"May I have this dance?"
Pyrrha Nikos spun her head around to address the familiar voice that spoke to her. Jaune Arc held his hand out in eager anticipation as he awaited her answer.
"J-Jaune?" Pyrrha stuttered, nervous. "Umm… W-What are y-you doing here? Shouldn't you be with your date?" She asked with barely hidden jealousy.
Jaune stood tall and adjusted his bow tie. "She's just taking a break. She said she needed some fresh air and a drink that doesn't have alcohol in it." Jaune walked closer to the sad girl. "You really didn't get a date?"
Pyrrha deflated, Jaune clearly didn't realize how badly those words hurt her considering who she wanted to ask her out. "No… not one person asked me," Pyrrha said, defeated.
Jaune looked flabbergasted. Like the very notion of no one asking her out was an impossibility. "B-But… you're Pyrrha Nikos!" Jaune sounded genuinely angry. "How could nobody ask you?"
Pyrrha avoid eye contact with Jaune. Instead, she opted to look at the happy couples dancing on the dance floor or laughing together. Jealousy flared in her chest but she stomped it down before it could become a problem.
"Jaune, I…" Pyrrha struggled to find the right words. "I was… blessed with talent beyond what anybody else my age was capable of along with incredible opportunities that only served to improve my talents. I was blessed with the perfect Semblance that compliments my skills perfectly as well."
"I'm constantly surrounded by love and praise from everyone I come across. But… when you're put on a pedestal like that for so long, you become separated from the people who put you there in the first place."
Pyrrha met Jaune's eyes. "Everyone assumes I'm too good for them. That I'm on a level they simply can't attain. Ever since elementary school when I started winning my first tournaments. I was always known as 'The Invincible Girl' to everybody. I couldn't make friends because they just assumed that I would never give them the time of day due to my status."
"And… that made for a very difficult childhood."
Jaune never thought about it like that. He never thought about Pyrrha as 'The Invincible Girl.' He just thought of her as Pyrrha Nikos, a member of team JNPR and a close friend. Hell, he never even knew who she was when he met her. Maybe that had something to do with how he saw her now.
"That's what I like about you," Pyrrha stated. "When we met you didn't even know my name. You treated me just like anyone else. To you, I wasn't The Invincible Girl, I wasn't a champion, I was barely the girl you knew from a cereal box."
Pyrrha rubbed her forehead. "I don't want to bore you with my life story but… I do want to say thank you."
Jaune's eyes widened in surprise. His expression was a mixture of confusion and astonishment.
"Because of you and Nora and Ren, I've made friendships that will last a lifetime. For the first time in my life, I can say that I have friends that like me for me and not because I'm The Invincible Girl. Team JNPR are more than just friends at this point, you guys are my family."
Jaune shook his head. "Pyrrha, I didn't do anything."
"That's the entire point Jaune. You didn't do anything. You just treated me like a person. You're the first one to do that."
Jaune never thought about it like that. He never even considered the possibility that someone could be so famous around the world that they would actually have trouble forming friendships. The very idea was absurd. And yet… Pyrrha was a living example of that absurdity.
He was the leader of team JNPR and he knew without a doubt that he was not even close to deserving of that title. He was a fraud, a nobody, an idiot who thought he could be better.
And yet… he was granted the position of leader despite how little he deserved it. Ruby was right. It's his job to keep the team together and make sure everybody is happy. It was about time he started taking his job a bit more seriously and hope that one day he would earn the position of leader.
Jaune coughed to catch Pyrrha's attention. "I won't pretend to understand what you're going through. I'm just some nobody who grew up with a large family in the middle of nowhere."
Jaune scratched his head. "I'm a lot of things Pyrrha, strong is not one of them. Nor am I smart, or fast, or agile, or anything that will aid me in becoming a Huntsman. Hell, I'm not even a good leader."
Jaune cut off Pyrrha before she could argue. "When was the last time you lost a fight?"
Pyrrha looked taken aback at the question but quickly gathered her composure. "Umm… besides training with my instructors… I think I was seven."
Jaune smirked. "Ten years, huh? Well then, while I'm positive you would twist me into a pretzel in a fight, there is one thing that I'm sure I could beat you at."
Without any warning, Jaune gently grabbed Pyrrha's hand and pulled her closer to him. The girl's face quickly blended in with her hair. She tried to say something but only a high-pitched whine came out.
"Dancing!"
Pyrrha's embarrassment vanished in an instant and instead, she looked confused. "D-Dancing?"
"A-yup." Jaune looked way too confident for his own good. More confident than Pyrrha had ever seen him before. "I grew up with seven sisters Pyrrha. There was more than one occasion where one of them needed a tall male partner to practice with. I've gained quite the skill."
Pyrrha looked unsure. "J-Jaune… I don't know about this."
Jaune's evil smirk only got wider. "Oh, I get it. You're just scared."
Pyrrha froze.
"I don't blame you," Jaune continued. "I mean, who wouldn't be afraid to face Jaune Arc on the dance floor? I guess even Pyrrha Nikos has things that she simply can't do."
Pyrrha's eyes sharpened.
"Don't worry Pyrrha. I won't tell anyone that you ran away in fear of the thought of facing me."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Pyrrha grumbled. Her competitive blood started boiling.
"Very much so, yeah."
Damn him. He didn't even deny it! He would regret those words! Pyrrha squeezed Jaune's hand tightly, much to his shock.
"Fine," her eyes sharpened further. "I'll show you that my skills extend farther than just the arena. I'm about to dance circles around you!"
"I'm hearing a lot of yapping but not seeing a lot of dancing," Jaune continued to taunt her. He knew how to get under her skin way too well. "You're just stalling, aren't you?"
Pyrrha tugged Jaune's wrist hard enough to cause him to stumble. He would've fallen flat on his face if Pyrrha wasn't there to force him to stay on his feet. "You wanna talk trash? Get ready Jaune."
Pyrrha spun around and got into position. "I'm about to school you."
Jaune smirked. "Oh yeah? Prove it!"
Why was it that her patented 'Rose Luck' liked to kick in at the most inopportune moments? It was almost like the very universe itself had it out for her. All she wanted was to have a nice time with Jaune. Was that really too much to ask? Could the universe throw her a bone just once?
The universe refused to answer her query and she had a feeling she wouldn't like the answer she would've gotten anyway. She shook her head free of her thoughts and continued running to where her Spider-Sense was guiding her. She didn't have any details on the situation apart from what she was able to gather just by seeing the perpetrator. She was a woman judging by her figure and a Huntress judging by her acrobatic moves.
That wasn't a lot of information to go off of but it wasn't too different from how she had to act as Spider-Woman. She rarely if ever had any information about an opponent before launching herself into battle. However, in those cases, it was much different because she has never needed to fight a Huntsman and the criminals were mostly fodder. Apart from Roman Torchwick and that Shocker guy that is.
