Arc 2 - Chapter 6 — The Strength

Only with strength can one endure suffering and torment - Nyx Arcana, Persona 3

Morning time out in the suburbs and Yang Xiao Long was just sitting there on her motorcycle, thinking about how her life used to be better. Sat there at the edge of the curb, in relative quiet, waiting to take her baby sister to school.

Of course, none of this was outside of her regular routine. Oftentimes, Yang would be out with her friends late into the night, living her best life as it were. Then the next morning, she'd pull up to her house's curb just in time to pick up Ruby, who would always look happy to see her. They'd ride off, wind in their ears, maybe stop for some burgers, while Ruby talked her head off about this weird dream she had or that new anime she watched. The simple thought of that brought a smile to Yang's face. She yearned to go back to days like that. Although, such a dream was unlikely to come true if Ruby never came home.

It was Jaune's curb that Yang now waited on. And instead of Ruby being ready and waiting when she pulled up, Yang had been waiting the longest twenty minutes of her short life, with no sign of her sister yet. Ruby had apparently still been asleep when Yang called her, sounding as dreary and drowsy as Dad when he took his sleeping meds. This by itself was probably nothing to be concerned about. Except that Ruby was a notoriously early riser. She must have been quite busy last night to have overslept. Quite busy doing something. Or someone.

Yang knocked on her temple to banish an influx of unpleasant thoughts. Tapped her foot on the ground as every creeping minute slowly chipped at her frail patience. What could be taking Ruby so long? She had never taken long to get ready, not ever. Maybe it was taking her longer than normal this time? That sounded reasonable. Hell, maybe she didn't know how the showers worked in there and was struggling with the knobs like they were magic cubes.

Or maybe, someone was keeping her from getting dressed. Or she had been dressed and someone tempted her out of them again. Or worse, in their horny haste had decided fuck all and got to business despite being dressed and ready. On and on, Yang's imagination went, infinite in possibilities, all with the same ending. No, no, Jaune had said she could trust him. He had no such intentions on her sister.

Then again, intentions could change. And faster than one might believe. Who could know better than Yang, who'd gone to Sun in a moment of weakness seeking warmth and some comforting words. She did get those things, just with a more intimate context. Jaune could very well not have intended anything with Ruby at first, but then once they were together, alone in his room, they'd sought warmth and comfort too, and just did what came naturally. Yang's foot began to tap even faster. She was definitely just overthinking. Her sister would come out the door very soon, talking about some crazy dream, and Yang's concerns would go away. For sure.

That's when Jaune's house door did finally open and Ruby came ambling out. Yang's concerns only grew stronger.

Ruby had stopped at the door to adjust her skirt. Specifically to pull the hem down. As if it had been significantly higher than her mid-thigh not moments before. Yang certainly remembered doing the same several times herself, only it was usually after leaving Blake's or Sun's bed. That might have been the end of her worries, but her shirt was a little ruffled too, and she had to pull it down over her exposed belly. Oh god, even her hair was a mess. Ruby was constantly brushing down like she was trying to hide the raunchy activities she'd been up to just moments before coming. Outside. Before coming outside. Yang felt her heart pounding furiously.

Ruby came hurrying up to Yang, a sunny smile on her face which looked so innocent any other time, but in this context seemed far naughtier by comparison. It seemed to say: why yes, dear sister, I did have sex with Jaune over the weekend. Many times, in fact. I plan to do it again, too. Or rather, I plan for him to do me again.

"Hey Yang," said Ruby, immediately hopping onto the seat and wrapping her arms around her waist. Yang felt a kiss on her cheek, which might have made her present, but was ruined by the idea of Jaune's tongue in her sister's mouth. Maybe that was hypocritical. Her mouth had been on stranger things on the same day in which she kissed her dad. Yang hoped to God that her dad never wondered about such things

"Hey, hey," said Yang, glad Ruby was behind her now so she couldn't see her frown. "You took a while in there."

