Yo Everyoooooone! It's Stormy here. And welcome back to another chapter of RWBYK: Tale of the True King! Now the chapter you've all be waiting for...The Beacon Dance! (Wink)So anyway, let's get started.
XXXXXXX
(The Next Day, Main Hall)
Ruby was currently resting her head on her hand and staring into the distance with a glumly look in her face before she was startled by someone slamming their palms on the table she sat at.
"I need you to pick a tablecloth." Weiss smiled while sliding two squares over to her partner, which both are a similar shade of white.
"Aren't they both the same?" Ruby asked in confusion.
"I don't even know why I asked!" Weiss sighed in frustration before walking over to Aptus. "Aptus, what do you think?"
Said Faunus stops moving the tables for a moment to look at the tablecloths. He leaned in a bit closer to compare the two. "Mmm...Try the left one. Seems more suitable for the dance."
"At least someone knows true fashion." Weiss smiled before she walked off as Yang comes in carrying a massive sound speaker on her shoulder, which bounces her sister and the table she's moping on again to jump in the air when she drops it on the ground.
She then brushed her hands a she walked over to Ruby. "So, have you picked out a dress yet?" Yang asked Ruby.
"What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" Ruby sighed.
"Aww, don't be like that Rosebud!" Ky said as he was adjusting the left side banner for the Beacon dance. "Besides, I'm sure you'll look stunning in your dress."
Ruby's face instantly flared up as she heard this and looked at the boy with wide eyes. "Wha--?! Wh-Wh-Where did that come from?!" She stuttered.
Ky laughed at the girl's priceless expression. "I was just thinking about it. Because.... you know. I always see you in that combat skirt of yours, with your scythe behind your waist. So, it is kind of nice to see you act like a.... Well, a normal girl."
"Hey, you're always in that combat attire of yours with your key-blades strapped behind your back, mind you." Ruby retorted. "Plus, we are in a school to be trained on how to fight Grimm. So... You get what I mean."
"See? Even your crush thinks so~" Yang teased lowly, causing Ruby's face to go completely red.
"Yang!"
"Plus, don't worry about Blake. She's going." Yang reassured before looking up at Ky. "How's it looking, charmer?"
"Almost done." Ky said while carefully adjusting the banner. "How's this?"
"Hmm..." Yang squints at Ky's end of the banner before gesturing her finger, meaning to lower it a bit more. Ky lowered it slowly, but stops once Yang held a thumbs up. "Perfect!"
"All that's left are the tablecloths, balloons, and lights." Aptus listed as Ky climbed back down from the ladder.
"Sweet!" Yang nodded before she looked over at Weiss. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No doilies!" Yang shouted with a exaperated look.
"If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" Weiss argued, but their argument stops once the girls hear the door opening. They look over to see Sun and Neptune walking in.
"The dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked.
"We were thinking about it..." Weiss said, now sweet all of a sudden.
"That's pretty cool." Neptune said grinning, Sun slides up next to him.
"You ladies all excited for dress-up?" Sun asked.
"Pfft Yeah right." Ruby scoffed in denial. Wearing a actual dress was not her style.
"Laugh all you want." Yang smirked with a proud look. "I'll be turning heads tomorrow night!"
"So, what are you two wearing?" Weiss asked.
"Uhh... This?" Sun awkwardly pointed at himself, referring to his usual outfit.
"Ignore him." Neptune said, placing a hand over Sun's mouth. "For he knows not what he says."
Sun immediately remove Neptune's hand so he can say- "Hey, I may move to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo." He stated. "It ain't a real shirt and tie kind of place."
Yang begins mirroring Ruby's and Weiss' looks of being told something extremely obvious. "We've noticed." the blonde said.
Weiss then looked over at the other two boys. "What about you guys?" She asked.
"We got our suits this morning. I got something that's screams both casual and 'Damn, I'm hot!'" Ky said with a proud grin.
"Yeah, what he said." Aptus snickered.
"So what does Blake think about all of this?" Sun asked. "Is she still... well... Blakey?"
"Of course she is." Weiss sighed.
"I still can't think of a way to change her mind." Ruby pouted.
"Well, I've got two backup plans in case Yang's goes south." Ky said, getting everyone's attention.
"Backup plans...?" Ruby asked.
"Yep. This is how Plan B could go..." Ky began.
-Ky's Plan-
Blake sat at one of the library tables with a holographic screen in front of her. She is obviously more sleep-deprived than ever, barely focusing on what she's seeing... until a small, bright red light appeared on the screen. Moving up and down, Blake's eyes followed it down to her hand, then disappeared entirely. She looked behind herself, obviously irritated, but no one walking among the tables is her culprit.
Turning back to the computer, she starts typing on the beeping keyboard before the laser dot appeared on her hand briefly, prompting her to look around again and still find no one. The red point shows up on the screen, moving around in circles until Blake scowled and pounded her fists on the table. She stands up from her chair and finds the light on the floor, following it blindly through shelves of books until both the dot and its pursuer turn the corner... and was hit upside the head by a heavy object, effectively knocking her out.
As she started to fall, a brown, body-sized burlap sack was thrown onto her, encasing her unconscious body. Ky grinned as he closed the sack and throws his fists the air, as an unseen crowd cheers.
(Beacon Academy Ballroom)
"-And that's how we'll get Shadow-Cat to go to the dance." Ky finished.
"...I'm really starting to question your sanity." Weiss finally spoke with a blank look.
"What? It's simple, straight-forward and efficient!" Ky defended.
"Well, what was Plan C?" Sun asked.
"Depends....know where I can find some cat-nip?"
"..."
"..."