Ruby activated her Semblance and launched herself forward at incredible speeds, causing rose petals to flutter all around.
It wasn't long before her Spider-Sense dulled as she arrived at her destination. The CCT was a massive building that allowed communication anywhere in the world. It was widely regarded as the most important invention of all time. Right next to fire and the wheel.
Ruby had never had a need to visit the tower before considering that she had no relatives or friends in other kingdoms that she needed to contact. The only time she ever set foot in the building was after she beat up team CRDL because Ozpin's office was located at the top of the tower.
It was quite an imposing building.
Which was why it was quite unfortunate that there were multiple bodies strewn about inside. Each one of them was in armor that looked like it belonged to an Atlas soldier. Their weapons were scattered around as well.
She didn't need to check for a pulse as she felt the vibrations of their heartbeats through the floor. At least the attacker wasn't trying to kill. However, she had a feeling that her attitude would quickly change when facing her.
"Why would anyone do this?"
She wanted to call for backup but her dress didn't have pockets so she left her scroll in the dorm. It was all up to her.
Ruby waited patiently for the elevator to reach the ground floor. It opened to reveal two more unconscious bodies lying uncomfortably in the large metal box. She whispered a silent apology as she grabbed the bodies and dragged them out of the elevator. She really didn't want them getting caught in the crossfire.
The elevator shifted around her and began to ascend to the top floor. She didn't have her spider suit with her so that meant she couldn't use any of her obvious spider-like abilities like her webs or wall crawling. Figures that the one time she needs her suit she doesn't have it.
She also didn't have her weapon on her, which meant it was strictly punches and kicks. Ruby mentally chastised herself for not at least borrowing one of the downed soldier's weapons. It would've made her life a little easier.
Ruby kicked her stupid heels off her feet and gave a few experimental bounces on the balls of her feet to get her blood flowing again. She had no idea how Weiss fought in those things. She also removed her gloves for good measure. She didn't want them to get damaged.
The elevator gave one final ding before the doors slid open silently. She kept her Spider-Sense active, ready to detect any threat that could come out at any moment.
The doors swished shut behind her as her bare feet stepped into the main communication room. This is the room that the students of Beacon were allowed to access to patch them through to other kingdoms. She wasn't entirely sure if the general populace was allowed to access the CCT.
Every monitor in the room was completely powered down. Though she heard the occasional beeping from a few of the still active machines scattered throughout the room.
The silver-eyed spider clenched her fists and continued walking deeper into the room. Her Spider-Sense was still buzzing lightly, indicating that danger was still relatively near her.
"Alright," Ruby called out. "Fun's over." She cracked her knuckles loudly. "If you come quietly then I promise I won't hurt you." No one came out. Not that Ruby expected it to work even a little bit. But she had to try anyway.
To her utmost surprise, her Spider-Sense buzzed lightly and pulled her attention to the very same figure that she saw jumping across the rooftops outside as she slowly rose from behind the main desk.
Did that actually work?
Ruby's shimmering silver eyes stared deep into her eyes of acrid smoke and molten gold. Her eyes actually swirled with a bright amber color that had Ruby captivated. It was almost like her eyes were melting. The color shifted and warped with… something. It was so strange that Ruby couldn't place it. Ruby's own gaze just seemed to slide off of her eyes whenever she tried to focus on them.
"Wow… I didn't expect that to actually work," Ruby said, surprised. The increasing intensity of her Spider-Sense told her that she was sure to be in for a fight.
"Soooo… listen," Ruby began, holding her hand up to stop the woman. "This dress is brand new and very very expensive. I would really prefer if it didn't get damaged," Ruby pleaded with the criminal. "Can you please just surrender so I can go back to the dance? I wasn't lying when I said I wouldn't hurt you."
She could actually hear her Spider-Sense laugh at her for thinking for even a second that this woman would listen to her. Ruby just grumbled as she got into a fighting stance.
The woman opened a small canister and whipped it to the side, spraying dust in front of her. It was almost magical what happened next. The dust rapidly heated and condensed, forming crystal clear razor-sharp glass spikes floating in the air.
"Woah!" Ruby pointed at the glass. "That's cool! Can you teach me that?!"
Her Semblance flared to life as she deconstructed herself to her molecular components, reducing her mass and greatly increasing her speed while transforming herself into a cloud of rose petals.
Ruby split herself into three clouds of rose petals before rushing each mass toward her attacker before reforming behind her in an instant. The glass spikes she hurled at her shattered against the wall harmlessly.
The mysterious amber-eyed woman spun around in alarm as Ruby cocked her fist back. She barely had enough time to bring her arms up to cover her face before Ruby's small but incredibly powerful fist slammed into her arms. Her aura desperately grabbed onto her arms, protecting her from harm but depleting her aura by quite a bit.
The woman flew backward and crashed into a wall, spreading cracks all throughout the masonry and sending chunks of rock spitting outward. She dropped to her knees in agony while her arms still burned with aura and shook in pain.
The silver-eyed faunus cracked her knuckles while admiring her handiwork. "This could've been easy," Ruby said, almost tiredly. "For me, it still is."
The woman pushed herself to her feet, her arms still glowing with aura from the force of her blow. That hit had to hurt quite a bit but it was clear she could still fight.
The scent of smoke and burning ozone reached Ruby's nose. Her eyes narrowed at her attacker when her fingers started glowing a bright orange. The bright burning orange color burst to life in the form of a large flame surrounding the woman's hand like a glove of fire.
The woman's eyes also seemed to glow brightly as she did that. Perhaps it was her Semblance.
The criminal clenched her burning fists and spun on her heel. The fire that covered her digits spread out in all directions, surrounding the woman in a swirl of flame. The fire abruptly ceased burning when the woman stopped spinning. The fire was replaced with two long and incredibly sharp swords in each of her hands.
"That's so not fair," Ruby complained.
Why can't I summon weapons out of thin air? Maybe I can experiment with nanotechnology to create something similar. I'm sure I could figure it out. Oh right, I'm in the middle of a battle.
The woman kicked off the wall with incredible speed, aiming to skewer the young girl with her weapon. Ruby made to backhand the weapon away from her before her Spider-Sense started tingling. She didn't know what the danger was but her Spider-Sense had never betrayed her before so she listened to it.
Ruby waited until the last second before flipping over her attacker as she swung her weapon at her. The sword in her hand became cherry red and unleashed searing hot flame directly where she was standing just moments ago. Ruby would've been burnt pretty badly if she stayed there.
"Oh, damn," Ruby cursed. Her Spider-Sense strummed, forcing her to bend over backward just as the searing hot sword was swung at her, nearly taking her head off. She purposely dropped to the ground on her back as the second sword came even closer to her. She could feel the heat from the flame tickle her cheeks.
