Chapter 27
Day 8: Late Afternoon
A barrage of rounds from Ember Celica slammed into the holographic Beringel; the beast bellowed once before falling to the ground and dissipating into nothingness. A loud chime sounded, echoing through the training room, signaling the end of her session. Yang sighed, her time was up and other people wanted to use the space. She was tired anyway, her arms and legs feeling like jelly now that she had stopped moving. The door opened and a group of other Hunters that she recognized but wasn't familiar with walked in, talking loudly amongst themselves. She gave them a polite nod and walked off towards the locker room, toweling the sweat off her face. She collapsed her gauntlets, shouldered her bag, and headed to the showers to wash off.
She let the hot water run over her aching shoulders for much longer than she had originally planned on. She hadn't realized just how tired she was until she stopped moving. It made sense though, she had been in the training room since breakfast, practicing hard; but she wasn't abusing herself like she had been yesterday, she was taking much needed breaks to let her aura recover when it got too low. The exercise didn't stop her from thinking about…from thinking about Ruby, but she couldn't stand to sit still right now. Command hadn't given her a new mission yet, so off to the training room it was.
Blake had joined her for a few hours that morning; the two of them had worked on perfecting a few of their team moves. The Faunus woman was also very clearly feeling the itch to move, to avoid sitting still. Eventually she'd left after receiving a message on her scroll, saying cryptically that she had something to check on.
"See you tonight." she'd said, giving Yang a small smile and squeezing her hand. Yang had smiled back, she was looking forward to tonight, they had agreed that morning to keep sleeping in the same bed as they had done last night. They had both had more than their fair share of nightmares and Blake had been a real comfort to her, she hoped that she had been one to Blake too.
Before she had fully left the training room, Blake had turned back towards her. "You should go see her." she'd said softly, "I know you feel terrible about hitting her…and she needs us right now. And I…I don't want to do any more damage to her than I did yesterday…" her mouth became a grim line, her guilt from yesterday still running deep.
Yang had cocked an eyebrow, looking at her partner incredulously, "You do remember what I did to her yesterday, right? I very much doubt she wants to see me at all."
"She needs someone." Blake had said quietly, "And we're all she's got right now. If I go in there I'm just going to break down and make things worse. Please Yang…"
"I'll think about it." Yang had replied at the time, sighing heavily and not really meaning it. Seeing Weiss right now…she knew just how much that would hurt.
But as the day had gone on, she realized that Blake was right. Weiss desperately needed them now. And Yang would be there for her, despite her personal feelings, despite how much pain it would cause her. It was what Ruby would have wanted her to do. Besides, Yang wanted some closure. She wanted, no had, to know what had happened to them out there, even if she wasn't entirely sure if she could handle hearing it.
She supposed there was only one way to find out. She sighed and turned off the water. She toweled herself off, dressed, hefted her bag, and left the locker room; her determined footsteps carrying her towards the hospital.
Day 8: Early evening
She let out a shaky breath as she approached the nurse's station on Weiss' floor. She saw the large, muscular nurse from yesterday, focused and typing on the computer. She saw from his nametag that his name was Sal, she'd been too angry and out of it to even notice yesterday.
"Uh, hi…" she said softly, flashing back to the man's furious face as he had spotted Wiess on the floor. Sal looked up from his keyboard, saw who she was and immediately leveled a glare at her. Yang supposed she deserved that.
"I'm not going to have to deal with you ruining all my paperwork by setting the sprinklers off again, am I?" he growled.
"No…" she said sheepishly, "I'm…better now. More, uh, cool headed I guess you could say."
Her pun coaxed a tiny smile out of the burly man. "Good." he nodded, seemingly satisfied, "But if you're here to see her, she said that she doesn't want any visitors."
"Oh…" Yang sagged a bit. She understood, especially after what she'd done yesterday, but she would be lying if she said it didn't hurt. "I'm just going to go look in the door if that's ok." Sal nodded his assent.
Yang walked over towards the door and apprehensively looked through the window and saw…an unmade, empty bed. She frowned deeply.
"You know she's not in there, right?" she asked the nurse.
Yang had never seen a man that big move so fast, leaping out of his chair and vaulting over his desk, he slammed the Weiss' door open and quickly searched the room. Apparently having found nothing, he ran back to his desk and immediately began making calls. Moments later, she saw the staff up and down the halls look at their scrolls as some kind of announcement went out. Yang stood there, wide-eyed, as the staff whipped into a flurry of activity, apparently forgetting all about her in the chaos.
She looked into Weiss' room herself, confirming that it was indeed empty. How could she have gone missing without them knowing? Weiss literally couldn't walk on her own, she would have to have one of her summons-
A horrible, horrible thought suddenly occurred to her. "Oh gods…" she gasped, her heart dropping into her stomach. She quickly slipped away from the nurses station, a fairly easy task considering how distracted everyone was. She had a feeling that she knew where Weiss was and she prayed to the Brothers that it wouldn't be the case. She'd never wanted to be wrong more in her entire life.
