(Volume 4) Part 5: Insomnia/ Complicated Departure

You wake up in a cold sweat...it's 3:30 AM...great...your mind goes back to the flash of Ruby fighting against some Scorpion Faunus...now multiple questions are going through your head, where is she? How long until this happens? Should you leave? Will she be alright? Are you healed enough to go after her? Multiple questions cloud your head...damn it. You feel very off, and you don't know why. As if your body is telling you one thing but your mind is telling you another. Your mind wants to leave as quickly as possible, but your body is saying that you need rest or else you won't even make it to Ruby. 

You decide to get up and head out the door of your room and head downstairs...might as well get some Semblance training while you're at it. You exit out of the house and look at the dark sky, no sunlight can be found just yet and the stars shine brightly...you walk up to a strong looking tree and get into a fighting stance. You focus on releasing Cole's energy out of your right side and Luna on your left. Particles and small sparks of electricity surround you. You feel flames crackling on your left side and electricity covering your right. You begin hitting the tree alternating left to right, trying to gauge the energy your using on each side while you're moving. The tree shakes every time you punch it with the leaves falling off of its branches. Again your mind flashes over to...Qrow? You begin hitting the tree harder, you see Qrow dueling the Scorpion Faunus you saw Ruby fighting. The part of the tree you're hitting is sparking now to the force from your Semblance.You see Ruby get badly hurt from the scorpion Faunus, the tree has chunks knocked off with every punch, you see Qrow get stung by the Scorpion Faunus. Your arm completely fills up with flames and you send the tree flying and crashing into other trees. You're out of breath as you fall on to your knees. You hear someone approaching behind you and look back to see a worried Yang.

Yang's POV (5 Minutes Ago)

I can't sleep...mostly because I can't stop having those repetitive nightmares or nightterrors keep popping up and...other reasons but the nightmares are my biggest problem...They're about Raiden...they started off the same as my previous nightmares about Adam, I stand there completely helpless as Adam draws his blade and goes to attack me..but instead of simply losing my arm now Raiden blocks Adam and he disappears leaving only Raiden...I feel a bit of relief...until her turns around and his dark purple flame burns brightly from his eye. Out of nowhere (F) appears in front of me on his knees with tears trailing down his face...his face frozen with terror. Raiden approaches him and kicks him into the ground, he acts like an animal and stomps on him ruthlessly. Whenever I try to stop him my body just freezes in place and tears go down my eyes. A puddle of (F)'s blood is spewed on the ground I can hear (F)'s terrified raspy breathing and I just barely hear him say

You(Weak):"Please...H-help...me..." My heart breaks from hearing him. Raiden looks at me dead in the eye, his flame crackling. Before picking up (F) with one hand as the other is surrounded with dark purple flames and his fist...goes straight through (F)'s heart. I hear (F)'s hiccuped gasps as blood trails from his mouth. Raiden tosses and (F) lands on his back. (F)'s eyes lock with mine and I can suddenly move again, I rush over to him and place my hands over his wound, trying so hard to stop the endless bleeding. 

Yang(Terrified):"(F)!? STAY WITH ME, COME ON!" (F) smiles very weakly and places his hand on top of my blood filled hands.

You(Soft/Weak):"I couldn't...save him..." Tears trail down both of our faces. "I-I'm sorry...I couldn't....save......anyone........" His eyes slowly close shut...his mouth slightly open as he dies because I couldn't do anything. I don't even notice that my Semblance is active and my eyes are their crimson red color. My hair blazing with flames.

Yang(Broken/Terrified):"(F)!? PLEASE (F) NO!" I'm sobbing at this point as Raiden speaks

Raiden(Grimly):"Now...who's next." I look up in confusion...to see everyone I care about...Blake, Weiss, Dad, Qrow, Jaune, Nora, Ren, Ruby and countless others...all lying dead on the ground. I just...sit there in shock. As if my brain completely shut down and went blank...a rage and sadness so...blindingly corrupt that I didn't notice that Raiden had come up behind me, his weapon drawn and his blade goes straight through my back and hits my heart...Then I wake up panting, sweating, and crying...(Well damn, reading this I realized that this is really dark ._., not like the darkest thing I've ever written in my life but...damn, and I would've made it a lot longer with going into detail about the other deaths so uh...decided to put a stop to that...I guess I brought out my inner...darkness? No that sounds edgy...uh...inner...unico-, no that doesn't work either. Uh...inner SOMETHING...er, why am I still typing, I need to stop riiiiiiiighhht now...now....I said NOW!) and right when I got rid of the nightmare of Adam...this is feels much worse...

