the question confused her. what was a shinki? all ruby knew
was that she spent years of her childhood making cresent
rose. uncle qrow had shown her the best ways to put together
the mechanics, and in the end, to make the weapon even more
hers, she put some of her blood in the red paint used on her.
cresent rose was as much a child of ruby’s as any other
person’s actual flesh and blood that was birthed from
the womb. she was just...
when ruby agreed and got up, she didn’t comment on the
arm securely tied around her waist if she noticed.
and she did notice. she definitely noticed. she knew
that weiss was less open with being touchy-feely at
first, but as of late she would be the one to reach out
for ruby, to make contact with ruby first, to make sure
she was okay. she was saddened that weiss had to go
with her father long ago, but... maybe they could be a
team again. all of them.
she smiled at weiss’ roundabout way of making sure she
didn’t leave. she was so nice to her, and it made her feel all
warm and fuzzy inside. she would admit it out loud if she
didn’t know it made weiss flustered. she would save it for a
later date to fluster her. she was already overwhelmed with
them remeeting, anyway.
‘ i would love lunch! we should totally go!
where will we be going? what will we eat?
ooooh this sounds fun, weiss! bestie bonding! ‘
“ Are ya gonna buy one of those or will ya just be window shoppin’? ”
Intruding with little hesitation on a girl around his own age, Seto put down a box of magazines on the floor next to the rack. Getting used to his new living quarters had been fairly simple – although the island was very different from the bustling city life he was used to, there was still never a busy moment. If not at the docks he was here at the mart, if not at the mart he was in school, and rarely ever did he actually use his abode for anything other than resting.
Although he personally didn’t mind, his job description did state to get customers to actually buy stuff rather than just look. But what did female high schoolers enjoy to read? One would think that staying with Mary and catering to her for so many years should have given him a clue, but some voice inside Seto told him that the BL magazines he had found in her room from time to time that he believed she was trying to hide from him, were not exactly common literature amongst females. That much sense he did possess.
“ We’ve got a lot of different fashion magazines. There’s also music if that’s what ya’re into. ”
ruby rummaged the magazines on display, her
lips set in a determined scowl as she looked
through the different deceptive covers and
their actual entries. she just wanted to find a
magazine that had job offers in it, and when a
male came up behind her, she jumped, flinging
the magazine into the air. what the heckie, ruby
rose?! she berated herself, moving to catch it
within her own grasp again.
she looked to the male who had explained about
what they had, a sigh escaping her lips as she
wondered if her job search would ever be ending
soon. she needed the money desperately.
‘ do you... have a magazine that talks about
jobs and where is currently hiring? ‘
ruby wiped at the tears that fell down her face like a waterfall. a long time of not being with blake made her emotional, and she knew that. she knew she was being a burden, something leaders should never do. she knew that probably better than anyone else. but she couldn’t help the thoughts that wandered into her brain sometimes. she knew what they were called, struggled with them a long time. she was happy go lucky ruby rose, but below the surface, she was horribly self-hating. she hated herself with every fibre of her being, and it just wasn’t funny anymore. not like it ever was to begin with.
so when blake said yes, a gear turned in her head. even though a few seconds ago she was sad about not being able to spend time with blake, her mind now went another turn. what if she hates me for being like this? even though it was very unlikely. horribly unlikely. she shoved the thought away, grinning at blake with a tear-stained face.
‘ ....thank you. ‘
her voice is soft, almost like a melody or a soft lullaby one would sing to their children. the relief in it is almost palpable, really, but she hopes blake doesn’t comment on it. the voices are hitting at her head. self deprecating thoughts, they were called. she willed them away. shoo, she thought, bad thoughts begone.
ruby moved forward and tackled weiss in a hug, the force making
them both fall to the floor. she held back the tears she knew
were eventually going to flow out, because this was supposed
to be a happy moment and if she cried during it, it would be
ruined. ruby knew about happy tears, but weiss wore really nice
clothes, and she didn’t want to end the moment with tear stains
and a complaining weiss, even if it was tradition. weiss was much
more open than when they first met, which was a well known fact to
all of team rwby. or, what was team rwby.