On her back and vulnerable, Ruby kicked her leg straight up into the woman's stomach. The force of her foot knocked the wind out of her and launched her into one of the desks, destroying one of the computers and splintering the wooden desk into thousands of wood chips.
Placing her palms behind her, Ruby flung herself up and got back to her feet. "Almost had me for a second there." Ruby patted her dress several times to get rid of the dust. "Almost burnt my new dress too."
The woman quickly recovered from being smashed into the computer and got right back to her feet. Her swords exploded into dust and quickly reformed into a massive pitch-black bow knocked with three sharp arrows all pointed straight at her.
"Come on! Really?!"
Ruby backflipped to avoid the arrows as they slammed into the ground. She wasn't expecting the arrows to explode upon contact but luckily she was far enough away to avoid any explosive damage.
What is her Semblance? She can summon weapons and create fire, those two things don't seem related.
Ruby ceased her pondering and blasted forward with her Semblance right as the woman touched the ground. She reformed her swords and swung the flaming blades down at the silver-eyed girl.
Ruby's speed outmatched hers by a considerable margin. As she found herself caught mid-attack, there was no chance to halt her momentum or evade the impending blow. With a surge of desperation, she channeled her aura into her face, hastily reinforcing her defenses just as Ruby's fist, charged with the energy of her aura, connected with devastating force, threatening to wrench her jaw from its socket with a single, ferocious punch.
Her attacker was sent flying through the air and she completely lost her sense of balance. Her entire form spun through the air, unable to correct herself or determine which way was up. She hit the ground hard, her back slamming onto the edge of a desk before bouncing off and crashing into another monitor. The device exploded in a shower of sparking electricity and destroyed circuits. She bounced a few more times before skidding to a stop on her back.
Ruby could see her aura flicker and swirl around her jaw. That blow might've been strong enough to partially punch through her aura. Given that her jaw was red from the punch, Ruby was inclined to think that was the case.
The woman struggled to get to her feet. Ruby had given her an incredible sense of vertigo with that punch and it showed as she lost her balance and fell to her knees. She used her flaming sword to stabilize herself and finally pushed herself to her feet. Albeit wobbly.
Ruby didn't give her the chance to attack again. She rushed forward without the use of her Semblance and kicked her makeshift cane away from her. Without her sword to stabilize herself, she almost dropped to her knees once again.
Almost…
Before her knees could even reach the ground, Ruby slammed her own incredibly hard knee right into the woman's face, cracking her mask and damaging her aura even further. "Argh!" The woman screamed in pain for the first time as she became airborne once again. Her back crashed painfully into the ground. Ruby could see the rapidly forming black eye beneath the cracked mask.
"I really tried to end this peacefully," Ruby reminded. "This is all on you."
In an incredible show of grace, the woman spun on the ground and kicked herself into the air. Her swords vanished into dust before reforming into her bow with a single arrow knocked and pointing toward Ruby.
The arrow soared through the air on a collision course with her eyeball. Ruby – not moving an inch – brought her hand up and caught the arrow by the shaft an inch before it was lodged into her left eye socket.
"Nice try."
Ruby spun the arrow between her fingers and reeled her arm back. Taking careful aim, she stepped forward and threw the arrow like a javelin. It speared through the air like a bullet from the force of her overwhelming strength. The woman twisted her body in a desperate attempt to avoid the arrow. Even then, the arrow still scraped her side with a flash of her aura. She gritted her teeth through the pain while the arrow exploded on the wall behind her.
She landed on the ground in a stumble before getting into a combat stance and summoning her swords to her hands. A brilliant orange flame burst to life from the hilt of the swords before creeping up the blade and engulfing both slabs of metal in fire.
Ruby really didn't want to take the risk of damaging her dress with those blades but it's not like she had much of a choice anyway. What I would give to have Crescent Rose right about now.
The woman bolted toward Ruby with both her swords ready to impale the young Huntress. Ruby heightened her Spider-Sense and prepared to defend herself.
The first blade was swung down toward her head, she knew it was a faint when her Spider-Sense didn't go off. She baited the faint by dodging to the left. The woman smirked as Ruby was now exactly where she wanted her. She pushed her other sword up into Ruby's abdomen with all her might, attempting to disembowel the young girl in her blind spot.
Unfortunately for her, Ruby didn't have any blind spots.
Ruby could feel the heat from the blade start to burn her before it even made contact. It must've been at least 1500 degrees. Not wanting to have a flaming sword buried in her gut, she exploded in a flurry of rose petals and swirled around the woman, blinding her vision with flower petals and throwing her off balance when her attack missed.
Ruby swiped the woman's feet out from under her with her foot, sending her flat on her face into the cold floor. It was through her own natural trained instincts that allowed her to dodge Ruby's foot as it impacted the ground with such force to crack the masonry. Her heels would've definitely shattered by now.
The woman leaned her head back just in time to avoid a ferocious kick that was aimed to shatter her nose. Ruby didn't give her a chance to breathe. She followed through by launching her elbow toward the woman's chest which just barely impacted her aura.
The villain aimed to slice Ruby's arm off with her molten-hot sword but found her arm unable to move an inch when Ruby clamped down on her wrist with her unbelievably powerful grip.
There was pure fear visible on the woman's face. Through the partially shattered mask and the black eye was just a petty criminal who just so happened to be faced with the best of the best.
Ruby almost buried her fist into the woman's gut before she was forced to disengage when her other cherry-red sword nearly sliced her arm off.
Ruby skidded to a stop a safe way away and pat her dress clean of dust. "Ugh… Come ON! Can we get this over with already?" Ruby complained loudly. This was actually a waste of her time. "You haven't even landed a single hit on me. You ain't gonna win this one, chief."
The woman then did something that Ruby was not expecting. The woman slammed the hilts of her swords together before a small flame burst to life at the point of impact. When the flames subsided, both her swords were fused together at the hilt, creating a double-sided sword in an instant.
Ruby quirked an eyebrow as the woman spun her newly formed blade between her fingers with a telling smirk.
Hmm? She wouldn't create a weapon like that unless she knew how to use it. How many fighting styles is she proficient in? I hate to admit it, but she's pretty strong.
Ruby's Spider-Sense roared and she just barely had enough time to spin out of the way of the blade which nearly sliced her head off.
She's fast!
The scent of burning ozone filled the air as both blades burst into a brilliant orange inferno. The dazzling orange flame swirled around the blade like a fiery vortex, engulfing them in its mesmerizing dance. Ruby was forced to throw herself to the side lest she be sliced in half by the searing blade. Ruby was forced on the defensive and there was no doubt in her mind that she would've gotten hurt without the help of her Spider-Sense. Ruby brought her hand up just in time to catch her attacker's wrist right before she brought her flaming sword down on her shoulder.
The woman smirked.
And the corners of her eyes burst into flames.
