The story of the humble coffee bean, though a common commodity today, reveals a much longer history behind it, spanning centuries worth of trade, interaction between peoples and the vastness that was the world. Whether it be from the coffee plantations of Southern Vacuo or Valpo, the result was still a beverage consumed over entire worlds.
Some say that it helped to bring about industrial change, as people who awoke in the morning could finally feel awake and refreshed, ready to start the day for work. Who is to say it was true, however, it could have been a way for coffee barons to sell more of their produce to entire nations. Regardless, however, the caffeine in it was of little use to Kansen. Sure, just like Oxy-cola there were Kansen-specific versions that did work, but those weren't for human consumption, a regular cup of coffee for any regular person on Remnant was not going to do anything for Ruby. Judging by the way Uncle Qrow was gripping his mug, however, it was something he needed right this moment.
"So…nice fashion statement? Where'd ya get the coat?"
Ruby had not had the chance to slip back into her regular clothes, and thus was in her Kansen outfit.
"It's not-I've had it for a while."
"Never seen you wear it, though I've seen it appear in other places. Does a place in the shopping district called 'From Dust Till Dawn' mean anything to you?"
She put her own mug down on the kitchen table, it really did feel different with Yand and Dad gone. Zwei was also with them, having been recruited to be a ersatz search dog, desperate times called for desperate measures, Ruby supposed.
"It's a good store, I pass by it on my way to work." It did have a good collection of weapon magazines and other hobbyist content, though not as much as a dedicated store would have.
"Yeah…you see, I got a colleague from work who's been there recently. Met some unsavoury people, under a guy named Junior's employ actually. Though there was one in particular which gave her some trouble. Wanna fill me in about her?"
There was not much point in keeping up the charade, but Ruby would entertain him for a bit longer. "Did she carry a riding crop by any chance?"
"Yeah, actually, she does."
"Gaudy."
Qrow snorted, a small grin on his face as he rubbed his unshaven chin. "Hah! What would I give for you to say it to her face…I mean, if I tried I'd get crucified but you can get away with it. You're not a Beacon student so…"
A brief moment of laughter aside, the two settled back into the awkward silence they had before, neither finding the right words to say. Ruby eyed Qrow's flask as it emptied into his mug before its contents were emptied in one gulp.
"Ah screw it, Ruby, just come straight, what's going on with you?"
"I…"
"Look, kiddo, I know you have your own secrets but-"
"You have no right to talk to me about secrets."
"What-"
"The Von Rosen? My own mother's lineage, the 'secret' mission she was supposedly sent on, what you do as a huntsman all the time. And those are just for my side, I do not know why you keep Yang from Raven Branwen, you know, my supposed mother-in-law and Yang's birth mother, but it seems that this family keeps secrets from everybody."
"How did you-"
"You had graduation books, and also, it wasn't hard searching for Raven Branwen on Mistral's most wanted list through the scroll network. Quite the impressive record from your tribe, Uncle Qrow." The huntsman flinched a bit, clearly not expecting Ruby to bring up that piece of information.
In the information age, similar to her old world, finding info that were usually buried deep within archives and organizations was as easy as knowing where to look. However, having Junior give her some pointers didn't hurt either. In regards to Raven Branwen, who she had never met before, Ruby kept quiet regarding her for the sake of Yang. It was a topic neither her father nor Yang brought up within Ruby's presence, but she kept herself relatively knowledgeable about her, but again, it wasn't her right to know.
"I don't even know why Yang needed to go to Junior's for information, if that was you at the club a few days ago, all she has to do was follow the trail of destruction in Anima-"
"Ruby! Enough, good Oum you've made your point. Kids these days and their scrolls…"
Ruby took a deep breath before asking the biggest question on her mind.
"So, are you going to arrest me?"
"What?! No, I mean, just no, I'm not arresting you, Ruby, wouldn't even think of it."
"Really? Even if duty states that you should? Would you go against the huntsman's pledge? Are you not to deliver me to top of Beacon's clocktower?"
