Shapeshifting Shenanigans
"Yang, I can't take this! This school is feeling like a prison!" Ruby exclaimed in their room; her hair frazzled, and face flustered.
"Relax, Ruby. Everything's gonna be okay." Yang reassured her, trying to calm her little sister down.
"It's getting worse, Yang. I can't keep control…" Ruby said, putting her hand over her heart, "You saw that, Weiss nearly saw me…"
Yang sighed as she made Ruby sit down, pulling out Ruby's hairbrush. "It can't be that bad." The blonde pugilist replied as she began brushing Ruby's hair to straighten it out, knowing that this always helped Ruby calm down before.
"Don't be so sure…" Ruby said as she began to talk about the incident.
Half An Hour Earlier: Showers
Ruby let out her trademark loud, wide jawed yawn as she made her way into the showers and stepped into one of the stalls. Though she knew that it worried Yang and the others, she knew she could not stop going out at night. For one, the knowledge of what Torchwick was doing meant she could not. She had to keep trying to stop him. Furthermore, even if she did not want to admit it, part of her liked going out like that.
It almost felt weirdly natural to her. Being out when she wanted to, running and jumping across rooftops. The cool night air flowing past her as she went. She could even let out her other side more safely, without anyone seeing her in that state. Compared to classes, it was a blast. Sure, she loved gym class, sparring class, weapon maintenance class, and other hands-on courses. However, she hated sitting. She hated being stuck in this building. She was like an animal in a cage, even if it was a gilded one. The longer she stayed at Beacon, the nagging bits of doubt about if she would make the right choices went through her head.
'Alright, I'm up early enough, I should be able to clean my ears and tail without any issue. And give these claws a good filing. Not like I can use the trees or rocks around here like Patch without causing suspicion.' Ruby thought, and with a sigh, slowly allowed her body to change.
Slowly her body was covered in silver, though looking in one of the mirrors she got a better look at her form. As silver traveled down, it was accented by black patches and sharp red markings of a flowing and savage pattern. It reminded her of warpaint seen on tribal warriors of human and Faunus origin long before the kingdoms were founded. Soon her red and silver ears pierced her black mat of unkempt hair, and the tail grew out, reaching below her knees. She knelt and grabbed the nail file before letting out her claws, beginning to work on her left thumb's claw as the water began to heat up.
All this, however, was not to last. Her right ear picked up something and turned to face it, followed by her left. Someone was outside the shower heading her way. The second room to the showers. And they were trying to be stealthy, not merely quiet for the morning.
'Who's out there? And why are they being so quiet?' Ruby thought as she soon heard this person mutter.
"Now which one is Ruby in…?" A familiar voice, trying to be as quiet as a church mouse, whispered as the red wolf girl's eyes widened.
'Weiss!? What is she doing up so early!? And looking for me!? I have to change back quickly before she sees me!' Ruby frantically thought, and though she loathed quick change, she forced herself to grit teeth.
As Ruby began changing back as quickly as she could, Weiss began knocking on the doors of the different shower stalls, trying to get some kind of surprise response. As the Atlesian ice princess got closer and closer, the red wolf girl began receding her animalistic features. First her claws, then her tail, and, lastly, her ears. When Weiss finally arrived, Ruby heard her knock on the stall she was in.
"Occupied!" The red rose reaper yelled nervously.
"Is everything all right, Ruby? I heard you step out of the room early and got concerned." The white-haired duelist politely called out to her team leader.
"Y-yeah! E-everything is fine. N-no worries here…" Ruby answered nervously.
"Do you need someone to help you wash your back?" Weiss asked.
"I-I didn't know you were a weeping tom Weiss…" The red wolf girl asked but was caught off guard.
"First of all, it's 'peeping tom'! Second, I am not! I was trying to be nice, you dolt!" The Atlesian ice princess huffed out before stomping away.
'Sheesh. Can't take a joke.' Ruby thought with a growl as she then went back to her routine, now a hint more suspicious of the white clad princess.
Ending Flashback
"Explain that Yang." Ruby huffed as her sister nearly finished fixing her hair.
"Okay, I'll admit that's a bit suspicious. Do you think she suspects anything?" Yang asked in concern, finishing Ruby's hair as the Red Rose Reaper calmed down some.
"With how close to her chest she keeps her cards, I don't know. I swear I can't read her at all…" The red wolf girl said with a sigh.
"Tell me about it. I have the same issue with Blake." The blonde pugilist sighed as well.
