After the initial shock of what was about to happen, Ruby and Yang noticed the disappearance of Sasuke's Aura, probably to try to minimize the damage done, in the younger sister's opinion, and flee after causing such a disaster for the older one, but that undeniably eased the tension and fear in the air, both for them and for the population as a whole.
Still, it didn't change the fact that a horde of Grimm was on its way, nor even that such an attack would be disastrous.
There was even the possibility that Vale would meet its end on this day.
For a moment, with everything that was at stake because of Sasuke's confused, angry and sad Aura, almost giving reason to everything Yang thought about him, it made Ruby sad.
Sasuke wasn't someone bad, he couldn't be, or else why would he want to become a Huntsman? Besides, he could have hurt both her and her sister earlier, but he didn't and even submitted to the authorities when she was sure he was strong enough to oppose them! Sasuke... he was just someone who was skeptical and lost, and that was what Ruby would believe until she talked to him again.
Before anything could be said, especially by Yang on the "I told you" lines, the alarm stopped sounding to give way for the Beacon Headmaster to use words capable of providing comfort even at a time like this. Sure, the part about Atlas' fleets being on their way helped immensely, but the result was all that mattered.
Maybe it wasn't all lost!
"Yang, what do we do?" Ruby wanted to do a lot of things, which included finding Sasuke, helping these people, and maybe even fighting on the front lines! Only, Yang would never let me do that...
Well, not just her, but her father and probably any adult considered responsible.
"I..." Yang had a thousand and one things on her mind, not sure how to answer that when she didn't know herself, only that she should and would keep her little sister safe. Besides staying far away from that guy! Of that, she had no doubt! Luckily, her Scroll rang just in time to help her through it all. "Dad?"
"Yang!" the worried voice of Taiyang sounded loud for them and anyone around to hear. "Tell me you are with your sister?!"
"Dad, I'm here," Ruby couldn't help but relax a little by comforting him with her presence when he just did it for them. "Are you okay?"
Hardly anyone would be with everything that was about to happen but knowing the well-being of his daughters helped.
"Much better now that I won't have to ground your sister for the rest of her life for leaving you alone and going out there as usual." Yang let out a nervous laugh at the return of the "I told you" look coming from her little sister. That aside, they felt much better hearing the relief in their father's voice, as one could imagine how worried he was. As for Taiyang, he felt his heart finally stop trying to burst out of his mouth when he found out that they were together, but unfortunately that was only part of his concern."Where are you two now?"
"We are still at the station waiting for a Bullhead since everything happened." Yang couldn't help but be thankful that she hadn't followed through with her nightly plans and not gone to Junior, or only the gods knew how this would have all gotten worse. "We were just discussing what to do now."
"You guys are far away from the walls, great!" Again, Taiyang felt an absurd weight being lifted off him. "No matter what happens, don't go anywhere near that place, you hear me?"
"Yes, Dad," they both replied, Ruby more reluctantly than Yang, yet both were more than aware that this was for the best.
Still, they had to do something! Ruby wouldn't leave even if her father told her to!
Yang also wanted to help, but her sister's safety was her first priority.
Luckily, their father knew them too well to know better than to go against them.
"As for what to do..." Taiyang just wanted to send those two home immediately, but... they wouldn't listen to him, let alone they were ordinary civilians and could help. In fact, academy students during states of emergency had authority equivalent to local authorities and should act as such by default. "Report directly to any present members of the authorities near you and help in any way you can, especially in controlling the masses," he said each word with pure reluctance. "However, under no circumstances engage in combat or go anywhere near the walls, are we clear?"
"Yes!" Ruby could help and that was all that mattered! Who knows, maybe I can find Sasuke too?!
His aura had completely disappeared just now, but considering the absurd amount he had, it was almost certain that she could sense him if she was close enough!
"What about you, Dad?" Yang could see some kind of disastrous plan forming behind that smile of Ruby's and even know what it was about, but she would leave that for later, focusing on what mattered most at the moment. "What are you going to do?"
"I..." Taiyang hesitated, not knowing what to say.
"You're going to fight, aren't you?" Yang imagined that to be the case but wanted to hear a no as an answer, even if it was a lie.
"No!" Ruby froze at the thought of that being true! "If you go, then I go too!"
"You're not going anywhere, Ruby." Taiyang should have known better, which is why he couldn't say anything before. "I will fight, but not alone."
There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of people gathering on the front lines and more to come, ready to give their lives to protect those who mattered most to each of them. To not show up and stop fighting merely to protect his daughters from the possibility of him dying would be pure hypocrisy.
Taiyang had to fight too, no matter what.