"Don't worry, guys." Everyone turned to Yang after the blonde spoke up. "Blake will come to the dance tomorrow night."
"Mind if I tag along?" Aptus asked. "Maybe I could help out with getting through to her.
"Yeah, sure!"
With that, The duo made their way out of the ballroom.
Solemnly, Ruby rested her head in on her hand again and looked down at the table.
Seeing how sad Ruby was by the whole thing, Ky was determined to get that smile he came to adore on her face. On impulse, he went over to the girl.
"Hey, Rosebud."
"Hey." She smiled a little, her heart rising as it did in his presence.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Ap and Yang are going to get her to come." Ky assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Ruby looked to him, appreciative that he understood this. "I hope so. I want all my friends to come to the dance."
Ky then took a deep breath. "Well in that case, I was wondering if maybe you would like to...go to the dance...with me...tomorrow...night" he said. Ruby's silver eyes widened in shock, her mouth hung open and she couldn't utter a word, only a few short breaths were heard as she was trying to calm her mind. She shook her head side to side.
"Y-Y-You want to go to the dance" she asked, Ky blushed lightly, but nodded affirmative. "With me?" she asked, a blush surfacing on her face as well.
"Yeah. What do you say?" Ky asked, his dual-colored orbs holding a slight hopefulness in them, but he knew not to set his expectations too high in case he got shot down. When she didn't reply, Ky turned to leave.
"I'll give you some time to answer..." he was turning away, but was caught off guard when Ruby suddenly shot of her chair, grabbed his arm and squeaked out a "YES!"
Ky turned back around to face his female friend. "Huh?" he asked. Ruby blushed heavily and a shy smile tugged on her facial muscles and she nodded.
"Yes, I will go to the dance with you, Ky." she said. The blunette's brain suddenly fried as he stared at the girl before him. His toothy grin formed on his face before he grabbed Ruby and happily spun her around, much to her surprise.
"You said yes, you said yes!" he grabbed her was jumping up and down. Ruby blushed at the close proximity between their bodies, but couldn't help but laugh at the actions of the blue-haired teen. Ky twirled her around before kissing her on the cheek. He then set her down.
"So six o' clock in the courtyard statue?" he asked. Ruby was shell shocked, but managed a nod.
Ky smiled cheekily before back flipping away and then took off out of the ballroom. Ruby touched her cheek as her silver eyes stared at the area where Ky disappeared.
'I'm going to the dance...with Ky' she smiled as a thought of them talking together and enjoying each other's company crossed her mind.
Ruby then turned and jumped slightly when she saw the others staring at her. "W-What?" asked timidly.
"What's going on between you and Ky?" Weiss asked. Ruby poked her fingers together shyly.
"H-He...He asked me to the dance and I said 'yes'." The group's eyes widened this.
"WHAT!?"
(With Blake)
Just like in Ky's plan, Blake was in the library, sleep-deprived, and barely focused. And just like Ky's plan, there was a red dot that irritated Blake, causing her to chase after it. Only unlike the plan plan, there was no burlap sack and no knocking out. No, instead Blake bumped into Yang
"He-lloooo!" Yang said in a sing-song voice, waving her left hand as her right held the laser pointer.
"What are you...?" Blake questioned.
"We need to talk." Yang said, grabbing Blake's arm and whisking her away.
(With Jaune and Ren)
Emerging from the steaming bathroom in nothing but a pink towel wrapped around his lower body, Ren sighed in contentedness and started walking away, only to be stopped by Jaune suddenly appearing in front of him.
"We need to talk!" Jaune said. And with that, amid Ren's single cry of surprise, Jaune pulled his teammate away, leaving his bottle of "Samurai Shampoo" to drop onto the ground.
(With Ky)
Ky was now seen strutting down the hallway singing to himself with a huge smile on his face
Then you're left in the dust
Unless I stuck by ya
You're a sunflower
I think your love would be too much
Or you'll be left in the dust
Unless I stuck by ya
You're the sunflower
You're the sunflo-
He was then interrupted when Jaune suddenly appears in front of him
"Can we guys talk for a sec?" The blonde asked, not giving Ky time to repsond as he pulled off the teen off the scene.
-Team JNPR Dorm Room-
Ky soon found himself sitting next near Ren, who was still in his towel. He gave the bluenette a wave as he sat near him. Nora did too as she was seen sitting on her bed.
"Ren...Ky... I'm just gonna say it. You two my best of friends. These past few months, I feel like we've really bonded, even though you don't say much, Ren. I mean, you're really quiet. And Ky, you're really unpredictable and confident at times,To be perfectly honest, I don't know that much about you, personally, but darnit, I consider you guys to be the brothers I never had!" Jaune said.
Ky only blinked. Jaune still didn't notice Ren is still only wearing his towel and looking extremely uncomfortable, but both still nodded and smiled to Jaune when he finished speaking.
"And us you." The duo said, with Ren nodding and smiling despite appearing extremely uncomfortable. He tried to be attentive from then on, but kept glancing at his usual outfit hanging by the door.
"Which is why I wanted to get your advice on... girls." Jaune said.
"Girls?" Ky and Ren said, sounding surprised, but the latter started reaching out for his clothes while Jaune was looking away.
"I just... don't know... how to... girls. Um, I-I guess what I'm asking is... Well, how did you and Nora... y'know..." Jaune asked.
"Uh... uh... uh..." Ren said awkwardly, a bright red blush on his face.
"We're actually not "together-together"..." Nora said, laughing nervously. Like Ren, she had an equally bright red blush on her face.
"Really?" Ky said in surprise. "I always thought you two hit it off well."