(F) promised that he'd being Raiden back but...can he? I know (F) has fantastic adaptive and speaking abilities...I've seen him use it many times like when talking about equality with Faunus, planning, a really good example is that Ex-White Fang girl he saved from the train. And apparently he got Neo to second guess herself during the night Beacon fell. He's good with words, it's one of his strong points, his fighting is another, of course having the power of a freakin' mythical creature helps but even without it, just this week and he's improved drastically...he's amazing...but...can he bring Raiden back? I don't know...If he was acting like a wild animal, it'll be close to impossible by talking, and with strength if he manages to beat Raiden somehow, he won't be able to bring him back. Not in a way that benefits him, He'll just attack as soon as he gets back on his feet. Get sent to a maximum security prison or insane asylum, or...(F) will have to do the unthinkable and kill him...either way...I don't see a way out of a bad situation with Raiden...and I would flat out tell him that but then (F) gives me his damn heart-melting smile and gives a speech that can make any heart flutter...makes me change my mind and I feel like maybe, just maybe he can bring Raiden back to us...God what time is it? I check the time and see it's 3:33...I've zoned out completely...I should talk to (F) about what I feel about Raiden and how I feel about him...though it's still very early...well, I'll wake him up and tell him we'll start training later than normal, that'll work.

I get up from my bed and stretch my legs and...arm a little and yawn before heading out the door over to (F)'s room. I stand in front of the door for a bit...maybe I shouldn't...(F)'s already been through quite a bit with learning all that's happened from the year he's been in that coma. And I don't want to hamper that dashing smile of his, it's making adjusting to this arm and coming to terms with me turning back to my normal cheerful self a lot easier...heh, it felt like I was a completely new person after Beacon, no snarky remarks, no bad puns, no flirty nature, no firey temper...wait that's Weiss...heh...but...I just felt...empty. And I continued to feel empty and lost until I decided to stop moping around and found out that losing my arm and my team did not mean I had to lose who I am as a person. (F)...really helped since he woke up not even a day afterwards. Brought back more of who I used to be. That's probably why I can't stop thinking about him lately, mostly because I've forgotten about his usual cheery nature and goofy behavior and...massive eating habits but...I don't know something feels off whenever I'm talking to him now. He's grown now...quite literally, I don't think he's noticed it but he's gotten taller (You 5'7 now boi.) ...also he should be 17 now since Raiden told me his birthday was July 5th(My B-Day). Of course he's still growing but I can tell he'll be an amazing person. And he already is, where was I going with this? Oh right talking to him about stuff...ugh, old me would've burst in there with no question. Alright, I have to just go in there. I open the door and see...he's not even there. I glance around his room and look out of his window to see that he's already awake? He seems troubled, but I do notice that his hands are covered with flames and electricity and practicing on a tree, I can hear the thumps from the trees from in here. I decide to head out of the house and stand by the door for a bit. He seems off...very off, he's hitting the tree much harder now, the ground shakes just a bit with every punch. Until I see terror in his eyes and he punches the tree with full force and it gets ripped out of its roots and blown back into the nearby trees behind it, knocking down those ones as well. He falls to his knees out of breath...I should probably talk to him. I walk up behind him with a worried look on my face as he turns his head at me.

Yang:"Are...you alright (F)?"

You:"I...I was just dealing with some bad memories is all." God he's a horrible liar...him and Rai-, can't say that since Raiden fooled us all. 

Yang:"...You sure about that?" (F) sighs and gets up.

You:"Before I answer that, why are you up?"

Yang:"I...had a pretty bad nightmare...so I was awake when I heard the sound of something being hit from outside so I investigated."

You:"Sorry I kept you up." (F) rubs his eyes.

Yang:"You're fine...now you gonna tell the truth about what you saw?"

You:"Weird flashes. With Qrow and the remainder of team JNPR. They're in trouble...I just...feel it."

