One more for you lot. This one takes place two weeks after the last chapter. I hope you all had an amazing break and I'm so glad to be back.
REAPER IN RED
Chapter 12
"Please settle down everyone. Settle down. Yes, Mr. Lark, I do include you in that statement!"
The class's attention turned slowly from the usual morning chatter to the wily green-haired professor -doctor, I meant-. He was tapping on the desk, which he was leaning on, his hand subconsciously moving towards the steaming mug of coffee just out of reach. I wonder how many sugars he puts into it.
Apparently putting in twenty-three was too much. I shot off a glare at Weiss who frowned in confusion before nodding towards the teacher for me to focus once more. Five sugars maximum, my butt.
"I apologize for the classroom. I know it is a little stuffy in here, but the headmaster has assured me that the thermostat will be fixed by next class."
I shrugged. Room felt normal to me. Must be all that coffee he drinks. Drinking hot coffee did warm me up quite a bit too. Heat's awesome.
"And today we move away from the basics of modern history and look backwards in time. A century and a half back in fact, and to the Faunus Wars. Can anybody give me the three most commonly discussed reasons as to why the wars had started? Yes, Ms. Schnee?"
"It was directly due to what the Faunus considered to be inhumane treatment during the Great War a decade prior."
"Quite right Ms. Schnee. Quite right. Faunus were treated most terribly after the war. Dreadful, most dreadful indeed." Professor -doctor- Oobleck took a swig from his mug and gestured in the direction of a few raised hands.
"Mantel's refusal to change the designation of Faunus to human from that of Chimera."
"Indeed, Ms. Nikos. Mantel, even after having lost the Great War, refused the growing call to relabel Faunus. Mantel argued that Chimera were classified as creatures whom possessed the characteristics of two animal species. As Faunus possess features from animals, they would technically fit into this category. It was not until after the Faunus wars did Faunus truly gain so-called 'humanship' under the law, but the definition of Chimeras too were changed in order to more clearly specify the differences. And last, but not least? Mr. Ren?"
"The discovery of dust in Menagerie."
"Yes! Nothing is more prized on this planet than dust. Perfect transition to today's lecture! Open your books to page ninety-four and follow along."
And with that helpful instruction, absolutely nobody opened their textbooks, instead opting to take out pen and paper. I had made the mistake of trying to follow along in the textbook as well as take notes during my first class with him. I shuddered. Never again. I doubted anything mortal or Salemite could keep up with the professor's pace.
"The fourth day of the second month of the year ought-fifty-three of the new calendar, dust was discovered in Menageries after an area was cleared of a witch's coven by the Faunus settlers. News spread quickly of it being quite a large find and suddenly every kingdom wished to renege on their deal to grant the land to Faunus refugees. Five months later, Vale was the first to claim territory in Menagerie, followed swiftly by Mistral…"
As the professor spoke, his pace increased. It was as if the sheer act of speaking was allowing him to talk faster. My pen was furious along my notebook as I tried to keep up with what the professor was saying. Something about a mining attempt in the summer? Or was that the season when the first Mantel troops landed. Was General Baeumont a Faunus commander or did he command the Faunus? What was that about a mommy in an old temple?
I raised my hand. At once the professor paused. The entire class breathed a sigh of relief, many glancing in my direction as if to thank me.
"Yes, Ms. Rose?"
"Why would a mother attack faunus hiding in a temple?"
"I beg your pardon?" Professor Oobleck sped towards me.
"W-well, you said that a mommy attacked those faunus. I was wondering why?"
My question asked, I could feel the silence in the room. If silence had an echo, it would sound like a beating heart. Wait, was that mine? A hand on my chest proved it to be true.
Cool! Ancient vampire souls were awesome. Why hadn't I noticed that until now?
Suddenly, the class erupted into fits of laughter. The professor -doctor- attempted to quiet down the class. "Settle down!" He shouted above the racket.
Weiss turned to me and slapped me gently on the shoulder, scowling. "Mummy, dolt! Not mommy."
I blinked in confusion. "What's the difference?"
Weiss twitched.
"You know what? I think I have had enough Ruby Rose for one day. Blake? Yang? Please inform the good doctor that I have been coming down with something and will be visiting the nurse for headache medication."
"Hey! What did I do?" I called out to her as she grabbed her books and bag and left the classroom.
Yang slapped me on my shoulder, laughing. "I can't believe it Rubes! You got the ice princess to ditch class. Blake, I think I won that bet."