"NORA I SAID HEADPHONES ON! !" Jaune exclaimed. Nora did so quickly under her leader's demand with a yelp.
"What about you Ky?" Jaune asked, turning to face the bluenette. "You seem like the type of guys girls would fall for. How do you do it?"
"Uhh..." Ky scratched his head. "Honestly, I'm not sure myself. I've never even had a girlfriend before..."
"Wait what!?" Jaune said in shock.
"I mean it's not something I have sleepless nights over..." Ky told him. "Sure, I've had a few crushes here and there, but nothing to serious..."
"That is, until you met Ruby, right?"
The trio looked over at Nora with a knowing smile on her face
"Oh..." Ky muttered as his face turned red. "Well... I..." He stuttered before sighing resignedly, "Have you always known?"
The orange-haired shrugged, "I suspected it for a while, honestly. I'd say the only person who didn't know was Ruby herself." Nora stated. "Plus, I've seen how you look at her, even if it's only slight glances."
"That obvious huh?" Another shrug, though Ky detected amusement in the wide eyes. "She really is something..." Hr then mused, staring up at the ceiling. "Determined, cheerful, pleasant, beautiful... she's the best person I've ever come across, truth be told." The bluenette chuckled, mind now elsewhere again.
The others meanwhile were staring in shock at the confession. Sure it was clear in both teams that Ky and Ruby had special feelings for one another, but they admired how bluntly Ky was being about it to them. The dropped mouth closed and was then replaced by a geniune smile, pleased that one of them was at least being honest about their feelings. Perhaps, hopefully soon, their feelings will be fully realized to each other.
"Is that so?" Nora spoke with a smile.
Ky looked to the side and blinked at the happy smile Nora was giving to him. Then he thought back to what he just said out loud and inwardly cursed himself, but outwardly showed an expression of confusion, "Aren't you going to laugh at me or something?"
Nora shook her head in reply, "Nope."
Ky blinked again. "Not even a giggle?"
"Nope."
"No teasing?"
"Third time's the charm."
The blue-haired boy sighed loudly and rubbed a hand through his hair. "I have no idea where these feelings came from. All I know is Ruby means everything to me, and I would do anything to protect her smile. That's why I'm taking her to the dance and hopefully tell her how I feel."
Jaune and Ren both smiled at Ky's words, while Nora was basically fangirling. "The ship is sailing!" She cheered. "Go on, go get ready!"
"Huh? But Jaune said he wanted to talk..." Ky tried to protest, but the blond cut him off.
"It's fine, Ky. I think I got what I wanted." Jaune assured him. "Ruby's lucky to have someone like you in her life."
Ky grinned at that. "Thanks, buddy." He then stood up."Well, I'll see you guys later!"
"Go get her, tiger!" Nora called out, getting a laugh in return as Ky left the room.
"That reminds me..." Ren began as he faced his leader. "What made you bring this topic up, Jaune?"
The blond's smile dropped as he sighed deeply. "Oh, that..." He muttered, obviously depressed by staring at the floor as he talked. "It's Weiss. I'm completely head-over-heels for her, and she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but she's also incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented. I mean, have you heard her sing? I-I just wish she's take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up."
"Then do it." Jaune looks up to see Pyrrha in the doorway, with Ren and Nora doing the same.
"Uh, wha?" He asked.
"Tell her exactly what you said." Pyrrha said. "No ridiculous schemes, no pick-up lines. Just... be honest."
"But what if I-" Jaune started.
"Jaune." Pyrrha interrupted. "You can't get it wrong if it's the truth." She then pointing at her chest, where her heart is. "...As long as it comes from here."
Jaune place a hand where his heart was. "May my heart be my guiding key..." He muttered as he looked down for a moment before he looks up with a new confidence.
"You're right. Thanks, Pyrrha!" Jaune said as he stood up, but looks back to his bed as he goes out. "Good talk, Ren!"
Ren smiles and waves his thanks while Jaune closes the door.
Upon doing so, Pyrrha became noticeably less cheerful as she walks over to her desk, with a concerned Nora watching her with sad eyes.
"Practice what you preach, Pyrrha." Nora sighed.
XXXXXXX
(With Yang and Blake)
Yang continued to drag Blake, who keeps trying to break free from Yang's grasp, until they reach an empty classroom with orange light shining at the central desk. Yang then releases her grip on Blake, who begins to rub her arm.
"What do you think you're doing?!" She demanded.
Suddenly Blake hears the door behind her slam. She looks back to see Aptus with a small smirk on his face. His hand was on the door, implying she shut it.
"Sup, B." He casually greeted her.
"Aptus? What are you- What a minute. You're with Yang on this?" Blake said, putting to and to together.
Aptus gives off a playful shrug as he walks to Yang and Blake. Yang sat cross-legged on the central desk of the classroom they're in, orange light shining across her calm features.
"Yup." The fox Faunus confirmed. "When Yang said she had a plan for you, I found out I could help."
Yang shrugged. "He helped you before, so I figured he could now."
"If you two are going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breath." Blake sighed.
"We don't want you to stop; We want you to slow down." Aptus merely said.
"We don't have the luxury to slow down," Blake insisted.
"It's not a luxury; it's a necessity," Yang replied.
"The "necessity" is stopping Torchwick." Blake said in annoyance.
"And we're going to." Yang reassured as she pats the part of the desk across from her. "But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say."
Seeing how hesitant Blake seemed, Aptus added. "C'mon, Blake. If you hear us out a for a sec, I'll buy you some tuna later."
Blake looked away for a moment until she relented and sat down. "Fine."
