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Gone. She was gone. It was as simple as that. The ground where her sister’s lifeless body laid just a few moments ago was now empty. No Crescent Rose, no Little, no Ruby. She just couldn’t pull her eyes away. Despite the cat’s monologue, the blast, the mere act of clambering back to her feet, Yang hadn’t pulled her gaze away from the spot in which her baby sister had been torn from her.
Everything was so loud. There were voices around her, Jaune, Weiss, Blake- but they were muffled, drowned out by the incessant ringing in her ears and the sound of her own heavy breathing. She felt her hand reach up to her chest, her fist clenched tight enough that her knuckles began turning an unhealthy shade of white. Her chest ached as she felt what could only be as a clamp tighten around her lungs, around her heart. It hurt. She couldn’t breathe.
Ruby was gone. Her baby sister was gone. She’d failed her, failed their father, their mother, hell, Yang had failed herself. She was supposed to look out for her, protect her, she’d made that promise to Summer before she had left. Time and again she succeeded, protecting Ruby against a number of threats even if it meant throwing herself in harm's way in her stead- hell, she’d fallen into the Ever After just to try and keep Ruby safe. She’d resigned herself to death in the hope that her sister would continue to live, to thrive. There was just one danger she hadn’t managed to save Ruby from, herself.
When did it all go so wrong?
Why didn’t Ruby speak to her?
Should she have been more forceful when she asked if she was okay?
Did Ruby blame her? Is that why she looked her right in the eyes as she drank the tea, did she want Yang to know that it was her fault?
What if she had done something, anything different.
Why did her family always leave her behind?