Blake, who had hardly paid any attention during the entire lecture, and less so during the rowdy behaviour caused by whatever I had said, was calmly reading a book. "If I recall, the bet was that you would be able to get her to skip class."
"And I taught Ruby everything she knows!" Yang beamed proudly.
"I think that was all on Ruby."
Yang slumped in her chair, chuckling to herself. Something about a partner and not understanding little siblings? I didn't know. But before I could ask, Oobleck had finally managed to calm down the class to a respectable level. He turned to face me, exasperated about something.
"Mummies, Ms. Rose are the undead creatures native to Vacuo and Menagerie. Identifiable by their cloth wrappings. They are what we in Vale, call zombies."
"If they're zombies, but with clothes, why not just call them zombies?"
"History, Ms. Rose. History. The term mummy was used to classify all undead beings in ancient Vacuo. As the custom there was to drain the fluids from the body and wrap the corpse with cloth, the term joined common vernacular to signify the undead from this region. They are no different than zombies. It is just common to classify those undead beings from Vacuo and Menagerie, or really, any cloth covered undead as a mummy. It also helps to identify the time period in which said undead was raised, but that is a lecture I had planned for near to the end of the semester as it will be on your final examinations."
That little fact brought a groan from the class.
"Now, back to the Faunus Wars. If I remember my history correctly, and I most definitely do, we were just discussing a crucial battle in the war. One which saw, for the first and only time in the conflict, faunus revolutionists and the combined forces of Vale, Atlas and Mistral all join together to fight a common enemy. It is in my professional opinion, as well as the opinion of Dr. Merigold Deliei who wrote the very textbooks you hold before you, that this was the most significant battle of the entire war. One in which all people put aside their differences in appearance and fought together. It allowed a better understanding by the human soldiers of their faunus brethren and to see that they were indeed more human than chimera."
Doctor Oobleck paused, clicking on his scroll to open up a picture of an old, dusty map, on the screen behind him. At the center was a large black oval, with dashed lines surrounding it. Some of the lines, random to my eyes had crosses on them. Inside the oval were three rectangles. All connected together so they looked like the outline to a castle. Maybe even a keep.
"The battlefield is the plains of Araguba in Menagerie. In the year aught-fifty-six, just two hours after the major victory by the faunus under the command of general Lapin Heyz, an attack took place by a herd of Reapers. The battlefield was filled with the cries of the dying, which summoned the herd."
Herd?
Herd!
Humans called a group of Reapers a herd! How… how dare they! That made us sound like sheep or cows. We are definitely not sheep or cows. If we were an animal, we would be crows! They are black and appear with death as well. What did they call a group of crows? A murder of crows! Wait. On second thought, maybe a herd was better.
How about a gaggle. A gaggle of Reapers sounds good. Not scary at all! It didn't have the same first letter though. Those names were always the best. Blake Belladonna. Good name. Ruby Rose. Incredible super-mega-awesome name! Yang Xiao-Long? Eh… it was alright. A few points for having a fake sister named Ruby Rose. A romp of Reapers? No, that was a bit too weird. How about a rout of Reapers. Better but not quite…
My train of thought was broken as the class gasped. I looked around the room, trying to pick up on what had just been revealed. I turned to Blake, who still was holding her book, but her gaze was peering overtop, transfixed on the professor. Yang was the same, minus the book part.
"And so, General Lapin selected a group of their fastest runners. Runners from all walks of life, to leave while he and the remaining survivors did what they could to stall the Reapers and keep them from continuing their rampage. The information they carried with them is some of the first confirmed and completely factual information we have on the creatures, and luckily it also contained a method to kill them.
"General Lapin and the dying five hundred, did exactly that. A month later, a ceasefire was called in order to check on the remains of the armies of the faunus and outside forces that fought in Araguba. Menagerie still has that land off limits and no expansion is done in the region to this day. Of course, teams of expert huntsmen are sent there often to try and find the Reaper nest that is there, but as of now there has been no luck. Do not fret! If it is not done in my generation or yours, then it shall be done in your children's or children's children's.
"Remember this piece of history students. Not only for your upcoming test, but also for your life. Good day to you all! Please read the next chapters all on this battle! And Ms. Rose, please brush up on the fundamentals! Class dismissed."
Chairs squeaked against the floor and books were slammed shut as the regular sounds of teenagers picked up once more. I followed alongside everyone else, but something about the professor's story was bothering me. Why was there even a riot of Reapers in the first place?