Yang nodded happily upon hearing that before she began to speak. "Ruby and I grew up on an island just off the coast of Vale called Patch," she told them. "Both of our parents were huntsmen, but while our dad mainly taught at Signal, our mom would take on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was like...Super-Mom. Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters."
"Yeah, Ky told me about her. She does sound like the perfect mother for you two, or at the very least for Ruby." Aptus chuckled lightly, and Blake could not help but smile in agreement. At least until she realized that Yang was referring to the woman in past tense.
Only Aptus was brave enough to ask the question though. "So...what happened to her?"
"The job. One day she left for a mission and never came back," Yang sighed sadly, earning her sympathetic looks from her two friends. "Dealing with it was tough for everyone. Ruby was really torn up, but I think she was still too young to really understand what was going on, ya know? My dad on the other hand just kind of...shut down."
"Poor guy," Aptus muttered. "I can't even imagine going through that pain."
"Well, there was actually another reason besides just losing Summer and it wasn't long before I finally found out why. Summer wasn't the first love he'd lost; she was the second, and the first...was my mom," Yang revealed, surprising the the duo quite a bit.
"Your mom?" Aptus repeated. "What happened after you found out?"
"Well, dad wouldn't really tell me all that much," Yang said. "But I did learn that the two of them had been on a team with Summer, Qrow, along with two other team leaders named Aqua and Noctis, three of the best teams to ever graduate from Beacon at that, and that she had left me with my dad just after I was born. No one had seen her since."
Aptus looked shocked at what he just heard. Ky's mom was on the same team as Ruby and Yang's moms? Did Ky or Ruby even know about this? Shaking these thoughts out of his head for know, he turned back to Yang. "Did you at least learn what her name is?" Aptus asked.
"Yeah...Her name is Raven."
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that she and Qrow are related," Aptus lightly joked, not knowing how right he was until Yang spoke up again.
"They are. Raven's the older twin sister of Qrow," Yang revealed. "Not that it really got him to tell me very much about her. I think he might have been almost as upset by her leaving as my dad and, Summer were. I'm sure Aqua was too."
"Why did she leave you all?" Blake then asked.
That drew a sad sigh from Yang as she glanced away from both of them. Clearly they had now stirred up some less pleasant memories for her. "That question...Why," Yang recalled, still soldiering on with her tale despite the sadness it brought her. "I didn't know the answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I ever thought about for the longest time, and it drove me to ask anybody I could what they knew about her.
Flashback Start
As the reminiscent blonde started drawing on the board, the scene shifted to a young Yang, with orange bows holding her dirty blonde pigtails, looking at the photo found in a smashed picture frame.
"Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother." Yang said.
The image transitioned to show Yang walking down a long winding path through the towering trees shedding their leaves with a little creaking wagon pulled right behind her, a little sister in a crimson hood sleeping soundly inside.
"I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes..."
In the shadows of the worn-down house the siblings had arrived at, beastly red shapes glowed from the darkness.
"The Grimm..." Aptus said in realization.
"Yeah." Yang confirmed his guess, and continued from there. "So, there we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle showed up just in time."
As the Beowolves leapt into the air to devour their young prey, the familiar sound of a sniper-scythe followed the sight of them all being cut inot pieces by a caped warrior. His bird-haired silhouetted as an image of a clockwork eye appeared behind him.
Flashback End
As Yang finished her story, the same symbol that she saw as a child was now drawn on the chalkboard, a clockwork eye.
"My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night had he not been there, and I was just glad that he had shown up when he did." Yang said with a sigh.
Hearing Yang's story, the duo could not help but sympathize with her to various extents. If anyone else had gone through that, they probably would have wanted to do anything and everything they could to stay clear of the Grimm, and yet, Yang still chose to be a huntress so that she could fight and kill the monsters that had nearly killed both her and her sister. On the topic of Ruby, the story also explained why Yang was so close and protective of her. Any half decent older sibling would be after they put their younger sister or brother in danger like that, and Yang certainly seemed to regret her actions from back then quite a bit now. Knowing all of this made Aptus's respect for Yang grow stronger than ever, but it did not seem to do too much in convincing Blake of anything.
"Yang, I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me," Blake started off, but Yang could tell that her partner was not really getting the reason why she told her all of that even before she had gotten halfway through her statement. "But this is different! I'm not a child! And this isn't just on a search for answers. Neither I can just..."
"Didn't you HEAR Aptus? We're not telling you to stop," Yang interrupted. "I haven't. Even to this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother, and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me."
"We're all going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake." Aptus spoke. "But if we destroy ourselves in the process, then what good are we?"
"You don't understand," Blake nearly shouted. "I'm the only one that can do this!"
Aptus was about to remind her that both her team and himself were also doing something about said criminal, when Yang beat him to it. "No, YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" she angrily yelled, finally spinning around to face the room again with her eyes now turned red. "If Roman Torchwick walked through that door, what would you do?"
"I'd fight him!" Blake instantly answered.
"You'd lose," Yang corrected, pushing Blake a bit to better emphasize her point.
"I can stop him!" Blake pushed back, much more feebly, and even she knew it.
"You can't even stop me!" Yang countered as she pushed Blake again, this time hard enough for the cat-girl to fall over on the bed. Despite her tired state, Blake still managed to get back up again, even as Yang slowly closed in on her, making Aptus think that she was going to start throwing punches now, until Yang surprised them both by wrapping her partner in a tight hug.
"I'm not asking you to stop," Yang quietly repeated once again, her eyes changing back to their normal color again. "Just please, get some rest at the very least. Not just for you, but for the people you care about, and the people you care about."
Blake can calmly say "I just don't want more people to get hurt..."