Minutes later, she arrived at the door that led to the roof of the hospital. It was locked, but that didn't mean anything, if Weiss was up here she wouldn't have taken the stairs. A few deft movements with her lockpicks was all it took to get the door open, the kit and accompanying lessons both courtesy of Blake. She pushed the door open; the sky was almost completely dark now and she could see some dancing ribbons of aurora in the sky. With the city glittering below, it was an amazing view that she just didn't have the time to appreciate. She quickly looked around, spotting a figure that confirmed her worst fears.
A hundred feet away, Weiss sat on the edge of the hospital roof, her one good leg dangling over the lip, her body hunched over. Ruby's cloak was wrapped around her for warmth, the fabric flapping in the frigid wind, how Weiss had gotten that Yang had no idea, but that hardly mattered at all now.
"Weiss!" she cried out, beginning to sprint towards the clearly shivering woman, her boots crunching on the gravel. Weiss' shoulders straightened, seemingly surprised that Yang had been the one to show up.
"Stop." Came Weiss' voice, barely audible over the howling wind. Yang did as she was told, halting about ten feet short of Weiss, not wanting her to do anything rash.
"Wh-What are you doing Weiss?" she asked shakily, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, "How'd you even get up here?"
"I had my lancer carry me up here from the window in my room," Weiss said, not turning to look at her, "I wanted to see the city and the stars one last time before…" she trailed off, both of them knowing how that sentence ended. Yang chanced moving closer, moving quietly to the side so she could see Weiss' face, now only five feet away from her friend.
"Why are you here?" Weiss retorted.
"My…my sister…" Yang swallowed the lump in her throat, "My sister gave her life so you could live, Weiss. I'm here to make sure you don't just throw it away."
Weiss instantly stiffened and whipped her head over to look at Yang, the look in her eyes told Yang she'd hit the mark. Yang let out a held breath, the line had been a slight gamble but she'd had a hunch.
"How could you possibly know what she did?" Weiss snarled.
"Because I know my sister…" Yang replied with a small, sad smile, "She would die for you in a heartbeat…And you're oozing guilt. It didn't take much to put two and two together."
Weiss turned away again, "Why do you care anyway?" she said quietly, staring out across the city, "You made it very clear how you feel about me, both you and Blake." she sighed, "Not that I blame you at all, I'm sure I'd feel the same way if I was in your shoes…I do feel the same way."
Yang's heart ached for Weiss, the self loathing entirely evident in her strained voice. "I always care." Yang said, "Even now. Especially now." she crouched down, getting at Weiss' eye level.
Weiss snorted derisively, clearly not believing a word Yang had said. Yang could see that her gaze was directed at the ground far below.
"Look Weiss," Yang said, her voice trembling, deeply scared for her friend and running out of cards to play, "You've clearly given up on living for yourself…so I'm going to ask…no, beg you to live for us…live for the people that care about you."
Weiss finally looked over at her. Tears began to drip down Yang's cheeks.
"Because…" Yang swallowed thickly, "Because I've already lost one sister…I can't…I can't lose another." the dam finally broke and all the emotions she'd been holding in check rushed out. The thought of a world without both Ruby and Weiss in it was just too much to bear. A sob heaved her chest and she cried, burying her face in her hands.
After a few moments, she heard crunches of gravel and felt a hand on her knee. Yang looked up and saw that Weiss had dragged herself away from the edge, tears of her own streaming down her face.
"I mean it Weiss," she said softly, "You're family. You always will be. You're not alone."
"I know that now…" Weiss said softly, "I believe you." she shivered violently, pulling Ruby's cloak further around herself.
Yang moved closer to Wiess, pulling her against her side, hoping her naturally hot body temperature would do the woman some good.
"You know Blake doesn't hate you either, right?" She said softly.
Weiss' jaw clenched, "No, she's just terrified of me. Scared I'm going to kill again. Not that I blame her. Both of you have more than enough reason-"
"Weiss…" Yang interrupted, "I promise you it's just…" she sighed, "It's been a lot to process, and…the both of us reacted incredibly badly yesterday. Neither of us hate you, I promise. I meant it when I said you're family to me. I know Blake feels the same way too."
Weiss continued to look down but Yang heard a loud sniff from her friend. She gave her a moment, but decided it was time to get back inside when the smaller woman shivered again.
"Will you come back down with me?" Yang asked tentatively. Weiss nodded weakly, wiping tears off her face.
Yang stood, "I'm going to pick you up, ok?" Weiss nodded again. She squatted down and scooped Weiss up in her arms. Gods she was light, especially now, minus a leg. Yang left the roof, and slowly made her way back down the stairs towards Weiss' floor.
"I'm sorry." Weiss said after a few moments, "I'm sorry for making you worry." she rested her head on Yang's shoulder. "I just…I don't know what to do without her…everything just seems so…meaningless."
"I know…" Yang said, "I don't know either…But we can find out together. You just gotta be here for it. You gotta be here so we can make the people that did that to you guys pay." She swallowed, "Promise me you're not going to do anything like that again."
"I promise." she said, looking up and meeting Yang's gaze, "For you guys." Yang believed her, Weiss meant every word.