"Sorry, we were going all night."

All night? Yang herself was a one-and-done on most days. Maybe twice if she was in the mood. Her little sister had gone all night? Yang felt a shooting pain in her chest that might have been just a cough but felt a lot more like a heart attack.

"It was hard too. Oh my god."

Did she say heart attack? She meant panic attack.

"Didn't even take a break, either. And I was so sweaty after. It was insane."

Mercy. By the gods, mercy. Yang did not want to hear all this on her way to school. Not only were they having sex, but they'd been at it like the last two rabbits on the verge of extinction. And the most Ruby felt from it was being tired? Jaune had turned her innocent baby sister into a sex-crazed maniac. Or no, what if Ruby had always been this way?

"We beat it eventually, but we were on the last level for hours. And about time too. We got to put in a few hours on Pirate Warriors 2 before we passed out. So much fun."

Hold on. Was she talking about a video game? Oh, that made so much more sense. Yang had to loosen her grip on the bike handles, having squeezed them so hard that her palms ached. She had to force out the words, "O-oh yeah? That's cool, Ruby. So you had fun?"

Ruby looked out from behind Yang to look at her. Her face flushed pink and her smile so pure that the angels looked on with envy. "Lots!" she said.

So Yang found herself smiling back, and for more than one reason. Happy that Ruby, regardless of what they'd done together, had been able to enjoy herself. She hadn't looked so happy in months. Yang found herself a little hurt too, because such happiness had become rare at home. Then, she was somewhat envious that someone else had been able to make her sister happy instead. With a sigh, Yang said, "Okay, you ready to go?"

Ruby pressed into Yang's back. "Ready!"

With a thrum-thrum of her bike, Yang wheeled them around, pulled away from the curb, and rode off to school.

Yang took a massive bite out of her sandwich, but the delicious combination of cold veggies, hot chicken, and spicy hummus was but a temporary filter over her tattered state of mind. "I reawwy jus don't geddit," she said with her mouth full.

Sun bit into his six-inch sub, then said, "Swarrow fore you talk, babe."

It was a recent thing that she and Sun had been going for lunch outside of school, but already that had slipped into her normal routine and almost felt impossible to change. She liked being alone with him, and for more reasons than was obvious. Yang felt stupid for constantly needing to justify herself now. Ever since her little interrogation from Jaune, she felt like a mistress who knew the man she was seeing was married, yet fully intended on breaking them up. Except, in this case, Yang was actually the married one. Or was it Blake? Damn Jaune for causing all this confusion. She hadn't had to think about it this hard until his prying nose came a' sniffing.

Ever the good listener with those big ears of his, Sun had heard out her many frustrations since they'd entered their favorite shop and ordered their meals, his soft and attentive blue eyes forever unjudging. Maybe because it was hard to judge someone you were in bed with, and in more ways than one. "And I don't think you need to. Understand it, I mean. It is what it is. Isn't that what you're always saying?"

Damn him, why did he have to remember that? "Stop using your logic and make me feel better, jerk." Yang flicked a piece of lettuce from her sandwich onto his nose.

Sun grinned. "You're right, I forgot you don't like solutions to your problems."

"That's not true."

"You're right. It's just mostly true."

Yang glanced at him from beneath her brows, trying to show him her irritation, but he just smiled back winningly, as if he knew he could say whatever he wanted and she would forgive him. He was probably right. He was the one who would always be straight up with her, even if they ended up arguing about it. That was one of the things she liked so much about him. That was one of the things she wished Blake would do more.

"I can't just let it go, though. I'm the big sister. I'm supposed to protect Ruby. How can I do that if she's running off to some boy's house, who she doesn't know that well, doing god knows what?"

"I'll give you that they didn't know each other well when they hung out, but that's sort of the point of hanging out. Gotta start somewhere."

"Maybe they're getting to know each other too quickly. Jaune can think what he wants, but we were friends for years before…things happened."

