Hey, it's Silva. Some of you might know me as Bairen's beta-turned-coauthor. Here's my first fanfic and it happens to be about one of my favorite animes of all time. Let me know if there's anything that needs improvement. Please review. Also I'm recruiting to help on a project. If you want to help out review or pm me. Thanks and enjoy the Prologue of The Cursed Rose.
The figure sat like this for a great time, relaxing after a long night. It was so still one could almost say it was dead, that is until another figure in a brown cloak came to the tree. "Man you weren't kidding when you said there was a lot of them."
"Come now, Silva. You're able to take on a pack thirty fold the size the one you just decimated." The figure in white retorted.
"Yea, I know that." The newly named Silva said as he sat down near the figure in white, "But I'm still nowhere near your level."
"Good, humility is becoming of a warrior. No matter who you are, there is always someone better than you at you."
Taking a sip from his waterskin, "Don't I know it. I mean you can take out a flock of fifty full grown Nevermore without breaking a sweat, while I can only take on maybe five adolescents before I tire out."
"Don't worry about it Silva, you're comparing yourself to a pureblood. There's a good chance you'll never get to my level."
"That's all you are? I thought you were heir to the throne master." He chuckled.
"Hey don't bring my past into this if you know what's good for you." His master shoved him, knocking hid hood off and revealing his features. A fair skinned lad, no older than ten, with average brown eyes and brown hair. "And what have I told you about calling me 'master'?"
"Hai hai, Sensei," he said in his master native tongue. "But don't forget, I know several of your weaknesses." An evil smile appeared on the student's face. "For one, the spot directly behind your left ear."
"W-w-when did you learn about that?" the figure asked with fear.
"You don't think those talks I have with your husband are just business do you?"
"I am so going to kill you once I get back to the village Tai."
Silva chuckled and reached for the figure's head. In the ensuing tussle the black cloak came off. Revealed was a woman with unrivaled beauty.
Her dark red, almost black, hair spilled out down her back. A wolf's tail with fur matching that of her head poked out from behind her. Piercing silver eyes followed the movements of her student as he brought his hand to her head. But the most noticeable attribute, or more accurately lack thereof, was she only had one set of ears. Though that wasn't too much of a big deal, the vast majority of Remnant's population only had the one. What was problematic was the fact they weren't human. They were wolf's ears.
While not the majority, many of the land's population had animalistic traits; ranging from tails to scales and everything in between, though one would be hard pressed to find one like her. She was special. She was a pureblood Faunus.
"My congratulation on such a magnificent performance, Ms. Schnee." Said a man who clearly belonged in the upper echelon of wealth.
"Thank you Clarence, it was nice of you to attend." She replied, "Now if you excuse me there are many people here."
"Yes, of course, I didn't mean to stall you."
This had been happening ever since the performance ended. One after another the hounds came like moths to a flame to try for her father's money. "When will this stop?" she whispered.
"Unfortunately, this is the price of being illustrious Weiss." Said a voice in her ear.
"EEEPP!" she whipped around to search for the owner and found a brown cloaked figure leaning against the wall of the theater.
"Damn. I remember you were loud." It said. "But I never thought you were that loud."
"Who are you? I know that cloak, but not that voice." Her hand moved for the handle of her rapier.
"Well a lot has happened since we've seen each other, including puberty." The figure gazed at her form, "But it seems that you haven't changed a bit."
Her face flushed at the comment, but as she was about to retort the figure cut her off. "Before you get mad, remember something."
"What's that?"
"We used to be sparing partners." It said simply.
A look of confusion crossed her face, then one of utter astonishment when she realized who she was talking to. "Hold on… you're not…"
The figure removed its hood revealing a young man with simple brown eyes and hair. "Hello, Weiss."
"Silva? Why isn't Sensei with you?"
"I'm sorry. I really wish I could tell you, but unfortunately that needs to remain a secret."
"Alright then, if you can't answer that question, then answer this one: why did you come here?"
"This is your last performance, is it not?"
"Yes it is."
