Stolen Hearts: Chapter 20

Given the situation and how our call had gone, it didn't come as much of a surprise that it only took around thirty minutes for Ruby to get from Beacon to the middle of Vale where the hospital was, and I couldn't help but wonder how little that number would have gone up if I was still in Vacuo instead.

The door opened much more softly than I had expected, admitting the redhead into my room. Ruby's smiling face peeked through,which immediately became horrified as her silver eyes locked onto me sitting in the hospital bed.

“Rei!” She whisper-shouted, clearly trying not to be too loud in the hospital, “What happened!? You look awful!”

I gave her a slightly sheepish smile, “Hey, babe. Yeah, I guess I don't look too good, do I?”

“You look awful!” She agreed, stepping close, “But, you're here so that's all that matters. …Can I hug you or would that hurt?”

I just held my uninjured arm out, inviting her into my side. She smiled and immediately moved to accept, climbing onto the bed and snuggling into my side with a happy little sigh that lifted my heart.

It was kind of awkward and it hurt a little bit as my burns were agitated, but I ignored both of those in favor of pulling her close to me and burying my face in her shoulder and holding her as closely as I could with my injuries.

For a while, we stayed like that, completely content in each other's company. My chest rumbled with my purrs and Ruby giggled at the sound, making me both embarrassed and pleased to hear her do so. This was just what I needed after everything that had happened.

“So how have you been since I've been gone? Everything alright?” I asked after a short silence.

Ruby giggled, “You're the one in the hospital. Shouldn't I be asking you that?”

I shrugged, hugging her tighter, “I saw all those missed calls and stuff and I got worried. Is something going on?”

“Sort of? It's kinda complicated.” She said quietly. I waited patiently for her to continue, wondering what could have happened while I was away.

After a moment, she pulled away and looked me in the eyes, “Do you remember Blake? The faunus on my team.” I nodded, remembering the girl, “We were in Vale and came across a robbery. The police outside said that it was the White Fang and Weiss sort of… went off. She started saying a bunch of… stuff, about the White Fang and Faunus in general.”

I could read between the lines and realized that Ruby was trying not to accuse her partner of being openly racist. I kept quiet, not asking what exactly the heiress had said. I probably wouldn’t care to hear about it anyway, “So what happened then?”

“Well, Blake wasn’t really happy about what she said and they started arguing like, really badly. It lasted forever, and I’m pretty sure that if Yang and I weren’t there, they might have actually started fighting.” Ruby didn’t sound happy about the prospect of her teammates fighting each other, and I squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, “I didn’t really get it at first. Blake usually doesn’t argue like that, even when Weiss is being well, Weiss. But…”

“But?”


Ruby shuffled backwards a little bit, looking up at me with an odd expression on her face, “Did you know Blake was a faunus?”

I paused, “Excuse me?”

“Blake's a faunus, and she was a member of the White Fang. She blurted it out in the middle of the argument.” My eyes widened and Ruby tilted her head, “When I introduced my team to you, you gave her a weird look, like you knew something. Did you know she was a faunus? Like, by smell or something?”

I blinked, momentarily shocked, before I let out a snort. Ruby gave me a confused look, “What?”

“Nothing, Ruby, don't worry about it.” I shook my head with a small chuckle, “But to answer your question, yes I did know and no, I didn't smell her or anything like that. Her last name, Belladonna, is a really important one on Menagerie. It belongs to the chief’s family. They're basically the rulers of the kingdom.”

Ruby's eyes widened in excitement, “Blake's a princess!?”

“Well I wouldn't say that. I don't really know how things work over there since I only have my grandfathered stories to go off of, but from what I understand it's more like a leadership position, not royalty. I figured that she was probably concealing her identity for a reason so I didn't tell you. Sorry.”

“Oh, well that sucks.” Ruby sighed, “We could have had two princesses on the team instead of just one.”

I gave her an amused look, “I don't think Weiss would appreciate you calling her a princess.”

Ruby pouted, “I think she'd love it actually. As long as it came from Yang at least.” She muttered that last bit, but I still heard it and grinned at the potential gossip.

“Oh? Is something going on between them?”

Ruby looked surprised that I had heard her, but I flicked one of my fuzzy ears and her face became embarrassed instead, “I dunno, maybe. It's hard to tell but Yang's been hanging out with her a lot more and Weiss isn't complaining. Or well, she does, but it's weird stuff like Yang cutting into her study time or bringing it up at the last minute when she's about to do something. She always agrees though.”

Huh. Well good for them.

“So how did things go after Blake's little revelation? I can't imagine that Weiss was very happy with it.”

Ruby winced, “No, she wasn't. She didn't get a chance to do anything though. Blake tried to run away the moment she realized what she said. I managed to stop her and talk her down, but I'm not sure if I really accomplished anything. I know Weiss still doesn't trust her. She basically said so.”

I hummed, “Well, considering Weiss’s history with the White Fang, I'd say she has reason to be a little wary of Blake. The fact that she's willing to continue being on a team with her despite that though is probably a good sign.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well she could have just gone to your headmaster and requested a team change, right? I mean, I don't know if he'd go for that, but she could still try. Since she hasn't, I'd say that at the very least, she trusts Blake enough to not expect a knife in the back while she's sleeping.” I paused, “Or she's keeping a sword under her pillow. Either or.”

