Neo couldnt help but watch as the new girl to Lady Brownings was being bullied by a few of the older girls. It was a normal hazing process, but something about the girl kept her intrigued. Maybe it was her silver eyes or how young the girl was compared to everyone else. Either way, she wasnt going to watch the girl be bullied anymore.
She got up and made her way over to the girls and pushed them away from the new girl. She put herself in front of the girl and glared at the others.
“And what are you going to do about it, Trivia?” one of the girls asked.
Neo raised a fist, then lowered it with a smirk. The smirk changed to a smile as she stuck out her tongue as she made a snipping motion with her fingers as she stared at the girls.
The lead girl scoffed and walked away. “Freak.”
Neo stopped and lowered her fingers, turning to the girl that she had just saved. It was almost like looking at a mirror and seeing her younger self. Scared, weak, out of place… needing someone to step in and help.
She knelt down and pulled out her scroll, typing quickly before showing the girl her question. “Are you okay?”
The girl flinched before looking at the scroll and gave a nervous nod. “I-I am. Thank… thank you for helping me.”
Neo nodded, erased her message, and typed a new one. “It gets easier.”
“I’m not sure it ever does. Its not the first time someone bullied me because of my eyes. They’re strange enough for the color.”
A frown crossed Neo’s lips, familiar with what the girl had been going through. She still wore the contact to give her pink eye a brown color because of her parents, but hearing that another person was going through the same torment… this wasnt something she could allow slide. Instead, she’d be the person this girl… no, her younger self, needed. A mentor. A friend.
She offered a hand to the girl and signed to the girl. “What is your name?”
“Ruby,” Ruby answered as she took Neo’s hand. “Ruby Rose.”
Neo flashed a smile at Ruby, her fingers moving slower “I would like to be your friend.”
Ruby smiled. “I’d like that.”
Neo helped Ruby up and started to walk her to the dorm.
The weeks went by and Neo and Ruby became practically inseparable. Neo helped Ruby study, train, get used to the etiquette classes… everything that she needed to succeed. A smile crossed her lips as she watched her pick up on her lessons quickly, and even more proud as she found Ruby quickly becoming top of her class.
She lowered her weapon with a smile as she panted, glancing at her aura. Ruby had done better, bringing her aura down into the yellow and starting to see through her tricks. She started to sign, her fingers relaxed. “You’re improving.”
“It doesnt feel like I am,” Ruby said as she picked herself up. “I still didnt win and you’re still wiping the floor with me.”
“I’ve had some of the best tutors to train me when I was younger, but you’ll get there.”
“Then maybe I’ll get you next time.”
Next time. Neo paused and looked at her scroll, her fingers shaking as she held it. When would next time be? She was only here until she could find the time to leave and to help Roman. And then there was Lady Beat and that room she seemed to disappear to… so many questions that needed answers.
Ruby put a hand on Neo’s shoulder. “Everything alright?”
Neo nodded and gave her a smile. “I’m not sure when next time will be. I will be going out tonight-”
“Then let me come with you.”
Neo paused. “Come with me?”
“Yes, I can come with you. And then we can train when we have time-”
“You’ll get in trouble if you follow me. And besides, what I’m going to do tonight will be dangerous.”
“And I dont want to be left alone again!”
Neo lowered her hands for a moment as she took a good look at Ruby. There was a sadness in her eyes that she hadnt noticed until now, not too unfamiliar to what she’d seen in her own eyes before meeting Roman. She signed once more, trying to understand. “What do you mean ‘again’?”
Ruby looked away as if she wanted to hide the pain she felt, her body trembled as she held her arm to her chest. “Dad… wasnt given a choice. Someone from the village we lived in called to check in on my sister and I while he was at work. It wasnt something he did often, but this time was different because of grimm sightings nearby. Yang had been attending Signal and was trained to start fighting grimm, but that didnt matter. In the end, it was either we were to be sent to boarding school or taken away from him. So, he chose to send us here. Until Yang fought back. She was taken away and I… I was sent here. To keep me out of trouble.”
Neo nodded as she listened to the story, her own heart felt like it was starting to break. While it wasnt the same reason she was sent to Lady Brownings, it certainly hurt to hear what Ruby had gone through. She walked over to Ruby and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to comfort her, a smile crossing her lips.
Ruby wiped a few tears away from her eyes. “Please, let me come with you.”
“We leave tonight. But first, I have something I need to check,”
—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Everything had happened so quickly, and yet, she had never felt so… satisfied. A year had passed since her family’s manor had burned down along with her parents inside of it, Lady Browning’s Preparatory Academy had been shut down, and now she was free to be with Ruby and Roman. And yet, even in that satisfaction, she couldnt help but feel like something was missing.
“Roman told me I’d be able to find you here,” Ruby said as she sat down on the rooftop next to Neo. “We were supposed to train tonight.”
“I’m sorry I missed it,” Neo signed as she kept her eyes towards the city. “I needed to think.”
“Think about what?”
“What I want to do.”
“I thought you already knew what you wanted to do. Its why we’re still with Roman, isnt it?”
Neo shrugged and looked over at Ruby. She had dragged her into a life of crime, and yet, Ruby didnt seem to look disappointed in it as long as it meant trying to find her sister. But as she stared into the eyes of her friend, of the girl she was starting to love, the doubts had started to fade.
Ruby smiled and got up. “I know what’ll make you happy. There’s a dust shop not too far away that we can go rob with Roman’s help.”
“Are you sure?” Neo signed slowly.
“Of course. And I can get some stealth practice like you keep asking me to.”
Neo smiled and nodded. “Sure.”
“Great! I’ll go get him!”
Neo couldnt help but watch as Ruby jumped down the building, red-lined black cloak fluttering in the wind before she turned into a flurry of petals. Her heart fluttered and she stood up to look over Vale once more. There was nothing more that she wanted in this world than to be with Roman and Ruby, no matter what it was that they wanted. She shattered piece by piece with her own semblance, ready to meet her partners on the street.