"Why would I miss the last concert of one of my closest friends?" he asked, before yelling over his shoulder, "Don't even think about it Geist. And don't try blaming it on Helena again, it never works."
"Gah! Every time. Nothing can surprise you can it Silva?" Said the older man.
"Nothing you can do, Jacques." He replied, before shifting his attention elsewhere, "It's nice to see you again Mrs. Schnee."
"You as well Silva, but please don't be so formal with me. We both know how she hated formalities between friends. That said, I want to apologize for my husband's antics."
"Hypocrite." He said, earning a whack from Weiss, "It's not a problem, Sensei was much worse than Jacques."
"I bet she was, seeing how there was a constant mess for housekeeping to clean up while you were at our mansion."
"Ugh, don't remind me of that suffering."
That earned lighthearted laughter from the entire group.
"So I assume you came to see our daughter's last concert?"
"Yes I was. So I heard you're headed off to Beacon soon Weiss."
"Man this is heavy, Sensei." He grumbled.
"Stop complaining Silva, remember why we're doing this." She said as they reached an intersection.
"I know this food is for the Faunus orphanage in Vale and all, but it's just so heavy-y-y!" He said, nearly tripping on the curb. He come back to balance only when his teacher seized the hood of his cloak. "Hey Sensei how much are we carrying?"
"You're only now asking that Silva?" she chuckled. "I'd wager we have about five hundred pounds of food each."
"What?!"
"Yep. That's five hundred pounds that you're carrying." She chuckled again.
"No way…"
"And to think you could barely lift your body weight fourteen months ago." She smiled, "That just goes to show how much you've improved since I started training you."
Their conversation died down as they walked down to the orphanage. They passed many people giving them those looks and questioning their sanity. Though that didn't do anything to deter them on their quest.
Silva was the first to break the silence, "So who do you think will be there this time?"
"Hhmmm… Well we know there's going to be Ash, Joshua, and Samson." She answered.
They reached the building, "Don't forget about Hazel, Emily and- WOAH!"
"Nii-san!" exclaimed a little raven headed girl as she rushed out the door and tackled Silva.
"And of course, there's our little Blake." Sensei chuckled.
"I'm not little anymore Sensei!" Blake pouted. "I'm big now!"
"I know that Blake. But when you get to be as big as me or Silva you will understand."
"Sorry to interrupt but can someone get this cross cat off of me before she uses her claws?" Silva said from under a pile of food.
"Blake why don't you go get some of the other kids and carry some of this stuff in?"
"No! I'm not leaving my Nii-san!"
Sensei made her way to the door and called out. "GUESS WHO!"
No less than fifty children shot out the door after hearing her voice. How she was able to dodge every single one of them without dropping a single crumb was beyond Silva, being knocked over by one black cat.
"Hey! Guys! Get over here we have a lot of food to carry inside!" Blake yelled over to her peers. "Hurry up! We only have fifteen minutes until dinner and you know how Sasha is when we're late!"
The moment she mentioned Sasha the piles of food formerly carried by the two visitors disappeared. "Wow Blake, who would've known you would become the top dog here?" Silva said.
She smacked him in the face with her tail. "That's top cat Silva. Besides they respect me."
"I can see why." He said while glaring at her black tail.
"They don't respect me because I'm a pureblood, they respect me-"
"Because you're courageous, intelligent, and inspirational." He cut off with a smile, "Not to mention you have that whip of yours."
Her face flushed embarrassment. "Come on inside, the younger ones are waiting to see Sensei."
"Why do you always have to be the spoilsport when I'm trying to have fun Blake?" a frown appeared on his face
"Because your fun means my embarrassment!" She said as her face flushed even more.
"No it doesn't, I embarrass everyone equally!" he said before smirked. "You could say I'm an 'equal opportunity embarrasser'."
"Alright you two that's enough, we have yet to get inside the orphanage and you're already squabbling like brother and sister." Sensei said.
Both of them flushed in embarrassment and began to make their way inside.
"You've always been like that Silva. Even back then…" she said, looking off towards a place far away.