Hearing that reminded Aptus of the pain he didn't want Ky to suffer, because he didn't know what happened to his father. He then turned away and looked down at the ground. "I can relate to that."
Both girls turned to look at him surprised when they heard that. "What do you mean?" Yang asked.
"First, there's something I need to tell you about the woman and man you mentioned in your story, Aqua and Noctis..." Aptus said as he looked over at the duo. "Did you know their last name by any chance?"
"Huh?" Yang looked confused at that. "Well, no. I only knew their first names. Why do you ask?"
"Well, you see...their full name were Noctis Lucis Caleum and Aqua Virtus, and they was Ky's parents."
At that moment, Yang and Blake both looked at Aptus completely shocked at what he said. "What? Are you serious?" Blake spoke.
"Trust me, I'm just as shocked as you are." Aptus assured her. "That's why when you said their name, I put to and to together."
"I can't believe this..." Yang muttered. "Our families knew each other all this time. Heh, I guess that's why we got along so well." That's when a thought hit her. "Wait, what you said Noctis' last name was Lucis Caelum. Then does that mean..."
"That's what I wanted to talk to guys about." Aptus revealed, rubbing his forehead. "Apparently, yeah. Ky's dad was from Lucis as well."
That got the girls' attention. "Did something happened to him?" Blake asked.
"I'm not sure." Aptus replied. "When Ky and I were young, Noctis was like a father to me in so many ways. I lost my parents a while back, so having him treat me as if I was his own son felt great." He stopped for a moment and looked up at the ceiling. "Then one day, a month or so before Ky's 7th brithday, Noctis left and never came back. Like Ruby, Ky was too young to understand what happened around that point. I guess Ms. Aqua knew the reason, but didn't want to tell Ky at the time. I'm sure you can imagine how heartbroken he was..."
Yang and Blake looked down in sympathy for their blue-haired teammate/friend.
"So several months after the 'Fall of Esuna Town' and we resided in Twilight Town, I wanted to help Ky find his father anyway that I could. Escpecially, after he just lost his mom. One day, we went out and tried to find any info on Xander's whereabouts. Can you believe that? Two kids who barely surived the attack of their home and didn't know a thing about the world, snuck out on a wild goose chase just for information."
'Just like me...' Yang thought to herself with a surprised and sad look on her face at the story.
"Like Yang, we journeyed out to a remote area, only we were unexpectedly attacked by a group of thugs." Aptus told them. "We tried to fight back, but only ended up getting our asses kicked quickly. The situation could've turned out worst, if it wasn't for Leon and the others coming to our aid."
"I'm sorry to hear that." Blake said. "It must've been hard for both of you."
"It was." Aptus agreed. "Though that didn't stop me from looking. When Ky first arrive here in Beacon, Leon and the others told me where Noctis went. It was the night before you Initation."
"You guys never told him, have you?" Yang asked, getting a headshake in return.
"I couldn't." Aptus said as he held up two fingers. "If I did, he would've tried to go after Noctis himself. Not only that, he probably would've left Beacon and you guys too. After hearing how much he talked about you guys, especially Ruby, I couldn't bring myself to say a word."
The girls smiled thoughtfully at Aptus' words. "The point I'm trying to make, Blake is this.." Aptus spoke again. "With how you are right now, you won't have enough strength to go after the White Fang or even that Torchwick guy. Please, all that we're asking is for you to take things slow. Please? Do it for all of us. We'll be ready for him when the time comes." He then tapped the side of his head. "Got it memorized?"
Blake's eyes widen in surprise at the fox faunus' advice. Though hearing him say that catchphrase again, causeed her cheeks to puff up before letting out a soft laugh while placing a hand over mouth.
"Huh? What? Did I say something funny?" Aptus asked, raising a brow in confusion.
"No. It's just that I wasn't expecting to hear that catchphrase of yours after being so serious." Blake laughed. This surprises both Aptus and Yang as Blake's laugh is usually sarcastic or moody. But this laugh was rather different as it's more lighthearted and genuine.
"Well at least she's happy." Yang said with a smile before she and Aptus felt two arms wrapping around them. They look down to see Blake hugging them.
"Thanks you two." Blake smiled.
"Does this mean you're going to the dance?" Aptus asked as he and Yang returns the hug, only to get a simple nod from the cat faunus as she releases the hug before walking away.
"I'll save you a dance!" Yang called out to her.
"Sure. Oh, and Aptus..." Blake said one she stopped at the entrance.
"Yeah?" Aptus asked while the girl looks back at him.
"Don't worry, I got it very memorized." Blake said, tapping the side of her head.
"Atta girl." Aptus said with a toothy grin, causing Blake to smile as she left the room.
"Welp, I guess our work here is done," He was about to leave himself, when Yang called out to him.
"Hey Foxy."
Hearing the familiar nickname, Aptus turned to look at her. "Yeah?"
"You got a date for the dance yet?" Yang asked, walking over to him.
Aptus titled his head at that. "Uhh, no. I don't really know anyone here, so I was going solo. Why do you ask?"
The blond merely walked passed the faunus before looking over her shoulder towards him with a smile. "Save me a dance, okay?" With that, she winked at him and walked away, swaying her hips.
Watching the blond beauty leave the room, the fox faunus gaped at what she said. "...What just happened?" He asked outloud.
XXXXXXX
Quad
Jaune is walking outside with a white flower in his hand, thinking about Pyrrha's advice as he's ready to ask Weiss out.
"Neptune!" Her voice caught the leader of Team JNPR off guard as he quickly hides behind the column as Weiss walk over to the light-blue haired teen.
"Hey Weiss." Neptune waved. "Need something?"