"Enjoy the lecture Rubes? You're zoning out." Yang nudged me.
"No, just thinking. About Reapers. Why was there even a rag of- I mean herd of Reapers there? Reapers are solitary beings."
Yang snorted. "Dreaming up facts again? Heh, I don't know where you're pulling that information out from. Must be the lack of lunch. Don't worry sweet baby-cakes. Momma Xiao-Long will get you your daily dose of cookies. Can't have you making things up and confusing me before tests, now can I?"
She bumped into me again with a friendly elbow.
Ow, note to self. Again. Yang has hard elbows.
"Gods, Ruby. It's like you don't know the basic facts about salemites. First with the whole mummy-mommy fiasco and now with basic Reaper knowledge? This is information you should have learned from your tutors ages ago." Weiss scoffed.
"Tutors?" I asked.
"Tutors?" Blake repeated.
"Pff. The ice-princess had tutors," Yang tried to hold back a smirk.
Weiss glared at all of us. "It is not my fault that I come from a well to do family. It is unsafe for someone as rich as I to attend ordinary schools. Especially with those riffraff in the white fang attacking and thieving, left, right and center."
"The white fang are not riffraff!" Blake scowled. "Yes some of their practices aren't the best, but they're just a group of faunus who are trying to make life better for their kind!"
"Well, I will have you know that they are nothing more than scum!" Weiss threw back, her glare increasing and now wholly focused on Blake. Should I be grateful that she wasn't glaring at me anymore? Or ashamed that her glare scared me so much. I decided on both.
"I will have you know that those terrorists have attacked my family and the Schnee name! And as the person among the four of us with no doubt the most experience dealing with said trash, I believe I know how best to refer to them."
Blake growled in anger, fists clenched.
"Hey guys!" I butt in, stepping between the two increasingly aggressive teammates of mine. "We're all friends here. Why don't we all go get a snack and put this whole thing behind us until we have clear heads and filled bellies? You never know when you can't taste food again?"
"Huh?"
"I mean when you can't taste food again… because you won't have any! Cookies. I miss cookies. Blake, Weiss. I'm using my superpowers as team leader to put a stop to this fight and go get cookies!"
"Heh, being team leader doesn't give you superpowers, Rubes." Yang laughed.
But, as both Weiss and Blake gave each other a final glare and turned towards the cafeteria in silence, I gave my sister an innocent little whistle. "Not a superpower you say?" I asked in the most loving voice I could muster.
To say that our snack in the cafeteria was tense, would be an understatement.
Was it possible for two people to both stare at each other and refuse to meet each other's eyes at the same time? Because until just now, I thought it was impossible. Yet Blake and Weiss were doing a pretty darn good job at doing just that.
I scarfed down another cookie -oatmeal chocolate chip, only the second best cookie ever to be eaten, behind triple chocolate ooey gooey fudge cookies- and glanced between the two of them. I washed down the cookie with a glass of orange juice. Yang was enjoying her meal at least. Blake had barely touched her salad, and Weiss, her oatmeal.
"Hey guys?" I nearly whispered. I shrank as their attention turned to me.
"What do you want Ruby."
"Can... If you guys don't want to eat, can I have your food?"
Yang snorted. Blake pushed her salad to me and got up to leave. "Just take it, I think I need five minutes away from the faunus hater."
"I do not hate faunus!" Weiss shouted back at her, shaking her fist at the raven-haired girl as she left the cafeteria. Turning back to the table, Weiss sank onto her folded arms. "I don't. I just can't stand the White Fang for what they did to me and my family. And my father's company too..."
"Hey, don't sweat it. Blake's just in a mood or something. Give her some alone time to read or something and I promise you it'll all blow over nice and easy." Yang winked.
"I don't know. I think one of us should go talk to her," I chimed in, tapping my chin and digging through the salad to find the last hard bread thing -crouton-.
"Perfect! Rubes, you go take care of my partner and I'll take care of yours."
"What?!" I stumbled in surprise. "Bu-but she's your partner. Why don't you deal with her!"
"She's your teammate. And you're the team leader. Don't you have team leader superpowers? This should be a piece of cake for you! Don't worry, I'll be right here when you get back. Or in the gym. Maybe in Team JNPR's room if Nora still wants to arm wrestle. you know what? Once your done with Blake, just come and find me. I'll be around campus."
