"RUBY!"
A loud, cracking voice echoed throughout the house. A quality to it made it so that permeated walls and easily implanted itself into the memory of children. There was no denying that this was the voice of a parent.
"Y-y-yes, most honorable father?"
Ruby appeared leaning next to the door frame of the living room, her hand clutching it as if it were a life raft designed for the sole purpose of keeping her from being swept away in the storm that was the Man sitting behind a newspaper in the middle of the room. For her, this moment was the most agonizing, because he merely sat there, calmly flipping his paper and sipping his tea. It was a moment of odd tranquility where there was the slightest glimmer of hope. That not only had the voice she heard merely been a trick of her mind, but also that he did not hear her reply. It was that hope that she could merely slink away to the kitchen and get herself some cookie before going to bed.
Truly, it was a foolish, childish wish.
"Ruby, do you know what I am currently reading right now?"
"Ah, the paper most honorable father"
"OF COURSE I AM READING THE PAPER. DO YOU THINK I DO NOT KNOW THIS?!"
there was the routine, she knew it was a rhetorical question, but it was also one that she could not not answer. it was the methodology of her father after all and it was surprisingly effective.
"My apologies, most honorable Father."
"What I am reading is not the point, daughter. No, the issue is what's currently in this paper that I am reading."
She cringed, she knew that the article likely had the story of her effort to stop the criminals. This was sure to spark a fire in her father and she knew that when he began he raged more furiously than the dragons in the sky.
"Four thugs apprehend, minor wounds, dust theft thwarted, main culprit escapes."
He listed the facts calmly and slowly, not bothering over superfluous information. There was no need for that, it had no bearing on his lecture after all. Each word in and of itself was like a lash as she cringed repeatedly, bracing herself to the doorframe for support. That support would not last howevere as he raised his eyes from the paper and gazed at her. It was a plain gaze, no sense of rage or any particular emotion, and yet it was one that could cut through any soul, a gaze that commanded those that it looked at.
"Daughter, why are you so far away from your father?"
She shirked at his question, and almost as if instinctually she was there, kneeling on her knees, just shy of prostrating herself before him, her head held low.
"Now, Ruby." he remarked, a waving hand spinning in the air as if he was trying to physically grasp this situation. "Tell me, what is this?"
"Well you see, Father, there was this robbery and all these mean people came and I was just reading a magazine and listening to music, I mean it was really nice music, none of that bad stuff that you told me not to listen to and the magazine was about puppies and it was cute and they were like :3 and I was like 'd'aww' but then these people came and they wanted to take my stuff and I was like now and then there was a lot of hwah and bang and crescent rose and shooting and and and and"
Her father merely rose his hand to stop her mile a minute rant. It was a common occurrence, but he knew her well enough and was such an important figure that the mere gesture was enough to cut her off.
"Ruby, you know I do not care for this meaningless banter, there is a reason I called you here and that should be obvious to you as well."
She quietly nodded in agreement with her father as she waited for it."
"Four wounded Ruby!"
"But Father it was cause they were attacking the-"
"And why wasn't it 8?"
"Well you see there were only five of the-"
"And yet you only wound four of them? What's more they are not even in intensive care?"
"But father, the only people around were civilians!"
"EXCUSES! YANG!"
"Yes, baba?"
Ruby's big sister turned up with frighteningly quick speed, or rather she was always there. It was a routine of the family, and it was common for either sister to not be far off when the other was being scolded, they had to be there for their father to use as a point of example, otherwise they'd be into the same problem as their sister.
"How many people did you beat up before you got home?"
"Mmmmm, 30 goons, one dj bear, two valley girls and one punk ass bitch"
"See Ruby, that is what you call initiative!"
"But, father, she went in there and picked that fight!"
"Exactly, initiative."
"BUT-"
"ALL OF THESE BUTTS, THIS IS NOT THE TOILET!"
she was silenced in a moment, the reply was ludicrous and yet made so much sense that she couldn't counter it and merely gazed to the side as she waited on him to continue.
"Four people Ruby, only four people. That is a disgrace!"
"Father, who would I have fought?"
"I see a news reporter covered the scene."
"I CAN'T BEAT UP THE NEWS PEOPLE!"
"Why not? We are not getting this news from them, we know that yu kicked the taste of rice patty out of their mouth. As I see it, they are getting paid for nothing!"
"But Father, even if I beat up the reporter, that would only be five people."
"Exactly!"
He pointed out matter of factly before pointing to Yang and saying.
"Yang, what is the distance between our house and the dust shop!"
"Two Block, Baba." she replied, lightly rolling her eyes as she felt so odd for having to do this, giving Ruby a sideways glance of apology for facilitating his rant.
"TWO BLOCK! TWO BLOCKS RUBY!"
"I know... father."
"Do you know how many houses there are on a block? SEVEN!"
He was in full swing as he shouted so loudly hat it was a wonder if the neighbors didn't hear.
"SEVEN HOUSES, THAT'S 14 HOUSES BETWEEN YOU AND OUR FRONT DOOR STEP. AND THERE ARE ON AVERAGE 4.5 PEOPLE IN A HOUSEHOLD!"
"Ah, but father..."
"NO BUTTS! 14 TIMES 4.5 IS 63 "
Yang merely shook here head in disbelief at this logic as ruby just shirked at his words
"INSTEAD OF ALL THESE BUTTS YOU'RE SAYING WITH YOUR MOUTH, YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KICKING 63 BUTTS BEFORE YOU EVEN GOT HOME!"
"They're our neighbors..."
"THEN YOU SEND THEM FLOWERS IN THE IC UNIT AFTER YOU SEND THEM THERE!"
Ruby knew she couldn't counter his logic once he got on a role, and so instead merely nodded aond continued to repeat "yes, most honorable father." as he went on his rant.
"Sometimes, I wonder what you are doing, daughter."
"yes, most honorable father."
"I put food in your belly"
"yes, most honorable father."
"I put roof over your head."
"yes, most honorable father."
"I put high power assault rifle in your hands"
"yes, most honorable father."
"AND YET YOU CAN NOT AT LEAST BRING ME 16 PEOPLE WHO WILL NEED CRUTCHES FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS?!"
she shrugged and looked away, he really wore on her when he went into her rants.
"Sometimes I feel like demoting you from daughter to cat."
Ruby turned her eyes towards him wildly, tears welling up only for her to receive a light pat on the head.
"But even if you do not kick as much ass as I would like, you are still my daughter, and I am glad you are not hurt."
He looked down at her with caring eyes, a warm smiling and a free cookie in his unoccupied hand.
Ruby began to lightly shudder as she soon enveloped her father in a big tender hug as she began to cry.
"I love you, ruby." he told her to which he got a tear filled "Eye w-w-wuv ju rue bwaba" from his overly emotional daughter.
Yang continued to lean at the doorframe smiling at the absurdity of her family, shaking her head in slight disbelief.
That is until her father got a phone call thirty minutes later and then turned to his older daughter with a solemn expression on his face.
"What is this I hear from Qrow, about costs for damaged night club?"
"...ah, will you look at that, I've got to go pick my bike up from the shop... TALK TO YOU LATER BABA!"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!"
Originally Posted by ILurkNoMoar
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