‘ i missed you, too, weiss! i... when i woke up, i heard
everyone had gone their seperate ways and.... i wasn’t
awake to even know about any of it. i tried my best to
stay strong but yang... yang kinda was a shell of herself
and... she got angry a lot. ‘
she tried not to think of the first time yang kicked her. she was just angry
and trying to find ways to cope and what she said afterwords wasnt true at
all and... she knew it, she really did, but... did she believe herself?
‘ a--anyway, i... i decided to try and bring team rwby back
together, but... i’m kinda scared. ‘
she wasn’t a good leader and it led to the inevitable downfall of her
biggest happiness: the team and relationships that she had built up.
ruby moved forward with speed, tackling blake to the ground.
she didn’t think it would work that well, what with blake’s
semblance, but it would give her a few moments to try
and talk to her, she guessed. blake was a part of a broken
team that ruby desperately clutched onto for her hope. if
blake didn’t want to be a part of it anymore, it would break
her image of what could be, and then, ruby would suffer
mentally for a while, depricating herself for being such a bad
leader. for letting this happen.
‘ blake, i-- i know we cant really go back, but please!
just let me pretend! or... or else i wont be able to cope
anymore. blake, please, i don’t know what you’re going
through, but i wanna just... have a few moments i can
cherish. really really love, you know? i want a few
moments with the team that doesnt taste bittersweet in
my mouth, and if we have to pretend for it to happen,
PLEASE JUST FAKE IT FOR ME! ‘
she huffed out her last sentences, tears and snot running down
her face. she moved her head down and cuddled up to blakes
form, not knowing how long she would stay there; how long ruby
could feel her. know that shes real.
Hiyori’s never seen a weapon like that before. Swords, fans, guns, were all sorts of weapons she’s seen thanks to her ties with the Gods but never a scythe. Needless to say, it definitely caught her interest.
However Hiyori hadn’t intend to say that outloud and she hoped the person wielding it wasn’t annoyed for her intrusion.
ruby swiveled around to meet eye to eye with the
person who asked the question. she grinned,
patting her scythe’s body with a bit of gentleness
one would have for their child. ( it would make sense
for ruby to treat cresent rose as her child, considering
what it took to make ber. )
‘ yeah! it can also shoot bullets and all
that cool stuff! her name’s cresent rose! ‘
ruby reached out her hand and grabbed blakes after it left,
trying to stop the rest of her from leaving, too. she knew
a lot of blake’s mindset. instead of talking, run away. she
only knew her from their time as a team in beacon, but if
you were in a team with blake, it would be easy to tell
once befriended.
‘ blake, wait! we... we don’t have to talk about
anything, if you don’t want to. i just... i just want...
an hour. please? an hour of.... back to what it was.
an hour of fun times, please...? ‘
You are Ruby Rose. You are a student at Beacon. You have just
woken up from a coma, much to the relief of your best uncle
in the whole wide world: Qrow. the one and only Yang, inimitable
and golden and gleaming, is sitting there, as if her embers are
finally charred to the point of no return. Like she can’t get herself
to light up once more.
The talk with Yang didn’t go well, to make an understatement.
You want to hold her hand, but where is it?
A. It’s right there!
B. ….Please, let it be there.
C. ….It’s not there, is it?
D. ….It won’t ever come back.
E. I can’t hold her hand anymore, because it was taken
from her, just like the rest of her arm. Just like how
years ago I took away her childhood and made her
grow up too fast. She became self-sacrificing, though
you guess she was beforehand, but now… that quality
has translated into a lack of quantity in limbs.
Question 2
What is your goal now?
A. Find Blake and Weiss and get team RWBY back!
B. Maybe Blake will be on the run from her past still,
but I can pull her into the future! And if I have to,
I’ll kidnap Weiss!
C. …I know, my view on the world is too optimistic.
D. Maybe I’ll be able to slightly fill the void made by
Phyrra’s death in team JNR.
Maybe not.
Question 3
You know Penny has been obsessing over you ever since she was
rebuilt. She made a comment about being friends. You know the
truth about her now. She wants to come along with you on your
new journey. Haha. What a turn of events.
What is she angling for?