Ruby had no time to move out of the way, even with the help of her Spider-Sense. All she could do was brace for impact as the woman thrust her open palm right into her stomach. Ruby could do nothing as the woman blasted her across the room when a massive burst of searing flame and acrid smoke exploded from her palm.
Multiple monitors and computers were smashed into oblivion as her tiny body tumbled through them before coming to a sudden and painful stop when she smashed back first into the wall. Masonry cracked and split in all directions, raining bits of rubble onto her and her now ruined dress. A massive hole had been burnt into her dress, now exposing her stomach.
Her knees hit the ground first before the rest of her body followed. She felt like her stomach was on fire and it likely would've been if it weren't for her aura. Aura did nothing to block out pain and she was once again reminded of that fact.
She didn't have time to lay around. Her Spider-Sense forced her to throw herself to the side just as the woman thrust her searing hot blade straight into the floor before the hilt forced it to stop.
Dammit!
Using her adhesive fingers to anchor herself to the ground, Ruby coiled her legs in the air and smashed her heels into the woman's cheek. The crunch of her aura was audible as her cheek flashed orange. Her sword slipped out of her fingers as she was thrown back.
Ruby rubbed her stomach and got to her feet. That hurt like hell and her aura took a hit but she could still fight. She could mourn her destroyed dress later. Right now, she had a fight to finish.
And she was angry.
The young spider tilted her head and let an arrow just barely miss her. She then exploded into a tornado of rose petals and rocketed to her attacker.
I've been practicing with this move recently. Let's see how good I've gotten. I've only ever used this on one other person and I was very injured at the time.
Her Spider-Sense guided her right to her attacker. She pushed her Semblance even harder and increased her speed further. She felt her fist hum with the energy of her powerful Semblance.
NOW!
Ruby threw her fist forward and deactivated her Semblance at the last possible second. Just like last time, the result was her fist reforming from the rose petals and regaining all of its mass while still retaining the speed boost that was applied with her Semblance.
The sound of her fist colliding with the woman's face was enough to make anybody wince. Ruby felt the woman's aura flex beneath her knuckles, desperately trying to protect her.
"GAH!" The woman screamed in pain. She dropped her bow and reached to her face to make sure nothing was broken.
Ruby didn't give her the chance.
She felt both arms swirl into rose petals right before she slammed them forward. Once again, she cut off her power right before impact, her fists met their mark on her attacker's face. With the loud and audible crunch, Ruby was positive that she just shattered her nose through her lapse of aura control.
"Taste this!" Ruby screamed.
Her leg blossomed into a swirling vortex of delicate rose petals, a mesmerizing display of power and grace that masked the impending strike. With a swift motion, her knee reshaped and delivered a punishing blow to the woman's gut, expelling the air from her lungs and wrenching forth the remnants of her last meal in a violent expulsion.
The woman became airborne for a few seconds before slamming into the ceiling with devastating force. Chunks of masonry exploded and rained down, destroying the room even further.
"Having fun yet!?" Ruby roared to the woman who became embedded in the ceiling.
Her Semblance exploded into existence, rocketing Ruby up to her attacker. Ruby clamped her hand around the woman's ankle in an incredibly powerful grip.
I haven't tested this yet, I'm not even sure if it'll work. I've always suspected I could do it but I've never been able to pull it off because my Semblance wasn't powerful enough.
But now!
She pushed her Semblance even further!
A tornado of rose petals burst into existence with unyielding speed.
Red and orange rose petals.
I can use my Semblance on others!
Ruby launched herself and her attacker straight at the floor with unbelievable speed. Multicolored rose petals scattered in every direction as Ruby prepared to finish this fight.
"I asked you to surrender."
Ruby shut off her Semblance at the last second and reformed her body while still gripping her attacker tightly. She pulled her down with incredible force while still keeping all the speed from her Semblance.
"This is your fault."
Ruby slammed the woman into the ground. Embedding her into the cement, sending fissures throughout the room, and kicking up a lot of dust. Her aura was blinding as it used up nearly everything it had to keep the woman alive.
Ruby's own aura took a large hit too. Using her Semblance on someone else was quite the advanced move and she hasn't fully mastered it yet.
Once the dust settled, Ruby got a clear view of her beaten and barely conscious attacker. The remains of her aura flickered dimly, trying to heal her.
"I win."
Labored breaths and wheezes squeaked their way out of Ruby's throat. Sweat saturated her brow and her muscles trembled from exertion. She had never pushed her Semblance that far before and it had taken a large toll on the young woman.
Ruby stumbled backward and lost her footing before sliding to the ground against a computer desk. She really just needed to rest and catch her breath before figuring out what to do next.
I guess I should just drag her outside and turn her over to Ozpin or something. Not like I can contact anybody without my scroll anyway.
Ruby glanced around and got a good look at the room that they had basically destroyed. She wasn't going to take any of the blame for it if she could help it. She only engaged because of the crime that was committed and she would be dammed if she got punished for trying to help.
Blaming all the damage on her attacker was something she was more than willing to do.
Ruby looked down at her destroyed dress and the massive hole that now exposed her stomach. She was really hoping it would last longer than 3 hours. The dress was so beautiful and she was hoping it would last for years. Maybe Ozpin would be willing to help her out with getting it fixed. She did take down a criminal in the CCT after all.
It still smelled of burning fabric as well. Her enhanced senses made it bother her even more. That was one of the few downsides of her abilities. Smells were more pungent and it worked to her detriment in certain situations.
Ruby pushed herself to her feet. "Alright," she groaned out. "Let's get you out of here."
Ruby reached down to pull her attacker from the floor before a soft ding bounced off the walls. Ruby looked up to see the elevator doors swish open.
What now?!
A large muscular man in a white overcoat stepped out of the elevator. He wore a gray undercoat, a black sweater, a red necktie, and a white glove on his right hand. His suit pants shared the same color as his overcoat and were tucked into silver boots with a bit of gray mixed in.
It didn't take a genius to figure out this man was from Atlas. But Ruby knew exactly who it was. How could she forget the face of the man who hated Spider-Woman more than anybody else?
General James Ironwood stepped into the room with a stoic and commanding look on his face. His height and intimidating demeanor made her feel three feet smaller in his presence. It was as if his Semblance made him seem larger than anyone.
Great… I forgot he was in Vale. I need to be more careful as Spider-Woman now because I know damn well he's already looking for me. I should alter my patrol routes just to be safe. At least there's someone here who can take her out of my hands.
Ruby didn't get a single word out before her Spider-Sense screamed at her. It was so intense that it actually hurt. Ruby slammed her aura throughout every inch of her body to protect herself from whatever danger was near.
A massive detonation of searing orange flame exploded from the palm of her downed attacker. Ruby's entire body was coated in blistering heat, burning her dress and damaging her aura even further. She was sent tumbling through the air before the sound of shattering glass assaulted her eardrums.
