This Girl's Kind of Weird - Chapter 4

Next chapter. This one is a bit darker than before since it delves into some of Ruby's trauma from her bad timeline. That and it shows that she's hiding a lot under that happy (and horny) exterior.

For anyone interested in making a commission, email me at: storylover543@gmail.@com

Also, Bhaalbuddy comics are giving me an idea. Huntresses are the hottest, strongest women on Remnant…and can almost NEVER get any sex cause they come on too strong. Could make for a funny oneshot (smut?) where Yang or Weiss try to flirt with Jaune and he just awkwardly says he wants to be friends only. Meanwhile, Ruby is the only sane girl who tries to suggest they act normal and gets mocked for it.

That might work in another fic where only women have Aura. Like men do not wanna get their pelvis crushed. Jaune is there as the school nurse and he has to keep dealing with horn- I mean INJURED students who need his hands on them.

It could also be Lancaster. Ruby's the only sane person and she gets derided as a simp and a white knight…then she actually gets some dick. Cue her being SUPER smug and exuding an 'I am better than you' aura.

It could be funny if the trailers were also re-framed for their horny behavior. Yang grabbing Junior's crotch? Her attempt to flirt, then she trashes the club when he says no. Blake in the train? Adam cut the train cars so he can get away from her sexual harassment. Not sure about Weiss and the Arma Gigas fight. Ruby is sane so no need to reframe her.

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Neo was a monster. That was something she'd heard a lot over the years. From her parents, her 'friends', to the people she killed. They all said the same thing. She was a monster.

She remembered being called that a kit when she was just a kid. Little monster, Mom and Dad would call her. They hated her. Hated how she couldn't talk, how she wasn't a meek little princess like the other girls. They'd done their best to 'fix' her. Tried to get her to talk and stop acting out. When that failed, they washed their hands of her. At least we don't have to deal with that little monster anymore, Dad said.

They were more right than they knew. When she accidentally burned her house down, leaving her parents trapped in the inferno, she didn't feel guilty. The books always talked about how she'd feel at least some degree of empathy given that her parents were her blood, but there was nothing. Just a teenage girl who watched without a sound as her house burned and left no trace of who she used to be.

Roman was the only one she gave a shit about in this fucked up world. She'd burn down all of Vale and everyone inside it if it meant saving him. Maybe that did make her a monster, but she didn't care. She didn't see the point of pretending otherwise. Roman was the only one who cared about her. For him, she'd watch all of Remnant sink so long as the two of them could keep going.

And then he was taken from her.

She grit her teeth and let out a silent growl. He wasn't dead, but he might as well have been. She knew Roman. He was a lot of things - a thief, a scoundrel, a killer - but more than anything, he was a survivor. Even when that bitch Cinder caught them and forced them to be her lackeys, he bided his time. Once Vale fell they'd just set up shop Mistral or Atlas and start it all over again. They could do it.

When she'd broken into the prison to get him out, she thought they could just pick up where they left off. She'd seen him claw his up from nothing, seen him fight against impossible odds against entire crime families and come out on top. Now he was just...broken. There was nothing but fear and submission in his eyes. Any attempts to try and get him out were met with utter refusal to give his tormentor a reason to come after him again and catch her in the crossfire.

Seeing Roman after what Rose did to him...he might as well have been dead. He refused to come with her no matter what she tried to do. Even worse, that bitch Cinder didn't give a fuck. She figured there was a chance for Roman to get caught and included it in whatever fucking plan she had. She even told Neo to leave him there 'or else'. Of course, she didn't listen, but the choice was taken out of her hands.

Ruby Rose...even thinking of that little red riding fuck's name made her blood boil. Roman got into a fight with her weeks ago in front of that Dust shop and didn't think much of it. Just another teenager fighting to be tossed aside as fodder for the Grimm, he said. Neo had to agree. The Huntsmen were all suicidal idiots fighting in a rat race to be the first to get eaten by the Grimm.

So she was more than a little surprised when the same little girl was the one who took out not only Roman but the rest of the White Fang too. Not that anyone else knew that, of course. He'd been tight-lipped with the cops about who exactly it was that beat him. At first, she thought it was out of pride. No one would respect him if they knew who'd taken down the infamous Roman Torchwick. It was only later that she realized that it came from a place of fear that trumped even what he felt for Cinder. Neo was the only one who knew, and he'd begged her to not pick that fight.