"Well, again, you don't know if they're having sex or not. Jaune did say that's not what he wanted."

"You believe him?"

"More than you do apparently. Look, I know Jaune looks mean. And is kinda mean. But Weiss was far worse. It took hella long before Blake or Nora or anyone could get on with her. It took her way longer than Jaune and at least he wasn't calling us 'imbeciles' the whole time. If Jaune says nothing is happening between them, I'm sure it's true."

Yang shook her head. "You haven't known him for more than a month. How can you be so sure?"

"Because he helped Neptune when I couldn't."

Yang thought about that. Right, that whole situation. Everyone had known about it to some extent. Yang had known far more, being one of Sun's only emotional outlets. He would vent all the time to her about it. Upset because Neptune was upset, and wanting badly to punch his dad in the face.

"I couldn't have stood up to his dad like Jaune did. Not saying it was cool to punch him, but… in the end, Neptune told me his dad said he began to realize what he was doing after Jaune laid him out. Guess that's the only reason when Neptune finally snapped that he listened instead of doing what he usually does. And you know what's funny? Jaune said he was willing to get arrested for it too. Knew he could get in a lot of trouble, and still did it. Weiss told me they'd talked before all of that went down, and he promised to help, though she couldn't have known what he planned to do." Sun looked right at Yang with hard and serious eyes, silently commanding her not to look away. "That's why I believe what he says. He won't say things he doesn't mean, and he cares about people more than he lets on. If he told you something, you can believe it."

Yang almost gaped. There had never been a reason for her not to trust Sun and now was no exception. She'd never seen him defend someone so staunchly. "And what about Ruby? Why does she want to hang out with him and not…"

"Not who? You?"

"Her other friends."

"Who else does she have but the rest of us? Ruby told me around the time she started high school that her old friends flaked on her. I don't think she's talked to any of them since. You didn't know that?"

Yang blinked. "No."

"Well, it's true. Ruby told me she was fine, but I never really saw her make friends with anyone else. Not outside our group anyway."

"What's wrong with us? I introduced her to everyone because I know she has a hard time with people. She gets along with everyone."

"Not to undermine you, but it kinda helps that we all knew you beforehand and that Ruby is your sister. We were already predisposed to like her. Ruby has a hard time making her own friends. Maybe she finally decided to do something about it, and that's not your fault. She's just finally breaking out of her shell."

"So she picks Jaune of all people?"

"I would think you'd be proud. It's kind of bold, isn't it? Jaune isn't easy to make friends with, either. He's still in that early Weiss stage."

The more he compared Jaune and Weiss, the more apparent their similarities became, even now after Weiss had mellowed out.

Yang felt Sun take her hand from across the table and squeeze it. His fingers were strong and warm. "You need to think about what's actually bothering you. Are you really upset about Jaune and Ruby getting under the sheets together?" Then he pulled his hand away and she missed it right away. "Or are you afraid that Ruby might have outgrown needing you?"

Sun could not have known how deeply that hurt her. Or perhaps he did, but felt the need to be honest anyway. No one liked being called out, but she knew it wasn't coming from a place of insincerity. Could there be some merit to what he was saying? Was this really about her wanting to protect Ruby? Or was Yang trying to protect herself? Yang had a feeling she might be thinking about that for a while. "Sun? Gimme Jaune's number."

He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Alright."

Afternoon time out beyond the suburbs, and Yang was just sitting there at the edge of the curb, waiting to take her sister home from school. This was the routine, yes, but now she was seeking to do something a little different. She didn't wait long for the bells to ring, and not long after for Ruby and Jaune to emerge in stride together. Ruby in jaunty step alongside Jaune's slow gait. She was smiling up at him, eyes shining with infatuation. There was no mistaking a look like that. No doubt, it was exactly how Yang had looked at Blake for many long years. It had been a dream come true to finally be with her. But the dream had not lasted long.