A. You don’t know.
B. You don’t trust her. She’s not the same Penny.
C. But you’re going to let her come along anyway.
D. You could use some of that blind loyalty.
E. (Because she reminds you of yourself; there used to
be someone else, someone smiling and always there
and kind and perfect, someone you would’ve followed
to the ends of the earth–of the universe–if maybe things
had turned out differently. You look at Penny kneeling,
throwing her life into your hands, and you let her come
because once, a long time ago, you did the exact same
thing. But the difference is you left and she let you go and
every day those decisions grow heavier and heavier. So
maybe you’ll give Penny this chance. To have what you
couldn’t. To follow when you didn’t.)
Question 4
You are crying over your math homework. You don’t know why.
You will be the only person in team RWBY to graduate as
a huntress. How long will it take for you to stop crying and
find out what fifty divided by three is in this godforsaken equation?
A. Soon, because you will be dead.
B. In another 60 years, give or take. Statistically speaking.
C. When you reach the simplified whole number because
that’s how the math problems at Beacon work.
D. Now. Please.
E.. Never, because fifty does not divide evenly by three; you
know this from elementary school arithmetic. There is a
remainder; you know this from personal experience. You
can never reach the end of this equation. There will never
be an end.
Question 5
Cinder Fall is a malicious bitch who only ever had herself in
sight; no one else. She has caused Phyrra’s death, and
when you sealed her, you thought it was over and done
with. Now she’s melted free, and you want to scream. She
is nothing like she used to be. Her fire has fallen, just like
her name described. But something within you tugs at you
to do something.
Do you help her?
A. No.
B. Yes.
C. Of course.
D. It was never a choice.
E. You still think she’s a jerk.
Question 6
What does it feel like to slash through the ones
who trusted you? (What does madness feel like?)
A. Like trust, really.
(Like mental instability..)
B. No different from just cutting
grimm flesh, really. (Like power.)
C. Disgusting (Save me)
C. Disgusting (Save me)
C. Disgusting (Stop me)
Question 7
Beacon will execute you soon. You haven’t seen Weiss for
a long time. You… won’t see her for a long time after this
either. She’s angry. That’s understandable. You’d be angry
with you, too.
“Why did you have to change?”
she asks you.
A. Because you had to become strong.
B. Because you were afraid. Still are, in fact.
C. Because where does staying still leave you?
Dead. That’s where.
D. Because what else was there left to do, in a
changing world so determined to leave you behind?
E. Because. Because now you know how to make a team,
how to throw a punch. How to spare a life, how to take
one. How not to act when asking someone to not give
up, come with me. How to leave good people behind,
to leave bad people behind. To be the one being left
behind. How to teach a girl she can have friends, to forgive
those who deserve it, to be a leader to those who need
one. How to fight; why to fight. How to be Ruby Rose,
and to lose touch with who Ruby Rose really was. To
find her again. Of course you changed.
♔ –; “I came to pick up those infuriating twins for club but I can’t find them anywhere!” Tears welled up in the King’s blue eyes, with wild thoughts already coming into mind. Had they abandoned him? Were they sick of the Host Club? Or maybe aliens had abducted them. It was probably the last since he knew how much they loved the Host Club.
He was ready to burst out into a flood of tears in the middle of the public high school.
“Hikaru! Kaoru! I will never forget youuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”
ruby stood nearby from the blonde’s outburst, not really knowing
what was going on. she heard something about a club, and
then some yelling about never forgetting some people. she
absentmindedly thought she heard some girls mumbling about
those two names the other day, but shrugged it off, walking up
to the male and putting on her signature grin as she tapped his
shoulder.
ruby allowed herself to follow weiss, a lump in her throat. she knew
very well that weiss wanted to talk to her about whatever...this
was, and honestly? ruby did too. and she’d be damned if she
put a silly question from her teacher for weiss’ teacher stop her
from conversing with her past comrade ( and maybe something
more, to be honest. )
‘ i’m .... guessing you aren’t really
taking me to the office? ‘
it was a stupid thing to say, ruby knew this. she also knew that
weiss was right under her nose the whole time, and the thought
made her giddy but... also strangely mad at herself. why couldn’t
she find weiss if she was so close by?! ruby berated herself in her
mind, stupid, idiot, dunce!! she quickly snapped out of it when she
realized weiss was waiting for an answer, though.
