Goodbye, My Old Friends
A new day, a new year and a new quarter for Beacon. He watched as the ships offload their cargo. Hopefuls ready to join the ranks of Huntsman and Huntresses. Everyone was eager and willing to join. Tales of past heroics spurred them. When he looked at them, looked at their hopeful eyes, slack jaws, and excited faces, he felt sad.
To them he was a hero. To them he was a legend. But, he was none of that. He was simply a man. One who had fought in the great war and had been at the right place at the right time. He told them that. Like the speech he had heard so long ago. He looked out at them and saw wasted potential. Potential unfocused due to laziness, nervousness, and fear. But, he knew the next generation would one day rise up to meet the calling. He knew that their naiveté would give way to experience and eventually they would take his place. He had seen it before, so he knew they would continue on after he was gone.
His stomach clenched as he felt the muscles tighten underneath. He clenched his stomach and rubbed. He swallowed the rising bile and shook his head. Not now, not yet. He still needed more time. Just a few more hours.
"I don't think the treatments will work anymore" The doctor said.
"I know." He said. "I've stopped taking them for a while now."
"What, for how long? If you had just taken-"
"This is my decision, doctor. Thank you."
He took a small breath in as he looked out the window. He tried to capture very detail, every ship, and every student on the grounds. There were so many students now. All of them laughing, playing, studying and goofing off. He smiled as he watched a group of four run from another team. Judging by the balloons in their hands, it might be a water balloon fight.
"-headmaster."
The Headmaster of Beacon blinked as he turned back. His senses had gotten dull after such a long time. "Ah, Aliquam." He smiled as he watched his protégé walk in. She stood tall, graceful. Her yellow hair in a tight pony tail, a bright smile on her face, and a familiar set of weapons on her hip.
"Well, you got a couple things today." Aliquam started. She clicked the holoview on her wrist and a hologram appeared on it. They had replaced scrolls long ago. "You have a meeting with the council at four. Then you have dinner with the Headmaster of Atlas. Formal dinner that will lead to a treaty agreement. And then you have a-"
He shook his head. "Cancel all that."
Aliquam blinked. Her eyes went wide and she looked up. "What. Headmaster?!"
He waved with one hand and leaned on his cane in the other. "I said, Cancel all of it. Or at the very least move it till tomorrow. Today is far too important of a day to be dealing with trivial things."
"But-" Aliquam started to say but swallowed. "Of course headmaster." She tapped a few things on her scroll. The headmaster smiled and shuffled to his chair. He sat down and groaned. His right leg ached along the thigh, the wound had never healed. He took in another deep breath. Neither had the scars on his chest. The headmaster looked at the picture on his desk and sighed.
"Pass me a cup of tea would you." He asked, flicking a finger towards the coffee table to the side. Unlike his predecessor, he preferred tea. He had rebuilt the old headmaster tower to his liking. Instead of clockwork gears, he had built miniature observatory. The roof was clear, though he could dim at his choosing. He would often spend nights up here looking at the stars, trying to pick out constellations. He remembered learning it from Jaune. His friend always took the time to point out the ones he liked.
Aliquam set a cup of hot tea on the table and pushed it forward. He nodded his thanks. She held a cup herself, thought she was tapping it nervously. Normally she was the epitome of calm and cheerfulness. Her students loved her for her upbeat but structured personality. When he visited her classes, she would joke with her students but berate them for low test scores. Never once did her calm presence break. But, he had known her for forty years, ever since she was a baby. He knew her nervous habits.
His eyes drifted away towards the pictures on his desk. He stared at it. His eyes roamed over the many faces, the smiles, the laughter, and the joy he knew was in the picture. It had taken a full ten minutes to sit still and just take the picture. He had-
"Headmaster!" Aliquam's voice pierced her thoughts.
He turned towards his protégé and saw her worried. Her eyes looking at him carefully. Her hands trembling on the desk. She swallowed. "What's going on? Are you okay? Do I need to call the doctor again?"
The doctor? There would be no need. He had already seen the doctor earlier this week, in private. This week had been a long one, a very tiring one. The tea felt cold in his hands. Everything felt cold.
A hand trapped his own and he looked back up at Aliquam. The faces of his friends mirrored in hers. Her silver eyes glimmered.
"Ren. Are you okay?" Aliquam, daughter of his two old friends, whispered.