In a way, it was like Ruby and Jaune were a painful reflection of what Yang once had. The two couldn't have been more opposite. One dark and moody, the other brighter than sunshine. Maybe that was why she didn't like it much. She'd had that rose-tinted veil over her eyes, in love with love, and so utterly enchanted by Blake's better qualities that she could ignore the less respectable ones and pretend everything was perfect. Then, of course, the heartbreak that came from realizing it wasn't enough. Being with someone so different from her and yet she thought she loved so much which was likely doomed to fail from the start. Yang didn't want that same thing to happen to Ruby.

And an even worse consideration was that Yang could be envious. That for all his similarities to Blake, Jaune could likely be better than her and in fact good for Ruby. She would have to admit then, that she had chosen the wrong girl to love for all those years, to which even now, she still felt beholden to.

Ruby came up bouncing on her heels, waving to Yang with the same enthusiastic energy as before. She made ready to get on the bike, only for Yang to stop her. "Rubes, how about you take the bus home, okay?"

Ruby looked confused. "I'm not going home yet, Jaune and I are supposed to watch movies."

"Home first. Dad wants to talk to you when he gets off work."

"About what?"

Yang shrugged. "Heck if I know."

"Why can't you take me home?"

Yang nodded up at Jaune, who lingered behind a little, but was still within earshot. "Because I need to have a long talk with my buddy here."

Ruby looked up at Jaune, then at Yang, then back at Jaune with much more worry. Jaune just nodded at Yang. "Is it safe on that thing?"

"Depends on how fast I go."

Jaune sighed, but voiced no further concerns. He got on the bike and wrapped his arms around her. "If we die, I'm haunting your corpse."

"Don't hurt him, sis," said Ruby.

Had it been her from last week, she might not have been able to adhere to that. Now, it was clear that such methods wouldn't work. "I won't. Promise. See you at home."

And Yang drove off, Jaune in tow.

"Haven't been here in a while," said Jaune as he stepped off Yang's bike.

Neither had Yang. She used to come to the Spot often, but that had been when Blake was around more often. Strange how the absence of one person could make such a difference in where you went, what you did, how you felt, even. Price was snoring away outside the doors, head tipped over the backrest of his chair, boots propped up on a table laden with mucky cards and his spit can. Classy Price. He never changed.

They headed inside, and it seemed to have a steady amount of activity today. Cardin and his cronies were in one corner passing cigarettes, and Lola was not far off having seen them and was already on her way to confiscate. A bunch of people filled the bar and the seats before the stage, while a band of men played forgettable rock music that was just only just audible over the humming air conditioner. Couldn't say it didn't set an atmosphere, though. Melanie was at the bar today, though it wasn't like the other being there would have made a difference in Yang's case. They spotted each other, held for a moment, then Melanie threw up her middle finger, which Yang returned with a smirk. Their greetings never went beyond that, really. They'd gotten in a fight once, her and her sister both, and it hadn't turned out well for them.

"So what? We're here for drinks?" asked Jaune.

Yang turned her head over her shoulder to grin at him. "Not unless you're buying."

"You're the one who asked me here."

"I'm blessing you with my company. You could be more grateful, you know." Yang beckoned for him to follow. "Anyway, we're going to the gym downstairs. Keep up, bud."

"I'm sprinting."

The door at the end of the club, easily identified since it was the only thing inside the building that wasn't newly painted, required no permit or anything to enter. Beyond was a long cold stairwell leading straight down, bright fluorescent lights in the ceiling almost made it look out of place. It was just the sound of their footsteps as they descended, a familiar scent slowly easing into Yang's nose. That cold and ashy basement smell.