Fuck. That.

As soon as she knew the bitch's name, she did everything she could to figure out how to get back at her.

Unfortunately for her, it wasn't easy. No mom, and both her dad and uncle were veteran Huntsmen with nearly two decades of experience. Her older sister was a Huntress in training, but both she and Rose were students at Beacon. As much as she hated to admit it, even she had her limits. Beacon was a fortress. There was a reason Roman never thought about doing a heist there. Even if they succeeded, they'd have every Huntsman in Vale - and possibly beyond that - out for their blood. Not even they could survive that.

Which meant Neo had to wait. Even worse, she knew that she couldn't attack Rose in public. Neo was confident in her skills - there was a reason Roman called her the muscle between the two of them - but a fight in the open meant other Huntsman getting involved. And then Cinder would get pissed since she drew attention to herself and she'd have that psychotic bitch on her ass too. No. She had to lure Rose out somehow.

Thankfully for her, she found a solution.

Jaune Arc, Rose's partner. She'd done some digging and found out he'd faked his transcripts when he looked deeper. She was an expert and knew a forgery when she saw it. How the ones at the school didn't see it, she had no idea. Or maybe they did and thought he was a criminal they had to keep an eye on. That was her first thought - it's what she'd do if Roman wasn't too scared of picking a fight with the headmaster - and it made her wary.

Not that she had anything to worry about. She'd caught him out in town a couple of times and it became depressingly obvious that the guy was useless. Even Junior's rent-a-goons had more skill than he did, and that was impressive considering they got their ass kicked by a teenager with an oversized gardening tool.

She quickly ignored how Roman didn't fare any better.

Whatever, it made things easier for her, at least. Kidnap the blonde idiot and lure Rose over to somewhere they could have some 'fun' all by themselves. Luring the doofus over was easy. All she had to do was make an illusion of a crying little girl in an alley and he was putty in her hands. Pathetic. That was why the Huntsmen were so predictable. They were either hero wannabes or mercenaries with delusions of grandeur.

Neo crossed her arms and looked ahead at her hostage. She'd tied him up by the wrists with chains and left him hanging from the roof. His hands were raised above his head and he was positioned high enough that he had to stand on his tiptoes to not have his wrists carrying the weight of his entire body. This was her favorite position whenever she had to interrogate someone. A chair made them nice and comfortable, which she didn't like. This kept them alert.

She dragged Hush's blade against the ground and watched his gagged face flinch. Technically, Jaune Arc didn't do anything wrong. Well, not to her. He was a fraud, but so was most of everyone in this city. He was...collateral damage. She would've killed him already if she wasn't planning to make Rose hurt. If he was dead then she'd just get into a rage. No, she wanted that bitch's last sight to be her partner watching her die.

Speaking of...

The entrance to the warehouse behind her opened with a crash. Neo turned and sneered as she saw the large metal doors flying away clear through their hinges and crashing to the ground. Rose stepped through the door, stance rigid and mouth curled into a scowl. If looks could kill, there wouldn't have been enough for a body left to bury. Neo's eyes flicked up and she winced slightly. It might have been just her imagination, but she could've sworn the younger girl's silver irises were glowing.

Neo's mouth curled into a sneer of her own and she readied hush, turning around to face her fully. Arc tried to scream through his gag behind her and shook his chains, "Neo..." Rose growled. Neo raised a brow. Rose knew her name too. Well, she shouldn't have been surprised. While she wasn't as infamous as Roman, her looks and style meant that she wasn't exactly a fly on the wall.

She prepared her Semblance and got to work. Normally she'd try to toy around with her opponent - have some fun with her food - but right now she wasn't in the mood. She'd take down Rose quickly then toy with her once she was nice and helpless.

Neo maneuvered herself behind the reaper and jumped up silently, Hush raised as she prepared a downward stab. Her illusory copy charged toward Rose and would make contact as soon as the knife stabbed the back of her ne-

Rose shot the copy with a scoff and spun around, blade twisting to slash across Neo's midsection. Neo quickly moved Hush to block and barely managed to keep the sharp edge from cutting across her body. Rose kept the momentum going and Neo found herself flung through the air towards the right-side wall from the force of the blow.

She quickly flipped around so her feet landed on the vertical surface and jumped back toward Rose, Hush poised for another stab. Her oversized gardening tool was big, but it meant she'd be helpless once someone closed the distance.