Ren swallowed, his throat was dry. No. He wasn't alright. Seventy years didn't make it any better. He was the last of the Old Guard, the last of the pre-war hunters to live this long. He had trained the next generation and the generation after that.
He was tired.
"Let's take a walk, Ali" Ren smiled. He reached for his cane and gripped it tightly.
Aliquam Rose-Arc nodded slowly. "Sure. Okay, Uncle Ren."
"-and we hope to rise up as the next students to carry on the tradition of Huntress and Hunters." The Valedictorian finished her speech. She was met with a roar of applauses and cheers as she moved to her seat.
Ren sat back in his chair and smiled. He leaned over to Jaune. "She takes after her mother doesn't she."
Jaune snorted as his eyes trailed his daughter. "Of course. She can speak more than five sentences without messing things up."
Ren held in a laugh as his current deputy headmistress came up to continue with the awards. "We will first be presenting awards to students with distinction. They will receive the Ozpin award for distinction in leadership and inspiration."
"So, Ren" Jaune nudged him. "Did you set up anything for her?" Jaune asked quietly.
Ren coughed. Jaune had asked about this a while ago. He wanted to give Aliquam some milk runs early on, get her used to professionalism. In other words, he wanted Ren to line it up. While it wasn't a bad practice, it did show favoritism. While he loved Aliquam like a daughter, he never favored her. She was treated fair and never once did he pull a string for her.
"Look Jaune." Ren said. "You know how it's going to be. We can't always be there for her."
"But it's within our power right now." Jaune said. "You know what it's like out there. I don't want her to be thrown into the fire right away. It's-"
"not like that anymore" Ren said slowly.
"Have you been out there recently?" Jaune fired back.
"In fact I have." Ren said. He took solo missions outside of Vale when he could. He wanted to keep his skills sharp and make sure that he wasn't dull. His travels through the country, only two decades back, had taught him to be vigilant. He kept those lessons with him. "Look Jaune." Ren looked his friend in the eye. "She's ready."
Jaune swallowed. His eyes hardened. Gone was Jaune the friend, replaced with Jaune the warrior, leader, general, and hunter. "Pyrrha was ready." His voice was sharp, quiet, and stabbed Ren in the gut.
Ren looked away. He knew Jaune did as well. Even after all these years, almost thirty years, it still burnt in their minds. Jaune still ached from what could have been. But, he knew that his friend had moved past it, even if it was still a touchy subject. "Did you talk to Ruby about this?" Ren asked.
"Yes. She didn't want me to ask you."
"She and I are in the same mindset then. You can't protect her forever." Ren sighed. Emotions twirled in his gut. Ren remembered red hair, a quiet smile and a cheery voice. A leader who chose to follow and a star who chose only close friends. Aliquam was like that. He needed to let her spread her wings. But, if it had been Nora. If she was the one he could help, would he? Ren shook his head. Without a question he would. "Fine." Ren said quietly. "I'll see what I can do. Border patrols, something easy to start. But I won't lift a finger after that."
Jaune nodded. "Thank you, Ren."
Ren smiled. "Any time fearless leader."
Jaune snorted.
"And now to present the Goodwitch award for distinction in Strategy and Logistics, Weiss Schnee."
The crowd erupted into cheers. Many rose to their feet and clapped. Pictures were snapped and flashed the stage as Weiss entered the stage. Her hair loose behind her, wearing a long dress. She looked elegant and regal. Her husband, Neptune, stood behind her. Weiss waved to the crowd and stood at the podium.
"First I would like to thank my friend, Headmaster Ren, for inviting me to present this award. This award-" She continued to speak and Ren turned back to Jaune. His friend's eyes were focused on Aliquam. She was talking to her teammates, laughing quietly as Weiss spoke. They joked and teased her.
"Where's Ruby by the way." Ren asked. He hadn't seen the leader of team RWBY.
Jaune smirked. "She had to go talk to Qrow. Something about setting up patrols between Vacuo and Atlas. They wanted to transport Fall to Atlas for training."
Ren felt his blood pressure spike. "I didn't hear about this."
Jaune shrugged. "And it'll continue to be that way." Jaune took a long side glance at Ren. "When we chose this assignment, we decided to make the maidens an actual team. But, this is turning out to be a harder task than it first seemed."