Ruby giggled, “I don't think Myrtenaster could fit under her pillow.”

“Under the mattress then. Or maybe in her pajamas. I'm sure a fancy girl like her has those loose silk pj's that everybody knows about but nobody actually wears.”

“That's true. I'll have to keep Crescent Rose under my pillow.” I grinned as Ruby shook with laughter against me.

As she calmed down, Ruby looked up at me again, “So, you never explained why you're in the hospital. I know you said your job was getting more dangerous, but this is a little bit too much, Rei.”

I winced, “Yeah, sorry. Things got a little out of hand. I didn't mean for this to happen.”

Ruby nodded, before pulling back to look me in the face, silver eyes shining in concern, “What did happen, Rei?” She reached up, lightly running her fingers along my burned jaw, “Those burns are worse than anything I've ever managed to give myself working the forge.”

I winced as I remembered something, “Oh, speaking of forging, I miiiight have lost Hit. And Run’s not in the best condition either… Sorry.”

“...WHAT!?” Ruby stared at me in open-mouthed shock at the news, “B-but those swords should have been able to stand up to death stalker armor! How'd you break them!?”

I looked down at my cast, remembering that Grimm. My fingers clenched, “I fought something stronger than a Death Stalker, I guess. I'm not really sure what it was, but nothing I did could hurt it. It was too big and its armor was thick enough that even Trick couldn't get all the way through it. It was horrible and…I was pretty sure I was gonna die.”

“I thought you were just a bodyguard or something? Why are you fighting Grimm like that?”

I didn't speak for a moment. Right. It was time for this conversation. Even after preparing myself for it while she was on her way here, I was still a little bit apprehensive. This could go very badly, very easily.

Ruby was a huntress, and I was a criminal. This wasn't some tragic novel about star-stricken lovers on opposite sides of the war. Once she find out what I was doing, she had every right to turn me in or take me in herself, and I doubt I'd be able to find it in me to resist her.

But she deserved an explanation, and I had already promised her one. It was time to come clean.

I sighed, “Remember how I said we would talk about my job after I got back?” I asked softly, “It… kind of has to do with that. Or well, it's less having to do with it and more that my injuries are a byproduct of what I was going to tell you. Stuff I've been leaving out.”

Ruby clearly didn't get it, and I motioned to the chair beside my bed, “Sit down there. I want to be able to actually look at you while I explain.”

Ruby was still confused, but hesitantly untangled herself from my side and moved to sit in the chair instead of. I shuffled upwards on the bed, situating myself so that I was more upright and could properly look my girlfriend in her eyes.

I had imagined how this conversation would go for a while now so I was at least somewhat prepared. I didn't expect to have it while laid up in the hospital but you couldn't predict everything, I guess.

I took a deep breath and, hoping that this wasn't all about to go horribly wrong, began my tale.

“It all began after I inherited the bakery.” I began, “When my grandfather died and left it to me, I thought I'd have a handle on things. I'd been working with him for years at that point, so there was no reason I shouldn't be able to handle running the bakery myself, right?”

I chuckled bitterly, “I was wrong. You remember how I was back then. I was barely sleeping and practically a nervous wreck twenty-four seven. It felt like every week, something else went wrong. An oven broke down, a pipe busted, ingredients went bad or became more expensive once our suppliers noticed I was the one doing the buying instead of my grandfather. It felt like I was slipping, like everything was slowly falling apart and I was on the verge of losing everything all over again.”

Pausing my story, I took a shuddering breath. I didn't like thinking about that time. About when I had to prioritize heating or water in the middle of winter, snuggling up in the thickest blankets I could find and still waking up feeling like I'd taken an ice cold bath. I remember being sick more often than not those days, from exhaustion or just poor living conditions. It was awful, and I’d thanked my grandfather every day since once I realized everything he had done for me.

“Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. Something had to change or I wasn't going to last much longer. I needed money, and I wasn't going to sell or close the bakery. It was all I had left of him and I refused to lose it. So, with no other option, I turned to the one thing I knew I was good at. Being sneaky and getting into places I wasn't supposed to be.”

Ruby caught on immediately, and her face shifted in alarm, “Rei, you didn't…”

I licked my suddenly dry lips, nodding shamefully, “I did. I started with small things, pickpocketing, stealing things from pawn shops to sell elsewhere, things like that. It wasn't much at first, but it helped, and I tried my best to stay away from other faunus or people who were down on their luck. I just wanted to make enough money to be stable, not contribute to their suffering.”

“And I did.” I said, “It turned out that I wasn't just good at being a thief, I was great at it. Grandad used to say I was like a little ninja with how quiet I could be, and he was right. If I didn't want anyone to notice me, they wouldn't. And after I figured that out, I got more confident.”

