Stolen Hearts: Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Ruby knew she should be stopping this. The job of a team leader was to keep her teammates happy, to hear out their issues and try to find a peaceful resolution that would work best for everyone. Unfortunately, despite being the one who had been given the responsibility, the redhead was at a complete loss about what to do right now.“You realize, you’re defending an organization that hates humanity, don’t you?” Weiss glared at Blake, anger present in every bit of her posture as she continued her hour-long argument with her black-haired teammate. “The White Fang are pure evil!”“There’s no such thing as pure evil!” Blake shot right back, “Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It’s because of people like Cardin, people like you, that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures!”“People like me?!”“You’re discriminatory!”Ruby winced, looking over at her sister who was just as unsure about what to do as she was. This argument had been going for well over an hour at this point, following them all the way back from Vale and into their dorm and it didn’t seem like it was going to end any time soon unless something either broke or someone intervened.Ruby opened her mouth, ready to try her best to defuse the argument despite how hopeless she knew it was, only to shrink back as Weiss turned an immediate retort on Blake, cutting off her attempt before it could even start.She wished Rei was here! Her girlfriend was much better at these things than she was and would definitely know what to do. Unfortunately, not only was Rei not even in Vale, but Ruby hadn’t been able to even reach the other girl in the past several days!She glanced back down at her scroll as the two of them got into it again, taking in the texts that she had sent to her girlfriend practically every practically all day. It was clingy behavior, Ruby knew, but when she tried to call Rei three days ago, she didn’t answer. She also didn’t answer or even read the texts, or the follow-up call a few hours later when Ruby had started to get worried. Even now, those texts stared up at her, the tiny black words underneath that simply said ‘Unread’ only amplifying her anxiety.What if something had happened to her!? Rei said that her job was a big one and that it was taking her out of Vale so it would be a while but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t keep in touch! Well they were very much not in touch right now!Ruby bit her lip, her fingers twitching as she prepared to type out another text to Rei, asking for advice on what to do in this situation. She knew it was a long shot, if she wasn’t answering for the last few days why would she answer now? She wasn’t really sure what else to do.She had barely typed more than five words before she was interrupted by the arguing pair.“Well maybe we were just tired of being pushed around!” Blake shouted. Ruby looked up to find that she had stepped forward, practically screaming in Weiss's face and causing the heiress to take a step back, and it was then that Ruby's ears registered what she had just said. At her words, everyone in the room froze, including Blake herself. They all stared at the black haired girl in shock and she stared back at them, just as surprised at her own words as they were.Ruby's heart broke at the horror that dawned on her teammate's face, the fear as her eyes suddenly darted away from them as if she was too scared to even face them.“Blake…” Ruby spoke softly, and that broke the spell. Blake immediately turned on her heel and sprinted towards the door, leaving them all behind as she fled from the room.Or at least she tried to. The moment that she reached the door and opened it, Ruby’s body seemed to move on its own and she rushed forward, her semblance activating almost unconsciously and allowing her to interpose herself in the doorway, preventing Blake from leaving before she took another step.Blake skidded to a stop, her eyes widening as Ruby planted herself in her path. Behind her, Yang and Weiss were staring at her in stark shock at her actions, nearly as much shock that Ruby was feeling herself. She hadn’t meant to do that but now that she had, her mind caught up with her actions and she realized what her subconscious apparently already had.If she let Blake leave with things how they were, there was a good possibility that they would never see her again. She had to deal with this here and now. It was time to do what she should have done from the start of this whole thing and diffuse the situation. It was time to be a leader.“Get out of my way, Ruby.” Blake said, an almost unnoticeable undertone of desperation in her voice as she stared the redhead down, silently pleading despite how she was looming over her.