She felt gravity take hold of her small body, and a sense of vertigo washed over her as she plummeted to the ground below. In any other situation, she would've used her webs to halt her descent but she couldn't take the risk of anyone seeing her or a camera catching her in the act.
Her Semblance roared to life as she desperately tried to transform her vertical momentum into horizontal momentum. She felt her rose petals scatter and swirl around her blurring body right as she activated it.
The ground came hard. Her plan of reducing the impact with her Semblance had worked… sorta… Instead of slamming flat into the ground at terminal velocity, the horizontal momentum that her Semblance granted allowed her to skip along the ground multiple times, damaging her aura with every impact before sliding to a complete stop on her face.
Ruby just laid there, tired and burnt. Her aura flickered and fizzled before receding back into her soul.
That hurt…
Ruby wanted nothing more than to just lie there and fall asleep, pretending that everything was alright. The cold hard ground was pretty comfortable after all.
"Nggghh…" Ruby groaned, pushing herself to her feet. Luckily, her dress wasn't burnt so badly that her modesty was in danger. There were just random holes scattered throughout the fabric, none of them exposed anything that shouldn't be.
Ruby looked up at the shattered window. She really needed to learn her lesson about never letting her guard down. It would be the death of her one day if she didn't get her act together.
Ruby looked down at her destroyed dress. There was no way she could go back to the dance like this. Everyone would laugh at her, she'd make a total fool of herself. Ruby just started walking back to the entrance of the CCT, grumbling about how unfair life was. She still needed to get her heels and gloves from the elevator. The only part of her outfit that wasn't destroyed.
Ruby pushed open the doors and was greeted by multiple guards who had just regained consciousness. They were all clutching their heads and gathering their weapons that had been scattered throughout the room. None of them had died, that was the only silver lining.
A bunch of medics suddenly burst into the room, all of them wore Atlas attire and immediately went to work tending to the injured soldiers, removing their helmets and checking for injuries.
General Ironwood emerged from the elevator and stepped into the room. "Soldiers!" Everyone stood at attention. "Is everyone unharmed?"
All the soldiers gave various grunts and nods of acceptance. They were clearly still out of it from the beating they took. Some well-deserved rest and they would be right as rain.
Ruby felt her Spider-Sense tingle when General Ironwood laid his eyes upon her. Ruby really wanted to run to avoid whatever conversation she was about to have but she knew that running away would only make her look like a criminal in this situation.
General Ironwood strolled over to her with his hands linked behind his back. His expression stayed stoic and cold, unwilling to waver in the slightest. His heavy footsteps clicked loudly with each step.
His eyes roamed over her entire body, presumably checking for injuries. He wouldn't find any, apart from her singed hair and destroyed dress. She was also covered in ash and dust.
"Are you alright?" His stoic demeanor softened suddenly when he asked that. His sharp eyes became much more friendly and his tense muscles relaxed. "That was quite a fall you took."
Ruby shrugged, rubbing her arm. "I'll live. Just need some rest to recover my aura." She allowed herself to get careless, she would try to correct that. "Did she get away?"
The good general sighed. "Unfortunately. The light she produced blinded me momentarily and she was able to make an escape." The general looked very frustrated about that fact. Not that she blamed him. "Would you be willing to answer some questions about the attacker?"
Ruby almost answered before another familiar voice piped up from behind her.
"Later, James. She appears to have had a rough night."
Ruby spun around. "Ozpin?"
The man smiled and waved at her. It was probably the only time she had ever seen the man without his signature mug of coffee clasped between his fingers. Ms. Goodwitch was right behind him with her riding crop clenched tightly between her fingers.
"Good evening Ms. Rose. Sorry I'm late," Ozpin spoke softly, almost fatherly. "You look a little worse for wear."
That was putting it mildly. Ruby looked like she just took a bath in charcoal. The putrid smell of burnt hair lingered around her too. She got lucky that her hair only got lightly singed.
"I'm fine, sir," Ruby reassured the man. "Just annoyed that she got away. I won that fight too," Ruby grumbled that last part under her breath.
The headmaster placed his hand on her shoulder. "Glad to hear it, Ms. Rose. Still, I highly recommend going to see the nurse just in case." He reached up to adjust his glasses. "Your sister will have my head if I let you go without getting checked out."
Damn, he had a point. She knew that she was totally fine but her sister didn't. She would throw a fit if Ruby didn't see the nurse just in case. At least it would give her an excuse to skip out on the rest of the dance. Not like she could go back with her dress being in a state of disarray.
Ruby ran her fingers through her singed hair. "Yeah, I guess I should… damn."
"Now hold on a minute Ozpin," Ironwood stepped forward and spoke up. His eyes sharpened once again. "We need a witness report from her. Besides my men, she was the only one to see the assailant."
"That can wait until morning, James," Ozpin rushed to her rescue. "I shall offer Ms. Rose a spare dorm tonight so she can give us her account first thing in the morning. I imagine she's tired after the whole ordeal."
The general looked at Ruby's singed and beaten form. Ruby did her best to look smaller to get him to lay off for the night. It seemed to work when he sighed and walked away toward one of his men.
Ruby sighed with relief. "Thanks for that, Ozpin. I really didn't want to deal with that right now."
"James is a good man but he's not very good at reading the room," he laughed. "He's also… shall I say… a calculated man."
"You mean he's a hardass?"
Ozpin snorted. "Yeah, I guess that term fits. It's a personality trait that makes him a very effective general. I just wish he would learn to take the feelings of others into account."
Opzin reached up to adjust his glasses. "Glynda, please see Ms. Rose to the infirmary and prepare a spare room for her. She deserves some rest after tonight."
Ms. Goodwitch nodded and gestured for Ruby to follow her. Ruby went to the elevator to grab her heels and gloves before following after her. She felt a little exposed walking around with multiple holes in her dress. She crossed her arms over her chest to make herself appear smaller.
"I must say, Ms. Rose, there's never a dull moment with you around,"
I can't tell if that's an insult or not…
"Umm… thank you?" Ruby responded, confused but not willing to question her on it.
What a night…
Ruby was right. Pyrrha was a much better dancer than she was. Her movements were so smooth and flawless. Executed with such precision and confidence that her skills were almost totally evenly matched with Jaune's
The keyword being almost.
While Pyrrha was an incredible dancer, she was a warrior first and foremost. She spent her entire life becoming a master combatant, dancing likely came much later than that. It wasn't hard to believe that her fluidity in the arena would translate on the dance floor pretty well but the fact was that Pyrrha likely hadn't practiced dancing for any significant amount of time.
Jaune on the other hand had started learning how to dance when he was just five years old. Given that he had never practiced combat once in his life before coming to Beacon, his dancing skills had plenty of room to grow when there was very little else to do. It wasn't like there were many forms of entertainment in his small village.