"Actually, I'm here to see you too." Weiss said, placing her hands behind her back, trying to look innocent. "I know this is a little unorthodox, but... I wanted to ask you something. Would you... like to accompany me to the dance tomorrow?"
While Neptune rubbed the back of his head and smiled with raised eyebrows, Jaune loses all of his confidence and drops the rose on the ground before walking back from where he came from.
XXXXXXXX
The following time had passed in a blur before everyone knew it, the night of the dance had arrived. Everyone prepared for the evening that was sure to be one they'd remember.
Ruby was currenly waiting by courtyard statue like Ky had asked, waiting for said bluenette to arrive. She was now decked out in a short, red, sleeveless dress with a thick black sash around her waist and black trim around the dress's bottom of the skirt, translucent mesh similar to the one Weiss wore with her dress, black stockings, and black pumps. A faint hint of make-up had also been applied to her face thanks to a little help from Weiss, enhancing her features just a smidge more than usual, while bringing out her silver eyes much more than usual.
She was humming to herself She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice someone approach from behind her until they spoke.
"Hey, Rosebud!"
Ruby jumped a little at the sound of his voice, and instantly spun around to see Ky...only to gain a deep, red blush across her cheeks as she stared at him.
Ky was now wearing a white dress shirt with a black tie, along with a nice blue jacket with black pants. He was also wearing a nice pair of blue dress shoes as well. Lastly, his necklace was hanging around his neck, glistening in the moonlight.
(This is Ky's suit)
Ruby thought that he looked extremely amazing. Little did she know that Ky was thinking along the same lines, except he was a little more vocal about it.
"Wow! You look...really beautiful, Ruby." Ky said, grinninig brightly as he looked her over. "Stunning."
"O-Oh, thanks," Ruby bashfully replied as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "You look pretty handsome yourself,"
Ruby notices a bright red rose the teen's hand. "Is... is that?"
Ky looked down at the rose then started chuckling.
"Yeah, I had to get you one. Here, a rose for Ms. Rose," He recited, handing her the flower. Ruby gently takes the rose.
"Thank you," she softly says, setting the rose behind her ear.
"I'm surprised to see you in such a very fancy dress. Back at the ballroom, you didn't really seem like you cared for dresses." Ky commented.
"It was Yang's suggestion." Ruby told him. "I'm kinda dying from it, since it's so tight, I might pass out any minute now."
Ky nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that does tend to happen nearly all the time if you're wearing a corset. Yet, I can definitely say the same about those heels of yours since you seem so close to falling over."
Ruby looked down at her heels in discomfort. "I still don't know how the heck Weiss fights in these. So, I--- Whoa!"
As she tried walking towards Ky, Ruby's legs almost gave way from the heels and she went tumbling forward.
"Ruby!" Ky cried before he caught her in the nick of time as he let her lean on his chest for support.
Ruby looked up at him with a surprised yet incredibly cute look. Both of them instantly blushed at this, but neither of them moved, and the two of them kept staring deep into each others eyes. They tried to look away, but neither of them really wanted to. Ky gained his senses back as he cleared his throat, and helped Ruby back up to her feet.
"W-W-We should probably get going." The bluenette stuttered, gesturing to the ballroom. "Don't want to miss the party, right?"
Ruby nodded bashfully. "Y-Yeah."
Ky gently offered her his arm and she gladly looped hers with his and they were off, though not without Ruby tripping on her heels almost all the time.
XXXXXXXX
Beacon: Ballroom
Everyone had turned out for the dance, and no one could deny the great work that Weiss and Yang had put in to making the ballroom perfect for such an extravagant event. From the decorations to the music, even to the food selections and flower arrangements that were resting in the center on the tables surrounding the edge of the dance floor, everyone would agree that they had never seen a more amazing setup for a school dance. It was not just the location that looked good though, as the people attending all looked very impressive, with the guys all dressed in their best suits, be it a more formal version of their school uniform or just something that they got from a store in Vale, and the girls all clad in very nice dresses that seemed to flow with their every move. Undoubtedly, this would be a night that many would remember for quite some time just because of the décor and overall appearances of everyone in attendance.
Speaking of attendance, Yang was currently manning a podium at the door to make sure that no one got in that was not on her list. That list included the entire staff and student body of Beacon, along with the exchange students, and General Ironwood. So far no one that should not be here had so much as shown up, but Yang was much more eager for when her friends showed up so that she could see how they all looked all dressed up. All of Team JNPR, except Pyrrha, had already arrived, with Ren and Jaune wearing the basic dress-version of their regular uniforms, while Nora a pink strapless number with a white skirt. Yang herself was wearing a short, yellow, halter neck dress with a pale gray hem and white pumps.
At that moment, the door opened as someone walked in. "Sorry I'm late." The blonde looked over to see Aptus, wearing a black opened tuxedo vest and pants with a orange dress shirt and a white tie.
"Don't worry, you're just in time." Yang said, looking him over. "You look hot~"
"I swear, you need new puns." Aptus laughed.
"I made you laugh though." Yang smirked, earning a playful eyeroll. "I'm just waiting for a few more people to come in and then we can dance."
"Sounds good." Aptus grinned as the two heard the door opening again.
Upon seeing who walked in at just that moment, Aptus grinned widely. "Well, look who it is! The best contestants for cutest couple!" Aptus teased seeing Ky and Ruby walked hand and hand together.
Turning to face the people Aptus was speaking to, Yang started gushing like crazy, saying, "Oh my gosh! You two look so cute together!"
The duo bashfully looked away from the duo, causing Aptus and Yang to smirk. "So, have the others arrived yet?" Ky asked, keeping his cool.