"But, but..." Ruby could only think of her mother and what happened to her, afraid of the same thing happening again. "What if you don't come back?"
There was no immediate response, as there wasn't one to be given in this kind of scenario where Ruby's fears were well-founded and could come true.
However, before anything could be said, that familiar negativity washed over everyone again, this time coming straight from the walls where the fight for the kingdom would take place.
"Damn, that guy again!" Yang shuddered just imagining what he was going to do this time! Is he doing this on purpose?!
Somehow, the thought of him actually trying to destroy Vale didn't sound absurd at all... Only, she didn't understand the reason for doing such a crazy thing.
"What a guy, what are you..." Taiyang was at a Bullhead on his way to Vale at the moment, almost there when he felt his body shudder with the ominous feeling of anger running through him. "W-what the hell?!"
"It's Sasuke!" Ruby looked in the same direction, more excited than she should have been as she wondered how he had gotten from across the city so fast! "It's his Aura!"
"Sasuke? Who is that and what does he have to do with all this?!" Taiyang was not understanding anything!
"Uchiha Sasuke," Yang said to which Ruby stared at her frowning, almost commanding with her gaze alone not to say anything else. Hmph! Too bad, Rubs. I'm not afraid of you! Sasuke, on the other hand, scared the hell out of her; with what could happen to her naive sister if she still had the stupid idea of trying to get close to that guy! "That's the name of the monster that triggered the Grimm attack and is emanating this absurd Aura to make everything worse!"
"He's not a monster!" Ruby retorted, once again hurt by the way her sister pretended not to feel what was present in the very air! "He's just confused!"
"Where the hell is there confusion in an Aura like that?! I can only feel hatred coming from him!" Yang was the one who couldn't believe how stupid Ruby could be and not see the truth! "Only a monster would emanate something like that!"
"You're wrong!" Ruby wouldn't accept that! She could feel much more than just hate! Yang was just too stubborn to see the same!
Just as they were about to resume their argument at the worst possible moment, completely ignoring their father and his more than justified doubts, the hateful feeling present in Sasuke's Aura began to diminish and even change to their surprise.
"That's..." Yang shifted her attention just as Ruby did to once again focus in the distance where that guy was and make sure she wasn't imagining things. How? she could hardly believe it even as it was happening right in front of her! Aura was literally the manifestation of someone's soul, representing the very essence of a person and this guy was corrupted, not to say worse! Hell, at this point she was sure he must have even killed people! So how the hell is he changing the nature of his very soul?!
That didn't make any sense!
"Sasuke..." Ruby smiled truly, happy and relieved that he was proving that there was much more than just hate in his soul with this feeling of tenderness and happiness that grew every second to be so intense that it was capable of warming the hearts of even those previously frightened by him. This that I'm feeling now, it feels so familiar...
Unconsciously, she had her eyes closed to focus and try to find the memories with this long-forgotten feeling.
Yang, despite all her rejection and stubbornness, unknowingly found herself accompanying her little sister in this confusing moment when Sasuke disappeared from her thoughts to recall that provided by his Aura.
The previously cold feeling had become warm and cozy, almost like a mother's loving embrace and that was exactly what they were graced with at this moment; as well as all the people in Vale.
Ruby and Yang had their minds filled with memories of when Summer, their mother, was still around during their childhood.
Each of these memories, brought to the surface by someone else's emotions, were so vivid that they seemed real and turned into happiness capable of making tears fall down their faces to give life to a pair of smiles.
"Yang," Ruby called out as she opened her watery eyes and had them focus on her sister who shared this moment; again seeking to challenge her to go against the truth when she knew it was impossible to do so. "Do you still think Sasuke is a monster?"
Yang didn't answer; there was no answer to be had when she was smiling and crying for having been able to remember her mother in a turbulent time that she had finally decided to find... Raven, her birth mother, and get it all out once and for all.
No, she couldn't find the strength to call him a monster again.
"Girls, are you still there?" Taiyang tried again, after recovering from what had befallen him just now, but still with tears in his eyes. "I just want you to know that regardless of what happens, I love you both!"
At least now he would no longer fight in fear and be filled with negativity, having his heart soothed with happy memories awakened by this foreign Aura.
Whoever this Uchiha Sasuke was, regardless of whether he had a hand in these events, he would never forget the opportunity to remember his mother's face once again.
"We love you too, Dad," Ruby dried her tears and answered for both of them, as Yang still didn't seem to want to speak, certainly shaken by everything that had happened.