‘ well... i’ve been going all over, really. searching for you
and blake. i didn’t think i would ever find you here, let alone...
a high school away. these places are... really different than
beacon, huh? what about you, weiss... why are you here?
i thought your.... your dad took you. ‘
she sniffled at the last sentence, trying to will the tears away
from her eyes.
ruby let out a nervous chuckle as the people started staring at her instead,
considering she knew this person who a lot of parents were thinking
was a wack job. if they knew blake like ruby did, however, they’d know
that blake was indeed, very easygoing and honestly... a nice person, if
a bit antisocial in societies standards of how people interact. she grabbed
blake’s hand in a friendly manner, rubbing her fingers over callouses that
she knew very well on blake’s hands ( really, the girl was a masterpiece in
the making, and she didn’t even know it. )
‘ well, i mean... i kind of have been going everywhere.
this is where i decided to cuddle down next. i was... i’ve
been searching for you and weiss... you know? i kinda...
had started giving up. but just when i had that thought, you
were here chasing mice! ‘
Nobody asks about anyone else's words.
It's only polite, after all.
Some are the unlucky ones.
Phyrra can't really hide hers- 'Strong' and 'Warrior' they call her, it's
plastered over her forehead and right cheek. The letters are bold
and blocky, dispelling any doubts that one could have despite
her gender.
(on her neck, there is a chain of letters 'b-a-s-t-a-r-d-b-i-t-c-h-w-h-o-r-e',
in faded jagged letters, as if maybe they have been carved into her
skin by a knife, like a necklace, or perhaps a noose. Jaune is the only
one who knows. incidentally, one can find portraits of a younger Phyrra
wearing a scarf.)
Ruby is another.
'Beautiful'; this is on her upper arm. When she's wearing her cloak and
signature outfit, she can hide it, but everyone can see it when she wears
shorter sleeves. Everyone she passes by murmurs quietly and agrees,
and day by day the letters grow thicker and fancier, curly loops and wispy
accents, and in turn it fuels more whispers and comments until her right
arm is art.
She doesn't like to go without her cape.
On her other forearm is 'powerful'- this one is still fairly small, but it grows
larger each and every day. These letters are plain and simple, completely
practical and nothing fanciful about it. Sometimes, Ruby stares down at her
arm and remembers the day she got it- she was nine years old and staring
at a wall while listening to the police, thinking about the fact that her mother
would never be coming back. One cop glanced at her from the corner of his
eyes and made that simple comment, saying she was beautiful like her mother.
She really doesn't like to go without her cape.
And finally, there is one more. This is on her collarbone, so tiny and so small
that it is almost nothing. She can't read this one. Some mornings, she looks in
the mirror and traces the foreign lines of the unreadable letters in the air,
wondering what it means.
(she will never find out that it means 'daughter')
And then there are others, whose words are always hidden.
This does not make them the lucky ones.
After the battle with Phyrra, there has to be someone with the
unpleasant duty of carting away the dead mechanics. This someone
will see the corpse of Penny, in half and slowly on its way to rusting in
the sun. The stench of the metal will be terrible.
Her death records will say:
Identifying Features:
Words: 2
Word 1: Kind
Location: Right ankle
Size: 8 centimeters, approx.
Word 2: Friend
Location: Palm of left hand
Size: 2 centimeters, approx.
Blake has only one word, this is slathered over her entire chest.
Even in her team, they understand at least how to give people
some measure privacy; the shower stalls are separated by dividers.
Blake always brings her clothes into the shower and leaves fully dressed.
Whenever the topic of people's words comes up- very infrequently- she
just forces herself to look more stoic than usual (not very difficult) and
everybody leaves her alone after that.
Sun knows. Sun has this word too, but his is not so large, just on his
thigh running down to his knee.
This word is M O N S T E R
And then, there's Cinder.
Cinder's a funny case. Her word is plainly visible on the back of
her right hand. "Fall", it says, in thick stocky letters.
She gets teased about it a bit, of course. The childhood bullies.
Even Emerald, for a bit, though this is only (mostly) in jest. What
kind of person has their own name for their word? It is better than
'psychopath' or 'monster', but "Fall", really?
It isn’t until Ruby watches Phyrra fall that she realizes the word on
Cinder’s arm isn’t just for show. Cinder will watch in glee, finding
pleasure in the warped sadness that breaks them all.