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REAPER IN RED

Chapter 22

I couldn't figure it out.

The no-temperature water hit me in satisfying waves as I sat there on the floor of the dorm bathroom. I leaned forward so that it fell onto my back, the pressured pitter-patter relaxing my aching body and stressed mind. I was tired.

Truly exhausted. I don't think I worked myself that hard in a long time. Every class, every hour, for the last two days. My head was killing me. No matter how much pressure I put myself through. No amount of time thinking on it, rubbing my temples or squeezing my body silly was allowing me to extend even an ounce of power further than the ends of my own fingers. If that.

I was pretty sure that my hands just fell asleep, the tingles on the tips of them nothing more than their naturally human reaction to being sat on or held above my head for an entire night. Speaking of nights, sleep was something that I was sorely lacking. My eyes were red. Not in the Reaper way, but in the human one.

I yawned and leaned back, the water now splashing on my forehead.

There was pounding on the door.

"Rubes, make sure you don't use up all the hot water!"

"I won't!" I called back, double checking that I had only turned on the cold tap.

I ran my fingers through my short hair, tucking some loose strands behind my ears. This wasn't working. Another yawn. I couldn't keep this up. Not only was nothing happening, I felt slower than I usually did as well. I tried to stand up, only to collapse as I put weight onto my feet.

Yup, too tired indeed. I could desperately use a nap at this point. I shook that thought from my head.

Ozpin said struggle.

But, was it the right kind of struggle?

I yawned once more, a shiver running through my body. My head was pounding in waves, matching that of the shower.

I missed Cinder. She would know what to do.

But would she tell me?

No, it was up to me. I let the change happen slowly. The room grew darker. Then darker still. I looked at my arm, my naturally pale skin gaining its more translucent guise. The water no longer fell on my head and instead fell on my cloak. No scythe this time. No death meant no need for it to be called out. I looked at my toes. They were normally covered by my cloak when I stood, and I understood why. While boney hands were sort of creepy, boney feet were altogether weird to look at. I stood up. Strength now surged through me.

I opened my mouth, exhaling silent air. Closing my eyes, I felt shadow pool around my feet. It felt so natural. With just a thought -less than that- the shadows were bent to my will, carrying my power wherever I wished. I forced it towards the mirror, then the shower head, then the door. I let it flow out from me, mapping the entire expanse of the bathroom. What was I doing now that was so different than before?

I screamed silently. Well, that was a weird feeling. Or rather, unfeeling. Inside, I was angry. No, disappointed. But outside? Nothing. A calmness which always surrounded this form. Being disappointed enough to scream, or at least make the motion of screaming, that meant the emotions were strong. Very strong.

Ugh, I released my hold on the shadows. Naturally, they returned to their sources and the room's light returned. The cloak receded and water fell once again on my scalp. Most of the strength left me and I sat back down, hugging my legs tightly. With my forehead on my knees, I tried to do what I had just done so simply.

Nothing. I couldn't feel shadow bend to my will. I couldn't feel the magic which had come so easily to me before. There was something missing. Like a mental block. A word on the tip of my tongue that no matter how hard I reached for it, it stayed just out of reach.

Another round of pounding on the door, turned my attention outward.

"Rubes, you alright? You've been in there a while and the rest of us still need to shower."

Right, how much time had passed? Too much probably. Shutting off the water, I grabbed a towel and dried myself off as best as I could. I looked at myself in the mirror. Reddish-blackish hair, silver eyes, pale skin and a cute face. Small, thin body. Nothing much to look at. Definitely not scary enough to be a Higher Order creature. Nope, no siree.

Strong enough to fight one? Not really, just judging by appearance.

Stepping back into my shared room, rubbing at my ears to remove the last bits of moisture, I felt Yang pass beside me and shutting the door behind her.

"Are you doing alright?" Weiss was sitting on her bed, textbook on her lap.

"Huh? No, I'm fine."

"You look troubled. Does it have to do with class? You haven't been paying too much attention lately. That very much isn't like you."

I shook my head. "Nothing, just something on my mind."

"Anything important? As your partner it is my duty to ensure that you are prepared for class and pay attention to our professors. If it is something that will impair you, I need to know. Just tell me-"

"Shut up!" Weiss paused, flinching. I... I didn't mean it. "I'm-I'm sorry Weiss. It's nothing. Please."

Weiss glared at me. "I'm your partner, Ruby Rose. I promised you that I would be the best partner you ever had. More so, I think we have both been in enough situations together that we at least earned some semblance of trust from one another. You are tired, Ruby. You are quieter. We all have been, but you seem to speak to us all much less than you used to before the… incident. So either you tell me what is wrong, or I will force you to."