"Yep, everyone's pretty much here." Yang nodded. "Just waiting on Blake."
"Great!" Ky grinned before turning to Ruby. "Come on, Rosebud. Let's go enjoy the party."
"O-Okay."
The two then head into the ballroom, with Ruby having to cling to Ky so she wouldn't lose her balance.
Yang and Aptus watch them leave while the continually smile. 'Now for the moment of truth.' They thought in unison.
XXXXXXX
Outside
Meanwhile, Sun was seen walking to the entrance and wearing a new black jacket with a white tie hung around his neck, which he proceeds to fight with before going inside.
"Stupid... Dumb... Neck trap." He grumbled.
"I knew you'd look good in a tie." Sun froze and turns around with a blush on his face as he sees Blake, who is wearing a purple dress, black translucent mesh for the top, and black pumps. She completes her attire with a slightly shiny teal bow and purple eyeshadow. She then walks towards Sun and takes his arm.
"So does this mean we're going together?" Sun asked.
"Technically." She answered. "Though my first dance is spoken for."
XXXXXXXX
Inside
After numerous people gathered inside the ballroom, mostly everyone began dancing as Waltz music plays in the background. Blake and Yang bowed to each other as they finish their dance before Sun walked over and starts dancing with Blake. Joining up with the rest of her teammates, Yang shared in their smiles as they all watched Blake happily dancing with her date to the point where she actually let out a joyful laugh at one point before shooting a smile in their direction as well. Seeing Blake finally relax and be happy certainly proved to be a great relief for the rest of Team RWBYK and Aptus. It seemed to serve as a perfect reminder of how even the most serious and focused of people can just relax and have fun for a moment.
"Told you she would come," Yang reminded her friends.
"You're welcome," Aptus said with a nod.
"Mission accomplished," Weiss said, wearing a short, white, sleeveless dress with cutouts on both sides of her waist. The yoke of the dress is translucent mesh and she also wears white pumps.
"That's our Shadow-Cat." Ky grinned, with his arms behind his head.
"So, what do we do now?" Ruby asked, looking at the others.
"Well, if my memory serves me right, I believe I owe Team RWBYK's brawler a dance." Aptus said, holding his hand out with a smile. "May I?"
"You may." Yang smiled as she took his hand as the two make their way to the dance.
"I'll be going myself." Weiss said as she walked off. "Have fun, you two~!"
"Weiss!" Ruby whined, as her cheeks glowed red.
"What do you say, Rosebud?" Ky spoke as he held a hand out to her, "Would you like to dance?"
Now Ruby was getting nervous again, as she slowly admitted, "Oh, well I would, but...I'm not really much of a fancy, pansy...dance-y girl."
Ky only looked at Ruby for a minute, not judging her, but rather like he was trying to figure something out, until he just came out and asked, "Do you...not know how to dance?"
"...Not really, no," Ruby nervously admitted. "Is that weird?"
"Nah, it's cool. I could show you, if you want."
"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "What if I fall?"
"I'll catch you" Ky reassuringly smiled. "I won't let anything happen to you, Ruby. Really."
She smiled, but still remained reluctant for a moment. "Do you trust me?" he asked.
Ruby looked into Ky's eyes seemed to give her a sense of calm even in the sea of nerves and anticipation that she was swimming in right now. "I do." She replied as she slowly placed her hand in his, and let him guide her to the dance floor at last. She stumbled a few times along the way, cursing her heels more than once, but Ky managed to keep her steady the entire time, and soon enough, they were out on the floor with the other dancers, with Ruby placing her other hand on Ky's shoulder, and Ky placing his free hand on her waist.
"I'm counting on you to help make sure I don't twist my ankle because of these stupid lady stilts," Ruby informed Ky.
"Don't worry. I've got you, Rosebud," Ky promised, and with that, he began leading them in a simple waltz.
While they started off by simply swaying to and fro on the dance floor, the pair slowly began to do a little bit more than that. They would spin about, turn, and Ky even went so far as to carefully dip Ruby down for the briefest of moments, much to her enjoyment. As time went on, Ruby started to barely even notice any stumbles she might have made because of her heels, and instead, just relaxed and enjoyed being so close to Ky. The way his smile shone in the lights of the room and how his eyes twinkled as they remained on hers just made all of her troubles melt away to the point where she even started to get brave enough to try and get creative with a few dance moves of her own as Ky spun her outwards from him. It must have worked pretty well, because a number of people that had stopped to watch the two clapped immediately afterwards, much to her enjoyment.
Ky was also having a pretty good time with this, not just because the whole dance was fun, but also because how much of an effect that the silver-eyed girl had on him ever since they first met so many months ago. Holding her close like this as they twirled about on the dance floor gave Ky a sense of peace that he could not ever remember feeling, and as he looked down at the girl in his arms, Ky felt a great thrill run through him at seeing that pure, childlike happiness had returned to her smile as her eyes danced with an equal amount of joy.
The two were so caught up in their moment that they hardly even realized that they had drawn the attention of nearly everyone in the ballroom, with several people forming a circle around them as they tried their best to get a glimpse of the pair that had basically taken over the dance floor with their performance. Even if they had noticed, they would not have cared, merely focused on one another.
When the song finally ended, Ruby and Ky paused to step back and give a bow to one another, signaling their audience to show their appreciation with a round of applause. All that clapping had the added effect of helping the two to finally notice said audience's existence, and while they did become a little bashful for inadvertently giving off such a show, they did still nod in thanks to everyone.
XXXXXXXX
"I'm pretty sure we stole the whole dance floor." Ruby said as the two went off on their own some time later.
