The Silent Rose (abused and neglected mute reader x rwby)

Chapter Four: Silent Tears

Ruby POV

I ran as fast as I could, using my semblance to follow the trail of rose petals Y/n left when he used his.

I still couldn't believe what just happened. Just the sight of dad made him panic, and I think he even saw flashbacks of when he was beaten. I thought he was fine, he even put on a smile from time to time, but he was still broken. He must be long gone at this point.

I needed to find him, before he did something to himself. I tried listening to crying but none were heard. He must've gone to the forest, hopefully he wasn't far.

Eventually I made it to the cliffside, and Y/n was sitting there. I saw him crying uncontrollably, he was even shaking.

This was the first time I'd seen him like this. Sure I'd seen him cry before, but it was of pain, this was something else entirely. He was terrified, and he didn't want anyone to see it. He wouldn't have said it if you asked him, but he's been the one to say "never show them you fear, it'll make you seem weak". It was depressing to hear, but it was the truth.

I ran up to him and hugged him from behind. "Its alright, I'm here." I comforted him, "I won't let him hurt you. I'll protect you."

He was shocked, clearly. He must've thought he gotten away.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, brother. You've protected me, now I'll protect you." I whispered, I held him close, I didn't want him to jump or run away, or even be alone.

He had stopped crying, he didn't make a sound while crying I noticed. Thankfully he stopped shaking too.

I heard someone call out my name. I didn't want to leave Y/n, but I needed to make sure it wasn't dad or Yang.

I released him, and went to see who was calling, it was Blake and Weiss. They saw me and I had to get to them just in case dad was near by.

Once I got to them, I saw the worried expression on their faces. "Ruby, did you find him?" Blake asked.

I nodded, "He definitely hasn't gotten over it, and before I calmed him down a little, he was shaking and crying uncontrollably and... and..."

"Where is he? We won't tell your dad or Yang." Blake promised.

I thought about it, then I said "He's by the cliffside, but I don't think it's a good idea for you guys to talk to him right now."

"Why not?" Weiss asked.

"He doesn't like anyone to see him cry, I think it's best for you to go back to the dorm right now." I said, they understood and left for the dorm. I ran back to Y/n and sat next to him, pulling him closer to me as we looked over the cliff. He eventually fell asleep in my arms.

Yang POV right after Ruby ran after Y/n

I stood there in shock. My brother, the one I thought of as the brave one, was terrified. Blake and Weiss went after the two. While dad looked just as in shock as me, maybe more so.

"H-he... ran, in fear." He said quietly to himself. Dad's eyes filled with tears, he looked as if he'd expected something else to happen.

"What have we done?" I asked him. We both knew the answer, we just didn't want to say it.

"I don't think you understand the extent of the damage." Ozpin said, suddenly appearing. "Here, let me show you."

He motioned us over to him, and we walked closer to him, looking at the tablet in his hand. It was from a security camera, it was pointed to Y/n sitting on the cliffside. He was crying, and shaking so much it scared me. Then Ruby ran to him and pulled him into a tight hug, she said something to him, and he calmed down a bit, but still had the terrified look on his face.

"As you can see, he suffers from PTSD." Ozpin said, "And, though he hides it well, he's done harm to himself in the past, as Qrow has told me at least."

"Qrow found him?" Dad asked, tears falling down his cheek.

"Yes, and has been delivering letters to Ruby from Y/n for several years. He even trained and raised him, though he had to try to fix the broken boy." Ozpin said, depressed. "And the worst part was, Y/n didn't even show it till Qrow caught him attempting to... well... kill himself."

We stood there, stunned.

"H-he... he tried to end his end his own life because of us?" I said, still unable to believe it.

"Saddly yes, he was even put into therapy for it." Ozpin said, "He was barely able to muster the courage to even be around you Ms. Xiao long, though he hid it well. But clearly, seeing you again, Tai, set something off in his brain that caused him to relive the abuse and neglect you gave him. The thing is, he doesn't truly hate either of you, he is afraid of you. Because you betrayed him, and beat him, and called him useless, worthless, a mistake, and from what he told me, not even your son, Tai."

His eyes widened, as if he almost couldn't believe it.

"What can we do to make it better?" I asked, hopeful.

"I'm afraid, Tai, your relationship with him is to far damaged to do anything. You may not even be able to be within his line of sight, let alone around him. So, I'll have to ask you not to come back to this school while he's here." He instructed.

Dad nodded, "And you, Yang, may have a slim chance at redemption, with both him and your sister." The professor said.

"How'd you-?" I started.

"Because I watched you and Ruby together, and then Y/n and Ruby together. And compare to those two, and watching how she acts toward you sometimes, she still doesn't forgive you." He said, "But if you can earn his trust and refrain from hurting him, you may be able to gain forgiveness."

"Alright, do you know what I can do?" I asked.

"I don't know," he said truthfully, "so you'll have to figure it out for yourself."

Dad left with Ozpin. I walked to my bed and laid down, trying to figure something out. Eventually Blake and Weiss returned, even more depressed than ever. They just got ready for bed and laid down, Blake got a message on her scroll and she left. She came back with Ruby and Y/n, with him going to the bathroom to change.

How was I to make amends when I didn't even know where to start. All I knew, was that I had to, I needed to make sure my brother, the one I blamed for everything, didn't end his own life or hate me for eternity.