Disclaimer-dracohalo117 does not own RWBY, RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, and is the creation of Monty Oum...

Notification: Yeah I think everyone more or less knows I have been less than up to my standards in regards to writing, or updating, but, fanfiction does not pay my bills. I'd like to write more, but, that rquires time I don't have most of the time. hell, I started writing this one shot to help me get back into the groove of things before the new RWBY Volume started airing. So, I apologize. I'd like to say when my next update will be, but thats really dependent on whether or not I have the free time available to me in the future. I have not given up on any of my fanfics, I just seriously lack the time to write them to the point I want to write them. For that, I am deeply sorry.

I am also planning on going back through Overcoming Darkness and cleaning up the fight scenes and a few other scenes. That Story I am making in conjunction with Leaf Ranger, who is also dealing with his own issues,

AN: If anybody is interested, I have posted a challenge on my profile, 'Bearer of the Legendary Blade', I hope some of my fellow authors will consider giving it a whirl.


The skies above patch were clear, the sun shining bright as a cool breeze traced across the soft grassy knolls. A lone wooden cabin sat in the lush green forest, the spring returned as the flowers bloomed.

A lone man, with hair as gold as the rising sun, adorned in brown cargo shorts with a brown belt holding them up. A red bandana was wrapped around his right arm and a brown leather vest draped over a tan dress shirt. A single metal spaulder was fastened to his right shoulder which complimented the fingerless glove on his right hand.

'Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm...' a soft tune escaped his closed lips as he hummed to himself, a soft tune as he dug his hands through the soil in front of his house, while he tended to the sunflowers that were beginning the flower and bloom.

'Thip thip thip' Taiysngs ears seemed to perk up as his head rose, as he heard the sound of what could only be described as flapping wings.

Quickly turning his head towards where he heard the sound, rising to a standing position as his fists clenched and muscles tensed in preparation for what he thought was a Nevermore or perhaps another avian or bat-like Grimm.

A single feather fell from the sky, his cobalt blue eyes slowly watching it fall, a single tree standing out behind it.

Or more accurately, the figure perched on one of the larger branches, her red eyes looking down towards him.

His expression of concern and readiness quickly turned, his eyes closing and reopening, narrowed, and a frown curling his lips downward, a single expulsion of air escaping him as he instantly recognized the woman on the branch.

"Hello...Raven." his tone was cold, almost icy. There was not an ounce of hostility or warmth present in his voice as his ex-wife now looked down at him.

She was quiet, her expression showed nothing, as her red eyes looked directly into the blonde mans, as she seemed to smirk, "Thats a pretty cold way to greet an old friend Taiy-" she didn't get to finish her statement.

"What are you doing here Raven?" his tone left no room for argument, his hands now curled into fists, as he looked directly into Ravens eyes.

Raven frowned as she jumped off the branch, and placed her hand on her sword.

Taiyang didn't look away, nor did he show any sign that her actions were at all intimidating to him.

Raven smirked in response, "I guess home life hasn't dulled your edge too much." the joke did nothing to dull Taiyangs gaze, as Raven lightly gripped the hilt of her sword.

"If you're only here to bring up old times, then you can leave Raven." Taiyang began to turn his back, before Ravens hand grabbed his shoulder.

Raven could feel his muscles tense up as he looked back at her, only a single eye meeting her gaze, but the dilated pupil and the coldness of his look told her all she needed to know.

He was not in the mood for smalltalk.

Removing her hand from his shoulder as a single sigh escaped her lips, "I need your help Tai."

Taiyang turned all the way around, "Taiyang..."

Raven looked up at him with a hint of confusion, "Wha-"

"My name is Taiyang, not Tai, not blondey, not whatever nickname you or Qrow came up with, it's 'Taiyang'." he said with a flat tone, holding a great desire to get this over with.

Raven scoffed, "You never had a problem with it before." she said as she crossed her arms and relaxed her body.

"I know you like to live in the past Raven but I figured you would understand the difference between before and now." Taiyang retorted.

Ravens eyes narrowed as she uncrossed her arms, her hand reaching towards her sword, "Watch it Tai."

Taiyang looked unperturbed by her obvious threat, "Why should I? Cause from the look of things you don't have anything to fall back on."

Ravens hand gripped the hilt of her sword as Raven grit her teeth, Taiyang did not look amused.

"Go ahead Raven." he spoke with a cold look in his eyes, his icy tone showing how little he cared.