Once the steps were behind them, the place changed again, and Yang remembered once thinking that when it had been built, multiple teams had been given different schematics for the rooms and not bothered to consider any consistency in design. The gym had lights above that were old and faded, the light bowls filtering bright white into sour yellow, giving the room a more dour, lonely feel. The gym itself was not much more than a great square with some branched-out patches of area for various things. Exercise machines lined the right wall, wooden flooring at the far end where Yang often saw dance groups practice, and a room of pool tables sat collecting dust down the other way. There was only one other person in the gym, some older woman in tights on the treadmill, bobbing her head to the music from her headphones. In a small block of the gym with walls decorated with bad paintings, three heavy punching bags hung from the ceiling in untouched silence. They were old, had lost some stitching, and kind of stank, but it was a smell she was used to by now. Besides that, the gym was nothing but the smell of nothing. Breathe in and it was but a whiff of cold air.

Yang headed over and dropped her school bag on the floor against the wall before turning to Jaune. He stood there staring back at her, hands in his pockets, blue eyes cold and unassuming. Like Blake's in a way. Only while Blake's eyes never betrayed the idea that she might be withholding a secret, Jaune's were harder to read. It was hard to tell whether this guy had more going on than Yang could ever know, or if everything was laid out bare and she simply overthought it all.

Yang sighed, then began to slip out of her blazer. Jaune didn't voice any confusion from that, but he got there eventually when she started to pull her polo off too.

"Um…" he said with a narrowing of his eyes.

"What? You aren't used to girls getting naked in front of you?"

"They usually aren't strangers."

"We're not strangers, we're besties. I mean, I've told you some of my deepest, most personal secrets, haven't I?" Yang tossed her shirt on the floor, finally feeling a little freer in her sports bra. Then she kicked off her shoes and felt the cold of the carpet floor seep through her stockings and into her feet. A good and familiar feeling. It felt like coming home. "Might as well take off your jacket too. It might feel cold right now, but there's no circulation down here so it'll get hot, and we'll be working up a sweat."

"Could've gotten dinner first."

Yang rapped on one of the punching bags with her knuckles. "We're not fucking, Romeo. Just spot for me, okay?"

Jaune blinked, then slipped off his bag, his blazer, and his shoes too. He took the opposite side of the bag and held it firm, his face now hidden fully behind it. Yang gave the bag a test punch to test his grip. It did not budge an inch.

"Now that we're best friends and all," Yang shook out her hands to loosen her fingers, feeling the bones shift "You should spot for me once in a while. Most of the time I'm down here alone."

"Can I say no?"

Yang curled her fingers, felt a few cracks. "If you need my permission that badly, then yes."

"I'll think about it, then."

Yang chuckled. "Things can never be straightforward with you, huh?"

"We might define the word differently."

"Pff," Yang set up a few more punches, looking for a good rhythm to work with. Pat, pat, pat, breathe. Pat, pat, breathe. That was the sound of things for a while. The thumping of her fists against old leather, her quick and controlled breaths, the tapping of the runner's sneakers on the humming treadmill, and even the faintly intelligible music playing from her headphones. Yang felt herself start to sweat and it was a good feeling, her muscles began to burn and that was even better, and all her thoughts, while they hadn't gone away, seemed to lose much of their importance as she entered a state of calm. "So what's your deal? Huh, Jaune?"

"Nine-ninety-five plus shipping."

"Har har. You know what I mean."

"I really don't. I'm just a normal guy."

"Normal guys don't punch out someone's dad like you did."

"Maybe they should. Might result in less asshole dads."

"My uncle could use a good punch. Mind helping me out with that?"

"If the price is right. Nine—"

"Ninety-five plus shipping. Yeah I know, shut up and hold the bag straight." Yang managed something of a smile, and Jaune even managed to send one back of roughly similar quality. "So what were you and my sis up to this weekend?"

"Nothing you would want to beat me up for."

Yang really did believe him this time. "I wouldn't actually beat you up. I'm not some meathead."

"You don't convey it well. My impression of you lately has been punch first, punch later."