"It's-"

"-not nothing. It is very much something. I can see it, Blake can see it and Yang can most definitely see it."

"Weiss. You are one of the few people that I have ever considered as a friend. So please. If the word friendship has any meaning to you, you will drop this issue."

The scowl and the nasty twinkle in her eye told me that she wasn't going to drop it anytime soon. But at least she remained silent.

Small victories.

I climbed onto my bed, letting my head hit my pillow with a satisfying sound. Where was I? Right, struggle. I squeezed my fists, clenching every part of my body. There had to be some feeling I was missing. My human form had only the very basics of power that my Reaper form did. Strength, a small bit of precognition for the dying, quicker reflexes, my shadow magic barrier -I mean aura- and… wait.

I had a shadow magic barrier. It was infinitely stronger as a Reaper, but it was still very much there as I was now. How could I have forgotten something like that? Then again, it wasn't very often that I allowed something to hit me, so I hadn't had much use for it. Shadow magic was also how my 'semblance' worked. Running at speeds faster than sight, leaving only rose petals shrouded in shadow. That was something. Multiple somethings.

There had to be a way to use that. Now, if only I could get this darn body of mine to cooperate with my ideas!

This was getting me nowhere fast. I needed a break. A good night's sleep, maybe. That or comb my hair. No, I had already done that.

"Hey, Weiss?" I tried, rolling over.

"Does my team leader deign to speak to me?"

I flinched. Ya, I was pretty mean to her a moment ago. "Sorry Weiss. Just something important on my mind…"

"… Do you want to talk about it?"

"You could always talk to your big sis as well if the Ice Queen is being too frosty." Yang piped in from her side of the bathroom.

I thought for a moment but shook my head in rejection. I snapped at Weiss for trying to be a caring partner. She deserved better of me. "I think a little partner to partner talking will help. Next time, big sis."

At least that made her smile. "Any time Rubes," I heard the shower turn on.

My eyes traveled to Weiss's, "so?"

"Umm, I'm not quite sure, really."

Weiss huffed, twisting her body to completely face me. "Just start and I'll work on deciphering your thoughts as we continue. I'm used to it at this point."

Weiss's nonchalance made me smirk. "Okay then," I began. I tried to decipher my own thoughts enough to ask her what I wanted to ask. I had to be sneaky. How could I ask her about Reaper shadow magic and extending my power in a human form when as a human, I should only have my human form?

"Do you ever feel like your magic, -erm- semblance isn't being used correctly? Like, there's this one thing that you know it should do or you are pretty sure it's supposed to do, but you just can't figure it out?"

Well, that sounded entirely stupid. Great going me.

"Like a power passed down from your ancestors. How every person in your lineage had been able to achieve that one power attached to your semblance, but you have yet to find the means to do so?"

I could only stare at her, stunned. Holy Salem, she understood me. Judging by the frown on her face and faraway glance, she really did understand.

"What would you say if… there was something I could do that would make me stronger. Like… like a lot stronger?"

"I would say that maybe we are less different than I had first believed." Weiss smiled sadly. But, it was still a real smile. Not a painted-on smirk, but a true one that actually expressed her emotions. It looked nice. "Have we ever discussed my semblance before?"

I shook my head.

"Words, Ruby."

"N-no. Just, what I've seen of it and what we know for our team attacks for Professor Goodwitch's class."

Weiss shifted her position, so she was on her knees, hands delicately in her lap. "My semblance… the Schnee semblance is a hereditary one. My sister has it, my mother had it and my grandfather had it. And ancestors long since forgotten have all had my semblance. Glyphs, we like to call them. By letting our power interact with various types of dust, I can have different effects happen. Without dust, the Schnee semblance is still a powerful one. We can bring forth Summons. Creatures we had defeated in combat."

My eyes widened. "That's so cool. Any creatures?"

"No, not quite."

"So, no fifty-foot tall behemoths? Or hordes of zombies? How about skin-" I clamped up immediately.

My excitement had gotten the best of me. Why did my mind have to go straight to that particular creature? We both flinched.

"N-no. None of those… monsters. I can only summon creatures which I had defeated in combat. That and… they can't be of Higher Order. Or vampires. It is almost entirely used for Grimm, but other lower order creatures work too."

Why not Higher Orders? Were they too strong to summon? Vampires made sense. Unless the Schnee magic could summon killed humans.

"Can your magic-semblance summon… people?"

Weiss shook her head. Okay, that confirmed it. No people, faunus or vampires. Higher Order summons could have been incredible though. There had to be a reason why not. Imagine how powerful a human could be with the power to summon a Grim Reaper. Or a Wraith Reaper. Or… a shiver ran down my spine. An Ammit. Bities and Chompies. Terrifying.