Yang was busy drying her face and feeling like an idiot, where her only comfort was in knowing that no one could blame her for thinking and acting the way she had done with Sasuke. That guy came out of nowhere, turned her little sister into a target for resentful women, scared everyone, beat the crap out of her like it was the easiest thing in the world to break her self-confidence, and then blatantly flirted with Ruby right in front of her!
Anyone else with a spine would react as she did, or even worse!
Most of all, he unleashed the attack of a Grimm horde by scaring the entire kingdom! Most likely, this sudden happy Aura must be his way of redeeming himself, because it took a lot of courage to expose such a personal part of himself to the world, helped to decrease the negativity to almost zero, but that would hardly make the Grimm stop.
So, in a way, she wasn't wrong at all!
Just... Yang would admit that he wasn't that bad and that maybe she should really apologize if everything turned out okay on this turbulent day.
With that in mind, she also thought it would be fair to start by apologizing to her little sister for everything, but that would have to wait because of her Scroll that started bothering her with endless notifications where Ruby seemed to be the same and force both of them to check what it was about for fear of overlooking something important since their Scrolls were registered as Huntresses' students.
Unexpectedly, this wasn't really what it was about, but a viral video being spammed almost everywhere, including from Signal itself, the prep school they were studying at.
"Is this serious?" Yang muttered, not understanding what it was all about, too busy deactivating new notifications before her Scroll crashed.
"A hero appears?" Ruby, on the other hand, read the most common title used in these videos with curiosity and didn't even think twice before clicking to see what it was about.
"A-are you sure we should be doing this?" a nervous voice sounded to someone next to him, clearly frightened.
"Shut up and keep recording," another person said, a woman who seemed to be in charge, "this could very well be the end of this kingdom, so the least we can do is record what's about to happen."
Unexpectedly, it was footage of the Vale walls, taken from above from a Bullhead to show what was coming next and make Ruby shudder at the absurd amount of Grimm about to befall Vale, especially with that gigantic thing in the shape of a bat.
"Tell me this isn't live." Yang eventually joined her little sister when she saw her so focused and also had her heart sinking at what was shown.
"I-I don't think it is." Ruby saw that the video had a relatively short duration, so it couldn't be a real-time broadcast.
"Then they're idiots for posting this shit!" Yang knew that there were people capable of anything, but this was pure idiocy! "This is just going to scare people!"
"Yeah..." Ruby couldn't disagree, not when the people around them, who had recovered from the shock of being startled and then calmed by Sasuke's Aura, were also holding their Scrolls to probably see the same thing as them, given their frightened reactions.
The thought of stopping watching the video crossed her mind, but she didn't when they focused on the walls, more precisely on the top of a watch where a lone hooded figure in a black cloak with red clouds stood.
"I wish I had as much courage as that person..." the one filming muttered, to which no one could disagree.
"Who is that?" Yang narrowed her eyes, imagining it to be a Huntsman or a Huntress since one couldn't tell, as this one certainly had iron nerves to stand up in front of that sea of darkness.
The unexpected answer came next, and not one of them was prepared for it.
"Wow, did you feel that?" the woman said, to which the filming man focused even more on that lone figure whose roof under his feet just shattered into pieces. "That person's Aura is absurdly vast and full of rage... Wait a minute!" then something clicked for her and a lot of people watching, mainly a pair of sisters. "Isn't that the bastard who triggered all this shit?!"
"S-Sasuke?!" Ruby and Yang shouted together and immediately shut up when they noticed the stares turning towards them. If he was wearing a hood and all, it was because he didn't want to be recognized, so they couldn't keep shouting his name like that!
Still, they could hardly contain their anxiety about the direction this video was taking, this being literally what happened a few minutes ago!
"Wait... his Aura is changing!" was said with undeniable surprise by those at Bullhead, something that anyone in Vale knew what it was about. "This... these feelings, is this guy's thinking about his mother?"
Yang and Ruby hadn't put their fingers on that glaring detail, where they just imagined it to be happy emotions and not about his mother specifically.
Sasuke certainly loved his mother and that made smiles bloom in response.
"Damn onion-cutting ninjas!" the one filming said between sobbing sobs, certainly having an emotional memory like most people in Vale.
Then Sasuke, or the hooded figure for those who didn't know about it, made a cloud of smoke appear to hold a large metal star in his hands.
"What is that?" Yang didn't ask anyone in specific, more busy thinking about what the hell he intended to do with that thing. He's... not going to do what I'm thinking, right?
Sasuke might be a monster... in a good way, someone extremely strong for his age, maybe even on Uncle Qrow's level, but still not nearly strong enough to want to fight a horde of Grimm, not one this size with something like that flying in the sky.
