The Other Daughter

Chapter 15

Ruby gasped. "What? But that's-"

"Wrong?" The blonde nodded solemnly, breaking eye contact. "Yeah, I know. It may have taken me too long to realize that, but a few days ago, something finally woke me up." Yang fished around in a pocket and whisked out the weathered locket her mother had given her. She passed the item to Ruby, who gently accepted it and clicked open the clasp. While Ruby gazed at the old photos inside, Yang continued her explanation. "I found out that I had more family out there somewhere than just my mother and her brother who defected from the tribe years ago. I also had a father named Taiyang, and a younger half-sister."

Ruby swallowed hard as their eyes met. "Me."

The sisters snapped out of a moment of heavy silence when Weiss and Blake emerged from the bathroom, staring wordlessly at their teammates. They'd already put on fresh clothes, but hadn't dared to walk out into the main room, probably for fear of interrupting whatever they thought was going on.

"Oh!" Ruby piped up, copping a nervous smile. "Weiss! Blake! We were just, um..."

"Talking." Yang finished for her, bounding up from the bed and walking to one of the dressers where she'd stored some of her belongings.

"So you two aren't mad at each other anymore?" Blake inquired, adjusting her black bow.

Weiss absently picked at her nails, but her ears perked up, betraying her interest in the answer to Blake's question.

"Mad?" Ruby scoffed and waved off Blake's concern, letting out a weak laugh. "Who was mad? We just, um..." Giving up the ruse, she sighed. "Okay, so maybe we needed to clear the air about some stuff. But we're fine now."

Yang flinched. She was happy to hear those words, but hoped Ruby actually meant them and wasn't just trying to defuse the awkwardness in the room.

"Right, Yang?" her sister's small voice prompted.

Turning to Ruby, Yang decided to trust her and returned her smile. "Yeah."

Ruby wasn't Raven. She wasn't Oz. She was just a simple, innocent little girl wrapped up in schemes she had no clue about. She was every bit as much a victim of circumstance as Yang was, if not more. If anyone deserved the benefit of the doubt, it was her. Still, Yang felt a tinge of doubt tickling the back of her mind that she couldn't quite shake.

Killing the warmth of the moment, Weiss cocked a hip and sighed in exasperation.

"Well, if you two are done bickeri-" at the sight of Ruby's mouth opening to correct her, the young Schnee amended her statement, "-clearing the air, then I'd like to go and find something to eat before it gets too late."

Blake shrugged. "I'll come with you," she said.

Yang rolled her eyes. She'd have to get along with Weiss eventually, somehow. Best to get an early start at trying to figure this infuriating creature out. "Me too," she forced out with veiled insincerity. Weiss blinked twice, staring at Yang with obvious surprise.

"O-okay then," the young Schnee announced triumphantly, turning on her heel toward the door to the hallway. "Let's move, team!"

Narrowing her eyes, Yang said, "You're not the team leader, you know." She didn't need to see Weiss's face to know it was contorting in distaste. She may have had to learn to work with her, but that didn't mean she couldn't take pleasure in getting under her skin from time to time.

"W-whatever!" Weiss retorted. "Let's just go."

Ruby pumped a fist in the air. "Yeah! Team RWBY's first mission!"