Ren nodded. "You could say that again." Ren rubbed his temples. Finding the maidens had been a pain. Many of them had fallen in the Final Battle, but the one who survived had passed away after. It had been terrible. The initiative was taken to go find them again. Ren tapped his chin. Aliquam laughed at a joke her partner said and nudged the girl on her left. "She became a good leader. You should believe in her Jaune."
"I do." Jaune whispered back. "It's just that-"
Jaune paused and Ren's ear twitched as he felt the wind shift. Something was coming through the air. High Velocity but small. Ren gripped his weapon on his back. Jaune shifted in his seat silently. Ren took a scan of the crowd to see who had noticed. Only a few experienced hunters had shifted in their seats. No one wanted to scare people if it was just a passing jet. Weiss had shifted her feet and lowered her hand towards Myrtenstar.
The pulse of wind came closer and Ren started to shift in his seat to move up. He could cover the back seats if he-
Jaune put a hand on his arm. He was smiling. Ren blinked. Ah, so that's who was coming. I guess it fit with the timing. Ren leaned back in his seat and relaxed. He noticed his actions allowed a couple other hunters relax as well.
Weiss concluded her speech and smiled. "Now, It would be my great pleasure to introduce my former leader and teammate-"
"SORRY I'M LATE!" A dash of rose petals and a red streak slammed into Weiss. The Atlas leader almost fell over, if not for thin arms wrapped around her. Ruby showed up, red cloak and all next to Weiss, smiling wide. She waved her hand to the crowd and everyone erupted into cheering once again. Ruby waved her hands and thanked them for their applause.
Years ago those cheers would have made her shy and she would hide behind Yang and Blake. She would try to push Weiss forward to talk. But, the shy girl had gotten out of shell and took charge. Weiss smiled and gave Ruby a warm hug. They exchanged a couple silent words. Weiss stepped off to go stand next to her husband. Ren noticed a few people standing off to the side. Ren caught a glimpse of golden hair in the trees. There were two shadows in the shade of the tree. One of them had a tail and the other cat ears.
Ren smiled. Of course they would come. They wouldn't miss Ali's graduation for the world. Ren leaned back and smiled as Ruby started to speak. "Hello All." Her voice lost its cheeriness and was replaced a solemn quietness. "There are many times in life where things are dark. Things are scary. Times where the world is unfair and everything just hurts. But, it is important to remember you are not alone. To remember that you are still alive. To keep moving forward." She took a breath. "It is my great pleasure to honor my friend who was the epitome of moving forward. Someone who could never be broken and had strength that inspired me." She smiled.
Ren felt his stomach tighten.
"It is my great honor to present the Valkyrie award to those who showed great distinction in bravery and…"
Ren breathed in the fresh air of the grounds. He leaned on his cane and hobbled forward through the grounds. Many of the students pointed at him, whispered quietly. They all nodded in respect and some took pictures. Ren nodded politely back and continued on his way. Ali was just behind him, hovering like she always did.
"To think all those years ago" Ren smiled. "I was welcoming you into Beacon."
Ali snorted. "I called you Uncle Ren and Dad had to tell me to call you Headmaster at school."
Ren nodded. "Yes, well I hear your daughter is starting Signal."
"Mom would have wanted it." Ali said quietly. "She went there, I went there. She probably would have recommended it."
"But did you want it?" Ren turned to face his goddaughter.
Ali looked straight to in his eyes. "Yeah, I did. I wanted to make sure she got the best education possible."
Ren hummed. "But, you could always get a good education anywhere." Ren shook his head. "No, I think you could have enrolled her anywhere. Yet something stopped you."
Ali stared at him. "But Signal is close by. I need her to be near me. Signal and Beacon basically-"
Ren stopped her with a wave of a hand and turned towards the courtyard of beacon. It had been rebuilt with many statues honoring fallen heroes. He recognized many of these heroes, these hunters, these huntresses, his classmates. Ren walked forward towards a green haired fox faunus staring at a particular statue.
"Is it in his likeness, Tobias?" Ren asked.
Tobias blinked "Headmaster Ren." Tobias wore a traditional robe that was popular in the east. His long green hair tied in a tight ponytail that ran down his back. His eyes were angular and sharp which accentuated his fox ears. "It is good to see you well. I look forward to the new year." His spoke methodically, patiently that made it easy for anyone to understand him.
Ren nodded. "Of course, the students will have an appreciation for your teachings, Doctor. As I did for your father's"
Tobias turned towards the statue of Bartholomew Oobleck. "Yes. My father was always a quick and upbeat man." Tobias paused for a moment. He searched for the right words. "I believe in making myself clear as possible." Tobias gave a wicked smile.