"A Shuriken?" Ruby wasn't sure, having never seen one that big. Well, it makes sense, since he's from Mistral and all.
With that, she had numerous questions about how this Shuriken appeared, whether the smoke was a result of one of the mechanisms to manifest as her Crescent Rose or merely aesthetics to go with the whole ninja vibe, which was starting to make sense given the clothes he wore under that cloak that made Ruby blush and smile at how similar their tastes were.
Before the reckless idea about him trying to fight those things alone with a mere Shuriken took shape, Sasuke surprised them by throwing his weapon and using words loud enough that could be caught by the video.
"Shadow Release!" what appeared to be black electricity ran through a wire tied to the Shuriken so fast it was almost impossible to see and then the inexplicable happened.
The Shuriken basically exploded as if a black bolt of lightning had struck it, despite the cloudless weather, to become hundreds, maybe even thousands, of stars covered in electricity!
The eyes of those watching widened to the limit, seeing everything that happened in moments as if it were some movie because this couldn't be real...
Sasuke, the hooded figure, was not standing still, moving his arms and head non-stop to control the lines connected to all those Shuriken, probably even using his mouth given the fact that some of those wires were coming from inside his hood, to control each of those stars covered with black electricity to literally destroy the Grimm trying to attack Vale!
Heck, even that giant bat, a damn Kaiju-class Grimm, couldn't resist being torn to shreds!
In seconds, which seemed like minutes, the threat capable of extinguishing an entire kingdom ceased to exist.
Silence reigned supreme until a familiar scene for the pair of sisters played out at the end of the video and Sasuke disappeared amidst a swirl of leaves.
A few more seconds of open mouths to take it all in, and then the world seemed to have gone mad all at once.
Shouts of celebration erupted to echo without end and Ruby found herself jumping along with her heart that was beating so fast it would be worrying at any other time.
"Holy crap..." Yang didn't even mind the dirty language around her little sister, still staring at the screen of her scroll to review the last part of what just happened and remain in disbelief. "Is this... for real?"
"Yes!" Ruby laughed as she hugged her sister almost in shock. "He just saved Vale! Sasuke is a hero!"
A hero! The boy who liked her was a real hero and Ruby couldn't explain this sudden feeling of butterflies filling her stomach, only that she didn't dislike any of it!
The smile and happiness of this little rose were enough to infect her and Yang couldn't help but join in the celebration.
Not because she agreed with Ruby, but because her father no longer had to risk fighting a losing battle!
No one was going to die on this day and that was reason enough for Yang to smile and laugh like never before!
However, Ruby stopped jumping right then and looked quickly towards the city where she just felt something that should have disappeared completely, suddenly having an idea that would surely get her in trouble later but hardly mattered since the imminent danger was no longer there.
"What?" Yang raised an eyebrow at her little sister who had lost all her animation and receive a smile that she knew all too well and hated for knowing what would come next. "Ruby, think twice before you get any stupid ideas."
Contrary to the warning given, the incarnation of stubbornness and cuteness showed her tongue in defiance.
"Sorry, sis!" Without hesitating or giving her sister time to react, Ruby used her Semblance and shot back to the center of Vale where she could sense, even vaguely, Sasuke's presence! I need to see him! She wasn't sure why, only that she wanted to talk to him one more time! Besides, I'll totally get his autograph!
Her father and sister would go crazy over this, but right now nothing but meeting Vale's hero mattered and that was enough for her to face any punishment later!
Yang couldn't even say anything when red petals covered her vision to leave her without any immediate action.
"Ruby, come back here!" her words were lost in the wind as her little sister was already far away and there was only one thing left she could do as she swallowed her anger run in the same direction. "Damn it!"
It seemed that this night was still far from over, where one more encounter with a certain Uchiha wasn't out of the question and strangely, Yang no longer repudiated the idea of seeing him again, but there was still time for this decision to prove a mistake and all she could do was pray for the best, otherwise, no one could save them.
I thank everyone for the amount of reviews, even if most of them were done out of sheer obligation to keep me posting, it's still an effort and I appreciate it because I know how it feels. Although I don't respond due to lack of time, I read and take into consideration everything that is said. so keep it up and I'll keep writing. A good deal, right?
A curiosity about the previous chapter that I forgot to quote: the name of the Jutsu Sasuke used was supposed to be something along the lines of "Shadow Release: Hell Rain". But since it was some kind of tribute to his mother, it couldn't have a name so... negative.
Not much to say, just that the next chapter will be posted by the end of the month, but you can read ahead on P t r & on (slash) Bertoti if you want or whatever.
Until then.