Chapter 1
The air was thick with it, a scent so sweet and terrible at the same time, a scent Yang Xiao Long was all too familiar with: smoke. She glanced to her partner, Blake Belladonna, and could tell she had the same thought, something terrible has happened.
"I think it's coming from just up ahead," Blake said, taking Gambol Shroud off her back; Yang nodded and extended Ember Celica.
The smell grew stronger as they walked, overpowering any other smells that might have been there. When they finally reached the source they grimaced at the sight before them. Blackened husks of houses and small buildings stretched before them, many were merely barely recognizable piles of charred wood and scorched stone.
Yang glanced around as she and Blake walked down, what seemed to have been, the main street, "What do you think happened?"
The cat faunus crouched down, "The usual" she replied, running her hand down 3 deep gashes in the stone; a claw mark from a Nevermore.
Yang glanced at the mark and grimaced, "We should look around, see if anyone made it." Blake stood and nodded, starting off toward the North; Yang went West.
As Yang looked around some of the piles of rubble, she heard her partner call out, "Yang!"
Yang rushed over to where Blake was crouching next to large pile of rubble. Trapped half underneath the rubble was a young boy with brown hair and multiple lacerations on his arms; his light blue t-shirt was torn and stained with soot.
Without hesitation, Yang immediately grabbed the bits of wood and threw them off of him. Blake carefully flipped him onto his back; his shorts pants had stains and tears as well and his legs had even more lacerations than his arms. The right side of his face was caked in blood mixed with dirt due to a cut that ran from his forehead through the end of his eyebrow.
"We need to get him to a doctor," Blake said as she looked up at Yang. She nodded, "I'll carry him."
Inside a small cottage, Blake and Yang stood outside the door to a small room that served as their guest room. They had decided that calling a doctor and meeting him at their cottage would be faster than taking the boy all the way to one in Vale. Now the doctor and his assistant were currently in the guest room tending to his wounds.
The two huntress' decided it would be best to allow the doctor to do his job undisturbed, hence the waiting outside.
"How do you think he's doing?" Yang asked, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
"He didn't seem too badly injured," Blake replied as she slid down the wall to a sitting position, "but I can't really say for sure."
Yang nodded and glanced toward the door, "Poor kid," she said, "I can't imagine what it would've been like to go through something like that, let alone at that age."
"Yeah."
Silence filled the hallway for a few minutes before the knob to the door turned, causing Blake to stand and Yang to push off the wall. The doctor, a deer faunus with small antlers protruding from his forehead, stepped out, closely followed by his assistant.
"How is he?" Yang asked.
"His injuries weren't bad, thankfully," the doctor replied, closing the door, "just some cuts and bruises, honestly after hearing where you found him I'm surprised he wasn't more seriously injured."
"So is there anything you need us to do?"
"For now just let him rest, he'll have to stay here until he wakes."
"Okay, that shouldn't be a problem." Yang glanced at Blake who nodded in confirmation.
"Splendid," the doctor replied with a smile and slight bow which his assistant mimicked, "please do contact me when he wakes."
"Will do doctor," Yang replied as she and Blake also gave a slight bow, "thanks for your help." The doctor nodded and he and his assistant proceeded down stairs and out of the cottage.
As soon as they were out of sight, Yang pushed open the door and entered with Blake following just behind her.
The boy lay in a twin sized bed with the blanket pulled up to his torso. His arms lay on top at his sides, both covered in medical tape; above his right eye was a small bandage. The doctor and his assistant had cleaned off the blood and grime on his face and left a cool washcloth on his forehead.
Blake sat in the chair beside the bed and brushed away some of the hairs covering his face. Judging by his features, he was Valetian and couldn't have been more than 6 or 7.
"What do you think we should do?" Yang asked from her place beside the window.
"What do you mean?"
"You said you couldn't find anyone else right?"
Blake shook her head.
"That means his parents are probably…" Yang trailed off.
"I'll go to Vale tomorrow," Blake replied, standing and facing her partner, "see if anyone might know who he is."
"Okay, then I guess I'll stay here in case he wakes up." Hopefully they could find someone to take care of him.
He felt sore; not like he would when he came back home after playing, his body feeling slow and aching, no this was different. He tried moving his arms and was met with a burning sensation that made him groan.
He slowly opened his eyes, revealing a cream colored ceiling bathed in orange light.
Where am I? He thought, glancing around. Upon doing so he noticed something obscuring the upper right of his vision. He tried turning his head to look at it but found he couldn't move, as if something was weighing it down. Come to think of it he had that sensation all over his body, mixed in with the soreness.
What happened? He wondered, trying to think back to what he was doing before now.
He remembered walking into his house after playing with the other kids to find his mother in the kitchen. Then suddenly there was a loud screech and a lot of yelling. His mother told him to hide so he did, then there was a loud crack and a scream and then he was here. Suddenly it all became clear, that screech was a Grimm and the yelling- "Hey, you're awake."
Suddenly a woman with long golden hair came into view carrying a tray. He tried to ask who she was but all that came out was a quiet croak.
She smiled warmly and placed the tray on the nightstand beside the bed. She grabbed a cup from the it, "Here, drink this," she said.
He grunted as she helped him into a sitting position and brought the cup to his mouth. He coughed after swallowing the water due to his sore, dry throat. The woman gently rubbed his back, "How are you feeling?" she asked. He tried answering her but the words caught in his throat and he let out a rough cough.
"Sounds like you're feeling like more water," she chuckled lightly.
He nodded and took another drink, this time without as much trouble though it still hurt. He let out a light cough then managed to speak, "Where am I?" he asked, his voice hoarse.
"You're in our cottage, my partner and I found you," she replied, "my name's Yang, what's yours?"
"James." It was still hard to talk so he opted to use as few words as possible.
"James, huh, that's a nice name," Yang said with a warm smile, "did your friends call you Jim or Jimmy?" James gave a disgusted look causing Yang to laugh, "Just James, got it."
James couldn't help smiling but it soon faded. "Yang," he said, his voice a little less hoarse.
"Yeah?"
"Was there...anyone else?"
...
The somber look on her face answered his question.
He looked down at his bandaged hands, feeling tears well up in his eyes.
Suddenly he felt Yang's arms gently wrap around him and pull his head into her chest. Hot tears spilled down his face and soaked into her shirt as he quietly sobbed.
"It's gonna be okay, James, I promise," Yang whispered.
He wasn't sure how, all the kids he knew had parents, had a family; what was he gonna do, without a family?
A/N: Hello fellow RWBY fans, so this is my first fanfic! Well first I've published anyways, I've always had trouble finishing up stories which is why I've never posted any before but for this one I figured why not, plus I feel like I could use some feedback on my writings so I can make some improvements. I'm sure my formatting needs some work haha. Anyways let me know what you think about things so far and I'll see about getting some more chapters out, deal?
