14 Sperata 2/3

"…" Everyone was silent as they blankly stared at Ruby.

"You dolt! Why would you accept something like that from someone you just met, without asking 'why me'!?" Weiss berated Ruby who had simply hidden herself beneath her blankets to avoid her eyeline.

"Well, let's be fair, she didn't say she accepted it. You didn't accept it, did you?" Blake pointed out looking at Ruby who simply turned her head away from her guiltily. Earning her even more blank stares from everyone in the room.

"Mom, did Ruby just sell her soul to a supposed girl in a book?" Yang asked her mother.

"I, honestly don't know…" Summer replied blankly still processing the idea of her daughter having signed herself away to a woman she only just met.

"She wasn't that bad" Ruby argued, only getting reproachful glares from most of the people within the infirmary.

"Ms.Rose, Has your mother never taught you common sense?" Glynda asked as she began to rub her temple, attempting to prevent a coming headache.

"Hey!" both Ruby and Summer shouted in defiance.

"So…" A voice began freezing everyone in their spot as they turned to the origin of the voice "As much as I love being left out of conversations, can someone please tell me what's with the interrogation?" Arthur asked as he watched Ruby lunge towards him wrapping her arms around his chest.

"Arthur!" she shouted in glee "IwassoworriedIthoughtyouweredeadbutthenaGrimmrevivedyouandthenandeggappearedoutofnowherethenyoudidn'twakeupforaweek," she said rapidly confusing Arthur who was currently in a mixture of pain and relief, pain as Ruby was currently pushing herself against his still fresh wound. And relief that everyone seemed to be okay.

"Ruby, I'm okay. Now, please let go, your sort of poking the hole in my chest with your forearm" His words causing Ruby to quickly let go of him as she started furiously apologizing to him.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry! I was just so happy that you finally woke up" she said with a wide smile tearstains running down her cheeks. Which Arthur wiped off when he put his hand on her cheek an used his thumb to gently wipe them away.

Seeing this scene Yang couldn't help but whistle, freezing Arthur in place as he realized what he was doing. Mechanically turning his head towards the others in the room, seeing that Summer and Yang had wide teasing grins on their faces. Blake had a sweet smile, while Weiss seemed to still be annoyed with her partner's lack of security to strangers. And lastly Glynda and Ozpin, who had just arrived seemingly sensing that Arthur had awoken, had small smiles as well.

"So, Ruby, when's the wedding?" Yang asked with a wide grin spanning from ear to ear.

Ruby took a moment to understand what Yang was insinuating, only realizing when she saw both her and Summer's mile wide grins and still feeling the residual warmth of Arthurs hand on her cheek. Turning her head she stared into Arthurs blushing face for a second before bolting off of him her face as red as her namesake grin as ran to the corner of the room and hid her body behind her cloak. Getting chuckles from both Summer and Yang.

"It's nice to have you back in the land of the living Arthur." Ozpin said completely ignoring Ruby.

"Right! Arthur! I was so worried! When I heard you had gotten injured again I rushed to Beacon as soon as I could" Summer said as she hugged Arthur. "Really, within the span of a week you go through not one but two near death experiences." She said with faux annoyance as she moved away from Arthur noticing that he had a small tear trail running down his left eye.

"Arthur? You're crying" Summer pointed out, causing Arthur to raise his left hand and felt a wet feeling on his cheek. "Are you okay?" Summer asked.

"I-I am, it's just I don't think I've ever been hugged like that before…" he said downcast.

"Like what?" Summer asked

"It was very… comforting. I wonder if that's what my mother's hugs would've felt like?" he muttered as he stared blankly at his hands, remembering a photo he used to have of his mother.

"You're mother, never hugged you?" Summer asked sadness evident in her voice.

Staring at the ground Arthur was silent for a moment as he thought of the only memory he had of his mother and the lullaby she hummed to him as he passed. "She, passed away giving birth to me. I only really knew her from pictures I had of her and my father." He admitted getting sympathetic looks from everyone in the room as Summer once again hugged him tightly.

"Thank you Summer." He said as Summer let him go "Now can someone tell me how I am still alive? I remember getting skewered through the chest by a giant feather.

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"Huh, won't say I ever expected to be revived by a Grimm…" Arthur admitted

"That's what you're concerned about!? Not that you DIED!?" Weiss shouted.

"look, Snowball. I have probably seen more death than probably most people in this room combined. When you have stared death in the eyes as much as I have you become numb to it, trust me." His eyes turned blank like those of a dead fish freezing everyone in the room.

"L-like what!" Weiss questioned with a small twitch in her eyes at the new nickname she had been granted.

"I, would rather not talk about it" Arthur stated not continuing his eyes still dead and uncaring. But quickly return to normal as he asked "Now, want to explain why Ruby was being interrogated?"

"Oh, Right!" Yang shouted as her eyes turned crimson as she glared at Arthur sending shivers down his spine.

"Um, Yang? Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked fearfully.

"Because apparently a woman living in your book offered some strange contract to my incredibly naïve and overly trusting sister…"

"Hey!" Ruby defiantly shouted

"that she signed. And it was apparently a contract for you" Yang said as she cracked her knuckles expecting an answer to the question she didn't ask.

"Okay, before you tear my face off, I have no idea what you are talking about. And there's a woman living in my book?" Arthur asked to which Weiss responds with "You're concerned about that!? Not that Ruby signed herself away to some strange lady in a book, of all things!?"