Neo closed the gap quickly and Hush was inches from cutting her throat when Rose's left hand, which was suddenly coated in a film of rose petals, shot out and grabbed her neck, the scythe falling to the floor with a loud crash. Hush's blade barely managed to scrape Rose's Aura before Neo was slammed to the ground with enough force to knock the air out of her lungs. She knew that Aura users were way stronger than they looked - she was a walking example - but even she found herself floored by the power of the attack.

"I waited so long for this..." Rose snarled, teeth bared in a manic smile. A chill ran down Neo's spine and she struggled against the vice-like grip, "We just let you go after that damn cat got out. You didn't deserve to get off so easy!" She said the last part with so much anger that spit flew from her mouth. Despite the situation she found herself in, Neo came to one startling realization.

Ruby Rose was fucking crazy.

She slipped another blade hidden up her wrist and stabbed Rose's side. Aura blunted the blow, of course, but it distracted her enough for Neo to kick her off. pick up Hush, and put some distance between the two of them. The mute assassin scrambled back and rubbed her throat. She felt that even through her Aura.

Rose picked up her scythe again and turned towards her, laughing softly under her breath, "I was gonna go after you anyway, but I would've made it quick. Not anymore. This time, I'm gonna have some fun."

Another chill ran down her spine and, despite how much she hated to admit it, Neo couldn't deny the truth. She was scared. She'd fought against unfair odds before, but there was something different about Rose. Her eyes seemed to pierce through her and she suddenly felt like that little girl being lectured by her parents again. Like she wasn't Neopolitan, but Tri-

Neo shook her head forcefully and bared her teeth in a snarl. No, she was not going to think about that weak little girl! Rose wasn't any different from any other cocky Huntsman that thought they had her number.

She charged at Rose and created more illusions, this time making it appear as if she was teleporting into different positions every few steps.

It didn't help.

Rose hit her upside the jaw with the other end of the scythe and then shot her in the face, making her stumble back. Just like before, her limbs were briefly coated with rose petals before suddenly going back to normal. She knew from her research that the reaper had a speed-based Semblance, but there was nothing about her being able to use them on individual limbs.

"What's wrong? Scared?" Rose chucked.

Anger overtook fear and Neo snarled again. She wasn't gonna let this fucking brat win!

But no matter what she did, nothing worked. Rose easily dodged and countered every single attack she did and Neo found her Aura quickly dipping into the red as she was hit with a stab to the gut from the large scythe's tip. Why...Why weren't her illusions working?! No matter what she did, Rose always knew where she was. The best she'd gotten were a few slashes that barely dinged the reaper's Aura.

Neo's multicolored eyes flickered from the cocky Huntress to her still-bound partner. Arc had been watching the fight go on helplessly for the past few minutes. Her grip on Hush tightened and she created one more illusion to (hopefully...) distract Rose before she rushed towards the bound blonde. She could put a knife to his neck to make Rose back off. Or failing that, she'd cut his throat and make sure that Rose at least didn't end this as a winner.

A few steps from grabbing Arc, Rose suddenly surged forward in a storm of rose petals and got between them. Neo forced herself to stop her desperate run and barely managed to bend over backward to avoid the slash aimed right at her face. She flipped back and got into a crouched position, eyes flicking down to her scroll momentarily to check her Aura levels. Not good. She only had one or two hits left before her Aura broke.

"You really do want to die, don't you?" her voice was eerily soft and calm, though Neo heard the rage underneath it all, "What did you think was going to happen? There's nothing you can do that I don't already know about. I know all your tricks...Trivia."

Multicolor eyes widened and Neo gasped, the sound deafening despite the wide space of the warehouse. A cocktail of emotions swirled through her as she processed Rose's words. Shock, disbelief, anger, fear...it left her unfocused and barely able to dodge the next bullet aimed at her chest.

Trivia...the number of people who knew about her past could be counted on one hand. Roman would never betray her like that no matter how scared she was. That only meant...

Burning, white-hot anger overpowered all the other emotions she felt. That fat bitch Malachite. She must've told Rose somehow. She always held a grudge ever since Roman left the Spiders. That must've been how Rose beat Roman too. Malachite must've given her an edge somehow. Fuck...fuck! She was going to kill that cow and her fucking daughters! Then anyone else who knew the name Trivia!