Jaune attributed most of his skills to his sisters but it was really his mother that taught him his way around the dance floor. She was an absolute monster on the dance floor and she could dance circles around him any day.
Dancing with Pyrrha was super easy compared to his mother. Keeping up with his teammate was challenging but not impossible.
Thanks, Mom. I'll never take my dancing skills for granted ever again.
In the end, Jaune's superior skills on the dance floor meant his movements were just a little faster than Pyrrha's. Their little dance-off came to an end when Pyrrha accidentally rolled her ankle in her heels and stumbled forward. Luckily, Jaune was right there ready to catch her.
"Looks like I win," Jaune said smugly. "Your first loss in ten years. How does it feel?"
Pyrrha pushed herself away with the widest smile possible on her face. Her cheeks were red from exertion and a thin sheen of sweat shone from her forehead.
"That… was… amazing!" Pyrrha wheezed out in between breaths. "Where did you learn to dance like that?!" Getting praised by someone as incredible as Pyrrha felt pretty good.
"My mom and my sisters were avid dancers. My sisters needed a male partner on more than one occasion so I picked it up really quickly," Jaune admitted, bashfully. Jaune was grateful his family taught him how to dance but he couldn't help but wish he had picked up some more masculine skills. He supposed living with eight women would do that to a guy.
Pyrrha managed to regain some of her breath. "Damn, remind me to ask your mother for some pointers if I ever meet her." She rubbed her forehead clean of sweat. "I need a breather."
Jaune laughed. "No sweat. Just don't drink the punch unless waking up with a killer hangover sounds appealing to you," he warned her. Pyrrha winced and nodded before walking off.
That was fun.
It was nice to push himself in his other skills every once and a while. He hadn't danced in a good while so he was glad to see his skills hadn't diminished. He just wished he was as adept at combat as he was at dancing.
A hand grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him off his feet before he even knew what happened. Bright violet eyes peered deeply into his ocean-blue ones. Jaune closed his eyes and slammed his aura into place to limit the damage the blonde brawler would do to him.
After a few seconds – when Yang still hadn't caved his face in – Jaune dared to crack one eye open. Yang was staring at him with interest and mild amusement. "I'm not going to kill you," she said with a smirk.
"Torture then?"
"Who the hell do you take me for?" Yang looked vaguely offended. She pushed him away, causing him to stumble and almost fall flat on his ass. "I'm looking for Ruby, have you seen her?"
Jaune regained his footing. "Uh… no. I was just going to look for her myself. She said she wanted some fresh air and a drink that you haven't touched."
Yang narrowed her eyes at her fellow blonde. Despite being significantly shorter than him, Yang still managed to make him feel infinitely smaller. "Hmm? Really?"
"Y-Yes! Why would I lie about that?"
"I dunno," Yang admitted. "But you're all sweaty and out of breath and my sister is nowhere to be seen." Yang narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to castrate you if you've made me an aunt at 17."
A mixture of embarrassment and fear flooded Jaune's face. His cheeks somehow became a deep shade of red while the rest of his face paled.
"Y-Yang!"
Yang flinched and twisted a finger in her ear. "Jeez, I'm right here, man. No need to yell so loud." Yang winced, backing away from Jaune. "Come on, help me find Ruby." Jaune was going to do that anyway so he supposed there was no harm in joining Yang. He walked alongside her, his eyes darting around like a bird's. He fidgeted with his hands and just looked really sketchy. Yang picked up on his mannerisms immediately. "Are you okay, dude? You're looking hella sketchy right now."
Jaune flinched. "R-Really. I-I'm s-sorry. I'm just a little worried."
"Well… stop. People are staring at you. You look like Ruby when she hasn't had sugar in five hours." Yang slapped Jaune on the back lightly. "Calm down dude."
Yang pushed the doors to the dance hall open only to be greeted by the face of Headmaster Ozpin and another man whom she recognized as General James Ironwood. She knew that he was in Vale to provide security for the Vytal Festival but she didn't know he would be here so soon.
"Oh, hello, sir," Yang greeted with a polite smile.
"Good evening Ms. Xiao Long," Ozpin waved. His eyes scanned across the dance hall. "I must say, you and your team did a fantastic job preparing the festivities for tonight. I do apologize for being unable to secure the Achieve Men for a live performance. I'm afraid that is out of Beacon's budget."
Yang flushed while Jaune narrowed his eyes at her. "Ah… aha… I-It's no problem at all sir. Have you seen my sister anywhere?" Yang was eager to change the subject.
"She went to get some fresh air about 30 minutes ago and we haven't seen her since," Jaune added.
"Ah… yes, I have seen her. I'm afraid Ms. Rose got into a bit of a scuffle and I had her sent to the nurse's office for treatment."
Yang sighed and rubbed her forehead. "That girl… always getting herself into trouble," she grumbled.
"Like you're one to talk," Jaune taunted. Yang glared at him and made a mental note to punch him for that comment later.
She turned back to Ozpin. "Is she alright? She wasn't injured was she?" She asked, her voice filled with concern.
Ozpin shook his head. "Quite the contrary, Ms. Xiao Long. Apart from her burnt dress, she appeared to be in good health. I'm told she won the fight too," Ozpin laughed. "I just sent her to the nurse's office just to be safe. She'll be staying at Beacon tonight so she can tell us what happened in the morning."
Yang and Jaune both sighed with relief. "That's good to hear," Jaune relaxed. "Can we see her?"
Ozpin stepped aside to make room for them to exit the dance hall. "Of course. Just stay clear of the CCT," Ozpin warned. "That's where the scuffle happened and we're currently investigating the incident."
Yang nodded. "Thank you, sir." She grabbed Jaune's wrist and pulled him along. "Let's go."
"Ah… O-okay."
A massively powerful arm blocked Yang's path before she could leave.
"My apologies," General James Ironwood spoke with authority. His steely gaze pierced her very soul. "Would you just so happen to be on the same team as Weiss Schnee?"
Yang's eyes widened slightly, taken aback by that question. "Ah… Y-Yes I am. Do you know her?" Yang asked.
"Not very well, I'm afraid. Her sister is my right-hand woman and I've heard stories from her. But in the few times I've met her, I was unable to speak with her for any significant amount of time." General Ironwood admitted. "But enough about that. This only confirms my suspicions. You and your team were the ones who inadvertently caused that disaster on the highway."
Yang felt her heart stop when those words reached her ears. Her breath caught in her throat, her chest tightening with a sudden surge of panic.
"James," Ozpin immediately noticed Yang's mounting panic and jumped into the conversation to defend her. He placed his hand on General Ironwood's shoulder. "Ms. Xiao Long along with the rest of her team have already been punished severely for their actions that night. Another lecture at this point would do no one any good."
