Lightning crackled amidst the clouds, thunder booming and heralding the coming of a storm.
It began to rain, the pitter-patter of droplets striking down over the leaves of a forest canopy echoing the sound of snapping twigs and feet crunching over the ground. The cold dreariness of the wind reached deep down even into the marrow of the bones.
Ruby was shivering.
No matter how tightly Shirou clutched her to his chest while carrying her back to the Mt. Glenn settlement, her trembling just wouldn't stop. It began from her shoulders, to her arms, to her finger, and even her lips. Her unease was just so obvious, and this wasn't a problem of the wind or environment, but of the heart and mind.
The reason itself was fairly simple.
"Go Little Rose, I can't go back with you yet. Tell Tai that I'm sorry for being such a bad wife and leaving him all alone...I really shouldn't have gone on that mission."
Ruby didn't want to accept it. Sure, she ended up getting her mother's real contact information, but there was still a substantial part inside her that wanted her mom to stay with her and return.
Shirou could guess that it didn't even matter to Ruby that Summer's current appearance would only invite scorn, fear, and apprehension. To Ruby, all that mattered was that her mom was back.
So, what if others belittled her or were revolted by Summer's appearance?
It didn't matter.
For Ruby, she would stubbornly hold onto whatever semblance of hope she had. There had to be a way to reverse what had happened, people for uncle Qrow and her father to ask favours from? Her dad had always told her about the kind of man Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy was.
Ozpin was magical, the best role model for all Huntsman. Surely, Ozpin would have a solution.
Shirou could sense the flurry of thoughts and emotions flittering across Ruby's mind, but he was clear that she was likely avoiding the elephant in the room.
What would his Master do if the suggestion to kill Summer was presented as the only alternative?
She'd never accept it, and neither would her family, but that would mean ostracization if they were ever found out.
To Ruby who was already sensitive about her image as a loner at school due to her social awkwardness, it was practically a death sentence that she'd be willing to endure. However, would Summer who had been there in spirit for Ruby be willing to do so?
Despite her childish tendencies, Summer was a mature woman who had a decent head on her shoulders to be the team leader of her own Huntsman team, STRQ. She would have certainly thought of various ramifications, but only one truly terrified her.
The finger-marking around Ruby's neck were almost entirely faded by now, but even still, they were a stark reminder of what would happen if Summer ever lost control again.
When Shirou recalled the horrified expression on Summer's face when she first noticed what she'd done, he knew right away that the outcome was set in stone.
A sort of trauma had been formed.
Until Summer was fully confident that she wouldn't relapse and hurt those she cared for, she wasn't going to risk getting close to her family and loved ones. This much was clear when she decided to stay behind.
Shirou exhaled slowly, the creases over his forehead only growing more numerous from constant fretting.
His situation wasn't any less complicated than Ruby's.
YOU ARE READING
The Huntsman of Red V2
AdventureGuardian, Protector, Hero, and perhaps something more, that was what he had always meant to her, but to others he was simply known as the Huntsman of Red, Remnant's final hope. This story is not mine, it belongs to Parcasious
