The Huntsman of Red V2

Chapter 36 Prelude: 'Sword of Remnant' (2)

were many things in her life that she'd been taking for granted that Ruby had always felt were justified. Stuffing herself with cookies and her dad unerringly locating her due to a trail of uncooperative bread crumbs, being uncle Qrow's favorite niece, and...Yang actually listening.

"C'mon Ruby, what's got you so down? We're going on an adventure," Yang bumped Ruby's shoulder, involuntarily lurching her forward down the ramp of a commercial bullhead that just landed a whole Kingdom away from Vale, into Mistral, and onto the continent of Anima.

Mistral was one of the four primary large kingdoms of Remnant where all the rage were tournament fights and champions to distract from the terror of Grimm. It was a large land mass with snaking islands and land bridges forming the shape of a serpent in the north and a tail in the south quadrants. Furthest west was the continental zone of Anima, a primarily boreal region away from the scorching desert it bordered.

An entire sea separated Vale from Mistral, and Ruby could already imagine what would happen if her father caught wind of this.

"Dad's gonna kill us."

"No, we've been through this. He's going look at you with disappointment for not stopping me, then at me for taking you along, but he's a big softy in the end." Yang corrected; Ruby deflated, askance.

"But that's even worse!" Ruby pursed her lips, tugging on the hem of her hood which Yang was still dragging if only to get Ruby and herself off of the bullhead before it took off again.

"What happens in Mistral, stays in Mistral."

"That's Vacuo! You have it wrong!"

"Semantics. Now let's make our way to whatever part of Anima we need to go."

"You don't even know where in Anima we're going!"

"Hey," Yang rolled her brows suggestively. "Easy, just trust me while the sun's still up. I have a feeling it will dawn on us eventually, hehehe, eh? Eeeh?"

Ruby stiffened, smacking Yang's hand away from her hood and silently smoothening the wrinkles. "I hate you right now," she said in deadpan. "Don't you dare start and make me hate you more."

Yang shrugged, but relented despite thinking she was being witty. Her dad would have loved that one, it's not her fault Ruby didn't appreciate greatness. However, Yang also knew she was being unreasonable enough to drag Ruby along with her, but she figured with their combined strength, they could take on anyone as Huntresses in training. It was best not to aggravate Ruby any further.

"I'll get you a comic of your choice on the way back home," Yang tempted.

Ruby perked up, eyes widening comically, but her features did end up softening. "Limited edition," she stressed.

Yang winced, knowing how much lien those collectors' items cost, and how old they could be. Still, she had to appease Ruby somehow. "D-Deal," she eked out for the sake of cooperation. "Now let's go."

Ruby grudgingly nodded, trudging after Yang with an enthusiasm far less then her sister's. She was too concerned to be overly affected by Yang's mood and optimism, lost in her own thoughts regarding the 'Sword of Remnant' as titled by her future diary. The fact that she'd found Yang in the exact bar written in the diary's annals was enough to authenticate the diary's contents to her. Moreover, her writing style and familiar quirks could be seen all over the diary.

For all intents and purposes, this really was a future her that wrote everything.

Then what did that mean for the warnings?

She grew uneasy, shivers travelling down the base of her neck and causing goosebumps to rise over her arms. While Yang was distracted, she glanced in the direction over her left shoulder where she could sense Shirou's presence watching over both her and Yang. At least with him around, she could rest at ease in regards to danger. However, this didn't remedy her worst problem.