Two months later - Ruby Pov
"You won't beat me with kanji!" I exclaimed as I went back to reviewing my notes on the table.
"What did you write in the seventh question?" Mom asked, looking over my shoulder.
" aahhh !! It's not allowed to copy! " I said quickly while covering the sheet with my body.
" Aawww , come on Rubes, just a little bit!" my mother moaned pitifully.
"No! The teacher said no cheating on homework! " I replied while continuing to hide my homework.
"No copying Ruby, Summer," Dad said playfully as he came up behind Mom and placed a cup on her head.
" but Taai , Ruby is better than me at this ." Mom moaned while pouting, as she looked up at Dad and grabbed the mug in her hands, her eyes sparkled. "Hot chocolate! Thanks honey!" Mom said quickly as she took a sip. Dad handed me another mug, my smile grew and I quickly grabbed the mug.
"Thanks, Dad!" I thanked him quickly before taking several gulps of the hot drink.
"And even if Ruby is better than you, don't steal your kids' credit," Dad admonished in Mom's direction. "Or try harder, like Ruby." Dad said playfully. Mom pouted.
"It's not my fault! The tutor said that I'm already learning at a faster pace than average, it's Ruby who's some kind of prodigy." Mom replied and I immediately blushed slightly with a silly smile.
It had been two months since Mom had offered me to go with her to Japan to try out for UA. And just as she had feared, once we broke the news to the rest of the family, there were very mixed reactions.
Dad was practically glued to me for a whole week, occasionally crying even though I was months away from leaving home. Everyone else seemed a mix of confused and happy about my decision. Yang seemed sad though, something I didn't really want to address at the moment. Yang's comments still stung pretty fresh.
We had a lot of preparations to make. The main one was learning Japanese. Mom had hired a tutor to teach me as much as she could during the months I would still be in Patch, in Vale. To my surprise, Mom had also joined in the lessons.
It was the first time I had done it. Even though Mom was a hunter who moved around the whole of Vale or even other countries for long periods of time, she normally didn't make an effort to learn new languages, she had survived so far with English. comfortably. So learning Japanese, it was something I was doing for myself. And it was really enjoyable.
Mom never sat still for long, so spending quality time, even if it was to learn a new language, was really good. And even though my grades are mostly average, when a person is enthusiastic and has a set goal, they can really put in a lot more effort than when they are not.
So, I was learning Japanese in record time, much to the surprise of our tutor. It had only been about two months since we started so there really wasn't much to brag about, but the tutor said that if I kept up the pace, I might be at an intermediate level of fluency by the time I got to Japan.
More than enough to be able to survive Japan without making a complete fool of myself! I could learn the rest during my time at UA! According to their website, all the material was available in English to prevent foreign students from falling behind due to the language, so I didn't have to worry about that!
"Hello family!!" Yang exclaimed as she came down with a smile.
"yang, do you want some hot chocolate?" dad asked with a smile, Yang smiled and shook his head.
"No, I was thinking of going to the village, I'll get something there." Yang said with a smile before stopping and looking at me. "Rubes, do you want to come? " Yang asked hopefully. Ruby looked at her in surprise before looking back down at her homework.
"I can't Yang, it's -" I stopped when Mom nudged me, I looked at her confused and she just waved me in Yang's direction who looked sad at the rejection. I bit my lip lightly before sighing. "It's okay, just, let me put all this away." I finally said. Yang smiled widely.
"Okay Rubes! I'll wait for you outside! " Don't be long! " Yang said happily as she almost ran out of the house.
"You'll have to talk to her," Mom murmured softly.
"I know, I know." I said simply, I knew it, but it wasn't something I was really looking forward to. I quickly packed everything and went out to find Yang. Yang was waiting for me standing in front of the house, I blinked a few times.
"We're not going on Bumblebee , I just had maintenance done on it, have you ruined it already?" I asked exasperatedly, Yang grabbed her chest.
"Your trust in me hurts, sis." Yang whined dramatically before smiling shakily and looking away. "But no, I mean, you can use it if you want! But, I was hoping to walk, the village isn't far and it would give us more time to spend together, you know, before I leave for Beacon and all that! " Yang stammered nervously, I raised an eyebrow but shrugged.
"Okay, let's go." I said easily, Yang smiled widely and we both started walking. Yan immediately took control of the conversation as usual and started talking. I simply responded as usual.
"Rubes!" my sister's exclamation brought me out of my thoughts, I blinked several times, looked around, we were halfway to the town and I looked at her.
"Yes, Yang?" I asked confused. Yang's gaze looked conflicted before she sighed. She motioned for me to go sit on a large rock that was on the side of the road.
"Did I… do something wrong?" Yang finally asked once we sat down, the question taking me by surprise.
" no? " Why do you ask? " I asked quickly, Yang grimaced.
"Don't lie to me Ruby" Yang said simply as she looked down "You've been... distant, you're avoiding me. I'm not stupid" Yang said. Now it was my turn to make a face.