But first, she had to escape. As much as she hated the idea of running with her tail between her legs, she knew when she was outmatched. She'd find another way to get at Rose.

She made one last illusion. This one masked her appearance to make her look indistinguishable from the wall. Now all she had to do was-

A bullet impacted against the floor just an inch from her foot, "You know that's not gonna work on me, right?" Rose tilted her head to the side and looked at her with condescending pity, "No wonder Cinder tricked you. Nothing in that empty little head of yours."

Rose surged forward in another storm of rose petals and attacked her. The next hit broke her Aura and flung her through the air for a moment before she landed with a hard smack against the concrete floor. Neo groaned silently and looked up just as Ruby stomped on her chest. Her mouth parted in a noiseless scream and spit flew from her parted lips before Rose kicked her side and forced her head down into the ground.

"You know, I always thought you were a selfish psychopath, but now you had to make it personal." Rose stomped her outstretched right hand without holding back. A sickening crack accompanied the hit and Neo shut her eyes, "You and Roman were both already on my list. What kind of monster doesn't even hesitate when it comes to destroying a whole kingdom? And for what? So you two can keep your worthless lives."

Another stomp, this time to her left hand. Neo whimpered weakly.

"And then you stalked me across Remnant because you blamed me for Roman's death." ...What? If she wasn't in unbearable pain right now, Neo would've wondered what the hell she was talking about. Instead, all she could do was keep whimpering as Rose turned her back around till they were face-to-face again, "Being eaten by that griffon was better than he deserved. It would've been better if you died too."

As Rose raised her foot again, Neo finally understood. She was not a monster. She was a gnat, a worm, an insect, pretending to be one. Ruby Rose was the real monster. Neo was just her prey.

Across the warehouse from where he was forced to hang, Jaune could only look on in silent horror as Ruby raised her right foot and stomped his kidnapper's face in. One stomp, then two, then three...again and again till blood stained the underside of her boots. Even after she kidnapped him, Jaune couldn't help but feel pity towards the silent assassin as blood and teeth stained the floor.

And then Ruby suddenly stopped. He thought that his kidnapper was dead, but her (broken) hand twitched weakly, "Can't kill her. Fuck, I want to, but I can't," Ruby muttered to herself. She sounded insane, "Cinder will get paranoid, change her plans. Can't let that happen. Can't, can't, can't..." She crouched down and grabbed the kidnapper roughly by her hair, "You listen to me. You pretend that nothing's wrong when you meet Cinder again. She asks you to do anything, you smile and nod. Understand?"

Even though her head was more a bruise than a face at this point, his kidnapper managed a weak nod.

"Good. And if you even think about telling her or trying to deviate, I'll kill Roman and leave pieces of him scattered all over Vale. And then I'll hunt you down. It doesn't matter where you run or try to hide, I'll find you, Trivia. So be a good girl and do what I say and maybe you won't end up so fucked up that not even your illusions can hide it."

She stood and looked down at the half-dead, twitching woman with an expression of detached hate, her cheeks and jaw stained with blood and silver eyes dull. Then she turned to face Jaune and her expression brightened.

"Jaune~ Sorry I took so long!" She skipped over to where he was and cut the chain holding him up. He fell to the floor with a slump and looked up with dread in his eyes as Ruby cooed and knelt beside him, "You must've been so scared! I'm sorry I let her take you. I promise I won't let it happen again!"

Ruby pulled the gag down to let him speak, "R-Ruby...you..." He didn't know what to say. Thank her for saving him? Express shock at what she'd just done? He looked at the pool of blood and teeth on the floor and shuddered. He didn't realize he was crying till Ruby hugged him.

"Shh, shh. It's okay now, Jaune. It's okay. I'm here." She held him gently and rubbed her arms down his back, "We're together now and nothing will ever change that. I'll make sure of it. No one will ever take you from me again. The two of us will be together forever."

Jaune kept crying.

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Yang found herself at a crossroads.

The bodacious blonde brawler of team BYRN stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The face that stared back at her was practically unrecognizable. There were bags under her eyes, her mouth was set in a low frown, and her hair was the wrong kind of messy. Not the messy that she spent an hour or two styling to look all-natural, but actually messy. It was a horror no one should be subjected to.

And yet that was the farthest thing from his mind right now. All she could think about instead was Ruby. Her little sister, her precious Rubaby...and Yang had corrupted her. With her rebellious streak and devil-may-care attitude, Yang was the coolest chick in all of Patch. Guys wanted to date her and women wanted to be her. It was tough being so awesome, but Yang took to it with a natural ease.