“No.” Ruby shook her head, not taking her eyes off of Blake as she put every single ounce of conviction that she possibly could into her words. She was the leader, that meant it was her responsibility to keep them together no matter what. Blake could have left Beacon at any time once she learned that Weiss was going to be on her team. She could have submitted a withdrawal or even transferred to one of the other academies and definitely would have if she hated the Schnees like the rest of the White Fang did. Instead she stayed. She stayed and they fought together, ate together, and did stupid things like have a massive food fight that cost thousands of dollars to clean up. Sure, they argued, but so did Team JNPR, it was normal, and at the end of the day, they all slept in the same room and woke up the next morning to do it all over again.That, more than anything, told Ruby that Blake wasn’t a member of the White Fang. There was no way that any member of their group would be able to stand being in a room with Weiss much less sharing one with her.“You’re not running away from us, Blake. We’re a team, and that means you are going to stand right there and we are going to talk about this.” Ruby stared Blake in the eyes, daring her to argue with her. Behind her, neither Yang or Weiss said anything, too stunned to do anything but stare at their leader and her sudden shift in demeanor.Blake stared at her, emotions warring in her gaze as she tried to decide what to do about this development. “Help us understand.” Ruby implored, “We're your teammates, your friends, Blake. Explain it to us so we can understand your situation.”Blake's eyes bore into her own before she slowly looked back at the rest of the team. Yang gave her an encouraging grin while Weiss just continued glaring at her.She turned back to Ruby and the redhead did her best to look as encouraging as she could, wanting to make this as easy as possible for the other girl. It seemingly worked as Blake took a deep breath, her shoulders slowly untensing as she thought about what to say. Ruby waited patiently, wanting the girl to have every chance to say what she wanted without interruptions.“We-They-” She winced, shaking her head, “The White Fang didn’t used to be like this. We didn’t used to go around robbing stores or kidnapping rich people. We used to be a peaceful group advocating for Faunus rights not… not terrorists!”A scoff came from Weiss’s direction and Ruby turned to find the heiress with a disbelieving expression on her face. She went to say something but was stopped as Yang put a hand on her shoulder, silently shaking her head and stopping the girl from saying anything.Weiss clearly wasn't happy about it but she didn’t say anything else, nor did she make any attempt to stop the blonde as she began rubbing slow circles on her back in an attempt to comfort her.Ruby ignored the two of them, instead focusing on Blake who had taken a deep breath at Weiss's gesture, trying to calm herself down.When she finally did calm down, her next words came out quietly, “Like I said, we didn't start out like that. We used to be like any other activist group. Only one day, someone decided that peaceful protests weren’t working well enough. Even worse, others actually agreed with them.”She bit her lip, “Things changed so gradually that I never really even noticed it. The White Fang started getting more violent. Peaceful protests turned into riots, picketing and protests turned into looting and assault and soon enough, what started as a way to change things for the better for Faunus turned into a way to get back at humans for our suffering.” Her face twisted into a mask of regret, “And worst of all, we went after all of them, not just the ones responsible.”Ruby did her best to not sound judgmental with her next question. She knew that there was a lot being left out and that she had to try to see things from Blake’s point of view but she had to know. “Were you a part of that as well?” She asked softly, “The riots and assaults?”Blake hesitated for just a moment, her eyes darting behind Ruby as if she was debating her chances of making it past her. Ruby’s eyes narrowed, silently telling the girl just how that would go. Even if she pushed her out of the way, Blake wouldn’t make it six feet before Ruby was up and in front of her again.Slowly, she nodded, “Yes.” She said quietly, ashamedly, “I was. I was in too deep at that point. I joined when I was a kid and I guess I spent so much time with them that I didn’t see how much things had changed from what they had originally been… or maybe I just didn’t want to see.”Behind her, Ruby could see Weiss's eyes widen in anger, but a Yang elbowing her in the side stopped any sort of outburst. Ruby threw a thankful look towards her sister before focusing on Blake once more, her eyes softening at the turmoil she found in the Belladonna's.“So what caused you to see? Why did you leave?” Ruby asked gently.“I…” Blake looked away, “I guess it happened when Ad-when our leader killed a defenseless shopkeeper who didn’t even do anything. Just… cut him down because he happened to carry a lot of Schnee product. Seeing that fear in his eyes, not understanding why he was about to be killed was horrifying. I couldn't stay after that. I couldn’t bear to watch the people that I grew up with turn into heartless monsters.”Ruby nodded. Though she didn't experience the same things that Blake did, she could understand where the girl was coming from. She wouldn’t know what to do after seeing something like that. Unfortunately….“Oh yeah, like we're going to believe that!”Blake turned to find Weiss glaring at her with an enraged expression on her face. Yang had stepped away from her, an uncertain look on her face as she wasn’t sure what to do.