"Schnees have been studying our semblance for generations. Grimm of all sizes work without issue. Even those comparable in strength to the Higher Order creatures. Peris, brownies, Barghests, even Will o' the Wisps can be summoned. But, seeing as we have strayed a little too far from our original topic, yes. I do understand a semblance that can make you stronger. As well as one that can descend through our lineage."

Weiss sighed. "Summoning is the hardest part to control of my semblance. I have… yet to master this ability."

I placed a hand on Weiss's and she didn't shrug it off.

"My abilities are… hard." I began, filling in the silence left in the room. Glad that Blake was out and Yang was too preoccupied with her hair to listen in. "There are… things… I can do with them that can scare a lot of people."

When Weiss moved to speak, I shook my head, cutting her off. "No, its not about that. Just… something I've always wanted to say out loud. What I wanted- no, want, to do… is extend my magic-semblance, when I'm… different than when I usually do it."

"Care to repeat that? It made… very little sense if I'm being completely honest."

"Umm…" Well Weiss, I am a Grim Reaper and as a Grim Reaper I have the ability to extend my magic out from my body in order to see the lifespans of everything nearby. Yes, it does have the added effect of calming people down. Why yes Weiss, I am the very monster that you have cried yourself to sleep thinking about.

"When I'm… different, I can use my ma-semblance to learn things about others."

"I thought your semblance was speed?" Weiss squinted, reshuffling her feet to get into a better position.

"It-it is. I can make myself move faster. Sometimes…" Darn, darn darn! "I can run fast enough to find out things about people nearby?"

Nailed it.

Weiss didn't seem to think my answer was any good but didn't call me out on it. So half points.

"A-as I was saying, I can learn things about others, but only when I'm…"

"Different?"

"Exactly."

She rolled her eyes at me. I continued on. "The thing is, I feel like I should be able to do… that… or something like it when I'm… like I am."

"So, you want to be able to train your… secondary semblance so you can use it in a unique way. Or in a manner you aren't familiar with."

I nodded fervently.

"Okay, while I can honestly say that you are a complete dolt and don't make any sense… What you wish to train to do is admirable. I… can't say what must be done to help you out. If I knew, then my Summons would be a common part of our team strategies." Weiss's comment was accompanied by a playful smirk. "All I can say is to try to get into the same head-space you have when you already use it. At least, that's what my sister Winter has told me to do. Other than that, sometimes it appears in a moment of true worry. Such as when you feel you're being overpowered or at risk."

"Overpowered or at risk?" Weiss nodded.

"I cannot say for certain that what works for me will work for you. Or in this case, what worked for my sister will work for you. But, I hope it helps you with whatever you need help with. And maybe someday? You will trust me enough to tell me exactly what's going on."

I gave her a firm nod. It was the only way to calm her. Keep her from asking more questions. It helped in that instant as I had my own questions rumbling through my head. At risk? Overpowered? I couldn't see myself being overpowered or at risk against anything other than other Reapers or maybe some really, really powerful humans. Maybe some Higher Order, depending if they caught me off guard… maybe. I hadn't fought enough Higher Order to be fully sure.

Talking with Weiss had given me a lot to think about. Hopefully it would lead to some answers too.

I just want to thank each and every last one of you for helping reach 400 follows for Reaper in Red. It's an insane milestone which I had never even expected to come close to. Just knowing you all are enjoying the story enough to warrant following it, is insane. On that more than happy note, you all know what this means! I will see you all again this Thursday for our special extra milestone chapter!

Madaar - Thank you so much! And we're just getting started. ;P

FN75 - I am shocked SHOCKED that you believe Ozpin knows. Ruby is a brave young Reaper who DEFINITELY knows how to keep a secret... lol. This is going to be a fun arc to write. It won't answer all those questions, but it may give you some glimpses into some of them.

Devashish Karatolios - I know! Time no longer exists in its correct form and it's been driving me insane.

theshocker517 - For this story, I think I dropped the maidens entirely. Or, well, no. I didn't drop them per se, I just changed what they are and what they can do, or did do. Suffice it to say, if the maidens show up, it won't be very much (or at all) similar to how they actually are.

Sm0keyPanda - Ozpin is obviously trying to convince you that he knows more than he knows. there can't possibly be any reason for why he is talking in circles. Nope. Nada. Ruby is way too smarticles to give away her biggest secret.

Dragonqueen1993 - This is gonna be a fun arc. ;P

Momentel - Now I'm imagining that too and it's way too cute.

Alucard45 - I really believe that there should be long lasting effects to trauma. It shouldn't just be dropped so soon after it had occurred.