"Nah, it was in the heat in the moment." Ky waved a hand. They walked out onto a balcony beyond the ballroom. Ruby and Ky settled themselves down at the railing, both folding their arms on top of it. They were quiet for a bit, but the silence wasn't uncomfortable. Ruby thought about how much fun she was already having as she glanced to Ky, seeing him as the reason for it.
Like Ruby, Ky was enjoying the moment while contemplating all the fun times he's had with Ruby. Now here they were, after dancing in each other's arms. "Hey.... Ruby." He nervously said.
"Yeah?" She asked back.
"You danced... pretty good in there." He complimented as his cheeks slightly turned red.
Ruby also slightly blushed by what he said. "I didn't do that good.... If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to do it....." Ruby however said the last part with a more depressed voice.
"Rosebud, what's wrong?" Ky asked worriedly, turning to look at her.
Ruby turned away from Ky, and Ky could've sworn he heard a slight sniffle. "You've done so much for me. You cheered me up when Weiss yelled at me, protected me numerous times...But I've never been able to help you in the same way you have....I'm a disappointment......" Ruby started to cry, but she stopped once she felt Ky grip her hand tightly.
"You're wrong."
Ruby was surprised by this. And turned back to Ky, who smiled at her as he wiped her tears away. "Ruby... when I was unconscious. I faced my own inner demon and almost lost... because of that I almost gave in to my anger......... but you know who helped me realize that wasn't the way...?"
Ruby was shocked that Ky had experienced that, while laying in the hospital bed. "W-Who?" She hesitantly asked.
Ky continued smiling and took hold of Ruby's other hand. "You...... You're kind, selfess, brave, and just fun to be around. You helped me realize that happiness is vital to me.....And...... you helped me realize..... You are vital to me."
Ruby's face turned crimson red. As she could not believe what she had just heard him say.
Ky's face turned crimson as he continued on. "I guess what I'm trying to say is...." He took a deep breath and spoke three words he's been meaning to say for a while now. "Ruby.....I love you..."
Ruby's eyes widened at what he said, as her heart hammered in her chest rapidly. "Y-You love me?"
Ky nodded. "I have for awhile now. Since then you've become someone important to me. When I'm with you, I always feel happy. Like your smile always seems to bring out the best in me, which is why I always want to protect it. When I see your silver eyes, I can see the stars in them. You also have a deep compassion for the others, even me. You were the first to check on me whe I was upset about my mom, you were my shoulder to cry on when we visited her grave. Right now, all I care about is letting you know how I feel about you, so I mean it when I say that I love you, Ruby Rose."
Ruby's eyes widened in shock as she felt her temperature rise as a puff of steam shot out her ears at the boy's words. Her face was a crimson red and she felt her heart pound rapidly into her chest.
Those three words kept repeating in her head over and over again. It was as if those three words just shut her brain off except to repeat those words while she just stared at Ky with her mouth hanging slightly open in surprise. 'He loves me, he loves me, HE LOVES ME!' She practically screamed in her head.
Ky for his part was getting worried that her silence was sign that she didn't feel the same, "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I've wanted to tell you this for a while, I just wasn't a hundred percent sure you felt the same way," he said. However he was surprised when Ruby suddenly jumped at him and hugged him tightly.
"I..... I...... I love you too!" Ruby happily yelled. "I've loved you since we first met. You're funny, strong, understanding, always putting others before yourself and an all around amazing person. I never met a guy who cared so much about me."
Ky was taken back at first but then happily hugged her back."Well, I just like seeing you happy..." He told her. The two then slowly separated. And just like what happened so many times before, Ky and Ruby stare into each other's eyes, as dual-colored orbs met silver ones. They edged closer and closer, Ky's eyes gazing down at her lips. Ruby's eyes, glassy and sparkling, fluttered closed.
At that moment, their lips finally connect into a loving kiss. Ruby trembled pleasantly when their lips touched, and she put her arms around his neck right as Ky wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing the kiss to deepened a bit. It was warm, and tender, and it simply felt right. It felt like every single thing on the universe was just where it belonged.
When they separated, Ruby was blushing furiously. Ky smiled when he saw how red her cheeks were, and lightly caressed them with his fingers.
"Wow." Ruby whispered, as they stayed in each other's arms.
"Yeah." Ky replied. "Better than the first time, right?
Ruby nodded shyly. "Mhm, way better. So...does this mean that we're...you know? Dating?"
"Nah. There's still something missing."
Ruby looked at Ky curiously, "What's that?" She asked. After what just happened and judging from his tone, she didn't think that he was rejecting her, but she didn't know what he was up to either.
Ky smiled softly at her. "Ruby Rose, will you be my girlfriend?"
Ruby gave him a sweet smile before she nodded her head "Yes." She replied before looking shy. "Umm...C-Could we maybe... kiss again...?"
Ky pulled her closer and grinned. "Sure." He said, before they locked lips once more under the moonlight.
XXXXXXXX
Ballroom
Yang was seen monitoring the door, when another pair walked through the doors. She looked up once more and smiled.
"Glad you guys could make it!" Yang said.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Mercury said. He wore a dark orange lined black suit with matching orange bow tie. Standing next to him was Emerald, who wore a black and green dress.
XXXXXXXX
There it is! The Ky x Ruby moment you've been waiting for!!! Blue Rose, Red Knight, Amethyst... Whatever ship name you want to use, it has sailed!!! Ky and Ruby are now together!
PHEW! That was a really long chapter and I apologize for that really. But it was so worth it.
As always, I would like to thank you for all your support. Whatever it is. Following, favoriting, reviewing, reading. I honestly appreciate it and I'm glad you guys are sticking through this. See you all in the next chapter!
Stormy out!!!