"Then I'm sorry. I started MMA because I have an anger problem. I used to hit walls and shit. Broke my hand a few times. So Sun showed me kickboxing and," She gestured to the punching bag. "This fella has been my guilty mistress ever since. I can abuse her all I want and she won't call the cops on me." Yang neglected to mention that she sometimes visualized the bag as people she was angry with. Him in particular since their talk in the park.

"So what? The bag stopped helping so started threatening anyone who pissed you off?"

"Let's be fair, I was threatening people way before I started kickboxing." Yang had meant it as a joke, but it didn't land, not even for her. "I know, it's messed up. I need to do better about it. Sun tells me all the time."

"Sun's a good guy."

"He is."

They went back to that quiet rhythm for a while, but eventually, it was Jaune who broke the silence. "It's not just the Blake stuff, is it?"

Yang glanced at him but did not stop punching. "You really are nosy. I don't know why I thought you'd be trying to get in my sister's pants. You're too busy trying to get into people's heads."

"Their hearts, actually."

Yang burst into laughter. "So that's it, huh? You're hunting for hearts, huh?" Yang put a hand over her own. "Does mine qualify or will only my sister's satisfy your obsession?"

"I'm not picky," said Jaune.

"No? Then here, let me open my heart up a little, since that's what you want. My mom's dead. She's been dead for two years now. How about that, eh?"

Silence again, but not at all the comfortable kind. The runner had chosen this convenient moment to stop and turn off the machine, ensuring that there was no filtering sound in the dead air. Her feet didn't even make a sound as she left the room, still bopping to her now unintelligible music, out of the gym and beyond, quite as if she'd never been there at all. None of that was particularly special, but Jaune's reaction was.

The cold eyes had died in an instant, replaced with wide shock. Jaune's hands slid off the punching bag, left it swaying a little, his mouth partially open like he'd had some words to say, but he either couldn't say them or was afraid to. Eventually, he croaked out, "Dead?"

"D-e-a-d. I guess you'd want to know how, though. Car crash, actually." Yang was starting to tear up already, and doing so in front of Jaune was more embarrassing than she cared to admit, and that only made her wonder why she was telling him. "Kinda stupid, right? My mom was a cop, so I always thought I'd lose her to a bullet. Probably saving someone's life or whatever. Nope. Car crash. You wanna know more?"

"You don't have to."

"My mom got promoted to detective. That's what she always wanted to be and she worked hard for it. Me, Ruby, and my dad got the house all party-ready and my uncle was gonna bring her after they had some drinks. Nothing out of the ordinary. They'd go bar hopping once every weekend, but they always got home alright. No reason for us to expect any different, right?" Yang felt a tear drop onto her cheek as she slowly shook her head. "Guess they went a little too hard that night. I can't say I wouldn't after finally getting the job I always wanted. You wanna know more?"

"Yang—"

"So they call it for the night, right? Finally time to head home and get to that party that Uncle Qrow spoiled by then. My mom wanted to drive, but my uncle said she was too drunk. Oh, the irony. So he drove instead, and they got on the highway—found out all of this from Uncle Qrow himself, by the way—and then guess what?"

Jaune stepped from behind the bag, and even took another, more concerned step toward her. "Yang, you don't—"

"No, here's the best part!" Yang was actually laughing, her eyes so full of tears that Jaune looked trapped behind an opaque wall. "My uncle decided to get a little more daring. He wanted to relive the good ol' days when he lived in the country and they used to joyride everywhere. So they're drifting and swerving on the highway and shit, which was thankfully not busy on that side that night. Well, he swerves too far. Busts right through the median and into the other road. They weren't hurt, just a little shaken up. Then they see a light from my mom's window." Yang clapped her hands together suddenly and it made Jaune flinch like it had been a crack of lightning. "A fourteen-wheeler semi-truck. Big as hell. Much bigger than my mom's crappy little car." Yang picked up her shoe, then sent it tumbling across the floor on its side, over and over and over. "Damn thing punted them down the road just like that. Crazy, right? There's one positive out of it though. Mom died instantly. Probably didn't even have time to regret anything."