"Well, let's be fair, it does seem like a very Ruby thing to do doesn't it?" Getting contemplative stares and a slumped Yang who muttered "Yeah… that does seem like something she would do…"

"Really!? I thought you were on my side!?" Ruby complained as Arthur ignored her completely

"Anyways, care to explain from the beginning then?" he asked her as she puffed her cheeks out and turned her head defiantly.

"Really?" he asked as Ruby didn't budge "Alright, Summer, once you get back to Patch could you hide the cookie jar? preferably the top shelf just out of Ruby's reach." He asked as he watched Ruby's face contort into panic as she watched her mother nod at his proposal.

"Please no! I'll talk, I'll talk, just leave the cookies alone." Ruby swiftly gave up at the thought of losing her favourite cookie jar to such a tortuous method.

"I was sitting by your bedside while you were unconscious, I was feeling guilty about what happened back then…"

"Let me interrupt you there, you have nothing to feel guilty about. I was actually really happy that I got to do that, normally whenever I put myself in the line of fire, the ones behind me get shot and I come out unscathed. So when I woke up I was really happy to see everyone alive and okay. Everyone is alive and okay, right? What about those other four? They okay?"

"All members of Team JNPR are alive and well, a little shaken up, but they will be fine." Glynda explained.

"Oh right! We got assigned teams! Me, Weiss, Blake and Yang are on the same team called team RWBY." Ruby enthusiastically explained as Arthur let out an amused chuckle at hearing the team name in person 'it's a lot more comical in person' he thought to himself.

"Anyways, Yang was trying to comfort me and while that was happening your book started shining and the it flew and opening itself and the things got really bright and I was standing atop an ocean of black water with a sky of white surrounding me." Ozpins eyes grew sharp at the mention of Black water.

"I really need to figure out how to stop it from doing that…" Arthur muttered in a low almost imperceptible voice. Both Ozpin and Glynda looked at the inert black and white book resting atop the end table next to his bed.

"It was scary it felt like I had been in there for hours, I screamed for someone for anyone yet no one would answer me. But then I felt a breeze and I turned around to see a field of red rose bushes with a gazebo in the centre." Ruby continued to explain while Arthur froze as his eyes widened in surprise remembering a garden he used to go to when Ashe used to force him outside of the orphanage.

"She was really pretty, she had long ash grey hair with big sparkling blue eyes. She was really kind, though she did have tendency to tease me…" Ruby said as her cheek twitched as she recalled Ashe's teases.

Staring at Ruby in shock and mouth agape Arthur quickly shot his hand towards his Tome picking it up and rapidly opening it towards the page 'In Memoriam' where a portrait of Ashe was waiting for him with a soft smile as he turned the book towards Ruby who nodded and said "Yeah her, she said her name was Ashe."

"Yeah, that's her. She really does like to tease, doesn't she." Arthur asked with a small reminiscent smile as he thought 'wait. If she's living in the book, can I still talk to her?' as he turned to the picture of Ashe.

"We talked for a bit and then she told me to follow her onto the black water where a wall rose up that looked like it was from a hospital, big glass window and everything." At this point Arthur had accurately predicted what she was about to say next.

"Looking through the window I saw her laying on a hospital bed with Arthur sitting next to her clutching to her hand as she passed away…" Rubys words cut deep into Arthur's heart as he remembered the sight of Ashe's hand falling limb within his own.

"But then you're body started glowing as a dark sludge came out of her body and wrapped around your arms before disappearing. And she woke up as if she was waking from a nightmare." Ruby said softly remembering the next scene that shocked her the most "But then I saw your body begin to disintegrate into light as you disappeared into nothing." Ruby finished as she looked at Arthur who was lightly smiling.

"Yes, because that is so believable. You can't just revive the dead with an Aura, even a semblance wouldn't cut it. And quite honestly that sounds made up." Weiss argued as she crossed her arms.

"No, that actually happened. Don't ask me for any details, that was the first time it happened, and so far it hasn't happened again." Arthur stated bluntly "Also, that wasn't a Semblance or Aura, I only got my Aura activated a few days before I came to beacon." Arthur explained feeling his throat becoming hoarse, as Summer handed him a glass of water when she noticed it.

"If it wasn't a semblance then what was it?" Ozpin curiously asked.

"I don't really know, I haven't really had time to look into it, with the whole, almost dying to a pack of Beowolves, getting into Beacon and dying during initiation as well as the week long coma." Arthur explained getting a nod from Ozpin.

"Please continue ms.Rose" said Ozpin

"Okay. And then after that we returned to the gazebo where we had some tea and my body started to disappear, which she explained as me 'waking up'." Ruby continues while Arthur picked up his glass of water and took a sip.

"It was then that she also asked me if I wanted to become one of Arthurs 'Sperata'…" The moment she said this Arthurs eyes flew open as he took a spit take covering the bed he was in, in water.

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Extended Authors notes.

So I was told that this seems like I'm rushing things, am I? Probably. Am I intending to do that? not really.

I don't really intend to take it much further yet, that comes later. This is more of a setup for any later awkwardness between Arthur and Ruby, and possibly others (Still deciding. probably going to happen inevitably as Arthur has the capability of travelling between worlds. So in all reality it's a case of when not if)

But really this is more of a plot thing; it's meant to show more of Ruby's naive, overly trusting side.

So just comment if you have any improvements or thing you think need work.

Also, I have created another book called 'Akashic : The Tome' this is to be a more in-depth look into the separate sections of Arthurs Tome. So go there if you want to check out Arthur's current stats, Skills, Abilities and other things. Also added another Idea Auxiliary chapter on this book where you can comment any ideas you have for functions that the Tome could have in the future.