The Vault Dweller Of Mountain Glenn: Yang Xiao Long X Male Vault-Tec Reader

Vol. 3 Ch. 23 Awakening

Ruby's POV

I woke up and looked over to see Dad asleep in a chair. I sat up and sighed quietly, causing Dad to stir awake. He saw that I was awake and said, "Ruby!" He got up, ran to kneel by my bed, and said, "You're awake!" I held my head and said, "Ugh... what happened?" Dad replied, "Your uncle Qrow found you, unconscious. He got you out of there, though, and brought you home safe." I looked down in thought for a split second, then back at Dad, and said, "Wait! Yang! Is she alright!?" Dad replied, "Uh... She's uh... she's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just gonna take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her." He covered his eyes for a moment, sniffling, then looked up, smiling, and said, "I'm just glad to have my girls back at home." I nodded and said, "What happened to the school?! And Vale?! Were they able to clear out the Grimm?" Dad replied, "Things at Vale are under control, but the school... It's... it's not that simple. That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you did a number on it. But it's not disappearing. It's... kind of... frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school." I tilted my head and said, "I did... what?" Dad replied, "Hmm?" I said, "You said I did a number on it. What do you mean?" He replied, "I... Look that's not important right now. We can talk about it later. Things are just... kind of a mess." I heard a voice say from the doorway, "It's always a mess." Dad and I looked to see Uncle Qrow suddenly standing in the room, near the door. He finished off the contents of his flask before continuing, "Mind if we have a minute?" Dad replied, "What, I can't stay here?!" Qrow replied, "Tai. Please." Dad stood up, sighed, and then leaned in to kiss me on the forehead. He said, "I'm glad you're alright. I'll go make us some tea." Then Dad left the room.

Time Skip
(Brought to you by Chibi Nora eating all of the pancakes again)

Yang was sitting alone in her bedroom, staring out a window. Her remaining piece of Ember Celica resting on the nightstand next to the bed. I stood in the doorway and said, "Yang?" I waited for a moment for a response, but when I didn't receive one, I turned to leave, but then heard Yang reply, "Ruby." I turned back around, and Yang turned her head to look at me, tears now in her eyes. I ran over, hugged her, and said, "I'm so glad you're okay!" Yang replied, "But I'm not." I frowned as I released the hug and Yang said, "It's all gone─the school, Penny, Pyrrha, and..." She looked at her severed arm and I asked, "Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?" She replied, "Weiss' father... came for her." I asked, "What? What do you mean?" Yang replied, "No one outside of Vale knows what happened here. Before the tower fell, the last thing people saw was Atlas attacking innocent people and Grimm destroying the city. Everyone's scared. No one knows who to trust. So, Weiss' father came to take her back to Atlas, where he thinks it's safe. She's gone." I asked, "Well, what about─" Yang cut me off and said, "And Blake ran! Sun saw her go. After we got to the city, she just... ran!" I asked, "But... why!?" She replied, "I don't know... and I don't care." I said, "There has to be a reason she─" Yang cut me off again and said, "No, there doesn't! Sometimes bad things just happen, Ruby!"

I looked around as I realized who else was missing and I said, "Where's Y/N?" Yang scoffed and said, "He left." Confused, I said, "Why?" She scoffed again and said, "Because I didn't want him to keep bothering me. So I told him to leave. I could care less about where he is right now. It's annoying as it is that Eddie stayed." I sighed and asked, "So, what do we do now?" Yang replied, "You can do whatever you want. I'm gonna lie here." I said, "Yang..." She replied, "Just leave me alone." I slowly left the room, but I paused in the doorway, looking over my shoulder to say one last thing to my sister, "I love you." Then I left the room and went downstairs. I found Dad and Uncle Qrow sitting at the dinner table with a familiar eyebot hovering behind them. I looked at my dad and said, "Dad?" He looked at me and said, "Yes, Ruby?" I took a breath and said, "Where's Y/N? Yang said he left, I was wondering if you knew where he went." Uncle Qrow spoke up and said, "I know where he is and he's safe. Yang telling him to leave the way she did, it did have an effect on him. But he's coping the best way he can." I nodded and said, "Thanks, Uncle Qrow."

Time Skip
(Brought to you by Chibi Ruby jumping into a mountain of cookies)

I grabbed my things, put them into a backpack, put on the backpack, stepped outside, and quietly shuts the front door. Jaune said, "Hey." I turned to him and said, "Hey, Jaune. Haven's a long way to go." Jaune replied, "I know. It's the only way we have." I asked, "Are you sure you want to come along?" Ren answered, "The journey will be perilous, and whether we'll find answers at the end is entirely uncertain." Nora added, "But we wouldn't be here if we weren't up for it." I smiled and said, "Then let's get started. But there's somewhere I want to stop at first." Then the four of us began our long trek, down the road leading away from my home.

Around the middle of the day, we reached the pub that Uncle Qrow had mentioned to me the other day. I turned to the others and said, "Would you guys mind if I talked with him alone whenever I get the chance?" They nodded and followed me inside of Lenny's Lantern. We immediately heard a familiar voice singing and playing the piano as we sat down at an open table.

When the song was over, the few customers that were in the pub gave him applause. Then Y/N began to play another song.

After hearing him sing this song, we realized that he was still coping with whatever Yang had said to him. He stopped playing to take a break. I took this opportunity to get up and approach him. I walked over to him and said, "Y/N?" He replied and said, "That's me. You got a request?" I took a deep breath and said, "Y/N, it's me, Ruby." He turned and said, "Oh, hey Ruby. What're you doing here?" Now that I could see his face, I could see that he was not quite himself anymore. I sighed and told him what me and the rest of Team JNPR were going to do. When I finished, he looked at me and said, "I see. Well, I wish you guys luck." I looked at him and said, "Why don't you come with us?" He sighed and said, "I can't. As much as I hate myself for it, I still love Yang. Even after what she said to me, I can't stop thinking that she'll just walk in here one day and tell me that's she's sorry and that she still loves me. I know it's ridiculous to keep hoping for something that might never happen, but I still love her. Besides, playing the piano has always helped ease my mind a bit. And if it entertains other at the same time, then it's a win-win."

I nodded and said, "I understand. I'm sure that Yang will come around eventually. I don't think I ever saw her more happy than when she was with you." He smiled a bit and said, "Thanks, Ruby. I kinda needed that." I smiled and said, "Don't mention it. I'll see you around, Y/N." He nodded and replied, "You too, Ruby. Good luck!" I turned to the others and they followed me out as we began our journey towards Haven Academy in Mistral.

Your POV

After Ruby left, I decided to do one more song as I faced the piano and began playing.

Once I finished the song, I got up and went upstairs to get some rest before the evening crowd arrived.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.
Master out.