“Weiss, I understand that you have issues with the White Fang and they are completely reasonable,” Ruby tried to placate the angry girl, “But Blake isn’t with them anymore and she wasn’t responsible for the things that happened to your family. Just give her a chance.”“So what, we should just take her at her word?” Weiss spat, “She’s already been lying to us this entire time so what’s to stop her from lying now? Heck, what’s to stop her from just pretending to leave that horrible group to spy onAt her words, Blake’s face twisted oddly which Weiss took as confirmation, “There, see! Look at her guilty face! It’s obvious that she hasn’t completely cut ties with the White Fang!”“I have!” Blake turned to look at Weiss. Her tone was pleading instead of angry, surprising the heiress and Ruby herself, “I haven't spoken to anyone in the White Fang since I joined Beacon!”“Then why did you look so guilty just now!?” Weiss demanded, though she was much less sure of herself than before.Blake's posture stiffened before she took a small breath, “I'm not in contact with anyone in the White Fang… but I am in contact with an ex-member like myself, Tukson.” She confessed, “He helped me get out of there. Stopped them from coming after me and even helped me apply for Beacon. He may be ex White Fang but he’s a good person, Weiss. I’m a good person.”Weiss's face twisted uncertainly and Blake stepped towards her with a pleading expression on her face, “Weiss, please. I’m not asking you to trust me but please, give me a chance. I don’t,” She took a shuddering breath, “I already had to leave behind the people I cared about. Please don’t make me do it again.”Weiss looked away for a moment, her face scrunching and Ruby was worried that this had all been for nothing. Luckily, it seemed that Blake’s plea had worked, as the heiress sighed heavily.“Fine.” She said curtly, “I'll believe you for now. And…” Her face softened slightly, “I suppose I'm sorry for insulting you like I did. And Faunus in general as well. Seeing the store and hearing that the White Fang were responsible set something off inside of me and I shouldn't have taken it out on you, Blake. You haven't given me much reason to doubt your intentions apart from today.”She suddenly turned a glare towards the girl, “That being said, don't think this doesn't mean I won't be keeping an eye on you. You may be a member of the team but I would be foolish to turn my back on a former member of the organization that hates my family with a burning passion.”Blake stared at Weiss, slightly stunned at her apology, before a nudge by Ruby broke her out of her trance. She looked towards her leader and Ruby just gave her an expectant look, nodding towards Weiss. The Belladonna broke out of her daze, understanding what Ruby was trying to say.“I'm sorry too, Weiss.” Blake apologized, “I should have been honest with all of you from the start.”Weiss sighed, looking slightly aggrieved, “No… No, I think I can understand where you're coming from. If you had told me on the first day that you were once a member of the White Fang I very much doubt I would have reacted well. I may have even attacked you then and there, truth be told.”Ruby thought back to how Weiss had been during the first few weeks that they had been at Beacon and winced. Yeah, that would have been bad. Weiss had warmed up to them quite a bit, her especially, but Ruby still remembered the anger that the other girl held for basically everyone on the team.Blake nodded, a small smile appearing on her face, “I understand.”Weiss nodded curtly before turning away from the girl. As she did so, Ruby clapped her hands happily, “There we go! Now we're all friends again!”Weiss scoffed, “I wouldn't go that far, we still have a long way to go before I even start to trust her again… but I suppose things are better than they would have been if you hadn't interfered so thank you, Ruby.”Ruby gave the girl a massive grin and a thumbs up. Weiss rolled her eyes at the response but Ruby could see the small grin on her face. It didn’t last long though. Turning away from Ruby, Weiss’s face immediately turned down in a frown once more, “Now that that's over and done with, I'm going to go take a nice long bath to destress after all of this. Don't bother me or I'll freeze you to your beds while you sleep.”As the door slammed shut behind Weiss, Blake sighed, catching Ruby's attention. She looked out of the nearby window, taking in the moonlight drifting in from outside, “I think I'm going to go get some air, Ruby. That was… intense.”“Alright.” Ruby nodded. She watched as Blake made her way towards the door when she suddenly had a thought, “You uh, you'll be back though, right?” Ruby called after her, slightly worried that this all had been for nothing.Her worry was alleviated as Blake gave her a small but genuine smile, “Yeah, I'll be back, Ruby. I just need to clear my head. I'm going to go take a walk around Vale to sort myself out.”Ruby returned the smile with one of her own, “Alright. If you need anything or just wanna talk, just call me okay?”Blake just gave her a nod, before turning back around and exiting the room, leaving the rest of the team behind. As the door closed softly behind her, Ruby released a breath that she had been holding in for what felt like forever, “Haaaa. Jeez, she was right. That was pretty intense.”