on the private airship that had taken her to dinner, she contemplated calling Ruby or going to her room to check on her. She wanted to make sure she had eaten and that she was doing good. Leaving beacon and coming to Atlas so quickly had to have been so jarring and she wanted to make sure she's settled in well. That wasn't weird right? It wasn't overbearing, it was just kind.
Sadly, the more rational part of her brain told her that it was far too late in the night to call or see her, and after the training they had today it was more than likely that she had already fallen asleep. Ruby had done more than keep up with her all day. To say she was impressed would be an understatement. The only thing that concerned her was what kind of training did Ruby put herself through to get to the level of a veteran Huntsman before she graduated and two years younger than her class on top of that.
Had she been training as a way to escape? If she had then she must have been working herself to the bone. She had seen Ruby move and fight against her uncle, but she could not have predicted how well she would have performed in the simulator against the grim. The way she moved was so quick and precise it was almost scary how easily she was able to cut through the holograms. At her age it shouldn't have even been possible for somebody to do that and yet she had.
With that thought Winter realized that she did have someone she could ask about the training Ruby had done. Weiss, she was her partner they undoubtedly trained together. Though Winter was not exactly in the mood to talk to her sister particularly about her partner. Weiss had been part of the problem of what drove Ruby out of Beacon.
Winter decided to call Weiss despite how early it was in Vale. Winter was a professional and she needed to know Ruby's habits in the field, and she needed to know what to expect from Ruby. Sure, they trained today, and they were able to work almost seamlessly together but that wasn't any good compared to the amount of time Weiss had fought alongside Ruby.
So, as she walked to her room in the academy, she grabbed her scroll and dialed her sisters number and waited for her sister to answer. She knew that she would considering Weiss was unable to let the phone ring more than three times before she picked up.
"Hello?"
As she predicted her sister answered right on the third ring.
"Hello Sister, I would like to ask you a few questions regarding your former leader."
"What? Why? Is she hurt?" Winter was surprised to hear her sister so concerned she never seemed to care that much about Ruby. At least that was the impression she got with Weiss shushing her and berating her constantly.
"She is fine I just need to know about the training she did before coming to Atlas. We have a mission in the morning, and I need to know if there is anything I should be doing to better assist her."
"Wait Winter what do you mean you have a mission with Ruby tomorrow? She's barely been there two days?"
"Yes that is true however she was able to out perform me in the simulations today and as I am no slouch it was very impressive. That is why I am calling a girl her age should not be able to do that the training must have been intense and since you were her partner I assume you were there for it and can give me valuable information on her fighting style."
There was silence from her sister, she did not respond to any of the questions that she asked.
"Weiss? Are you there? I realize it is ear-"
She was cut off by Weiss.
"She bested you in the simulators?"
"Yes, though it was a minimal difference. So, I ask again what training did she undergo to reach that point?"
"I-I'm not sure. The last time her and I sparred she was barely able to keep up with me." Realization finally struck Winter. Weiss hadn't been training with Ruby.
"Weiss, when was the last time you trained with Ruby or went on a mission with her?"
"I-I can't remember it must have been around six months ago." Weiss' voice was shaking at this point and Winter had begun to get angry.
"What do you mean you have not trained with her in six months? She was your partner. What about the rest of your team is there anyone who had been training with her?"
"Winter, I was the last person to train with her. Yang and Blake haven't in over a year now. We were doing partner training for the last year."
"So then explain to me why you have not been training with your partner?"
"I was so busy doing my own training and I was training with Yang and Blake more then I just f-forgot"
"So you forgot your partner? You forgot your leader? Every member of your team forgot her?! What kind of teammates are you?! No wonder she left without so much as a goodbye. She thinks that you all abandoned her! She's right too. I left my team, and I am not any better than you but they had each other you left Ruby with nothing and nobody."
Winter did not give Weiss or her team a chance to respond so she hung up the call after she essentially yelled at her sister. She had gotten so angry once she realized why Ruby had left her team. She understood why she had to leave them too. Almost a full year with her team not caring about her not even noticing her. That was a damn good reason to want to leave your team. She barely had one in the end.
As she entered her room, she felt her scroll buzz and saw that it was Weiss calling her. She didn't want to talk to her sister. Winter thought that she was best friends with Ruby and as cold as Weiss could be she didn't think she would treat the girl like garbage. So, she sent her a text that read "Weiss, I am very disappointed in you and your team. Ruby had not told me why she chose to leave but I now understand. Her team threw her to the side as if she was nothing and never looked back. I am not sure what the full situation was or what caused it and frankly I don't need to. The youngest member of her team was isolated by her sister and her two best friends left to her own devices. You did not even see her train or the progress she made until she was gone. I am not sure if you can fix this or how you can even try. Ruby is adamant that she does not want to see any of you."
With the message sent she turned her scroll off and decided to be a better partner to Ruby than her sister had, and she was going to show it and not make empty promises she knew that Ruby wouldn't believe. So, she settled into bed trying to cool herself off, she was so angry and so disappointed. She couldn't understand how they left Ruby alone, like that she was so kind and gentle not to mention friendly. The girl was a ray of sunshine, and her teammates didn't see it. Well she did and she was going to make sure that light came back to her and that she knew she wasn't alone anymore.