Jaune just stood there with unmistakable pity in his eyes. Not at all the kind of thing she was used to seeing from him.

"So, you know, we go through the motions like any family. Had a funeral and all, even had the whole police force show up. All our outside family gathered up so we could all be sad together. Even my real mom showed up, which yeah, the woman who raised me isn't my birth mother but that's another can of worms. At the time, the police called my dad and he went to see her. Qrow was messed up but alive, he was lucky. Neither of them wanted us to see Mom's body. I don't think I even wanted to. Me and Ruby? We sat in that house, surrounded by all the decorations we put up and that lame cake we made, and I held her while she cried," Yang pursed her lips, shook her head. "And she held me while I cried. I don't think we stopped until we fell asleep. Isn't that insane?"

Jaune closed his eyes and stood there rigidly.

"And well, that was it for our little family. Mom died and we went with her. My dad cried for months and was out of work for a while, and my uncle Qrow hates crying so he just kept doing what got mom killed in the first place. Ruby just shut down, and nothing I said helped. Time passed and things just kind of went on. If we talked about mom, it was about all the good things. 'Course my uncle Qrow still hadn't stopped drinking. Kept getting pulled over or arrested. Him. A fucking detective who should know better. Ended up losing his job over it, so now he just passes out on our couch. You can imagine my dad not being very happy about that, so we hear them arguing all the goddamn time. Super late at night too when we'd have to go to school the next morning. I tried stopping them once, and well, it didn't work. So again, I would hold Ruby, and she would hold me. That's all we could do at the time. That's still all we can do." Yang let out a whimper, looking down at her feet, wishing she hadn't said any of this now. "Well, was that interesting enough for you, Mister Heart Hunter? Is that enough for you?"

Jaune did not answer her. In the same way that Sun couldn't, there was nothing he could say. Even Blake had been utterly wordless on the matter. Who could blame them? What could anyone do but sit there and listen?

"So yeah, that's the other reason I let Sun bend me over a table. So that I can forget about my dead mom, my lying ex-girlfriend, and my uncle and dad who won't stop fighting. That's all of it. So, you got a solution for me? Will you come and punch some sense into my uncle and dad? Are those magic fists of yours gonna repair two years of us falling apart? Do you have anything for me, Jaune?"

Jaune swallowed. His eyes were no less full of pity, but certainly not closer to good advice. Yang hadn't expected him to be, and yet it still hurt. She got no satisfaction out of this, and in fact, had only made herself look pathetic.

The sound Yang made was something between a sob and a chuckle. "Nothing, huh? I didn't think so."

Ruby threw clothes into her travel bag with all haste. Truth be told, there was no need to rush, but she moved mostly out of excitement. There was no need to be selective about her clothes either since Miss Peach was allowing her to stay for a week. A week! Just her, Jaune, and Miss Peach. Seven days of anime and video games and fun. It had been a long time since she'd enjoyed herself so much. So she'd be damned if she was staying in this miserable house.

There was a soft knock at her door. Dad. He was the only one who ever knocked. "Ruby, are you in there? I need to talk to you."

Ruby had been dreading this. Whenever Dad wanted to talk, the topic of concern was usually not good. Then again, maybe that was the case for most people. You didn't exactly sit someone down with a serious and dramatic tone, then announce you were going to an amusement park. It'd be awesome if that did happen, but it wasn't likely. Ruby did not doubt for a second that her father would have something to say about her staying at Jaune's house. Might have something to say about Jaune that Yang might have told him. But there was no way to avoid it and he had said yes to her staying over anyway. It was best to just let him say what needed to be said. She owed him that much.

She called for him to come in, and he slowly pushed the door open, greeting her with a big bearded smile that never reached his sad eyes. Sad ever since mom died. "How are you, baby?"

"Good," Ruby said, continuing to pack her bag. "Erm, thanks again for letting me stay at Jaune's."