She was sorely regretting it now.

Shaky hands gripped the side of the sink and she shuddered. It was her fault. Ruby was always a bit of a wallflower. As cheerful and energetic as her baby sis was, she found it hard to talk to people. And with a sister like Yang, she couldn't really be blamed for it. She was always the one that stole the spotlight. There were even a few people who tried to make friends with Ruby so they could get an 'in' with her. Yang made her thoughts on that clear. With her fists.

So it was no surprise that Ruby would start copying her. She had looks that could put a model to shame and she could kick the ass of anyone on Patch with one hand tied behind her back. Ruby didn't stand a chance. Of course, she'd try copying her awesome big sis. Yang would've done the same in her place if she had someone as amazing as she was for a big sister.

It was all her fault! Forgive her, Ruby!

All she could think of was regret. She'd corrupted Ruby with her charisma and looks. It was her fault. She left Ruby alone on the first day because she wanted her to find friends of her own. Now she'd gone down a dark hole from where there was no return. Was this how Dad felt when she first put on that outfit that let her girls out? Cause right now she was feeling like a worried mom.

Now she was faced with two choices. She could accept that the Ruby she knew was gone, or she could try to find a way to get the lovable dork back.

She knew the answer already. She had to do something. Maybe it was hypocritical of her, but she didn't care. The thought of her precious Rubaby turning into some...delinquent wasn't something she could take! No, she had to find a way to reverse it.

But how? She knew from experience that lectures didn't work. Go to Jaune? No, she'd just rebel even harder. She remembered when Dad gave her first boyfriend the hatchet talk. It only made her even more determined to act out. The allure of breaking the rules was that you weren't supposed to break them. The more Dad pushed her, the more she became the icon of rebellion that she was today.

So she had to come up with another idea.

Ruby idolized her, that much was obvious. She had to use it to her advantage...and she knew exactly how to do it.

Yang took a deep, shaky breath and hardened her gaze. She knew a way to save Ruby from her downward spiral, but it would cost her everything. She'd cultivated her 'too cool for school' reputation for years and she'd be throwing it all away by doing this. Was it worth it? Would she be willing to sacrifice it all?

Yang remembered Ruby as she was and nodded. The blonde bombshell made her preparations and swallowed down all her hesitation. She would do this. For Ruby!

Ten minutes later, Yang had made her entrance into the cafeteria. She kept her head held high and walked with a purpose to the team's shared table after getting her tray. Students from the first year turned to look as she passed. Why wouldn't they? She looked almost unrecognizable now. There were no classes today, which allowed her to pick and choose the outfit she needed for her plan to work. An outfit that was the very antithesis (hey, she knew big words too) to Yang Xiao Long.

Gone were the short shorts and tube tops. In their place was a fancy yellow blouse that covered the entire of her upper body paired with an ankle-length brown skirt. Finishing off the ensemble was a pair of tasteful dress shoes and red-rimmed glasses. She'd also brushed her hair to a straighter, neater style rather than the unnaturally natural messy way it usually was.

This was the plan. Ruby idolized her, the sudden change to teenage rebellion made that obvious, so all she had to do was change her mind on what was cool. And if it meant sacrificing her image, she'd do it.

"Good morning, everyone." Yang smiled down at them all.

Reactions were mixed. Blake raised a brow as she looked up from her book, Ren did the same (sans book), while Nora and Pyrrha looked curious at the sudden change. Weiss looked surprised, though her expression quickly shifted to approval. Jaune didn't react at all and kept pushing around the sausages on his plate without looking up at her greeting.

The only reaction she cared about was Ruby's. Lilac eyes flicked over to the reaper and she winced at the outfit she wore. It looked like something Yang herself would wear.

"What the fuck are you wearing?" Ruby asked bluntly.

"Pardon?" Yang forced herself to ask back.

"That." Ruby gestured to her, "Did Dad find your secret booze stash? Cause I told you blaming Drunkle Qrow wouldn't work."

"I...have no idea what you mean, dear sister." Yang sat down across from Ruby with the same placid smile as before, "I'm simply having breakfast with you and the rest of our friends."

"Uh-huh..." Ruby raised a brow, clearly unimpressed, "And you just decided to start dressing up like a priss and talking like Weiss today for no reason?"