Yang:"What do you see in the flashes?"

You:"Some scorpion faunus guy attacking them..."

Yang:"Well, I'm sure Uncle Qrow can take care of any guy, even a scorpion faunus...though that's a new one for me. I wonder if there are any spider faunus." I smile deviously as (F) widens his eyes

You:"I HOPE NOT!" He shivers and I place my arms around his neck.

Yang:"But I thought you didn't judge people by their looks?"

You:"I DON'T just...seeing a spider Faunus would...be...I don't know, wouldn't hate the guy or girl obviously but it'd definitely...be an interesting experience." I laugh lightly

Yang:"God you are so vanilla it hurts."

You:"Vanilla? What's that supposed to mean?

Yang:"You're plainly sweet."

You:"Not...ALL of the time." I scrunch up my face a little

Yang:"Nope...all the time. Well except for like fighting people, but even then there are times where your kindness takes over like that one Faunus girl you saved from the White Fang I mean...How do you do it?"

You:"Do what?"

Yang:"Just make any situation lighter no matter the topic?"

You:"What can I say, it's a gift." He flashes a smile and clicks his tongue.

Yang:"Definitely." I say while laughing. "Sooo...what are you going to do? About these flashes I mean?"

You:"I mean...part of mean wants to leave as soon as possible so I can help the others but the other parts of me want me to stay here for a while longer so I can recover more...I don't know what to do? I mean, the sooner I leave the sooner I can find Raiden and bring his ass home."

Yang:sighs "About that..." 

You:"About what? Raiden?" I nod slightly "I already told you all that I could about him so...what's up." Should I really say it? Looking into those curious innocent eyes lies a boy with the thought of bringing his last remaining family member home.

Yang:"I...I'm not sure that you can bring Raiden back?" (F) looks at me strangely, his small scar on the bridge his nose very visible.

You:"...Why's that?"

Yang:"I mean...from what that memory you shared with me I saw that he...acted like a wild animal with only one purpose...and even before...he KNEW about what was going to happen but...he didn't tell anyone. And look at the way he hurt you." I place my hand on (F)'s chest, right over where his scar should be. (F) sighs as he stares into my eyes and places his hands ontop of mine.

You:"Listen...it's like you said before, my scars do not define me, they don't control me, sure these scars were made by my brother, but I don't care, no matter what happens he will always be my brother. No matter how much he hurts me, I knew him before the fall of Beacon, like I knew you, Ruby, Weiss, Blake. But unlike all of you, I knew what he was like before...well any of this, though always being a man of few words due to his infection, I knew he was a man who placed his family's life above his own. And when that changed drastically, I knew something was seriously wrong, a man can't go against his ideals all that easily, just look up any online arguments with two major ways of looking at things. He was acting like an animal, only other time I saw that was in the Exhibition match. But oddly enough when I yelled his name, he slowed down, even for just a little. He didn't listen at all with my last encounter...but that proves to me, there's much more behind the scenes...I just need to figure out WHAT it is exactly. You saw that the man in the cloak used some...codeword to fully activate Raiden's...Serpent mode. The fact the he felt sorrow and anger when seeing you showed to me that he did care for us...Sure I may have lost Raiden that day, but I haven't lose my brother. He's still there...I still have my family...Blake,Weiss,Ruby, You, and all of our close friends at Beacon...you are my family. So that's why whenever I see something bad happening or feel something off I want to go rushing in headfirst but...sometimes that's not the best decision." He glances down at my prosthetic arm. "...You guys are my family, so I will do whatever it takes to get my family back, my brother's still there...and I'll just have to use my 'gift' to bring it out." He winks "That's why I'm confident that I'll get him back." There he goes again with those speeches...I'm flustered. I wrap my arms around his neck, close my eyes, lean in quickly and give him a kiss on the lips...I stay there for a while, he's actually kissing back......why...did I do that? We slowly go back from the kiss and both of our faces are completely flushed with red. God I feel like such an idiot...GAH he's my little sister's boyfriend, WHY DID I DO THAT!? I look down in shame

Yang:"I-I...I'm so sorry I...d-don't know why I did that." (F) simply sighs and looks at me with a small smile

You:"I uh...You're...fine...Ruby would kill me if she ever found out but...gah...I don't know what to do in this situation."