For a moment, the two simply stared at one another, until Raven looked away, loosening her grip on her sword.

"You need to stop Yang from going after Salem."

There was a deep quiet between them, as Raven waited for Taiyang to respond.

But after a minute of silence, she looked back at him, "Well?"

"Is that all you came to tell me?"

Raven looked visibly aghast at him, "W-ha...did you hear me? Our daughter is-"

"My daughter." Taiyang snapped.

Raven sneered as she stepped forward, "I gave birth to her Tai-"

"And then abandoned her on our porch, ran off to join a group of killers, thieves and monsters." Taiyang retorted, his tone conveying his anger, "You may have given birth to her, but that is all you did for her."

Raven opened her mouth to retort.

"Oh, wait, you 'saved' her on the train that caused the breach." Taiyang slowly clapped his hands, "Well done, 'mother of the year' indeed."

Raven frowned, "So you know tha-"

"Of course I know that Raven, just like I know you didn't stop Yang from losing her arm."

Raven sneered, "I couldn't-"

"Don't you dare lie to me Raven!" Taiyang roared, his lips curling back as his pupils dilated, staring the female Branwen, "I know how your damn Semblance works, you could have done something. If you didn't stop something that could have happened to Yang, it wasn't about not being able to stop it, it was because you chose not to stop it." Taiyangs fists clenched tightly, "I know what you're like Raven, so don't act like I am some dumb lovestruck teenager."

Raven frowned, her own fists clenching, "We don't have time to argue, Yang is going after Salem, you have to stop her."

Taiyang frowned, "Why don't you stop her?"

Raven narrowed her eyes, "I tried."

"Did you? Did you really try Raven? Or did you plead with her and run away when words weren't enough?" Taiyang said quietly, waiting for a response.

None came.

"You can leave Raven." he turned away, only for Raven to suddenly grab his shoulder and force him around.

"Didn't you hear me, she's going after Salem, she could be in danger!"

"Why do you care?"

"Why don't you?"

"Because I raised her!" Taiyang roared, making Raven back up, "Summer and I gave her the tools she needed to make her own decisions, she is an adult now, her decisions are her own to make. I don't want her to go after that monster, but I can't hold her hand for the rest of her life."

"So you're just going to sit here while she goes after her?" Raven accused, narrowing her eyes as she sneered at him.

"No, I am going to let my daughter have the freedom to choose. She knew the consequences, she knew what she was getting into, if I go and stop her then I am taking that choice away from her." Taiyang frowned, "Who knows, perhaps I'll go and help her take that monster down." he began to turn around.

Raven grabbed his shoulder, "You act all high and mighty but you're no better than me."

Taiyangs gaze was hard as he looked back at Raven as he grabbed her hand and shoved her off of him, "The difference is, I didn't abandon my kid and pretend I had any right to tell my kid what to do after leaving her to be raised by another parent for seventeen years. I may be allowing her into danger, but I did my job as a parent, I prepared her for the real world, you didn't." he turned away and began to walk back to the house, "Now get off my property." he grabbed the doorknob and began to turn it.

"You mean Summers property?"

Taiyang froze his motion as Raven began to talk.

"I saw our house Tai, its a rotten ruined mess." she said with a sneer, "When did you move out, before or after you knocked up Summer? And how long after I left did that take?"

Taiyang looked back at her with a glare, "Do you enjoy asking questions you already know the answer to?"

Raven looked confused, "What do you-"

"I know you used your semblance on me Raven, how else would you know where I am?" Taiyang let go of the doorknob, "You can try and make yourself seem like the victim all you like, you can try to act like I'm no better than you, but at the end of the day, I don't care what you think anymore. It took Summer pulling me out of the hole you dragged me down into to make me see you never actually cared about me, so if you think you can do anything to hurt me, think again."

Raven sneered, "And why is that?"

"Because I really don't give a damn about you."

Raven and Taiyang continued to stare into each others eyes, waiting to see who would blink first.

Taiyang turned and reached for the doorknob-

'Sching'

Only barely jumping to the side as Raven slashed through the front door, and as he slid into a fighting stance, Raven ripped her blade out of the door and pointed it at him.

Taiyang curled his hands into fists, his eyes focused on Raven, as she snarled, "How do you think this is gonna turn out Raven?"

Raven raised her sword and began to step to the side, Taiyang matching her motion.