"Seriously, what is their deal?" Ruby asked in frustration.
Meanwhile: With Weiss and Blake; Break Room
"You do realize, Weiss, that it was a joke, right?" Blake asked as she stirred some sugar and cream into her tea.
"It was still uncouth of her to say! I try to be nice to her for my own reasons, and she responds with something like that!?" Weiss ranted, stirring her own sweeteners into her coffee.
"Did you find anything out at least? It is a regular thing for her to go out that early." The cat-eared ninja girl asked with a sigh.
Weiss let out a sigh as well. "Unfortunately, no. Only that she was oddly nervous when she was talking to me." The Atlesian ice princess replied.
"That is odd. It's not like a boy was asking that, lords above. And, before you ask, Yang isn't giving me anything either. It's like trying to read the thoughts of an oak tree with her." Blake sighed, rubbing a temple.
Weiss groaned in frustration. "What could those two be hiding from us? For that matter, why are they hiding it from us? We are their teammates. I thought they wanted to be our friends along with being teammates…" Weiss replied, actually sounding a bit hurt now.
Blake grabbed Weiss's hand and cupped it to try and comfort her. "As someone who kept a secret from all of you, and still kind of is to an extent, I don't think it's out of malice. If anything, I think they're doing it to try and protect us. Or at least it looks like that. For all those two's faults, Weiss, I don't think they would do anything to try and hurt us. I think they're doing it to, in their own minds, try and help us. For what that's worth." Blake said to her, rubbing her thumb against the white-haired princess's hand to try and help calm her.
This got a small smile out of the Atlesian duelist. "That sounds just like those two. I just wish they would let us help them." Weiss admitted.
"I do too. However, if those two aren't going to be open on something, then we have to be careful. Whatever it is, it has to be big. Why don't we switch sisters and see if that doesn't work?" Blake asked her compatriot.
Weiss nodded. "It's as good of an idea as any other. I'll take Yang, you take Ruby." The Atlesian heiress replied as the two worked to finish their tea and coffee.
Later: Between Classes
Using her many years of experience, Blake swiftly made her way after the rosy reaper. She knew Weiss, while light on her feet, was not the stealthy type. Maybe in an Atlesian blizzard, but not in the halls of Beacon. Her feet practically glided across the ground, barely staying connected enough to call it a sound. Now the only thing she had to do was somehow trick Ruby's impeccable perception, as Weiss put it.
Ruby, meanwhile, happily hummed a little tune as she made her way to class. After today's initial incident, the hour lab of weapon maintenance cheered her up really quickly. Azura even let her help with his own weapons. It got her heart rate going just thinking about it. It took hold in her mind so much that suddenly, she felt herself run into something. Something that hit the floor hard.
"Oh, I'm so… Oh, it's just you." Ruby began to apologize, before the sight of Cardin on his ass and back filled her view.
"What do you mean 'it's just you'!? Is that any way to talk to someone you ran into, half-pint!?" Cardin growled out in anger, getting back up to his full height of over six and a half feet.
Ruby looked up; her face unfettered by fear as she gave a toothy smirk. "Honestly, with all that blubber you got there, I thought I'd at least slow down."
Cardin glared at the much shorter student at that. "It's not blubber, squirt! It's muscle!" Cardin replied before rolling his sleeve up and flexing his left arm with a smirk.
Blake frowned in concern for her team leader. 'Ruby, what are you doing…?' She thought.
Ruby, unfazed, lifted her right arm up and flexed. To the four boy's shock and horror, Ruby's flexing muscles caused her to rip her sleeve. Blake nearly keeled over in shock from that, not thinking that was possible as the uniforms were durable and fitted to one's body size. Even someone like Zhan or Azura would not be able to do that so easily. Ruby, however, simply shifted mass from one of her larger forms to perform that, the change hidden by her sleeve.
"Get that from the bargain bin, or was it great value?" Ruby asked cheekily.
Cardin growled in anger before smirking. "Dunno. You get that trick from your scar-faced freak of a boyfriend?" He sneered back.
Ruby's face darkened and she let out a growl, leaking a form of intent that sent shivers down everyone in the area's spines. "Say that again."
Cardin bit back a shiver and made his smirk grow, knowing that he got to her that time. "Did. You. Get. That. Trick. From. Your. Freak. Boyfriend? That clear enough for you, squirt, or do I need to speak in smaller words?" He shot back, appearing confident.
The cat-eared ninja girl was immediately worried, already seeing where this was going. 'I need to stop this before someone gets hurt!' She thought, rushing in.