Ren returned it. "Well, I must be off. Today is an important day for me."
Tobias nodded and gave a cheery wave to Aliquam. The Deputy headmistress returned it and followed after Ren.
"The next generation is in good hands." Ren said quietly as he continued to walk down the street towards the Gardens.
The gardens were his favorite place to walk. The tall hedges and walls obscured people's view of him. He could sit in silence and reminisce or plan. He could enjoy a cup of tea or a quiet talk. It allowed him to be in solitude or in quiet company. But he mainly went there for the large statue in the middle. The statue he had privately requested and placed in the garden. Many had told him to put it at the entrance, to replace the old Iconic statue in the Courtyard. But he had refused. He knew them. They didn't care for fame, infamy or anything of the like. If they could have each other and just lived, it would have been enough.
Ren smiled. "I hear Tobias's classes are quiet popular."
"Yes, Tobias is a good teacher." Aliquam said. "Students always love listening to him talk. But, they say he's a bit boring with how slow he talks."
"Ah, but they learn very well don't they." Ren chuckled. "Father and Son had different methods of teaching. But, the same intent. The same passion." Ren smiled.
"Ren, you never answered my question. What do you mean about something stopping me from moving away from Signal?"
Ren rubbed his chin. "Whether it be following your mother's shadow or trying to get out from under it, you always thought of her."
Ali blinked rapidly, words fading within her throat.
Ren looked at her. He had always watched her. He was their legacy, all of their legacy. From Pyrrha to Yang, from Jaune to him, she was the culmination of their hopes, dreams, suffering, pain, loss and joy. Ali was their proof that they had endured.
So, he hated it when she was still stuck under them.
Ren placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled. "I considered your father my brother." Ren chuckled. "I consider you my niece. And I want you to know, that you are your own person. Start thinking for yourself." She needed to know this.
"I-" She shook her head. "I know. But, What's with this all of a sudden." She clasped her hand on Ren's. Ren squeezed it and sighed. He had to keep moving, not enough time. Ren moved away and continued to walk towards the gardens.
"What is so important today?" Aliquam blurted quickly.
Ren paused in his walk to look at Aliquam. Her eyes flickered and her shoulders seem less rigid than a few moments ago. So, she had finally lost her patience. He couldn't blame her. "Today is a very important day but no one alive knows it but me." Ren said. "I am the very last of my generation." Ren straightened his shoulders.
Ali looked at him strangely. "What do you mean?"
Ren looked her straight in the eye. It was time.
"You will be the next Headmaster of Beacon."
"I will be the next Headmaster of Beacon." He repeated. He shook his head as he laid down flowers onto the grass. He brushed a couple stray leaves from the top of the stone and smiled. "Can't really believe it. We were in a meeting at Beacon. We just got it rebuilt, and started to plan the logistics of it."
Ren felt his stomach twinge as he spoke. He grasped it and rubbed it slightly. The pain didn't subside. It multiplied.
Ren felt his knees buckle and he leaned on the cane he was holding. It had become a staple for him these past few years. Ever since that day, he always used it.
Ren reached into his pocket and pulled out a small vial. The blue liquid glowed slightly as he uncorked the top. He winced at the sour smell but chugged the contents quickly. The dust infused medicine would help ease the pain in his stomach. It would subside the poison for now. The aftermath of Salem's wrath had not been kind.
Ren wiped his mouth and shook his head. "Well, Beacon's been rebuilt. We planned these statues to honor everyone. Jaune didn't want the statues in the courtyard. He said he hated looking at those Statues. They were always reminding him what he wasn't. He doesn't want to be the face of a hunter. He just wanted to be one." Ren paused, taking a long breath.
"Everyone's doing great now. All moved on." Ren continued. " Ruby wanted to take over protecting the Maidens. Jaune wanted to help with inter-kingdom relationships. Weiss is doing something with Atlas. Blake and Sun were doing their own thing with the Faunus and Yang was hunting down some leads on Mercury"
Ren took a long breath and shook his head. "Anyways, we all got called into Beacon and they asked us to be Staff members of Beacon. Said it would boost morale. Ruby and Jaune flat out refused and everyone just shrugged." Ren slowly sat down cross legged. He placed his hand on his knees and smiled. "I didn't really have an excuse so I just accepted."