"Why are you arguing about this?" Weiss cut in, "Your sister clearly understood that being a boor didn't help her. I, for one, approve of your change, Yang. That salacious and provocative attire did you no favors. This is much more sensible."

"...Thank you, Weiss." Yang's left hand balled into a shaky fist underneath the table.

"Yeah, whatever. I give you three days before you get bored of it." Ruby turned to Jaune and frowned, "Jaune, what's wrong? You've hardly eaten! That's no good. A growing boy like you needs his nutrients." She speared a sausage with her fork and raised it to his face, "Come on, say ahhh~"

Shameless. Absolutely shameless. Even Yang wouldn't have done something as brazen as feeding someone in front of her friends. Pyrrha blushed and looked away while Weiss scoffed and muttered something about 'hormonal dolts' under her breath. Team BYRN didn't care, all too used to Ruby's antics at this point. Yang took in a deep breath and ignored how much she wanted to cry. She'd get the sweet, innocent Ruby back one of these days, she was sure of it.

"So...anyone have any plans for today?" Yang asked.

"Yep, me and Jaune are going on a date!" Ruby hugged the blonde's arm and squealed, "Nobody wait up!" She let out a lewd little giggle, making it obvious to everyone what she was thinking about.

...

Yang choked back bitter, angry tears and kept eating.

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Poor Jaune.

That was the thought that ran through Ruby's mind as she and Jaune made their way down into Vale for their date. He'd been so quiet ever since she saved him from Neo a couple of days ago. He must've been so scared. She cursed Neo again in her head. She wanted to kill her then - still wanted to kill her now - but she couldn't. Not yet. Not until Cinder came out of whatever hole she was hiding in and enrolled into Beacon.

So she'd keep breathing...for now. Maybe if she was in a good mood she'd stay alive once they gave the power Cinder stole back to Amber.

But back to Jaune. She hated the idea of seeing him so sad, so of course she suggested a date. Not that she needed a reason to want to go on a date with him, but what kind of girlfriend would she be if she didn't take care of him? It was her fault he got kidnapped in the first place. She'd gotten careless. She should've kept a closer eye on him and Neo never would've gotten close. She'd make sure to stick close from now on.

"Come on, Jaune. There's a good place I know around here." She held his right hand with her left and gently led him to an old cafe she remembered from years back. When Beacon fell because of Cinder, the cafe was one of the numerous places that fell with it. They never even found the owners. So many people died in the Fall and the final war against Salem that she couldn't comprehend it.

Ruby took a deep breath and looked up at the clear blue sky. She had a second chance here. She would save everyone and stop millions of deaths. Cinder and her cronies would go first, but then she had to deal with the rest of Salem's circle of psychopaths. Tyrian was near the top of her list. He was the one who killed Cinder and crippled Uncle Qrow. She'd shove that fucking stinger of his down his throat.

Raven would get hers too. When she showed up to help them, they'd been too picky to be desperate. Same with Emerald. Back then, she'd believed in giving others the benefit of the doubt. Raven and Emerald had the blood of thousands of innocent people on their hands, but she naively believed that they could make up for it by helping them fight against Salem.

She learned how stupid she was when the two of them ran away to save their worthless lives. She shouldn't have been surprised. They only helped them out of self-preservation, so when it looked like they were about to lose, they prioritized their own survival over risking their necks to save the world. That was why Winter died. She'd never forgive them for it.

Now she knew better. People who could murder hundreds of innocents without a care until they realized their own lives were on the line didn't deserve second chances.

"Ruby, you alright?" Jaune asked softly.

"Huh?" She blinked softly and winced. They'd stopped in the middle of the sidewalk because of her wandering thoughts. She did that a lot back in her old time after Jaune...died. Days just spent staring at a wall or moving on autopilot so she didn't soil herself or rot in her own filth.

"You're staring off."

"Just thinking about Professor Port's assignment. Sorry." She stuck her tongue out and kept walking. She needed to stop lingering on the past(?). She'd make sure they all got their happy endings.

Ruby took a seat across from Jaune on a table outside and they both ordered. This was...nice. Back home, there really wasn't enough time for dates. By the time they'd gone to Vacuo, it was one fight after the next, trying to hold their ground against Salem's seemingly unending horde. There was one time she'd fought for a whole day straight, destroying entire hordes of Grimm with her Silver Eyes. But she was always too late. Always too late to stop them from dyi-

"Hey, Jaune! What's your favorite movie?" Ruby asked suddenly. She already knew the answer, but she needed a distraction.