"Ozpin can go suck it-"
So it was him, the file she grabbed from the dropship revealing much that was true. Using her uncle as confirmation may have been ethically questionable, but loyalties when duty was involved always came into question. Sometimes, the former overpowered the other, other times, the latter did, and Ruby was honestly not sure which one would win if push came to shove.
"At least tell me if you're working with Torchwick and the White Fang?" Qrow almost pleaded, his eyes searching for any sign of refusal, which he got quickly.
Ruby immediately groaned, she should probably ask where he got that video from as well. "No, both incidents were…unfortunate timings. Torchwick threatened to reveal his criminal connections in case of capture, he just so happens to frequent Junior's, where he and I have…met before. Though I assume the docks was because the Atlesians jumped the gun?"
"Oh yeah, Winter fuc-Schnee, ignored my warnings. Got a little messy there I'm not gonna lie, but you sure as hell did a number on her, not that I'm too mad about it. You didn't kill her, or anyone else and that's what matters."
Qrow slapped both his hands on his laps before standing up, stretching his back in the process. "I'm not gonna ask about whatever semblance you got just yet, but I know a way to smooth everything over. Just need to make a few calls to the right people and-"
"Grrrrrrrrrr"
Qrow instinctively reached for his back only to find that he was grabbing air. His weapon was not on him right now, leaning on the table instead.
"Calm, Schwarz, Uncle Qrow was not going to harm me." Ruby patted her rigging down, lately her temperament had been much harder to manage than usual. With Ironblood riggings there was a risk of them running amok, though not many incidents happened, it was still a possibility, usually when their Kansen were under some amount of 'danger'. Troublesome, but it made them all the more ferocious when fighting.
"Okay…nice and easy…you wanna call your…"
"Schwarz."
"Right, Schwarz, away from biting my head clean off?" Her metal jaws were within breathing distance of a very anxious Qrow, having seen what she could do from the docks. Willing her back, Schwarz stood behind Ruby, still radiating hostility to what she perceived as a threat. It was a miracle she didn't appear earlier when Qrow surprised Ruby in her bedroom, not that she wouldn't have been able to handle her.
Adjusting his shirt, Qrow moved a bit closer to his weapon before talking again. "I thought you'd get a Semblance like Summer's, guess family traits only go for so much. Okay, you wanna keep your semblance a secret, it's not anything too special so I don't know why you want to do that. Unless there's something you're not telling me again."
"You're imagining things, Schwarz has always been the sole part of my semblance, as you have said."
"Ruby, I've spent too many damn years with Raven to be gaslighted anymore."
Damn, it was worth a try.
Sighing, Ruby originally planned for this day to come when she was of age. It wasn't that she never planned to tell her family, but rather there wasn't any good time to do it until she had a degree of independence. The best-laid plans could always be torn apart by things beyond her control, only this time it was nowhere within her expectations.
"Do you remember where the gravestone is?" She was pretty sure Qrow knew where it was by heart, but making sure didn't hurt.
"Yeah, what about it?"
"The cove that it overlooks, tell Yang and Dad to meet me there."
"Uh…what-"
"I will go there and prepare, make sure they get to the beach."
Sometimes, when the moon was in full and visibility good enough, Ruby would anchor her hull right on the cove for several hours. It was a picturesque location rivalling even some of the vacation spots in the Adriatic sea owned by the Sardegna Empire. During daytime it was a risky thing to pull off, but the cove was not a place that fishermen or tourists frequented, it was Ruby's own personal retreat, if she ever needed it.
Trust was a poison, and once it entered your body, it could destroy it. The only way Ruby could protect herself then, was to trust no one. How ironic, to Adam Taurus she said affection was a poison, and here she was, about to ingest poison herself.