Yang:"Pretend...it...never happened."

You:"Heh." He closes his eyes while smiling "I guess that could work but uh...maybe we should sort this out before forgetting it...since uh...if this info explodes in front of Ruby I will get a Scythe to the...'no-no spots'." I giggle just a little and he sighs. "Let's just say that this was just a reaction to a passionate conversation to two close souls that were hurting." (Or just the writer wanting to have tension cuz why not. And to satisfy that bit of me from when I was going to originally have a Yang x Reader than a Ruby x Reader, which I found the solution to that with Raiden who in the Yang x Reader he was originally was going to be "you" and there'd be no younger brother but then thought...how about I make Raiden the reader's big bro? And have HIM date Yang and the reader date Ruby...PROBLEM SOLVED, then we're at this so...problem...is more complicated now, but you're still being with Ruby that's for sure.)

Yang:"Yeah, that'll work...better it was ONLY a kiss and a quick one...unlike...some nights...with...Rai- MOVING ON!"

You:"WHAT!?"

Yang:"I'm joking! I'm joking, don't worry we're only at first base...and a VERY rare very low second base..."

You:"I...don't even know what that means." I sigh and place my head against his.

Yang:"You are one innocent little cinnamon bun...let's say that there was a time where he got a 'nosebleed' when he wandered into the bathroom while I was showering and didn't know I was there..." (F)'s face scrunches up

You:"Oh."

Yang:"Well...maybe this can be a nice little funny story we can tell like 5 years later but for right now WE DON'T TALK ABOUT IT!" (F) nods quickly and clears his throat.

You:"...You know I'm still getting Raiden, right?"

Yang:"Of course, that's most likely the reason as to why I kissed you which makes no sense in retrospect. Just...a thank you I guess."

You:"You have a weird way of thanking people." He says under his breath "Not that I'm complaining."

Yang:"...Are you saying you enjoyed that kiss Mr.(L)" he rolls his eyes as he blushes a bit.

You:"I said no such thing buuut I can't say that I didn't enjoy it."

Yang:"Mmhmm, sure. ...So what now?"

You:"Like you said, forget this ever happened. Go to sleep, and train in the mornin'."

Yang:"Sounds like a plan." I turn around to walk back to the house

You:"Hey, Yang?" I stop and glance back

Yang:"Yep?" He stays silent for a while.

You:"...Ah, nevermind. It's not important." I feel like that isn't true...but I'd rather just take his word for it for now

Yang:"Aaaaalll righty then. C'mon, we're starting training at 5 AM because of this." Again, (F) stays silent for a bit before responding

You:"Alright." We both head in and try to forget that this ever happened...

3 Days Later (Your POV)

You're leaving, the flashes keep appearing and you're now worried, you told Tai and Yang this and they were a bit worried at first but they come to terms that you are your own person with your own choices and freedom, only problem is that you...haven't forgotten about that kiss from Yang, you've tried to but whenever you see Yang now there's this small tension in the air...you can see that Yang feels the same way. Whenever you two are alone and talking, there will always be these silences where you both unconsciously get close to each other and stare into each other's eyes...honestly you don't know why you kissed her back...maybe a mental thing, you haven't seen Ruby in a year and the way you two were bonding at a rapid rate didn't help. But you know in your heart and your mind that Ruby is your one and only, but nobody's perfect and sometimes you...slip up...you feel just very guilty, it feels like you crushed Ruby's heart just a bit...even though she doesn't know and you'll make sure that she doesn't, You didn't want to bring down the mood after the kiss because if you did that would've made things worse so you forced a smile and an excuse, but that doesn't mean you're out of the doghouse just yet, that's probably why you're in such a rush to leave. You don't want this...weird relationship with Yang to get any worse. But you still are great friends with Yang you just...don't want that friendship to become rocky and that's why you've decided that you're leaving today. You're prepping everything one last time before you go. You've packed a biggish backpack with the essentials you'll need...though you feel like it won't matter since you can just Conjure in whatever you need...well the things that you've already brought...into your Soul...you'll have to ask Cole on how that works...huh, you put your backpack on and hold onto it as cosmic blue particles surround it and it vanishes, great, all you're missing now is your jacket...now that you think about you haven't seen it in like...forever, where is it? You look under the bed and check all the cabinets...nothing, you shrug and decide to look through the house...where did that thing go? You try to see if you can Conjure it and it doesn't work...someone else must've taken it, if another person touches an item that you can Conjure for too long like for like a couple of days then it stops being a Conjurable item until you bring it back into your hands. You sigh and try to find Yang to see if she knows where it is. Tai went to the store but you already said your goodbyes and he left with 'take care of my daughter, all right?' You haven't officially said goodbye to Yang yet but you'll say a proper goodbye once you find your jacket. You're not getting another one, that was Raiden's and you want to wear it as a symbol of what he stood for in the old days.