What happened next, Blake did not know how that happened. She tried to rush in to put herself between the two, but Ruby brought her hand up and gripped Blake by her shoulder to stop her. At the same time, Ruby grabbed Cardin by his red regulation tie, and with a powerful yank, forced him to his knees in front of her.
"Call Azura a freak one more time and I'll give you scars on the level of his. Do. You. Understand. ME!?" Ruby growled gravely, Cardin practically seeing a fire in her silver eyes.
Cardin gulped and nodded, scared of the short girl for the first time since he had met her. Blake stood in shock at what just happened. Ruby went from kind, to snarky, to fearsome in the span of a few minutes. That was not normal. She for, but a moment, even thought it was inhuman.
"Good. Now take your flock of dodos and fly out of my sight." Ruby growled, letting go of Cardin's tie.
Dove nervously spoke up. "B-But dodos can't…" He began to say before Ruby cut him off.
"That can be arranged, then." Ruby answered, glaring at them fiercely.
Gulping, the four boys nodded and scrambled to leave, fearful of what the red rose reaper would do if they did not. Taking a deep breath, Ruby brushed her hands through her hair to calm herself down. Meanwhile, Blake gawked in awe and sheer disbelief at what she just saw.
"Are you all right, Blake? I didn't hurt you, did I?" Ruby asked, shifting her emotions to concern as she turned to look at her.
Blake shook her head. "N-No, I'm fine. I just… didn't expect that from you, Ruby." The ninja cat girl replied, trying to compose herself.
"I'm sorry you had to see that. But I don't like bullies, and I don't like people making fun of my friends. Besides, after how he's treated Velvet and Ember, I think he needed a dressing down." Ruby explained, emphasizing the last part.
Blake could not help but smile despite the situation. "'Dressing down'? You really are Yang's little sister." She joked a bit.
"What can I say? We are cut from the same cloth. Up for a snack? That made me work up an appetite." Ruby asked her monochromatic friend.
The cat eared Faunus nodded. "Sure. I could go for some tuna right now." She replied.
Meanwhile: In the Library
"I didn't expect you to actually want to go to the library, Yang. I'm glad to see you expanding your horizons on life." Weiss said as she walked alongside Yang as they entered the vast hall of literature.
"What can I say? I wanna see why you, Blake, and Azura love reading so much." The blonde pugilist replied as the two headed towards the massive Beacon library.
"It all comes down to genre and what you're interested in. Everyone has their hobbies. I have classical literature. Blake has smut romance. Azura has military history, cookbooks, romance, and action. Maybe you can get your sister into it?" Weiss explained, getting a hint theatrical with it as she unknowingly let out a bit of her passion.
"Actually, Ruby's a fairy tale fan. I never really got into them, but maybe I just haven't found the right ones." The blonde fighter replied as they stepped into the library and were left in shock at what they saw at the checkout desk.
"Thank you, Miss Appleton. I appreciate the assistance today." Azura said politely to the librarian, setting down his massive stack of books.
"Anything to help, young man." The middle-aged woman answered as she worked to check out the books.
"A-Azura…?" Yang asked in disbelief.
Azura was surprised at the sound of her voice and turned to look at the two girls. "Oh, hello Yang, Lady Weiss. I was just in the library looking for some light reading material." He replied with a polite smile.
"Not sure that quite fits the definition, but sure…" Yang muttered to herself as she looked over the massive stack.
"And I thought Blake and I were avid readers…" Weiss muttered in shock as she looked over the huge stack of books.
"Oh, I love reading. In fact, I used to spend hours in the clan's library at Daikojō castle in Tora Kuni. Actually, this library reminds me of the one back at Daikojō. Admittedly it is smaller, but the variety is superior." Azura admitted, adopting a thinking face.
"Moving on from your clan's frighteningly ridiculous money, I was wondering if you could help me find some reading material." Yang inquired of the azure samurai.
"I suppose I can do that. I have spent quite a bit of time here outside of training, classes, and spending time with all of you. Are you looking for anything in particular?" Azura replied in surprise, wanting to aid his friend in her new scholarly pursuits.
"Well, I'd like to learn some more about fairy tales, specifically if they have it about Beastmen. We got some myths about them on Patch that I want to look into." Yang explained simply, crossing her arms.
Azura's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, the fairy tale, mythology, and legends section! I love that part! I know just where to find what you are looking for!" The Blue Shōgun replied excitedly before turning to look at Miss Appleton, "Would you look at my books, please? I want to show my friends the way to that section and help them find what they are looking for."