"Tai, TAI watch the rock-"
Qrow's words were ignored as he got thrown around in Zippy, Yang following closely behind them on her motorcycle. For all the times he gave him shit for driving recklessly, Tai was breaking at least half a dozen driving laws right now. He didn't say anything, instead gripping tightly on the steering wheel, completely focused on the task ahead.
"And you're sure she's fine?! Like, no scratches, no wounds, no tattoos-"
Why are you worried about tattoos?!
"Tai, she's fine, healthy, kinda pissed and me for telling you and Yang but otherwise completely normal."
Still travelling way too fast for what should be back country roads, Taiyang at least visibly relaxed a little, the bags under his eyes betraying how wide they were.
"Okay…okay…it's just…she'd never do something like this! And also, how did you even know she left the house? You didn't tell me anything about that."
"Coincidence while working, eyes on the road!"
Swerving just in time to miss a giant pothole, they were coming up onto the clearing where Summer's grave was. Yang sped up ahjead first, screeching to a stop just before it. Getting out of the car, Qrow's fears of Ruby skipping town again was abated as he saw Ruby standing next to the gravestone, waiting for them as promised. If he did bring them here and she was a no-show, Tai and Yang probably would have never forgiven him.
"Ruby!"
Shooting ahead like a firework, Yang wrapped around Ruby, so much so that Ruby was threatening to expel the coffee onto her back.
"Nǐ gè bèndàn! Do you know what you put me through?! I was out there for six hours, finding every nook and cranny…and…and…"
"Any more and you could crush my ribcage."
Unfortunately for Ruby, Yang didn't let go, her shoulders shaking as she continued to hug her. Qrow could see the relief on Tai's face as he approached her as well, visually confirming that Ruby was fine, and not torn to pieces by Beowulves as he originally thought. Hell, even going to where Summer's grave was he got a heart attack because of how the grounds were ripe for baby Beowulves to wander. Usually, when Ruby went there it was with one of them escorting her. But now, with everything he knew so far, did they really need to?
"Oh thank my ancestors you're okay! Ruby Xiao-Long Rose, what were you thinking going out alone in the middle of the night?! Don't you remember what we said about the Grimm when the sun went down?!"
And there it was, Tai's rage now that Ruby was fine. Yang had to inherit her spirit from someone after all.
"Ugh…Yang…let me go…"
"No! I'm not leaving you alone in that house again…not anymore…"
A small amount of discomfort was actually being shown on Ruby's face now, causing her to finally pry herself out of Yang's grip. Despite her being somewhat reluctant to do so, she eventually did let go, though the teary eyes didn't go away.
"Okay, we're gonna have a talk about this, but, not here. Let's all go home and get something to eat-"
"No, we're talking here."
Ruby interrupted Tai from continuing, this entire time she had not moved a single inch from where she stood.
"I…have been keeping secrets, for a long time." A small bright flash of blue light, the same one Winter reported seeing from the dropship appeared right behind her, and Ruby's serpentine familiar floated ominously behind her. Yang and Tai immediately drew their weapons, barely stopping in time to see Ruby pat Schwarz.
"Wha-Ruby! Get away from it!" Yang wanted to launch forward, but was again stopped by Qrow putting a hand on her shoulder. He knew better since he'd seen whatever that thing was before, Semblances that gave on a familiar were not that uncommon, but they usually weren't that Grimmlike. Still, seeing it up close and personal was a hell of a lot different than seeing it in pictures and descriptions.
Turning around, Ruby spoke while edging ever closer to the end of the cliff. "For the past ten years, I have been…harbouring a change to myself, no one knows about this, you will be the first to know of my condition."
"Uhuh, that's great and all but why don't you stand a bit closer back to us? You could fall if you aren't careful." Taiyang, though still very cautious of Schwarz was eyeing her ever closer steps towards the edge.
"Sight is better than words alone, however. I am placing my trust in all of you, can I count on any judgements to be withheld until I explain everything?" Ruby's silver eyes flickered for just a second, giving both Qrow and Tai pause, Yang thankfully didn't notice it in her tear-stained sight. If the report from last night was true…
"S-sure Ruby, if you ask, we'll listen."