You(Shouting):"Yang?" You walk out of your room and look into Yang's room to see that she's not there...well if she's not there then she's usually outside. You go to leave but you feel a buzz from your pocket, you take out your scroll and see a text from Yang

Yang(Scroll):"Your jacket is with me, come find me here." Along with the message is her location...not far from here, but it's near a cliff? Alrighty then.

You:"Huh, better get going." You go downstairs and see an adorable Zwei chewing on some...weird jellyfish Grimm chew toy. You smile brightly and scratch his fur "AWWW I'M GWONNA MWISS YOU!" He jumps up and licks your face. You wipe the slobber from your face and scratch him and he pants and barks at you.

You stop and wave at the adorable dog one last time as you head out the door. You activate your 13% of what you can use and begin warping from tree to tree and...jeez you are flying through the forest it takes you 20 seconds to reach the location on Yang's scroll. You stop at the edge of the cliff...it's beautiful, you can see a whole lot from here...it's amazing, until you look down...and there's a gravestone engraved "Summer Rose" and below it "Thus Kindly I Scatter" ...Summer...Ruby's mom and Yang's step mom. You breathe out sadly and sit down just looking at the grave...you look around and see that no one's here. You look at the grave

You:"...Hi...I...don't know why I'm talking to you since...you don't know me and that you're no longer with us but...I know your family, Taiyang Xiao Long, Yang Xiao Long...and Ruby Rose. I'm (First Name) (Last Name), I'm part of your Daughter's team. Your little girl Ruby is becoming a wonderful young woman. I can't begin to describe to you how amazing she is, but I'll try to anyways...Let's see, her personality is always cheerful and positive which helps since she's the leader of our team. She's very daring and fierce yet wacky, adorable and funny. She really shows what it means to be a Huntress. She was there for me in a lot of my weaker moments and her love knows no bounds for her friends, teammates, and loved ones. Her spirit keeps us all lively and lifts our spirits when times are tough. She's really the spitting image of you...or well from the one picture I've seen. Only difference is your Hood, but everything to the dazzling silver eyes to the black hair with red tips on the ends...your daughter is an amazing person...oh um, throwing this out there but I'm uh...dating her...I feel honored and lucky as hell to be part of her team and apart of her life...but I'm gonna get to the bad news...Our team is broken at the moment, Wiess' father who I've learned from reports is a horrible person, Blake's...somewhere, Yang's lost her arm, I've lost my brother, Ruby left, good friends of ours are gone forever, Ozpin's missing...but I think he's gone. And Beacon's been destroyed and overrun by Grimm. Apparently Ruby did SOMETHING big that had to due to her having Silver Eyes? I don't know...she's already special enough to me as it is and I'm sure she meant the world to you. I never really about you from her but...I can tell she really loved you, and she still does. I'm actually leaving right now to go try to save her. But I wanted to say goodbye to Yang who said to meet here...and I guess this was my chance to sort of meet you and to say my proper farewell to you as well..." You get up and smile just a little "Don't worry about your daughter, she's doing great. And I'm making sure to keep it that way. Oh uh Yang's doing great too, she's got a really cool new arm and she's getting better everyday" You turn around and look back at the grave "It was nice meeting you Miss Rose, maybe eventually I can meet you in the afterlife...but let's not get crazy..." You look forwards and see Yang leaning on a tree just smiling while looking down.

Yang:"Another speech to add, eh?"

You:"How...much did you hear from that?"