"Of course, dear." Miss Appleton answered with a nod.
"Lead the way, big guy." Yang said, and soon they were off, with Weiss in tow.
For several minutes, they made their way through the library, passing shelf after shelf and section after section. Finally, they made it to the fairy tale, mythology, and legends section. The two girls looked in sheer disbelief at the number of books and shelves in the section. When they turned back to look at Azura, they saw Azura as excited as a kid in a candy store, which was a bit unnerving for the two girls.
"I had… no idea you were a mythology aficionado, Azura." Weiss added in disbelief as Azura led them through the section.
"I dabble. Aha! Here we are!" Azura exclaimed as he reached the part of the section that he knew was on Beastmen.
"I would say more than dabble." Yang said as Azura scampered up a nearby ladder like a monkey.
"Let's see now… hm… this one should be good… and this one… oh this one is a REALLY good one… and this one… and this one too…" Azura muttered, passing down book after book on Beastmen to the girls.
As he did so, Weiss noticed one that piqued her interest, and stashed it away for herself. Waiting for Azura to get into a big explanation of the books to Yang, she sat down and began to read a book called, "Beastmen: Truth behind the Myth."
'I do miss reading these books. It's been ages since I last got the chance. Getting ready for Beacon took away so much reading time. Now then, let's see if this one can help calm my nerves.' Weiss thought as she began to read.
At first, it was what she expected from the title. The ramblings of a Beastman hunter, swearing it is the gods' given truth that they are real, and has the evidence to back it up. The amount of these she had read was more than she would ever admit to anyone. Even a future husband. However, as she began to get into the meat of the arguments, many of the stable and frankly stale ones did not show. In fact, she had never seen them before.
"Beastmen in myths are renowned for their shapeshifting abilities and their ability to attune themselves with the environment to a degree no human or Faunus ever could. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that, if Beastmen have survived to the modern day, they either live in hostile, remote locations or hidden in plain sight." Weiss quietly read to herself. "In plain sight…"
Those three words beat in her head like a hammer. Continuing on, he continued with the fact that Aura and Semblances allowed them to further blend into modern society. Beastmen had enhanced, dare one say superhuman, physical capabilities and means of perception. With or without Aura. Weiss's mind then turned to Ruby, and the myriads of times she had done something that someone that the likes of Azura or Winter would struggle to pull off.
"That's… a coincidence. Ruby is not that out of the ordinary." Weiss muttered, shaking off her mind, swearing she was going crazy.
She kept reading, keeping her mind's crazier bits at bay, until she found another passage that caught her eye.
"Another major detail of the stories of Beastmen is their wild and shifting moods. They have little control over their emotions and get swept along by them for good or for ill. This especially is true in the heat of battle, as bloodlust and glory lust hit them into an unyielding frenzy… No. Surely not." Weiss said, as she laid back in her chair deep in thought, only now paying attention to what Azura and Yang were saying.
"There are an awful lot of myths about Beastmen pining over humans and Faunus, aren't there…?" Yang nervously said, flipping through several books on the topic.
Weiss's mind snapped on that topic. Her mind began to race and jump from point to point. It all was too coincidental. Wasn't it?
Later: In a Lounge Room
"Wow, Yang. I didn't think you got that into reading." Nora said, noticing Yang reading a large stack of books.
"What can I say, Nora? I'm broadening my horizons…" Yang replied as she kept reading.
"If it piques your interest, you can join our book club." Ember said, giving Yang an olive branch.
Yang thought about that for a moment. "Maybe. Let me see how much I get into it first." The blonde pugilist replied.
"Speaking of which, where is Ruby?" Weiss asked, looking about the room filled with the three teams, and not seeing her.
"She said she wanted to go out and get some fresh air." Yang replied, looking deeper into the book she was on.
"She's been doing a lot of that lately…" Weiss muttered.
"It's probably because of stress. She tends to like going outside and getting some exercise in nature when she gets stressed." The blonde fighter replied without thinking.
"She did have a run in with Cardin and his team earlier." Blake piped up, getting a concerned and curious reaction out of Azura, Weiss and Yang.
The three's eyes widened in surprise. "What happened?" Yang asked, visibly concerned as she looked up from her book.
"Well, she wasn't really paying attention and bowled Cardin over, almost like he wasn't even there. She only noticed after he hit the ground, flat on his back." Blake said.