"Uh...Live Hard? That movie with Spruce Willis."

"Yeah, I know it. It's one of my favorites too." She pulled her right foot out from her sandals and gently slipped it under the cuff of his jeans. Jaune jumped slightly, cheeks turning red as Ruby smirked and rubbed her toes against the warm skin, "What do you think of the sequels?" Her foot inched up slowly but surely.

"U-Uh, not a big fan of the second, but the third was a-alright!" He squeaked adorably when she pinched the skin. Even back in her old timeline, he'd been so shy. Both of them were, really. Spending a decade alone in the Ever After had broken him, and the fall of Atlas had nearly broken her too. She'd make sure he wouldn't go through that again. He deserved better.

"Really?" I liked the second." Ruby hummed.

"R-Ruby, could you, uh..."

"Could I what?" Ruby tilted her head to the side and looked at him with faux innocence, "I'm not doing anything, Jaune."

"Y-Yeah, you are!" he whispered, face practically a tomato now. So cute.

She was about to tease him more when a head of orange hair rounded the corner.

Across the table, Jaune found himself caught between a rock and a hard place. He had no idea what to make of Ruby Rose. On the one hand, she was a stalker who knew details about him and his family that undeniably made him nervous. On the other hand, she was training him (despite her grabby behavior) and did save his life from that crazy girl with the umbrella, even if she'd been brutal about it.

On the other other hand, it was clear that she was crazy. Not just in the 'stalker that knows everything about you' kind of way, but something else. Something deeper. Despite everything, he couldn't help but feel at least slightly sorry for her, even though he knew that was probably a bad idea.

He was just about to ask her to please stop playing footsie with him when her eyes suddenly widened and she stood up with enough force to nearly push the table over. She had that far-off look in her eyes again as she walked away from the table, completely forgetting her other sandal, "Ruby?" He fixed the table and grabbed the discarded footwear before following after his partner.

Ruby continued walking until she stopped in front of a cute orange-haired girl with freckles who looked about his age.

"P-Penny...?" Ruby whispered, sounding on the verge of tears.

The girl - Penny - tilted her head to the side and blinked, "Yes, that is my name. Pardon me, but who are you?"

"My name's Ruby. I'm...I'm your friend."

"You are?" Penny blinked again before she gave Ruby an open-toothed smile, "Oh, sensational! I was out in town hoping to make new friends! It is a pleasure to meet you, Ruby!"

"Y-Yeah, it's so...so nice to meet you too!"

Ruby hugged her without warning. Penny looked confused at the sudden gesture but didn't push her off or seem to disapprove in the least. Ruby kept hugging her for a few more seconds before reluctantly pulling, "You're going to Beacon, right? We can hang out!"

"Oh! Yes, I would like that very much!"

"Me too..."

The two of them talked for a few more minutes before Penny left. Jaune was left just awkwardly standing there, unsure of what to do or what to say. That...was weird. That Penny girl clearly didn't know who Ruby was, but Ruby definitely knew her. Another person she stalked? But then why did she act so different compared to when she met him on their first day at Beacon?

"Hey, Jaune? Could we...cut the date short? I'm feeling kinda drained," Ruby said.

"Uh...no problem. You forgot this, by the way." He handed her the sandal.

"Huh? Oh, thanks." She put it on quickly and chewed on her lower lip, "We should go back to Beacon. Don't want anyone else getting any bright ideas with you."

"Yeah, sure..."

"Awesome." Her smile returned to its usual brightness and she wrapped both arms around his right, "Let's go!"

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No smut in this chapter, but more plot. We get more of a glimpse into Ruby's damaged psyche and how she's Not Okay despite how much she tries to suppress it. Don't worry, she does get better as the story goes on.

Question:

1. Just curious. Imagine you were in Jaune's place - a girl comes out of nowhere, she's super strong, knows everything about you, declares herself your girlfriend, etc etc. How would you react? Would you be into it or freak the fuck out? Some other reaction?

2. Do you guys feel sorry for Neo or think she brought it on herself? Ruby's American History X moment was undeniably brutal, but she's also right that Neo is a psychopath who was fine with watching all of Vale burn and only got mad when Roman died.