"Hey, c'mon, you can tell your old man what's wrong, right?"
"Uh, yeah, what Tai said."
"I see, then I hope you will still hold those thoughts later." Ruby spread her arms out while facing them, Qrow, Yang and Tai realised what she was about to do a bit too late.
"Let me tell you of the memories of those I have inherited, a world where the seas filled with the stench of gunpowder, and of Ulrich Von Hutten."
Ruby let herself drop, or rather, launched herself off of the cliff. Pouring Aura into his legs, neither of the three managed to catch her in time.
"RUBY!"
Simultaneously, her name was called out thrice, but there was no response. Before they could reach the end, before Qrow could jump and transform into a crow, the three of them were blinded by a flash of blue light, making all of them freeze to cover their eyes.
"What's going on?! Ugh, Ruby!"
Not long after, the intense light began to die down, all in all, it did not last for more than a few seconds. The first thing they heard was the intense rushing of waves impacting the cliff below them, fearing for the worst, Qrow forced his eyes open.
What greeted him however, was a Battleship.
"Here comes the bullhead~"
"Weiss, please, I beg of you, stop."
Weiss did not stop. In fact, the slice of apple that was meticulously peeled by Winter's younger sister was thrust ever closer to her face.
"You have a cast on your arm right now, meaning that you cannot eat things easily, I am helping you eat fruit, you know, for a faster recovery!"
Yes, the cast on Winter's arm was somewhat debilitating, but that didn't mean she had to be fed like a toddler! It was good that they were in a private hospital room at the Royal Valean Hospital or otherwise she would have jumped out of the window. Out of all the times Weiss had to arrive in Vale, it was the day right after the disastrous operation.
"I can eat on my own…"
"With your right arm in a plaster and your left bandaged, I think not. How did you even strain your left one? I thought your right hand was the one you held your sword in."
Aura worked wonders, yes, but it didn't mean basic medical practice was ignored because of it. The plaster was a recommendation from her attending physician, and she was not exactly in a state to refuse with Glynda Goodwitch with her. She understood then and there why even Qrow of all people feared her.
"Listen, Weiss, with all the commotion in Vale, I want you to-"
"If you are telling me to head back to Atlas, please save your breath. I did not come this far only to turn back at the slightest hint of trouble."
"That's not the point I was trying to make, you know I'm working in Vale for a military-"
"Operation, yes. I believe the viral video from last night has told me as much."
Not long after Qrow took off for whatever reason, Winter was notified by one of her men that their encounter was posted onto the internet through White Fang-affiliated accounts. Of course, the original post was quickly deleted after what she assumed was Atlesian pressure, but the damage was done, and it circulated all across the CCT networks.
" Winter Schnee destroyed by White Fang. Very original title I must say, though I'm not sure the inclusion of 'Cops Called' was a necessary thing to include in other uploads. I wonder how father is reacting to this?"
Probably something about 'besmirching' the Schnee name or whatever. Honestly, she expected to receive a call anytime now about how she lost to a bunch of animals or terrorists, but that 'Hutten' was most definitely nothing normal. She would not be forgetting those eyes anytime soon. The door to their private hospital room opened, revealing Aunt Gelè along with Glynda Goodwitch in tow. While she was informed of her exercises around Vale, she was not supposed to be in the city proper, however it appeared that there was a change of plans she was not aware of yet.
"Vice Admiral-"
"Winter, do I look like I am in uniform right now?"
No, no she was not. She was wearing civilian clothing, none of her usual uniform was being worn by her right now.
"Apologies, Aunt Gelè, I assumed you were here about the operation."
"Oh, I am, just not in an official capacity. I am letting you know that there will be some…changes to it."
Winter blinked, she was not aware of anything like that, not at all. Miss Goodwitch, looking sleep-deprived and rubbing a hand on her temple spoke next, irritated.