Yang was nervous while Weiss and Blake had contemplative looks on their faces. "What happened after that…?" Azura asked, a concerned but inquisitive look on his face.
"After they had a bit of an exchange, Ruby got very snarky with him. I tried to get between them, but Ruby put out her hand to stop me and then forced Cardin to his knees by yanking his tie. At the same time." Blake explained, almost sounding like she thought she was crazy.
Most of the people in the room went wide eyed in disbelief as Azura's eyes widened in surprise. "She did what!?" Most of the others in the room exclaimed.
"Cardin insulted Azura by calling him a scarred freak and she just went off on him. She sent them packing after threatening to give Cardin the same number of scars as Azura." Blake explained, further shocking everyone while Azura sighed deeply.
"She should not be getting herself in trouble like that over me. Those kinds of words do not bother me anymore." The azure samurai replied.
As the larger group got talking, Yang slowly got up and began to leave. Only Azura really noticed and followed. Closing the door behind them, Azura caught up to Yang and stopped her by grabbing her shoulder.
"Is something wrong, Yang?" The Azure Shōgun asked in concern.
"I'm fine. I just have to find and scold Ruby for her behavior." Yang sighed out.
"I would not be too hard on her, Yang. You know better than anyone that Beastmen are not the best at emotional control." Azura replied to her, catching Yang completely by surprise.
Yang did not immediately respond. She stood there stunned like a deer in the headlights. A million things ran through her head. How, why, what, when. This reaction caught Azura off guard as well, expecting a more confrontational response, and responded accordingly.
"Do not worry, I have not told anyone. I figured you two would tell us when you felt ready to." The blue samurai reassured the golden pugilist.
"On your honor, you are going to swear you will not tell. Now!" Yang firmly demanded, stiffening her stance with a fire in her eyes.
"I swear to you, on my honor as a samurai, that I won't tell anyone." Azura told her, not intimidated.
"That includes your family and clan. And how did you find out? I knew I should have never asked about those books." Yang said, flustered.
"I already had my suspicions, Yang. You are asking about the books just confirmed them. After all, you forget that I dabble in fairy tales, mythology, and legends. I just decided to dive deeper into information about Beastmen after you asked about the books." Azura explained.
"Damn it…" Yang growled in frustration, knowing she failed her sister.
"Worry not, Yang. I will help you keep this a secret until you and Ruby are ready to tell someone. Three heads are better than two, after all." Azura told his blonde friend.
"Still feels like I failed my sister. I swore to mom and dad even. Fuck me, I'm the worst big sister ever…" Yang sighed in pure frustration.
"That could not be more untrue, Yang. Someone was going to find out eventually. The fact that you two managed to keep it a secret this long is more than impressive." The azure samurai told her in a slightly scolding tone.
"Alright, what do you want to know?" Yang asked.
"How can I help?" Azura asked, catching Yang off guard once again.
"What?" Yang asked in shock.
"How can I help? Do you need help with teaching Ruby to control it so that she can better hide her heritage?" The Blue Shōgun asked again.
"She's been having… difficulties and mishaps. More and more frequent ones, to be precise." Yang explained.
"The Wild Soul…" Azura muttered, a contemplative looks on his face.
"Come again?" Yang asked.
Azura took a deep breath. "As you know, Yang, Aura and Semblances are two aspects of the soul. Aura being its power while the Semblance represents a core part of it. However, what you most likely don't know is that there are four aspects of the soul, not just two." He began explaining.
"Avoiding the complicated bits, you're going to wax on poetically to me about, what's the Wild Soul and what does it have to do with Ruby?" Yang asked, raising her eyebrow.
"I will keep it brief. The Four Spiritual Aspects, known as the Four Aspects or the Mitama, are as follows: The Wild Soul, the Tranquil Soul or Calm Soul, The Fortunate Soul, and the Wise Soul. Each aspect represents a different side of a person's soul and a different part of their powers. The Wise Soul represents the Semblance and Element of Earth, the Tranquil Soul the Aura and Element of Wind, and the Fortunate Soul represents Martial Prowess and the Element of Water. The one that is most relevant to this conversation is the Wild Soul, which represents aggression, violence, instinct, passion, and the Element of Fire. This power is represented by something you have already seen in action once before…" Azura explained before trailing off to let Yang figure it out as her eyes widened in surprise.
"So, the Wild Soul is connected to your Animal Spirit?" Yang asked.