"No you don't. You are the only one of us behind in our homework. If you're staying with me, that is exactly what you will be doing."
I smirked at Yang and slowly got up to leave. Even as she pleaded with me. That's what she gets for not finding school fascinating!
"Bye Yang and Weiss! Don't have too much fun without me."
And I was off. On my way to Blake. Classes were over. That meant she was in only one of three places. Either back in the dorm, reading. Or in the library, reading. Or on the roof of the library, reading. That meant visiting the library was the best option.
I waved to the attendee as I entered. She smiled and gave a polite wave back. She looked so cozy with her steaming hot tea and thick sweater.
"Remember to return those books of yours when you're through with them." She commented, helpfully.
I smiled. "Of course! If you can find any more on human behaviour and people, that you think I'll like, can you save them for me?"
"Of course dear. It is always nice to see such an intelligent young huntress take interest in something other than killing salemites or their coursework. Always good to broaden your interests, I always say."
"Thanks. I'll get those books back for you tomorrow. Hey, do you know where Blake is?"
"Miss Belladonna is currently in isle forty-two. The romantic fiction section."
"Thank you!"
Such a pleasant old lady. Still pretty spry though. No fear of Reaping her anytime soon. I wondered how long, though... Wow, who knew I would want to use my magic in public? I must be going crazy. I probably still had some time before the effects started showing. But, enough about that. I had to find Blake or die trying.
I giggled. Die trying. Nice one Ruby.
Blake was exactly where the attendant said she would be, tucked into a corner, book in hand. She had a frown. Probably still annoyed about whatever she and Weiss were arguing about. I gently knocked on the bookshelf to grab her attention. She nodded, eyes not leaving her book.
"I'm not going to apologize to Weiss. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
I shrugged, "half the time, neither do I."
There was that tiny smirk I was coming to know and love. Placing the book down gently beside her, she turned to face me. "You drew the short straw, huh."
"Yang said it was a team leader's duty to handle these sorts of things. I don't know, do you need help with anything?"
"No, I'm fine." Blake shook her head.
"Well, I guess my job's done." I slid down beside her, shimmying around so my cloak wasn't stuck under my butt.
Less than a minute of silence passed and I could already feel Blake squirming.
"It's just..." She began, "it's just the White Fang aren't all terrorists who just enjoy killing or stealing. That's not even close to most of us-them. Most are just regular people who were hurt by humans and want to stick up for themselves. Equal and fair treatment under the law, you know?"
I nodded. Seemed like the right thing to do. I let her take her time speaking, she looked like she had a lot to say.
"You heard in Oobleck's class today. Faunus were classified as chimera. We had to fight to be recognized as people instead of monsters. Who's to say the White Fang are completely wrong? If we could fight to become people, maybe we could fight to be equal as well?"
Blake stared at her feet for a few moments.
"Most of us just want protection."
Okay, made sense. Humans stuck together because when they were alone, they more often than not, died.
"It makes sense to me. You just wanted people to help you out. So you wouldn't feel so alone. I felt the same when my mom was killed. If I could have just joined a group to stop other- other people from dying, I would."
"You're a huntress in training, Ruby. You did join a group."
I half-chuckled, "maybe."
"Wait."
"What it is?" I turned to look at Blake's eyes. Why did she look so... scared?
"I've been saying us and we. How aren't you shocked that I'm a-" Blake glanced around, making sure no one was nearby. Even so, she still whispered the next part, "a faunus. An ex-White Fang."
"You're ex-White Fang?"
"Sshh!" Blake rushed to cover my mouth. "Did you not pick that up from what I said? How can you not... hate me? Or run away in disgust? Or, well, anything really?"
I shrugged. "What you said made sense."
"And what about lying about being human?"
"Blake, you are human."
"I meant about actually being a faunus."
"Was that an issue?"
Blake slapped her forehead with her palm. "I lied! I lied to you, and Yang and-and even Weiss! I was a terrorist; a villain, for crying out loud! Oh hell, Weiss is going to hate me. She might be a racist jerk, but she is still... a team mate. And how are you so calm about this whole thing?"
"You're human. You live, you breath and eventually you die. And most of all, you feel. Humans can experience the world around them like nothing else. Taste, touch, sight. Grimm can't do that. Having animal ears or a tail doesn't change that fact. It never will. And you're no villain. I know villains. Since coming to Beacon, I think I understand huntsmen's take on villains a lot better. And if you're a villain, then I'm one too."