"After that 'incident' which I want to put behind us, the council of Vale has demanded a new change in leadership for the investigation. Aside from the fact that it was supposed to be a discreet and quiet one, to say that the public is concerned about Atlesian soldiers operating freely in Vale is an understatement." Each word of that was directed straight at Winter. Realizing that Weiss was still here, and that she was a civilian, she moved to ask her to leave but their Aunt stopped her from doing so.
"She won't need to leave, I only have one more message for you, Winter. General Ironwood is no longer in charge of the operation in Vale, the Navy will be taking over."
Winter was flabbergasted, in matters like these the General would not go down without significant pressure, so why-
"Henceforth, you will be under my command for the remainder of the operation, or until the Vytal festival begins which will see Ironwood's presence in Vale. Until then, rest until the doctor clears you again for active duty."
Aunt Gelè's tone gave her no wiggle room to refuse or say no, being presented like an order if anything.
"Why don't you spend some time in Vale with Weiss? With the city as it is right now, I'm sure the two of you can spend some time catching up, I know duty has been keeping you from visiting family lately. Now is a perfect time I say."
She then leaned closely to Winter's ear, whispering into it. "Besides, aren't you concerned about protecting Weiss in Vale? If so, this is your perfect chance."
"Wha…"
"Oh dear me, look at the time! If I stayed any longer we would be here for hours. I'll let my nieces be, come now, Miss Goodwitch, there is much to discuss and work on."
"What fun indeed…"
As Winter continued looking at her aunt, dazed, she stopped right before the door to say one final thing. "Oh, and by the way, one of your officers, Ensign Anikanov has somehow made her way back to Vale. She will be under my command for the foreseeable future, just letting you know. Get well soon, Winter!"
"Wait! What did you mean by-"
SLAM
The door slammed shut before she could ask either of them for an answer. Retreating further into her hospital bed, the damage to her pride was about the same as the damage to the trust Ironwood placed on her. She could hear it now, the gossips within the officer corps about how she couldn't even conduct a simple investigation correctly…
Noticing a shifting of white hair to her side, Winter turned around, only to see Weiss positively beaming.
"Well…you heard Aunt Gelè's advice…and I have some time before the term starts at the university so…"
Against the expecting stare that Weiss was giving her, and the lack of excuses Winter now had to reject her…she surrendered.
"F-fine, but nothing that would distract me from my duties if need be-"
"Yay~" Her younger sister leapt off of her chair, embracing her in a very tight hug, was she using her Aura right now?!
"Ack! Weiss! Weiss! My neck! It's not healed yet!"
AN:
Been trying to get back into Honkai Impact 3rd for Part 2, but man the later chapters are tedious af.
Anyways when Raven eventually makes an appearance I hope to handle her better than the show did lol. In line with making Remnant feel more diverse I made it so that culturally Yang and Tai are a bit more Mistralian, judging by their last names I based them on Cantonese culture. Would give my kidney for a Cantonese dub of RWBY where Yang swears like my grandmother.
In sorta unrelated news, with RT officially dead and the RWBY IP up for grabs, I don't have to worry about canon anytime soon. It's every fanfic author for themselves now, has been for quite a while but now I can go full throttle. Honestly speaking, I'm in the boat where the show was 'good' for Vol 1-3 then everything after that was kinda meh to bad at worst. The latest volume was the best after Vol 3 imo, I was and am still not a huge fan of RWBY, I'm just using it as a setting for this fic.
Just because I got a DM last week asking me about shipping in this fic, I will, once again, state that I don't care about shipping for this fic. If I wanted to do a shipping fic, I'd make one specifically about that rather than attach it arbitrarily here. Not all fics need it, if you do want it, read one of many thousands specifically for that purpose. I'm not saying nothing about it will happen, but it's just that my priorities for this fic in regards to shipping is near non-existent. This is the fourth PM I've gotten about it so hopefully this will dissuade similar ones in the future.
Be civil in the comments below.