He nodded. "I let your sister have her freedom, and it's about time you had yours. You deserve it. Besides, Peach is an old friend and I know she won't let you get into any trouble. Well, not that you would. You aren't really a troublemaker. But… well, I guess I mean—"

"I know what you mean, Dad." Ruby smiled, hoping that might take the edge off him a little. Her father felt like glass to her sometimes. It was a wonder he'd been so strong for so long, yet to crumble into complete self-pity like a certain someone. "What did you wanna talk about?"

"Here, honey. Come sit with me." Ruby's father sat at the edge of her bed and she joined him. He pressed his thick palms together and Ruby saw that he still wore his wedding ring. She remembered a time when Yang and her tried to get him on a dating site and he'd gone on a few dates, but never pursued them any further. He could never let go of that ring. He could never let go of his wife. "Ruby, you know you can always talk to me. About anything. Right?"

"Yeah," said Ruby.

"And, you know I can't help you unless you do. If you're going through something, you have to tell someone. It can be hard, Lord do I know it." He took Ruby's hand and hers felt so small in his, gave it a gentle squeeze. "But I will do everything I can to help. You just have to talk to me, alright?"

Ruby was not missing what he was getting at. "Well, I'm okay. Really. Nothing's wrong." Nothing more than normal anyway. Uncle Qrow hadn't been drunk when she walked in from school today, but he had already gone through two beers so it wasn't far off.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Her dad did not look convinced. He'd let go of her hand now, and had to rub a tear out of his eyes. "Honey… I saw your arms."

Ever so slowly, Ruby felt herself grow cold. From tips of her ears, down to her neck, deep in her stomach, to the tips of her toes. A horror like nothing else.

"I'm sorry, honey. I came into your room when you were asleep and checked. I've known for couple days now, but I'm not angry with you. I just want you to talk to me, or if not me… maybe someone who can help. I called some therapy centers, scheduled some appointments. They think— "

"Dad, I don't need therapy. My arms… it was from…" But Ruby knew there was no convincing him. She had never thought of a reasonable excuse because she'd been sure her dad wouldn't find out. How stupid of a notion that now seemed.

"It's okay, Ruby. There are programs that can help. Whatever you need, no matter how much it costs. But I don't want to force you into it. So, please just tell me you'll come meet the therapists with me. Please. I'm sure they can help you."

Help was not what she needed. She needed time away from her family. To be somewhere she could breathe and relax and enjoy herself. She wanted to be with Jaune. "I'm okay, Dad. I promise. My arms… it won't happen again. The scars are old and I don't need to do it anymore. I'm fine."

He looked so hurt looking at her. In that personal way which had no comparison. That kind of hurt which was like the day he'd lost the love of his life and the mother of his children. Ruby remembered him constantly apologizing to her and Yang, for being a horrible father, for failing to protect their mother. It had crushed Ruby's heart then, and remembering it had not dulled the feeling. Ruby reached over and hugged her father as tightly as she could, saying nothing, for no words would help, then pulling away. "I gotta get ready to go. I love you Dad, and I promise I'm alright."

Her father nodded, evidently unsatisfied with how the conversation went, but likely willing to leave it there. Ruby had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she heard of it. "Alright, baby. You have fun, okay?"Her father kissed her cheek before leaving, the door clicking silently shut behind him.

Ruby wiped her eyes before getting right back to packing her clothes. She tamed her trembling lip, and sniffed back the tears. No negative thoughts, no sadness, no pain. Only a fun week at her friend's house. A nice long week away from her normal life.

The only downside was that it wouldn't last forever.

Wow, the reception of the last chapter was insane. Thanks y'all. But of course, happiness cannot last forever. Hard to believe this is only chapter six of this arc and already so much has happened. Yet there is still much more to come. Hope y'all enjoyed this chapter. I know it came out early so it's kind of a sudden tone shift. Anyway, later.