Azura nodded. "Exactly. The Animal Spirit is the Wild Soul given form and is represented by a power known as the Beast Aura." The blue samurai told her.
"So why is Ruby having trouble then?" Yang asked.
"With how Beastmen are, it makes sense that the Wild Soul and Fortunate Soul, being the ones most heavily connected to emotion, would be the ones most difficult for them to control. Especially if she is rejecting her Wild Soul and Animal Spirit." Azura explained.
"Mother…" Yang muttered as something hit her in revelation.
Azura raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" The blue samurai asked her.
"We need to find her now." Yang said simply, beginning to walk off.
"Did I miss something?" Azura asked, beginning to follow her.
"No, but we need to find her and reign her in." Yang sternly said.
Before Azura could say anything else, Russel was sent flying down a hallway in front of them, crashing into the wall and cracking it on impact before sliding down it. The two stared in shock for a moment before Azura turned to look back at Yang.
"I… think we found her…" He simply said.
"Did anyone see where that bitch went?" Russel asked in a dizzy tone.
Azura simply glared at the dazed bully and kicked him in the groin. As he squealed in pain, Azura then looked to his friend. "Come on! We need to find her before she seriously hurts someone!" He told the blonde, running down the hallway Russel flew in from with the blonde pugilist in tow.
"So, what was that about all that muscle earlier, Cardin? Because all I'm seeing is a coward sending his lackeys to do his dirty work!" A familiar feminine voice called out.
"What the hell are you!?" A familiar, more masculine voice called out in a panic.
"Ruby!!!" Yang yelled out as they rushed onto the scene.
They arrived to see the remaining three less than bright gentlemen against a wall, with a pissed off Ruby somewhat cornering them. Cardin and company almost looked relieved to see the two, even if Cardin knew that they were not there to save them.
"Ruby… calm. Down." Yang said to her baby sister.
"I'm not gonna let these guys insult my friends." Ruby growled.
"Ruby, please. Just try to relax. They are not worth it." Azura told her, trying to calm his friend down.
"That's what everyone says. People like him aren't worth it. Yet they get off Scot free and never shut up. And never learn their lesson." Ruby growled angrily.
"What did you guys do to piss her off?" Yang asked them, surprisingly genuinely.
"I-I just said that maybe Azura would be safer and better off as a freakshow strongman than a Huntsman…" Cardin nervously said.
"... Well, as bad as that is, I've heard worse…" Azura muttered.
"Ruby. Drop this before the teachers get involved. You promised Dad and Mom that you wouldn't' cause trouble or hurt…" Yang said before Ruby cut her off.
"Do not bring Mom into this!" Ruby yelled angrily.
Azura slowly, carefully began to approach Ruby, causing Yang and the remains of Team CRDL to look at him like he was insane. "Ruby… please. Calm down. Do not do this over someone like me." He told her, trying to not agitate Ruby as he attempted to get in close.
"Why are you just going to let them insult you over and over!? It's not right!" Ruby yelled; her voice accented with sadness through her anger.
"Because, as much as it hurts, it does not hurt any more than it has every other day of my life. Being treated like a freak or a snob just for being strong… for being skilled… for just not being normal, even by Zodiac standards. I've long since gotten used to it. It does not bother me anymore because what they say does not matter to me. What does matter is what all of you, my friends, say and think of me." Azura explained.
To everyone's shock, Ruby just stood there in shock, frozen. Cardin and his crew used this to leave, and no one stopped them. Slowly Ruby's head fell, dejected, and confused. Slowly tears began to form on the edges of her eyes.
"It's not right… that's not right…" Ruby said, trying to hold back tears.
Azura walked up to Ruby and gently pulled her into a hug. "I know, Ruby. I know. But that is just the way the world is right now. People envy, fear, and hate what they do not understand. They despise people who have what they do not. All we can do is work to try to change it…" The azure samurai told her, gently rubbing her back.
At that, Yang wrapped the two of them in a hug and Ruby, the days of stress, running around, and the recent events finally got to her. She sank into the hug and slowly cried, and both Yang and Azura held her in that hug. No one said a word for some time because none were needed. However, off in the distance as this scene unfolded, Cardin suddenly had a thought, and smirked. While his team remained confused, that did not matter to Cardin. Pulling out his scroll he typed in an odd area code number and waited for someone to pick him up.
"Hey, Tony. Yeah, long time no see. I was wondering if you could get me a few particular items. Let's just say I got myself a big fish to catch." Cardin said, holding back a chuckle as he spoke into his scroll.