The Bird and the Garden 2: Restart!

Chapter 6: Class

Weiss stared at Cardin, her mind trying to process what he had just said. "... What do you mean?" She hissed. Cardin was choking on his own words, but he managed to speak.

"V-Vao and I were i-in your room... R-Ruby came in, and I left... They were all alone, she d-did this!"

Weiss stared at Cardin in disbelief, despair, and anger. She didn't want to believe even Ruby would attempt murder. But she wouldn't put it past the hateful student. Her glyphs disappeared, freeing Cardin. The ginger bolted away, leaving the heiress alone. Growing closer, she heard the sirens. She ran back to the scene, just in time for the ambulance to screech to a halt.

Two paramedics sprinted out of the vehicle, loading Vao onto a stretcher and carrying him into the back. One of them turned, facing the watching crowd.

"We're going to need someone to accompany her!" He shouted. Ozpin raised his hand.

"I'll go with him."

"... Him?" The paramedic mumbled. But Ozpin had already climbed inside, shutting the doors as the ambulance sped away. Murmurs were rippling from the crowd, gossip and rumors spreading like wildfire. Weiss couldn't catch all of it, but she heard a few of them.

"Hey, that's the guy who stole my wallet this morning..."

"It had to be suicide, right?"

"Did you see that leg? There's no fixing that...."

Weiss ignored the comments, approaching Y/N carefully. He was on his knees, hiding his eyes with his sleeve. But Weiss knew he was whimpering behind his arm. She reached out, gently placing a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go... There's nothing we can do..." She whispered. Y/N didn't answer. He didn't respond. Weiss knew he could barely hear her. She crouched down next to him, trying her best to console him.

In the ambulance, Ozpin watched as the paramedics worked. One of them had opened Vao's left eye, staring into the pupil while the other inspected his leg. After a few moments, Ozpin cleared his throat. "Will he be alright?"

"Yeah. Serious concussion, but she- erm... He will survive," the first one responded.

"This leg is gonna be removed," the second said quietly. "He must have landed on it. The bone is almost dust, now."

Ozpin dipped his head. "... I see..." He looked back at Vao as the paramedics backed away. He wondered what could have possibly transpired. From the initiation, he could tell Vao was far from suicidal. He was about to sip from his hit chocolate before he stopped, eyeing something on Vao's neck, under his chin. He leaned forward, wiping his index finger across Vao's smooth skin, looking at it closely. It was solid black, and thick yet watery. He almost dropped his mug as his eyes widened.

"... Eldritch blood...?"

...

Ruby slumped to the ground, a broken, horrified wail escaping her lips. The scene replayed in her mind again and again, as if someone had set it to loop.

{"Stop crying. He landed on his legs, not his neck like I planned. Chances of him surviving are high,"} Salem growled angrily.

But Ruby couldn't hold it back. Her lips curled back in fury, her silver eyes holding hatred as she stared at the empty room. "Y-you tried to k-kill him..." She breathed raggedly.

{"Tried, failed,"} Salem hissed. It seemed greatly annoyed. {"And when he wakes up in the hospital, I worry he'll remember this. If that happens, I'll have to find a new host... Unless by some stroke of pure luck, he forgets this ever happened..."}