"Ozpin, I can't simply ignore-"
Yang felt Jaune grip her wrist gently and stumbled when he forcefully pulled her outside, away from the irate General. Thankfully, he didn't pursue the two students. Likely due to Ozpin's intervention.
Jaune let go of her wrist once they gained significant distance from the General. He turned to look at her, her body still shaking. "Are you okay?" He asked, voice soft and gentle.
Yang placed a palm on her forehead. "Y-Yeah. I'm okay." Yang took a deep breath. "Thanks for that. I was panicking for a second there."
"No worries," Jaune gently patted her back. "Come on, let's go see Ruby."
"Y-Yeah."
Mercury Black didn't know what to think when Emerald was forcefully pulled out of his arms while his boss immediately shoved her face into his chest, desperately trying to hide her face from everyone in the ballroom.
He immediately got back into the rhythm of the dance, trying not to make a scene while keeping her face hidden.
"Uhh… Boss? Are you… oh."
Her expression was a mask of absolute fury. The fire in her eyes burned with an intensity that could rival the sun, searing through any semblance of calm or composure. Every line of her face was etched with righteous indignation, her jaw clenched and muscles taut with unrestrained anger.
But that wasn't the worst part.
The woman who had half the powers of the Fall Maiden was beaten and bloodied with a black eye and broken nose that looked recently set. Mercury even noticed her stumble with her movements quite a bit as well.
He looked up to Emerald who had just made her way off the dance floor. She looked at him with concern and agitation. Mercury shook his head, conveying silently that he would handle it.
"What happened?" He whispered to the terrifying woman.
"I ran into trouble," Cinder Fall growled into his chest. "That damn girl was so strong!" Her grip on his hands tightened significantly. "That fucking girl made a fool out of me!"
Mercury took note of General Ironwood by the entrance and shifted himself to hide Cinder from view. She thankfully didn't fight his motions.
"I'd have burnt her to ash if I had the rest of my power! Damn her! Damn her! Damn her!" Cinder silently roared. "I'm going to burn her alive once I take the rest of my power! No one makes a fool of Cinder Fall!"
How could someone have the boss acting like this? This girl must've been something else if the boss was this angry at her. Mercury knew that Cinder prided herself on her strength, so to see her in such a state was unbelievable.
"Is the job done at least?" Mercury whispered into her ear.
Cinder smirked. "Yes. They'll be scratching their heads long after we finish what we came here for." Cinder's sneer came back. "That damn child has no idea who she's messing with!"
Mercury almost felt bad for the poor girl.
Almost.
"Do we need to be worried?" Mercury asked.
Cinder sneered. "I don't think so. I'm sure Ironwood didn't see me but that girl might prove to be a problem." Cinder reached up to prod around her newly blackened eye. Mercury vaguely noticed the soft glow of her aura glimmering through to heal it. The same glow surrounded her recently set nose. "My mask didn't fall off so I don't think she would recognize me."
"Should we kill her to be safe?" Mercury raised an eyebrow.
"Are you fucking insane?" Cinder gave him a stupefied look. "If I lost a fight against her then what chance do you have? I'm sure I would've won if I could use all of my Maiden power but that's not an option right now."
Mercury twirled Cinder in his arms to blend in while shifting deeper into the crowd. "We could gang up on her. Just like the Fall Mai- uh… Amber. Take her out so she can't cause a commotion."
"Killing someone in Beacon will definitely cause a commotion," Cinder growled. "All the cameras will make it extremely difficult, not to mention how strong she is. We don't know where she lives either, so that's not an option. All we can do is wait to see if we need to take drastic measures."
Mercury didn't fully agree but he wasn't about to complain. If Cinder thought it was worth the risk then he would keep his mouth shut.
"Whatever you say, Boss."
"I'm not seeing any injuries, apart from a decently depleted aura," Garnet said, prodding around Ruby's body, checking for injuries. She wouldn't find any of course. Ruby was uninjured.
"My dress was the biggest loss of the night," Ruby grumbled. "It was brand new…"
"I'm sure it was beautiful," Garnet pocketed her tools. "Maybe Ozpin would be willing to replace it considering how you helped him out tonight."
Ruby looked out the window toward the CCT. Atlas medical personnel were still tending to the lightly wounded soldiers. None of them had died so that was good. Ruby still wished she could've done more.
"I barely did anything," Ruby admitted with a sigh. "She got away with whatever she was there for. All I have is a vague description through her mask and black clothes." Ruby fidgeted with her fingers. "I just hope that's enough."
Garnet took a few more minutes to finish examining her before giving her the all-clear. Ms. Goodwitch gave her a small card that would act as a key for her temporary room for the night. The students just used their scrolls but she wasn't a student yet. Ruby exited the nurse's office with her heels in hand and made her way to the dorms.
She didn't make it three steps before her Spider-Sense forced her to stop. Luckily she did, otherwise she would've run straight into her sister who was rounding a corner.
"Ruby!" Yang yelled with relief. Ruby became encased in a suffocating bear hug, courtesy of her older sister. Ruby kicked and flailed like a cat to free herself.
"Y-Yang!" Ruby yelled, cheeks red. "Lemme go!" She squirmed even harder. Yang let her go and began prodding around Ruby's body, checking her darling baby sister for injuries. She even poked around her breasts just to embarrass her! Ruby slapped Yang's hands away and backpedaled away from her invasive fingers. "S-Stop that!" She squeaked, cheeks flaming red.
"What happened to you?" Jaune asked from beside Yang, noticing the state of her burnt dress. "You were only gone for 30 minutes! How much trouble could you get into in that time?"
"Ah… haha… I-It's a funny story actually." Ruby twiddled her fingers, refusing to meet their eyes and deciding the floor was more interesting to look at. "I-It's so funny in fact that I totally forgot. Oops."
Yang tapped her foot impatiently, glaring daggers at her sister. Ruby debated making a break for it and hoping that Yang would never find her.
Jaune still looked really worried though. That was enough to break her.
"Fine… I saw someone suspicious hopping across the rooftops and I followed. I got into a fight and here we are."
They stared at her for about 30 seconds, waiting for him to continue or provide any sort of detail. Ruby just stood there defiantly, not budging an inch.
It was Yang who eventually broke. "Is that all?"
…
…
…
"...I won."
Yang smiled. "That's my sister!"
Jaune apprehensively approached her. "A-Are you okay?" He asked, his voice filled with concern.
Ruby raised her arms and spun around. "Yep. Took a few hits but my aura took care of it. Honestly, my dress came out worse than I did." Ruby lowered her arms and lifted her dress slightly. "I wanted this thing to last a long time."
Jaune sighed with relief. "As long as you're safe. The dress doesn't matter."
Ruby rubbed her arm, looking ashamed of herself. "Jaune… I-I'm… sorry." She turned away from him, not wanting to meet his eyes.
"Hm?" Jaune tilted his head. "What for?"
