WHO: Neopolitan & Ruby Rose (with a Qrow appearance at the end). WHAT: Neo attacks Ruby. WHEN: Friday. WHERE: In the woods. WARNINGS: Violence, mentions of death. STATUS: Closed/Completed gdoc.
Following that crazy week where Cinder showed up, Ruby’s guard was up constantly. Even after Cinder departed, the leader of RWBY knew better than to completely relax. While Cinder was here, she’d told Neo that Ruby was responsible for Roman’s death. Being that the two were close, Ruby expected Neo to come after her even as she hoped that the other young woman didn’t. After all, Ruby felt the same anger and hatred towards Cinder for killing Pyrrha. If she wouldn’t walk away, why would she expect Neo too?
To avoid hurting anyone, Ruby trained in the forest. There were a couple of open fields that allowed her to really exercise her speed and let loose with Crescent Rose. Knowing she’d been lacking in her training, Ruby decided today was the perfect day to make up for it. Packing a few necessary supplies, Ruby made her way to her favorite field.
Stashing her stuff by one of the trees, Ruby made her way to the center of the field and started practicing. However, while she was speeding around in a flurry of rose petals, she felt as if she was being watched. After practicing a few moments like this, Ruby grew impatient and landed, Crescent Rose held in front of her, and silver eyes scanning the area.
“Alright. Who's out there?” Ruby demanded.
Neo hadn't been sure what to think when Cinder broke the news. On one hand, she knew Cinder was a liar. Even if they were on the same side, Neo had seen what Cinder was willing to do to gain power and that included lying. She never really did trust the older woman and she didn't believe Roman had died at first. But then she had a conversation with Ruby who pretty much admitted she was responsible for Roman's death.
She definitely went through a lot of emotions since she found out. First she was in denial and didn't believe it. She was behind in the timeline than the others, so from her point of view, Roman was fine. But after talking with Cinder - or rather Cinder doing the talking - Neo was convinced now that it was true. That in Neo's future, she'd lose the one person she cared for most in the world. She would lose the only home she ever knew that accepted her.
Cinder was gone but Ruby was still here. And now that Neo knew the younger girl was responsible, she must now may. Neo had also been training in the woods, practicing with Hush. During a break, she happened to hear a noise and followed the source. Neo watched silently until Ruby called out. There was a moment when she didn't move, but she eventually walked out into the open. She didn't say a word nor did she need to even if she could. The pure hatred and rage in her eyes as she stared at Ruby said it all.
Given what happened last month, maybe Ruby should have expected Neo to appear from the woods, pure hatred and rage burning in her eyes. After all, Ruby killed the only person Neo probably ever cared about. Maybe the only person who had cared about her in return. It was sad, but Ruby didn’t regret it. They were in a fight; if she hadn’t fought back, Roman would have taken her out and possibly her friends too. No, Ruby did what she had to do. Just like she knew Neo was about to do what she thought she needed to do.
Ruby looked briefly surprised at the sight of Neo, but the expression soon shifted to wariness. Somehow, she didn’t think this was going to be a civil conversation, if it remained a conversation at all. Ruby gripped Crescent Rose and braced herself for an attack. Whatever Ruby said, Neo was going to retaliate. It was only a matter of when; it really felt like today was going to be the day.
“I’m sorry, Neo, but I did what I had to do. I fought back.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice; she didn’t want to fight Neo. They didn’t have to be who they were back home, but this transcended that completely. It was personal and there was no where you could go where revenge didn’t exist.
Deep down, Neo probably could understand why Ruby did what she did. She would've done the same thing if the roles were reversed. Well, maybe she'd only want to protect Roman. As far as she was concerned, Cinder, Emerald, Mercury and even Salem? They could perish and she wouldn't be that upset about it. But not Roman. She'd sacrificed all those other ones to save him, even if they were on her side.
But Neo wasn't considering Ruby's side at the moment. Instead, she rolled her eyes at the girl's explanation and apology. She had her parasol open and over her shoulder, twirling it casually. That didn't last long, though. She closed the umbrella and a sharp blade came out the end. A split second later, she rushed towards Ruby, intending to stab the girl in the heart.
Okay, they weren’t even going to have a conversation. Ruby watched as the girl twirled her umbrella casually over her shoulder. How long before that parasol because the deadly weapon Ruby knew it could be? It wasn’t long; She closed the umbrella and the familiar sharp blade appeared at the end. Ruby’s silver eyes narrowed and then Neo was rushing towards her, anger visible in her eyes.
In a flurry of rose petals Ruby flipped herself over Neo’s head and swung Crescent Rose in retaliation. She was aiming to sweep Neo’s legs out from under her; Ruby wasn’t out to permanently damage Neo, but maybe she should have been.