“I started taking more risks, going for bigger and bigger scores. Pickpocketing became shoplifting, shoplifting became burglary. I was in my element and making ten times as much as I ever did in the bakery, and apparently other people were starting to notice. Bad people. The kind of people your people put away. I avoided them all, staying in my own lane and keeping to myself, until I was contacted directly.”

“I got hired by some rich guy, Gerard. I'm still not sure what his deal is, but he offered me a lot of money to steal some experimental dust from a Valean research facility. I did it, got in, got out, and got paid. But then he gave me an offer. He asked me if I wanted to come work for him, and offered me a lot of money to do so. That was the job I asked for your advice on, and the one I eventually agreed to take.”

“You're a thief? That's your job?” I winced at the dazed quality of her voice.

“Yes.” I said quietly, “I’m on retainer for him. He pays me so much every month, and I come in to help him out or steal whatever he needs me to. That's how I got injured and lost Hit. Our last mission was… something went wrong. Some kind of mutated Grimm or something was guarding the dust I was sent to steal. I barely beat it, and probably would have died if someone didn't get me out of there.”

Ruby stared at me blankly in the wake of my explanation. Those silver eyes that I loved so much were clouded with confusion, as if she wasn't sure how to take what she had just been told. I fidgeted, running my fingers along the rigid cast on my arm as I wanted for her to say something, to condemn me for my actions or forgive for the same.

And though I hoped it would be the latter, the growing silence wasn't reassuring in the slightest.

Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, “Ruby?” I spoke softly. She jumped in her seat, looking startled, and I wondered what was going through her head right now, “Could you… say something?”

And she did. “So… While I was taking tests at Beacon and wondering how your new job is going, you were stealing from the government.”

The way she said it was almost like an accusation, as if she couldn't understand the mere idea of what she had uttered. I bit my lip, a bubble of anxiety forming in my chest, “Basically. I'm so sorry for keeping this from you, Ruby, but I formed a contract with Gerard that said I couldn't tell anyone about our agreement. That's why I-.”

“Wait!” Ruby's eyes went wide as she interrupted me, “You had me build you weapons to help you with your job!” She said with horrified realization, “We made Hit and Run so you could protect yourself! Did… did you hurt people with them?”

My own eyes widened at that, “No! Ruby, I would never do that! I wasn't lying when I said I needed them to defend myself. I'm a thief, not an assassin!” I defended, tearing up, “I wouldn't lie to you about something like that!”

“But you'd lie to me about everything else?” She shot back.

I was surprised to hear a bit of anger in her voice, but I guess it made sense. I wouldn't be happy if I were in her shoes either.

“You're a huntress and I'm a thief, a criminal. What was I supposed to say?”

“I wouldn't have cared that you were a thief, Rei. You're my best friend. You were in a tough place and you did the only thing you could think of to get out of it. I understand that.” She said, her voice losing some of its heat. For some reason though, the words didn't make me feel any better.

Ruby looked up at me again and her eyes were full of confused hurt, “What I don't get though, is why you waited until now to tell me about it. Why did you ask me to be your girlfriend while lying to me about something so important?”

“I-I don't…”

“Did you not trust me?” I felt my heart break at the sadness in her voice, “I trust you just as much as my dad, o-or Yang! I'd never keep something like this from you!”

I shook my head, tears beginning to roll down my cheeks. “I do trust you, Ruby! I swear!”

This scenario was like something out of my worst nightmares. Ruby wasn't taking this well in the slightest and I couldn't even blame her.

“Then why didn't you tell me!?” Ruby's face was betrayed, her eyes full of tears as glared at me. I never thought she could look like that, and the fact that I was the one to cause it only made it worse.

“Because of the contract!” I tried to defend, but it was weak even to me, “I couldn't tell anyone or Gerard wouldn't let me work for him!”

Ruby shook her head, looking frustrated, “That's not what I meant, Rei. I meant why didn't you tell me before you met him and started that contract? Nothing was stopping you then.”

That brought me up short. I didn't have an answer for her, or at least, not one that she'd want to hear. The thought of telling her had crossed my mind again and again during those beginning days, like a weight on my conscience that did nothing but build and build until eventually I stopped even noticing the pressure it put me under.

“I just didn't want to lose you.” I finally said, the knot in my throat making it hard to speak, “You were the only good thing in my life at that time and I didn't want to tell you what I was doing because I didn't want that to change. I wouldn't have been able to take it.”

Ruby just stared at me, and after a moment, the anger in her silver eyes gave way to an emotion I couldn’t understand. Slowly, she turned away from me, and my heart shattered at the sight, “I need to go.”

“R-Ruby?” My voice was shaky as I watched her walk away. I held out a hand as if it would pull her back to me, and my breath hitched as I realized what was happening, “Where are you going?”

“I’m sorry, Rei.” She said, opening the door. She looked to look at me and her voice trembled as she spoke, “I-I need to think. I’ll call you or text you but right now I can’t… Get better soon.”

And then she was gone, and I felt the shattered pieces of my heart fall to the ground right alongside the fluttering rose petals of the girl’s semblance. The hand reaching towards her fell back down onto my lap with a dull thump and I stared blankly at the wide-open door as I tried to come to terms with what had just happened