“That was pretty freaking cool is what it was, sis.” Yang suddenly spoke up, slapping her on the back with a massive grin, “I've never seen you act like that before! Didn't think you had it in you.”Ruby was sent stumbling forward from the force of her sister's pat but sent a smile her way regardless, “I didn't either! I didn't even mean to get in front of the door, I just sorta moved on my own. Didn't have a plan or anything.”“Well either way, it worked out really well. You acted like a real, bonafide leader right there!” Yang congratulated her with a proud smile, “Hopefully now all those doubts that Ozpin picked the wrong person will disappear. I know I sure as heck couldn't do what you just did and I doubt Weiss could either.”Ruby smiled in happy embarrassment, “Thanks, Yang…”“Anytime, sis.” Yang gave her one final pat on the back before stepping away, “Anyway, I’m gonna go talk to Pyrrha and the others. We were being pretty loud and I’m sure they heard us so I’m gonna make sure they don’t call a teacher or something cause they were worried.”Ruby hadn’t even thought about that. Team JNPR’s room was right across the hall from theirs and the rooms weren’t soundproof. If they could hear Nora screaming about pancakes in the morning then there was no doubt that the other team would have heard that argument. “That’s probably a good idea.”“Yeah, I’m full of ‘em.” The blonde joked as she made her way to the door, “I’ll be back in a minute.”Yang stepped out of the room, making her way towards their sister team’s dorm and as the door shut behind her, Ruby heaved a great big sigh, “Ugh… That was exhausting.”Despite her words, the redhead felt a great deal of satisfaction at what she had just managed to do. Who would think that her, as awkward and horrible with people as she was, would be able to do something like that? A grin came to her face as she remembered Yang’s words to her. She really had stepped up as a leader, hadn’t she? She did what she was supposed to do in the position she was in and she kept her team together! That was great!She wished she was able to get in contact with Rei. She’d love to tell the other girl of her accomplishment.Just then, Ruby’s attention was caught by a sudden familiar burst of rock music coming from several feet away. She looked over to find her scroll laying on the floor where she must have dropped it in her hurry to stop Blake from leaving the room. She could just barely make out the name that appeared on its face from several feet away, surrounded by six red hearts indicating her affection for the girl. Rei Lynx.‘Well that’s convenient.’ Was her first thought, quickly followed by, ‘Rei's calling me!’Ruby’s semblance was speed, but she didn’t think she had ever moved as fast as she did that moment. One second, her scroll was on the ground and less than half a second later, it was in her hand and she was pressing the answer button, bringing it to her ear.The redhead smiled as her girlfriend’s voice almost immediately rang through her speaker, “Hey, babe. Sorry I haven’t been responding to your calls and stuff, I’ve been… preoccupied.”Rei’s voice sounded bleary, slightly dazed like she had just woken up or hadn’t slept all day. Part of Ruby wondered what she had been doing to make her sound like that, but a greater part was just happy to finally hear her girlfriend’s voice after the taxing ordeal she had just gone through.“I missed you, Rei!” Ruby said gleefully, before slight worry leaked into her voice “How are you? Did something happen? Why haven’t you answered any of my calls or texts?”Rei made an odd noise, “Yeah… that’s part of the reason I called you. I haven’t really been in the position to answer your calls and stuff until today so I’m really sorry about that. I called you as soon as I saw all of those unanswered messages on my phone.”Ruby was confused. She wasn’t in the position to answer? “What do you mean? Did you lose your scroll?” “...No? I’m using it to call you right now.” Rei said, some amusement leaking into her tired voice, “You saw the caller id, right?”Oh, that was right. If Rei was calling her on a random scroll, she wouldn’t have it saved in her contacts. Ruby giggled in slight embarrassment, “R-right. I forgot about that. It’s been a night.”“Wanna talk about it?”Ruby hummed, looking out the window. It was late, definitely past curfew, but she’d snuck out before and Blake was sneaking out right now. It’d be fine, “Maybe. But first I would like a hug from my girlfriend. Maybe a late night ice cream too.”She was expecting one of Rei’s signature teasing remarks or maybe a happy laugh followed by her telling Ruby where she was but she didn’t get either of those.“Oh! I’d love to but I’m uh, I’m kinda in the hospital right now.” She said, causing Ruby to freeze, “They had me in a medically induced coma for the past few days and I just woke up a few hours ago so I don’t think they’ll let me go out for ice cream any time soon. You can still come over though.”“...”“...Uh, Ruby? You there?”“YOU’RE WHAT!?”