No conversation. Even if there was, it would definitely be a one-sided chat. Neo was used to being mute and not talking, although sometimes she wished she could. It was a bit hard to communicate with people sometimes. Not Roman. The moment they met, he always seemed to know what she was thinking. They could communicate without words effortlessly. No one has ever been like that before or since.
She wished she could speak now so she could tell Ruby just how hurt and angry she was. Unfortunately she couldn't, so she did what she did best - she let her actions speak for her. Ruby had fought her before but for Neo, this was the first time. She didn't know if Ruby had a Semblance or not, so she was at a bit of a disadvantage.
It didn't stop her, though. Neo was a skilled fighter and had quick reflexes. As Ruby flipped out of the way, Neo did the same before Ruby could sweep her legs out from underneath. As she flipped, she twisted and aimed a kick at the younger girl's head.
Being that Ruby had been practicing long before Neo appeared, she was a bit low on energy and her Semblence wasn’t nearly as strong as it should be. When Neo dodged, aiming a kick at her head, Ruby couldn’t react fast enough. The hit collided and Ruby fell to the ground hard. She pushed herself up quickly, knowing full well she’d be dealing some major bruises and bumps tomorrow.
Ruby rushed forward and aimed a hit to Neo’s side with Crescent Rose, determined to at least incapacitate Neo. She needed a moment to regain a little of her energy or the next time she tried to use her Semblence, she might not be able to and to escape how fast Neo attacked? Ruby needed her Semblence.
Neo had been practicing as well, but not quite as long as Ruby had. She'd only just started about ten minutes ago when she heard the other girl. So Neo was probably a bit more rested than Ruby was, even if she didn't know it.
Usually Neo would've had a cocky smile on her face after she landed the kick. She never spoke but she always smiled whenever she was fighting. It was her way of taunting her opponents, making it seem like this was too easy for her. But not this time. Neo wasn't fighting for fun or was she having any. She was too angry for that.
She was quick but Ruby with her Semblance was quicker and Neo managed to block Crescent Rose with Hush just in time. The impact still sent her sliding a few feet, though. She then attacked again, swinging the blade at Ruby's head. Only Neo had used her Semblance and the Neo attacking was an illusion while the real Neo sneaked behind Ruby.
Ruby gasped as Neo blocked her attack. At least it sent her sliding a few feet back from Ruby, giving the young woman a little breathing room and time to think of where to aim next. Barely. Before she could fully catch her breath, Neo was swinging her blade at Ruby’s head and she barely had time to react before it sliced through her skin.
Ruby raised Crescent Rose to block the attack, but she wasn’t aware of the real Neo sneaking up behind her.
As soon as Ruby blocked with Crescent Rose, illusion!Neo shattered like glass. Meanwhile, the real Neo had pulled out her blade from the parasol, raising it in the air to deliver a killing blow. Neo was sadistic and usually grinned whenever she was about to kill someone. But not this time. This wasn't fun to her, this was her avenging Roman.
Before she could stab Ruby, a black crow suddenly appeared and pecked at her head. Neo swiped at the damn bird, distracted and it gave Ruby time to get away at the very least. The crow disappeared into the woods and a man stepped out, holding a sword. Neo squinted for a moment before realizing who it was. Qrow Branwen. Hmph, well, she wasn't going to deal with both of them. She gave Ruby a sneer before disappearing into the woods.
Once he was sure Neo was gone, Qrow turned to his niece. "You alright, kiddo?"
Ruby barely had turned around when the black crow appeared pecking at Neo’s head. In the flurry of black feathers, Ruby managed to scramble out of the way of the blade and to her feet. She was gasping for breath though and clearly exhausted. If Qrow hadn’t showed up, Ruby would be dead right now. She simply didn’t have enough energy to use her Semblence to escape.
Ruby held up Crescent Rose, but before she had to react, Qrow stepped from the woods and Neo squinted. Once she realized who it was, she gave Ruby a sneer and disappeared into the woods as quickly as she’d shown up. Ruby, despite wishing otherwise, was relieved to see Neo go. When Qrow addressed her, Ruby couldn’t even feel angry that he’d been watching her. Not at the moment at least.
“I think-” Ruby stepped forward and fell down. “I’m not.”
Qrow had a feeling Ruby wasn’t entirely too happy to see him. She could be upset all she wanted but he wasn't going to apologize or even feel bad for watching over her. Especially now when she was this close to being stabbed to death. No, he didn't regret it at all.
He sighed as she started to fall, barely managing to make it over in time to catch her in his arms. "C'mon, let's get you home."
Ruby could yell at Qrow later, but right now? Right now, she was just grateful her uncle was there to save her. Despite being far from a little girl, when he caught her, Ruby wrapped her arms around him and hugged on to him tightly for a brief moment. Stepping back, she took a hold of his arm instead to keep her steady. Home sounded really good to her right now.
“Yeah, let’s get home. I’ll yell at you after I’ve had some sugar.”