A dying Arc's wish.

24: Heart to Heart

Ruby: After the day was over all the teams went back to their dorms to rest up for the doubles match tomorrow. Ruby's team was in their own room hanging out and playing games while Ruby herself just laid in her bed staring up at the ceiling.

Weiss: "Ruby it's your turn now." She said trying to hand her a consol controller only to get no response from the young huntress.

Ruby: Her thoughts lingered on what Marilyn had said earlier. Was she being fair to herself by keeping her feelings repressed? Was she being fair to Jaune?

Weiss. "Ruby?" She said again slightly louder only to get no response again.

Ruby: What was she so afraid of?

Weiss: "RUBY!" She shouted causing her to flinch.

Ruby: "Wha? Yes! What's up?" She asked in a slight panic.

Weiss: "Are you okay?" She asked with concern in her voice. 

Ruby: "Yes, I'm fine. Why does everyone keep asking that?"

Yang: "Well... because you don't seem fine Rubes." She said placing her controller down.

Blake: "She's right, you've been acting distant ever since the dance. And after the attack on Vale, you've practically isolated yourself from everyone."

Ruby: "Guy's, it's nothing to worry about. Really, I'm fine."

Yang: She let out a sigh before walking up to the console and turning it off. She then hopped onto the top bunk to look at Ruby. "Sis, you know we're here for you. You can talk to us about anything."

Weiss: "Yeah, you can trust us."

Blake: "Besides, moping around like that really doesn't suit you."

Ruby: "I'm not moping."

Weiss: "You are Ruby, we can see it on your face."

Yang: "Look, something's clearly bothering you. And it's not going to get better by just ignoring whatever it is, so you might as well just get it off your chest."

Ruby: She let out a frustrated sigh before leaning up in her bed. "Okay! I get it! I'll tell you... I'll tell you everything." And so, she did. Ruby explained everything that happened the night of the ball, what she learned from Jaune's conversation with Pyrrha, and how Jaune may die in the next few years. When she was done, her team fell silent from what they'd just heard. 

Weiss: "That's... horrible..." She stated after a long silence.

Blake: "And you haven't spoken to Jaune since then?"

Ruby: "No... I haven't, I... can't..." She said looking away from her team.

Yang: "Why not? Ruby, you just said Jaune was going to die soon. Wouldn't you rather spend time with him while you still can?"

Ruby: "I can't." She said again with tears starting to leak out of her eyes.

Weiss: "Ruby, you really should speak to Jaune about this. You're clearly hurting a lot."

Ruby: She clenched her fist and lowered her head trying to hide her face. "I can't do that!" She said in a pained tone. 

Blake: "Why can't you?"

Ruby: "Because it hurts too much!" She shouted as she started to cry. "I wanted to be the one he chose... I wanted to tell Jaune how much I love him. But it hurts to know that we can't be together, that he'll die long before I do. And..." Ruby's breath grew shaky as she tried to calm herself enough to speak again. "It hurts to know that he loves Pyrrha... and not somebody like me..." The room fell silent once more as Ruby got up from her bed and walked towards the door.