(RWBY) Black: The Color Of Wilted Roses

The Return of the Beautiful, Part II

[Yang]

It's about time we get Ruby and Weiss back.

It's been six months and Jaune, Nora, Ren, Blake and I are finally ready. Between this time, Ozpin went missing after we sold him out to General Ironwood and Winter Schnee. The White Fang's been on the move, and Grimm sightings in the cities are increasing.

Today, I waited in the forests near Beacon. I stared at the sky, lost in thought.

I often wondered about Ruby and Weiss, and what could've happened. Some people talked about misguided souls, others said things about covert terrorism against the school. Personally, I don't know. I just wished I could've been the sister I told myself I was.

But no. With everything else on my mind at the time, I missed Ruby completely, and now I'm missing a forearm because of it. Hell, I'm missing my friend and my sister because of it. All of this chaos... And I still don't know why. Blake still wouldn't tell me what Ruby said all those months ago, and just recently am I getting over it.

I sighed, and hung my head lower when a familiar tap on my shoulder alerted me.

"So," Blake said. "You ready to tell me what this is about?"

"Huh?" I sat upright, rubbing my eyes. "Oh, yeah, I got a team ready. Y'know. We're gonna try to find them."

Blake looked away, stoic as usual. "Yang. I've... I've been meaning to tell you something."

"What, you got any ideas or something?"

Blake shook her head, and paused for a moment before responding. "I know that she's your sister, but... Tell me you're not really expecting to get her back in one piece. If we get her back."

I stayed silent. My face grew hot, and I looked away from Blake. I could feel her golden eyes gazing straight into my soul, expecting me to lie around my situation.

"I..." My voice hung on the word. "I need this, Blake. The closure. Do you know how many times I went to sleep, dreaming about how I'd wake up to see Ruby and Weiss, and how it'd be us four again? How much I miss being able to see her face, just doing something dumb and goofy and wonderful, and feeling back at home?"

I stood up, walking around in circles. "I'm going to find them, and when I do, I just want to ask one question."

Blake kept her neutral expression, knowing just how emotional I am. "And what would that be?"

I found myself breathing hard, holding back my rage. I tensed my arm, ready to punch something, anything.

"Why?"

The word took a lot out of me, barely managing to say it through my failing voice. I fell to my knees, punching the ground repeatedly until Blake got up, restraining me for what felt like several minutes. I ended up almost crying in her chest, barely holding my tears back.

It took a minute, but I collected myself and wiped away the last of my tears. "Alright Blake, let's get this show on the road." We walked through a short, rough path that led to a massive clearing that I had everyone gathered in.

Blake silently surveyed the area. "Team SSSN, most of JNPR..." Blake looked at me. "So, this is all of us?"

"Well, yeah! They didn't give up on Ruby, so we can trust them."

"Yeah, like I'd betray a friend of mine." I looked at Sun, his voice void of his usual peppy self. No one else seemed to look forward to the coming days - I sure didn't. Everyone was ready for battle.

Jaune stood up, clearing his throat.

"So," he said, with a hint of apprehension in his voice. "Is everyone ready?"