"Hurry up Sensei, your foods gonna get cold!"
With a chuckle she walked up the front stairs, crossed the threshold, and closed the door of the orphanage.
She walked into the club like a girl on a mission, seeing a cloaked figure already talking to the club owner she decided to wait her turn.
Unfortunately, she was never one for patience. She walked over to the two and politely entered into the conversation. "Hey Junior, you mind giving a lonely girl like myself some attention?"
He looked over the black cloaked figure, who nodded his head. "Sure, Blondie."
She grabbed his crotch, "First off, my name's not Blondie. You will address me as 'Sir'. Understand?"
His voice came out strained, "Yes, Sir"
The black cloaked figure took his chance, "He doesn't know anything Yang Xiao Long."
"Huh?"
"I said he doesn't know anything about her."
"And how would you know?"
"Because there's something called a 'civilized conversation'. You might want to try it sometime, it works wonders when in the information business."
"No thanks. Beating people to a pulp works just fine for me." She dismissed it at that.
"Tell me, can they give you the information if they're knocked out?"
"Nope, but it is fun hitting stuff." She said with a chuckle.
"Can't argue that." The figure said and stood up, "I guess I'll take my leave then."
As it walked out the door Yang looked back over to Junior with a grin on her face, "Now where were we?"
They were resting at their camp in the middle of the forest, fresh caught venison cooking over their fire. Both of them had worked hard that day and were enjoying the music of the night when she broke the melody.
"Silva, I want you to promise me something."
"Sure, what is it Sensei?" He answered from his bedroll.
"There's someone I hold dear to my heart, but I can't get close, otherwise that person might get hurt." She said
"And you want me to look over them." He concluded.
"Yes."
"Okay. But answer me one question Sensei: why?"
"Because my time on Remnant is almost over."
He sat up, "Sensei?"
"Your training is almost complete Silva, and I have a feeling I will die after you finish." She replied.
"That's impossible, you're the strongest huntress in the world!" he exclaimed, "Nothing can kill you."
"Don't be so sure. Everyone has their weaknesses." She said solemnly.
Minutes ticked by in silence before Silva said something, "Alright."
"What?"
"I said alright. I'll do it, I'll look after whoever it is you want me to."
A smile crossed her face, a smile that said everything for her. "Thank you, Silva. This means more to me than you'll ever know."
"You're welcome, Sensei." He said as he watched her tail swish back and forth, "So who is it you want me to watch over?"
"You'll know who it is when you see them."
"What do you mean, Sensei?"
"You'll know, Silva. Trust me, you'll know."
A lone figure stood at the edge of a cliff. In front of it was a stone grave marker, uncovered by snow. How that was possible, no one could say, for not a single snowflake deigned to fall on it.
The figure, wearing a black cloak, knelt. As it was doing so it noticed the edge of a skirt behind a tree. Not one to be fazed by the unexpected, the figure prayed, old memories resurfacing. Slowly, it stood up and making its way to the forest.
"You know, it's dangerous out here young one." Came his voice as he passed the tree.
"W-w-who are you?" a small voice replied. "Why are you here?"
"All will be revealed in time." He chuckled but stiffened suddenly. "You might want to hurry up, there's three packs of Beowolves coming straight towards us."
"Wait what do you mean?"
The black cloaked figure reached into its pouch, pulled out a piece of folded cloth and handed it to the young one. "Here, she made this for you. I bet she would've loved to see you in it."
"What is it?" she took the cloth and unfolded it.
"Your inheritance, Ruby."
"My inheritance? Wait! How do you-" when she looked up, she was alone on the cliff side, "know my name?"
Up in the trees the black cloaked figure was watching the young girl, like an unseen guardian. A gust of wind blew his hood off and revealed the same young man. There was one though going through his mind as he watched her strap the newly revealed red cloak to her back, "I've found her, I've finally found her." He let out a chuckle, "You've been dead nearly three years, and yet you're still training me." He sighed, "Isn't that right," his gaze wandered up to the broken moon,
"Summer?"