Yang:"All of it." She laughs and walks towards you with both arms...-er sort of- behind her back. "But I'm glad, you've met my step-mom sort of..." She stands next to you as you turn back to the grave.

You:"I wish I had gotten to know her."

Yang:"Yeah...she was amazing, her cookies were superb."

You:"Is that where Ruby got that craving from?"

Yang:"Most likely."

You:"Well...I'm leaving...I wanted to give you a proper farewell."

Yang:"Well, before that...here." She takes out your Jacket but...there's a lot of new stuff on it, instead of just a plain jacket, the bottom of the arms are infused with a dust-infused white flame like pattern, there's a dust-infused lightning like pattern coming from the hood. and on the back there's a big Leviathan, that's curled up and showing its massive fangs. On the front's right corner (Where any small logo for like Nike and stuff would be) shows the symbol of a Glaive. The jacket looks brighter and newer...but the same little piece of fabric missing from the bottom of the jacket is still there "I heard you wanted to infuse dust into it so I got busy working my sewing skills with my prosthetic arm...which is not that hard surprisingly. Though I had dad work on it a bunch since he knows about that stuff apparently." She hands it to you "I hope you like it." She smiles closes her eyes while smiling brightly. You just...hold it as you feel such joy. You quickly hug her tightly, she hugs back

You:"Thank you...you have no idea what this means to me." You say meaningfully... 

Yang:"It was nothing. Just a little gift from me to you..." You keep hugging her "Heh, you gonna put it on or am I just gonna be held in your arms." You stop and smile as you put it on...somehow it's a bit bigger "I made it bigger since you're still growing, it was a pain to keep the little piece of fabric missing from the bottom pristine since dad kept wanting to have it fixed. Buuut I knew that it probably meant a lot to you." You can't believe how good it is to see this jacket again...

You:"I...don't know what to say...other than just...thank you so much."

Yang:"No problem, now then. I know that...these past few days have been especially weird but...I want you to know that you really are a great guy and I want to see you and Ruby be happy. So my...rocky relationship won't get in the way of that, but just know that I'll be there for you whenever you need help."

You:"And I want you to be happy...but Raiden's being a butt I guess...Heh...you could always come with me, you know?"

Yang:"And I would, it's just I can't leave just yet, still gotta get used to the new arm."

You:"Heh well...I'll always be there if you need me, may take me a bit but I'll be there." You both hug yet again

Yang:"I know this is gonna sound weird but...one more? Just so we can put it behind us, for good?"

You:"I really hope Ruby doesn't have physic powers but....sure." Yang laughs just a bit before you both kiss. The kiss was held for a bit but you both pull away smiling yet flushed with red. "And that's that. No more, alright?"

Yang:"Yeah, yeah. Now go and make my sis' happy."

You:"I hope I'll see you out there one day." You wave as flames come from your eyes and electricity swirls around you and your new dust-infused clothing lights up. You take one last look back at Summer Rose's grave before Phase Dashing at blinding speeds. Beginning your next chapter of your life.

...Ruby's POV 

I'm walking with Jaune, Ren, and Nora through the woods after leaving that small inn...so grateful for beds when we get it but...here's the weird thing, this may be me going crazy and...Okay...I don't know what's been bothering me but three days ago...I got this really weird feeling about slapping (F) as hard as I can if he ever shows up...I wonder why, maybe I'm going crazy and miss him but something else too...and today I got an even bigger feeling of doing that...odd, it'll consist of me first slapping him as hard as I can, then tackling him, yell at him for making me worried so much about him, yell at him for making me slap him...then kissing him...I think I've been away from home too long...I wonder if he's woken up yet...well, only time will tell...still gonna slap him as soon as he gets up though...And back to walking and talking about sloths and the noises they make.

(You gettin' slapped boyo, that's what you get for kissing your girlfriend's sister ((Even though I'm the one that wrote buuuut who cares :3)), what was I talking about? Oh right, slappage, yeah that thing with Yang was a one-time well technically a two-time thing to get rid of the part of me that wanted to make a Yang x Reader when first coming up with ideas. Nothing else...or at least I HOPE not, that'd be awkward, and no, there won't be any of that Harem stuff or...lemon? Is that what they call it? Idk er...hope ya'll enjoyed?)