I stared at Blake. Like, really stared. She was crying. But, also smiling? My books didn't cover this! What was this happy-sad emotion. I jumped, realizing Blake had squeezed my shoulder gently.
"Thanks Ruby. You really are a great team leader. Would you mind... keeping this a secret for me? At least for a little while. I know you don't like keeping things from your sister, but it'll just be for a little while?"
"Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
With Blake finally calmer and.. cry smiling -boy, that was weird to see- I left the library. As soon as I left the building I stopped and cursed myself. Damn! that would have been the perfect time to discuss sneaking into the restricted section to get my Reaper books! Bad Reaper. Bad, bad forgetful Reaper. No cookies for you. Okay, maybe one cookie. I did manage to help Blake out and find out what caused the whole argument with Weiss.
It was much later than I had realized, Blake and me must have been talking for quite a long time. There were a few older kids still walking around. Most had on their long sleeve shirts, or thicker sweaters. Huh, I was just wearing my normal outfit and it all felt fine to me. Must be my cloak. Warmer under it than I thought. That made sense, right?
I opened the door to team RWBY's room, "-all the hot water. Oh, hey sis. How was Blake?" Yang turned from a fuming Weiss, to look at me with a cheerful smile.
"Blake's doing much better. We talked and everything is good. You owe me a mountain of cookies though."
Yang shrugged. "Fine. Hey, Rubes. You look like you could use a shower."
Why was she grinning like that. I did not like that look of hers.
"I think I'll be fine for now."
"No Ruby, I insist. Weiss, don't you think Ruby should take a shower?"
"Please leave me out of your imbecilic nonsense. I have homework to complete." Weiss refused to even give us a glare.
"You heard the lady, get into the shower." Yang said, all but pushing me into the washroom.
"Hey- Yang! Stop- alright fine!" With a final smile of victory, Yang winked and closed the door, allowing me some privacy.
What did that blonde girl do to the shower... After a few minutes of inspection, checking the taps and the shower-head and the drain for anything, it all looked clean. Strange. I turned the knobs, letting loose a pleasant stream of water. Removing my clothes, I stepped in, feeling the water pound into me like a pleasant massage. After a few minutes under the water, I turned it off and stepped out, drying myself with the fluffy pink towel I had brought with me from the Xiao Long home. No wonder humans enjoyed showers, they are so relaxing.
Stepping out into the room, Yang was giving me a strange look. Actually, so was Weiss. "Huh? Is there something in my hair?"
"Was the shower not cold to you?" Yang questioned, giving me a look over.
"The buffoon used up all the hot water. I don't know how you didn't scream or anything. It's freezing." Weiss looked nearly as bewildered as Yang.
"I.. uh... I was hoping for a cold shower. Relaxes the muscles you know? Well, goodnight!"
I rushed, changing into my pajamas and scurrying up into my bed. I was breathing heavily and my heart was pounding wildly.
The cold water. The sweaters outside. Oobleck's hot, stuffy classroom. I hadn't felt any of it. Not a speck of heat nor the cold.
"Oh no." I whispered.
The vampire soul was wearing off.
A lot has happened this chapter. This is mainly due to Oobleck's class being shorter than I expected (thanks to an idea popping up mid-me-writing-the-chapter). So really, it's combining two chapter ideas together. For me, that means writing a little more. For you, an extra long chapter!
Dragonqueen1993 - Yes, a change of pace was definitely needed last chapter. Super happy I decided to add that one in.
Halo29 - Thanks! Vacation was amazing.
FN75 - "Things are about to take a turn for the worse," *Devilish chuckling* Who can say?
Kuroyami - I just enjoy writing less-than-subtle sneaky Ozpin
Firewyrm2 - It's a nice idea for a story, but it's too similar an idea to this to be interesting for me to write. Maybe you should give it a try? See how it turns out.
Alucard45 - My dear, you are stuck with me for a little bit longer! To your first point, I will be touching on that sometime in the later future. Though things like eating less wouldn't be too weird, but the not knowing about certain foods? Yes, that is indeed weird. For your second point, yes it definitely is dark (I can't wait to show you how it works). And as for your question: why indeed? Some of it is spoilers, some of it, is just the story wouldn't exist or be boring if that were the case.
And over 200 of you crazy people have been following this story! That blows my mind. You guys know what that means, right? I will see you all on Thursday for your super special happy bonus chapter!