They exited the stairwell, and began walking down the hallway. Yang rounded a corner a little too fast and nearly ran right into a nurse who gasped and immediately pulled out her scroll, sending a message out. Yang cursed under her breath, she'd been hoping to get back to the room without being noticed. Moments later they were approached by a slew of medical personnel who seemed to come from everywhere.
"Oh gods." Weiss muttered, panic in her voice after seeing all the people coming towards them, she buried her face in Yang's shoulder, "No, no…I can't…"
They were quickly surrounded by doctors and nurses, worry on all of their faces. A few of them reached towards the white-haired woman cradled in Yang's arms.
"STOP." Yang snapped, her eyes going red, her anger flaring. The personnel pulled up short, startled and afraid of Yang's loud voice. She scanned the crowd and found Sal, "You, come with us." she immediately moved towards Weiss' room, the doctors and nurses parting in front of her.
She breathed a sigh of relief as she entered Weiss' room. She laid Weiss back down on her bed as Sal closed the door behind them. "What happened?" he asked, coming around to the other side of the bed, his eyes wide, "Where the hell was she?"
"...She was upstairs." Yang said after a long moment, giving the man a significant look.
"You mean upstairs-upstairs?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
Weiss nodded in confirmation, shame and anxiety evident on her face.
"I-I, you realize that I have to report this and start protocols right?" he said, his eyes wide.
Yang saw Weiss sag in her bed, a look of defeat coming over her features.
"What, like strap her down?" Yang asked, her blood turning to ice, Yang knew how she would respond to being tied to a bed like that and she couldn't imagine any way that would end without the room being on fire. But Weiss…she was in an incredibly fragile state right now and that could have grave consequences.
"Among other things, yes." Sal responded, "If she's a danger to herself we have to protect-"
"I really don't think that's necessary." Yang said, hearing a note of panic in her own voice, "She's already agreed never to go upstairs again, right Weiss?"
Weiss nodded, "I promise."
Sal shook his head, "I don't think that-"
"Ok let me ask you this," Yang said, making a last ditch effort, "If she really wanted to escape, do you think that a few flimsy straps could stop a trained huntress?" she took a breath, "Please, I'm asking you to keep this between us, for her sake."
After a moment he sighed heavily, "FINE. You just found her in a bathroom on one of the higher floors. What is it with you people and insisting on making my life difficult?"
"Sorry," Yang said with a small smile, "And thank you."
Sal nodded, "I still have to check her over though."
Yang nodded, "I'll get out of your way then."
Weiss watched as Yang gave her a small wave and began to head towards the door. Yang had literally pulled her back from the brink; it felt wrong to just let her leave like that.
"Wait." she called out, stopping Yang at the door, "Can-can I have a hug?" she looked into her lap, slightly embarrassed to be asking that, "I know things are weird between us, but-"
Before she could even finish the sentence, she was swept out of the bed and crushed by a classic Yang hug.
"Things are going to be weird between us, at least for a little bit," Yang said in her ear, "But you're family and I'll always be there for you…"
Weiss' jaw trembled and tears began to drip down her cheeks and land on Yang's shoulder. She wasn't sure if they were happy or sad, but she was so utterly grateful to have Yang in her life.
Yang held her for several minutes before setting her back down in the bed again.
"Come back tomorrow," Weiss said weakly, settling into the bed, "Both of you, I'll tell you everything that happened, if you want to hear it."
"We'll be there." Yang promised, giving her a small smile as she left the room.
The nurse, Sal, checked her over thoroughly, finding nothing amiss. He left, but not before warning her not to try anything like that again. She nodded, she had promised Yang and she intended to keep that promise. For them. He nodded, turning out the lights as he left the room. She heard him sigh and shake his head exasperatedly as he closed the door.
She looked at Ruby's cloak for a moment, seeing it crumpled on the sheets of her bed. She shook it out, then used it to cover herself like a blanket. She allowed herself a small smile, it was what Ruby would have wanted, what she actually had done while she was in the coma back in Haven.
It was comforting, the familiar texture against her fingers, it even still smelled like her, somehow.
She settled into her pillow, thinking about how grateful she was to have found a family that cared so much for her even while dealing with their own grief. Ruby was gone but it was like she'd left some pieces of herself behind, in the form of her friends and family.
"Dolt." she murmured to the cloak, as her eyes started to get heavy, remembering Ruby scoffing at her for saying that she would be alone, "Why are you right all the time?"
She fell asleep to the comforting scent of roses.
So I've never been deeply depressed or suicidal so I apologize if I portrayed anything inaccurately, which is also why I wrote most of this chapter from Yang's perspective, I just didn't feel like I could get into Weiss' headspace in this moment. And this isn't going to be an instant fix for Weiss either. She still has a long way to go before she's ok.
I'm going to try to update more regularly but I've got a lot of stuff going on in my life right now, so I can't make any promises. If you liked the story, favorites and follows are always appreciated (especially now that email notifications are working again), and I love reading every review people leave even if I don't always reply to them.
As always, thanks to my wonderful wife, V, for being my medical consultant and beta reader, and thanks to YOU for reading!