"After all these years you still act first and think la-"

"Ragh!" Raven shot at him and swung her sword at Taiyangs head.

'Clink' a single side strike from Tai sent the blade upwards, leaving Raven completely open for a jab to her solar plexus.

'Huaaah!' Raven gasped as she was pushed back, a good amount of air pushed from her lungs, as Taiyang curled his fist back.

"You still swing from the left at the start I see."

Raven desperately gasped for air as her eyes narrowed at him, "S-shut...up..." her wheezing barely allowing her to speak.

"Seventeen years and you haven't changed a bit."

"I...said..shut-up!" Raven ran at him, her sword above her head.

Taiyang jumped forward and stepped to the side, and struck behind Ravens knees

"Gah!" Raven fell over and landed flat in the dirt, as Taiyang stood over her, and kicked her blade away from her.

Raven tried to stand up, only for Tai to plant his foot firmly between her shoulder blades and push her back down.

Taiyang frowned as she turned her head to glare back up at him, "You've been attacking villages and merchant caravans for years, tell me, how many of them had people who could actually put up a fight against semi-trained bandits? Against a former Huntress?"

Raven snarled as she tried to get up, "I don't-"

"You say I've gotten soft, but I had to fight against trained killers, against soldiers, against Grimm who posed a threat to a Kingdom protected by hunters and huntresses, as well as train the next generation of Huntsman to not make the mistakes of the ones who died because of those mistakes." he removed his foot from her back and turned away, "You talk about the strong living and the weak dying, but if they were ever actually strong, they would have been fighting huntsman and huntresses, not attacking civilians outside the kingdoms walls."

Raven pushed herself up to all fours and turned back to Tai, who was making his way to his door.

"You're not strong Raven and neither are your bandits. You're foxes that got into the chicken coop that run off when the hound starts barking." he said as he reached for the door handle.

His motion was stopped when he felt an incredible amount of heat slam into his back, forcing him to turn around.

He was barely able to avoid a fireball which slammed right into his house, forcing Taiyang to tumble away from her.

Raven was standing, hunched over, her eyes ablaze with power he had never seen before.

Taiyang slid back up into a fighting stance, his eyes narrowed as he watched.

"Graah!" Raven shot her fist forward, a stream of fire blazing forth, which Taiyang jumped over and launched himself at Raven.

Raven raised her arm up, sending another wave of fire at him, only for Taiyang to swing his leg, cutting through the flames, his aura protecting him from the flames.

His foot striking Raven between the eyes, knocking her back.

Taiyang struck again, slamming his fist into her abdomen, knocking the air from her lungs as she slammed back first into the ground.

'Huaah...huaah...' Raven gasped for air, just before Taiyang slammed his foot into her chest, the sound of her ribs creaking under the weight of his foot as he pressed down, all the while his cobalt blue eyes glared down at her.

"New abilities, same tricks...you couldn't beat me before and you can't beat me now." he removed his foot from her chest and whisteled, "Zwei!"

'Arf arf!' Raven heard the pitter patter of feet as Taiyang looked back down at her.

"If I ever see you again, if you ever come near my daughters again, I won't let you walk away Raven. Whatever you and I were before is over, and I won't let you hurt my family again." Taiyang stepped over her, as his house began to burn behind him, a small Corgi following him.

Raven groaned as Taiyang walked away, "P-please...don't go..." Raven pleaded as Taiyang stopped, "I don't...I don't have anyone else."

For a moment, it seemed as though everything stopped, as Taiyang looked back at her, his eyes cold.

"And whose fault is that?" he looked away and walked away from her, as his home burned, followed by his dog.

Leaving Raven alone…

And as the house burned behind her, she couldn't help but see an irony in it.

She destroyed everything she touched, not on accident...she chose to destroy it.

She truly had nobody but herself to blame.


Not my best story I know, like I said, trying to get myself back into the groove of things. If anybody is interested, please check out my profile and look at my other fanfics, as they are (for the most part) of better quality than this.

Please leave a review, a flame, or whatever you feel.

To those looking for other stories to read, here is a list of stories I personally recommend.

-Journey: Rise of the White Wolf-The White Wulf

-InFamous Salvation-JAYSEN

-A Simple Mission-Leaf Ranger

-Maelstrom Siblings-Leaf Ranger

-Legacy-Greatcow

-RWBY: Bloodmoon-Amouren

-Sympathy for the Devils-Angel Arcano92

Until my next update, Ja-Ne.