It had only been two days since Ruby had left for Atlas with her sister and Weiss had been alone in her dorm room for most of that time. Outside of their conversation with Ozpin and moving her stuff back she didn't really have a reason to go anywhere.
Her conversation with Ruby before she left was the only thing on her mind and she had been trying to piece together all of the events that lead to her best friend leaving their team. She had noticed that Ruby was avoiding Yang and Blake for quite some time, but she had still spent time with her. They had studied together at least once a week, and it hadn't been that long since they trained together either.
Sure, Weiss had been a little distant when she thought she had feelings for Yang and Blake. She had just wanted to explore what she had assumed were romantic feelings. She now knew they weren't of course. She had ended her relationship with her teammates so easily that she knew her feelings weren't what she thought they had been. She had just jumped at an opportunity to be a part of something where she felt cared for. She lacked that sort of attention growing up and when two people she cared about deeply offered her the chance to get it she couldn't say yes fast enough.
However, now she knew that is all it was. It was her chance to feel loved and all that had resulted from it was her leader and best friend had left her behind. The realization that Ruby had feelings for her hurt her deeply. She hadn't seen any of the signs, but they were so clear to her now. Ruby was constantly at her side, staring at her, and seeking glances. Yet she hadn't noticed any of it. Even after she had told Ruby that she was going to move out of their shared dorm she didn't notice how the poor girl's face had fallen and the joy in her eyes had vanished completely.
She felt like she was the reason Ruby had been pushed to the edge and there was no way to rationalize a way that she wasn't. Ruby had found comfort in her and all she did was shatter her heart. She should have seen the signs sooner. Ruby had been drifting away from the team for almost a full year and not one of them stopped to make sure she was okay. Weiss saw that Ruby had thrown herself into her studies and was proud that she had made it to the top of their class. She felt like she couldn't help Ruby study anymore and decided to help Yang and Blake.
That is when it had all started really. She had been spending less and less time with Ruby doing little more than talk to her after class and in the dorm. Her and the rest of the team hadn't seen her outside of class or the dorm for months. Wait? Months? She had just come to the realization that she hadn't been studying once a week with her anymore. When was the last time she even sat and studied with the person she called her best friend?
These thoughts had been plaguing her all night. She hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. She had done nothing but stay awake and think about everything and stare at her scroll waiting and hoping for a message from Ruby. Yang had heard from her father that Ruby was going to get a knew scroll with a new number. She knew that was going to happen anyways since that was the same thing the Atlas Military did for winter. She had just hoped that Ruby would at least tell her team that she was okay. They still loved and cared for her and yet there was nothing.
She hadn't even bothered to contact Yang. If she wasn't going to contact her own sister what were the chances that she was going to contact her ex-partner. The ex infront of the term partner hurt her more than words could describe. Ruby had been officially taken off of their team less than 24 hours after she had left and now Weiss was the only student at Beacon with no partner. It was odd and it was sad she had gotten into a relationship to not feel alone and to feel loved but now she felt more alone than ever. The empty room she was in surely didn't help that feeling.
Ruby's side of the dorm was left exactly as it was when she left. The closet on her side still open with nothing in it. The empty dresser sat sadly against the wall with the comics Ruby loved gone from the place they once lay. It was a sight that Weiss couldn't get over. She was alone. Sure, now it was by choice, but she cared more for Ruby than anyone else and when she left it was clearer than ever. She missed her.
Yang and Blake still had each other, and she could still go to them, and they were still two of her closest friends, but they weren't Ruby. She wasn't sure what she felt for Ruby, all she knew is that she had missed her dearly.
As she lay awake trying to sort out her feelings she got a call on her scroll. She desperately hoped that it was Ruby, she just wanted to hear from her. As she rushed to see who was calling, she saw that it was just her sister, but she still rushed to answer the call because she had hoped to hear about Ruby.
The conversation that followed wasn't what she had hoped for. Her sister had called to ask her about Ruby and her fighting style. The conversation went nowhere after she had been forced to realize just how long she neglected her partner.
Winter had yelled at her and berated her slightly but everything she said was true. She had forgotten Ruby she had every reason to leave them. Weiss had thought she understood the situation fully and that she knew how bad it was.
She was wrong, so very wrong. The loneliness Ruby must have felt had to have been crushing. What training had she done to get better than Winter? Ruby was always good, but she wasn't able to beat Weiss in the last four years and now she was beating Winter?
How had she not noticed all of this? Was she truly that self-centered? It wasn't all her fault though Yang and Blake didn't see it either. Though Yang and Blake hadn't been living with her they had less of a chance to see it and it didn't help that Ruby had been avoiding them. The blame was still on all of them, they had all neglected Ruby.
She tried to call Winter back right away so she could try to explain and apologize. She wanted to get a message to Ruby, but Winter had ignored it and instead she sent Weiss a text. She was already tearing up on the verge of crying when she got a message from Winter that pushed her over the edge, and she cried until she had no more tears to shed.
She wasn't going to wait six months to find Ruby. If Ruby could train to that point so could she and she was going to nothing was going to stop her. Grim and fate be dammed she was getting her friend back. She knew one person that might just be able to help her train to that point. She didn't like him, but it was her best choice. She just needed to contact him through Yang.