"I… it's nothing" I cowered once again as I looked down.
"Ruby, please… if I did something… I want to know." Yang pleaded. I bit my lower lip nervously.
"I…-" I closed my eyes and took a deep breath "- I heard you." I murmured softly, but Yang heard me loudly, she frowned in confusion .
"Did you hear me?" Yang asked.
"At my graduation party, at night, when you were talking to Weiss." I said quickly, Yang frowned before her eyes widened and then she began to completely pale.
"Did you hear that?" Yang asked hoarsely. I just nodded. "Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" Yang exclaimed loudly, I flinched slightly, something Yang noticed immediately "No, Rubes, sorry, I didn't mean to-I- no- gaahh !!" Yang moaned loudly. While ruffling her hair.
"You don't have to say anything," I said simply. Yang shook her head.
"No," Yang said firmly, grabbing my shoulders and staring at me. "Listen to me Ruby, I'm sorry, I'm really, really, sorry, I screwed up. I have no words to apologize. I'm not going to say that it was something you shouldn't have heard, but rather, it was something I shouldn't have said, under any circumstances. I was upset with Weiss, I wanted her to stop bothering me and I knew that would get her off of me. It's no excuse, it's never an excuse to say something like that about you."
"You're my sister Ruby, you'll never be a bother, never, I mean it." Yang said firmly. My eyes started to burn and I blinked several times to stop myself from starting to cry. Yang immediately hugged me and started apologizing over and over again.
After several long minutes I separated myself from Yang with difficulty. I quickly wiped away my tears.
" T -that wasn't very ladylike. Sorry about that." I laughed nervously. Yang shook her head.
"Don't worry Rubes. Your secret is safe" Yang said with a shaky smile. I looked at Yang and saw that her eyes also had a few tears falling down her cheeks. I took a deep breath.
"I… forgive you sister." I said simply, I could see the weight lift off her shoulders as she sighed shakily in relief.
"Y-you don't have to say it just for the sake of it." Yang said quickly. I shook my head.
"I mean it, I forgive you. I… I won't lie and say it didn't hurt. I was really hoping I could go to Beacon with you, I missed the times we spent together, it would be like old times, but… I guess it was time to grow up, and I don't know, stop following you." Now it was Yang's turn to blink rapidly to keep from crying.
"I'm sorry." Yang repeated again, I nodded.
"Don't worry, I'm actually happy with my decision to go to Japan." I said honestly with a smile. Yang smiled weakly before she froze.
"Wait, your decision to go to Japan was because you listened to me?!" Yang asked almost panicked, I smiled crookedly while nodding. Yang groaned loudly.
"Well, it was mom's idea, she heard you too and-"
"Mom heard me!?" Yang shrieked in horror, looking like she was about to faint. I laughed lightly. "Ruby! This is serious! Mom is going to kill me! " I laughed again and shook my head.
"Mom's not mad at you." I said simply, Yang stopped her panic and looked at me warily, "She said she's disappointed, but not angry." I added, Yang's expression turned completely hurt.
"I, yeah, wow, I deserved it, that somehow hurt more." Yang muttered while ruffling her hair.
"Don't worry, she still loves you, you big fool" I said with a small smile as I pushed her with my shoulder. Yang sighed in relief as she nodded.
"So... Mom and Japan?" Yang tried to say, I nodded.
"You basically already know everything, anyway, Mom has a long-term mission in Japan, she offered me to accompany her to take the UA entrance exam. A way to get away" I said honestly, Yang nodded defeatedly.
"Are you… happy about that?" Yang asked after a few seconds, I nodded enthusiastically.
"very!! In Vale we only have hunters! And despite being completely amazing! It's not the same as being a heroine, Yang! Now I can be one! And I'll have a title to prove it! And I will study at one of the best heroic universities in the world!! Well, if I pass the entrance exam." I quickly said with excitement. Yang smiled more genuinely.
"Of course you will pass it Rubes, I believe in you" said Yang with absolute confidence "I'm glad you're happy with that… and again… I'm really sorry" Yang apologized again with a pained expression, I shook my head.
"Seriously, don't worry, and stop apologizing, I already forgave you, weeks ago, I… I just didn't know how to bring it up." I said with an apologetic smile. Yang sighed.
"Don't worry about it, I deserved it." She said simply and we both stayed silent. "I love you sister, don't ever forget that." Yang said as she stared at me, without a hint of doubt. I smiled widely at her.
"And I love you sister" I said with the same firmness before smirking at her "when you're not being a pain in the ass." I mocked her, Yang rolled her eyes while smiling.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Yang said simply before standing up, "so… what do you say about making up for lost time? I'll have to go back to Beacon in a few days, so Arcade?" Yang asked with a cocky smile. I stood up with a wide grin.
"You bet I'll tear you apart sis!" she announces forcefully. Yang snorts.
"You wish it, Rubes, I'll crush you." Yang replied as we both began to walk towards the village.
Yes, we would be fine.
Now I just have to prepare for UA, it will be fantastic.