"For ruining the dance," Ruby admitted. "I should've called for the teachers to do something instead of abandoning you like that. They might've even captured that woman if I just used my brain. So… I'm sorry for ruining your night."
It was the truth. Sure, her powers gave her an edge and she knew without a doubt that she would've lost that fight without them. She didn't even have her weapon with her. She didn't have her scroll with her but she could've just turned around and gotten someone as soon as she saw that woman hopping across the rooftops. No matter which way she looked at it, there was a much simpler and safer solution than just running blind.
Ruby made to turn away before her vision was obstructed by the black polyester of Jaune's tuxedo. Large warm arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. She could feel the dull thump of Jaune's heartbeat.
Ruby couldn't speak, she couldn't even think clearly at the moment. The feeling of Jaune's muscular arms around her must've short-circuited her brain and shut down her cognitive thought. Her cheeks burned a nuclear shade of red.
"I had a great time tonight, Ruby," Jaune whispered. "You didn't ruin my night. Not at all."
Ruby clenched her shaking fists while she trembled in Jaune's arms. Her mounting frustration clouded her judgment. "B-But… I ditched you," Ruby spoke falteringly. "I ran off in the middle of the dance and left you all alone. Just so I could do something stupid."
"Stupid? Are you trying to tell me that your trying to do the right thing was stupid?" Jaune asked, bewildered. Ruby looked up to meet his eyes, only to see genuine confusion on his face.
"W-Well… I-I-"
Jaune cut her off. "Frankly, I'd be appalled if you decided to leave it alone in favor of coming back to the dance. That's just not the type of person you are." Jaune shook his head. "You're not the type of person who can turn the other way when someone is in trouble."
Ruby's hands slowly crept their way up Jaune's back, hesitantly returning the hug. "R-Really?" She was positive that Jaune could feel the heat from her cheeks through his suit.
Jaune hummed in agreement. "Yeah… It's just like you said. With great power, there must also come great responsibility," Jaune threw the words she had spoken to him right back at her.
He's right. How could I have forgotten? I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't do all I could to help. Mom would never forgive me either.
Ruby looked up with watery eyes and smiled at the blonde Huntsman. "Thanks, Jaune. You always know how to cheer me up."
Jaune pat her head. "Glad I'm good for one thing."
Ruby gently pushed away from Jaune. Their silent stares spoke a thousand words.
Jaune pulled out his scroll. "It's getting late. We should probably turn in for the night. The dance is still going but I'd imagine you don't wanna get back out there with half a dress."
Ruby giggled into her palm. "Very observant, Jaune." Ruby's important bits were thankfully still covered by pure luck but it didn't change the fact that her dress was destroyed on top of her smelling like ash.
"Yang, I'm heading to- Yang?" Ruby looked behind Jaune to see that Yang had vanished. She didn't even notice her leave. Mostly due to her embarrassment from being pressed up against Jaune's chest.
Oh god… She definitely saw that. I'm never gonna hear the end of it. Whatever. That's a problem for tomorrow.
"She's sneaky when she wants to be," Jaune commented. "I didn't even hear her leave."
Yang had a lot of practice sneaking back into the house after she was out all night drinking with friends on numerous occasions. Though, a drunk girl stumbling back into her home wasn't exactly the quietest thing in the world. That probably explained why it seemed to work less often than not.
Jaune turned back to Ruby. "Do you have a place to stay tonight? It's a little late to be heading home."
Ruby didn't plan on heading home tonight. She planned on crashing with Yang for the night but then Ozpin decided to give her a temporary room. At least that meant she wouldn't have to deal with Yang's snoring.
Ruby flashed her keycard to Jaune. "Yeah, Ozpin was kind enough to give me my own room for the night." She'd have to thank him for that later, as well as thanking him for protecting her from General Ironwood.
"Cool, I'll walk you there," Jaune offered. What a gentleman.
The halls were mostly quiet, apart from the light tapping of their footsteps. Ruby was still completely barefoot. Not only did she not want to stick her filthy feet into those heels, but she also just straight-up hated wearing those damn things.
Ruby would have to ask Weiss if she enjoyed torturing herself by wearing those things while fighting. Ruby couldn't imagine doing that. Fighting on the ceiling was infinitely easier than walking five steps in those things. They made a quick stop at team PWBY's dorm so she could grab her belongings. The dorm was empty so that would at least spare her from Yang's teasing until tomorrow at least. They arrived at her temporary room a few minutes later. She flashed her keycard and heard a distinctive click of the door unlocking, confirming that she was in the right room.
"Thanks for tonight, Jaune," Ruby smiled cutely. "I had a lot of fun learning how to dance."
Jaune flushed shyly. "I had a lot of fun too. You're a pretty good dancer," She didn't need her Spider-Sense to tell he was lying.
Ruby trapped the blonde in a tight hug, content in feeling the warmth of his body and the rhythmic beating of his heart. He returned the hug, gently running his fingers through her dust-covered hair.
"Thanks for a wonderful night. I'm glad to have a friend like you," hummed Jaune.
Friend…
Ruby looked up into those captivating ocean-blue eyes. She loved him so much it hurt. His lips were so close to hers. She wanted to kiss him more than anything.
Ruby gently pushed away from Jaune. "I'm glad I met you Jaune. Thanks for being my friend. Goodnight."
"Night, Ruby," whispered Jaune, softly.
Ruby softly closed the door behind her. It took a few seconds, but she eventually heard Jaune's footsteps get softer and softer before disappearing completely.
Ruby slid against the door to the floor and brought her knees to her chest before burying her face in them. Her knees muffled her sobs and the burnt fabric of her dress absorbed her tears. The small amount of makeup that Yang had applied started to run down her cheeks as well.
I love you, Jaune. I'm sorry that I can't ever tell you. It hurts so much… It hurts to look at your wonderful smile and pretend that I'm okay. It hurts to hold these feelings in my heart. It hurts… It hurts… It hurts...
Sometimes… Sometimes I wish I was never bitten by that spider. That spider would've never landed on me if I had just taken one step to the left. If I had left just two seconds earlier. I'm not special, I was just unlucky.
I just want to be Ruby Rose for a while…
Ruby's tears saturated her pillow as she drifted to sleep.
AN: I feel like I can't write romance for shit… I'm curious if you guys think it's any good.
I think I'll be introducing the Arc family next chapter. I'll be honest though, I can't be fucked to come up with names for the six unnamed Arc sisters as well as Jaune's mom and dad. I think I'll just be using the names that Coeur Al'Aran came up with. He mentioned in his bio that he's fine with it so long as I credit him. Consider this author's note as me crediting him. I also really like those names. I won't be using the same personalities though.
Things are really going to start picking up in the story really soon. Stay tuned for that. And YES, the Green Goblin will be returning. I've already written him in in a future chapter.
Review if you want.
Or don't.
I don't really care.