Ren couldn't keep the smile off his face. "I guess that means you can't bribe me anymore, Nora. Cause I got the school right?"
The tombstone didn't reply.
Ren leaned on his cane as he waited for Ali to collect herself. She stared at him, jaw wide. She reminded him of Jaune, when Ruby had broken the news about her pregnancy. Well, that is right before Yang socked him through a wall, in congratulations of course.
Ali shook her head. "Ren. I-"
"This has been a long time coming." Ren said. "I've held the position for far too long. You're ready. You've been ready for many years." Ren turned and continued walking down the path. He past through the arches and saw his destination straight ahead.
He heard Ali jog to catch up to him. Ren continued to hobble forward towards the small patio in front of a large statue. The patio was empty, as most people who knew about it where too busy getting students prepped for the school year. He scooted a chair out and sank into it. Ali quickly sat on the other side, her hands clenched.
Ren looked at her. He took in the worry, the fear, and the anxiety. But he saw the strength underneath. The pillar that would hold up the future generation. Yes, there was always a next generation. There was always people willing to fight the darkness, the grimm.
Ren sighed and looked back at the statue.
The statue.
He had commissioned it before he had become the headmaster of Beacon. He had never been the greatest of artists, surprisingly that was Jaune's skill. He described what he wanted and Jaune complied. The sculptors, after finding out what the statue was for, took great detail in every part.
The statues were simple. It was a simple statue of everyone who had participated in the Battle of Beacon, or rather those who had stayed behind to fight. Team SSSN stood next to Flynt Coal and Neon Kat. Team ABRN fought with Team CVFY. Team RWBY was with Team JNPR.
He noted the details on the faces. He took in the youth the stones showed. He wanted it that way. Wanted to see when they were still young, still hopeful, still alive. He didn't want to see the scars that marred their faces and the pain etched in their eyes. He wanted to remember them together, worrying about school, instead of worrying about the end of the world.
"You know." Ren said. "Ruby never told you about how she and your father met."
Ali blinked. She shuffled slightly in her seat. Gone was the deputy headmistress, replaced with a girl talking to her uncle. She placed her things to the side and folder her hand on her lap. "No, she never did. She always said they met at Beacon."
Ren chuckled. "Your mother actually blew a blew a hole in the ground."
"What?"
Ren nodded. He had heard the story from Jaune, much to Ruby's and Weiss's embarrassment. "Your Aunt Weiss had carried some red dust. And Ruby sneezed when she breathed it in. Blew a giant hole on the ground. A crater" Ren couldn't help but chuckle.
"I'm surprised they weren't blown off the rough." Ali said thoughtfully.
"Probably dumb luck." Ren said. "We were lucky. Very lucky." Ali laughed. Ren closed his eyes. Laughter. That's what he never heard a lot of anymore. He heard the laughter of his students. He heard the laughter of his co-workers.
But, he wanted to feel the laughter of his friends.
"Anyways. I've been thinking about this for a while." Ren said. "I wanted to pass the torch to you earlier. But you were busy with your kid." Ren felt a twinge in his chest. Not a lot of time. Ren shifted in his seat and balled his fists.
"Yeah." Ali said. "Should we do a ceremony? Or do you just want me to show up and announce you stepped down."
Ren chuckled "I'll leave that to you. You're deciding everything now."
Ali huffed. "Wow, Uncle Ren. Never thought you to be lazy."
"Just tired."
Ali sobered. "That's." Ali tapped her finger on the table. "This is more than just about the school isn't it."
Ren nodded. "Somewhat. I'm very tired Ali. I wanted to retire for a while. But I couldn't help but stay. There's nothing waiting for me in retirement."
"That's-" Ali started.
Ren shook his head. "No. I lost all of my family. All of my friends. And when Nora died." Ren's voice cracked. It still hurt. "I knew I was on borrowed time."
Ren's eyes snapped open as the ground shook. The sky was purple and cracked. Where was he? Where was Ruby and Jaune? Where was Nora? Nora! Ren struggled to sit up. He saw Aura flash in the sky. He turned and saw Jaune and Ruby streak across the sky, battling Salem. That's right. They had finally come to the alternate zone, the Shadow Remnant. The place where Salem was, where grimm spawned.
Ren staggered to his feet and grasped StormFlower. "Nora!" Ren's voice cracked through the air. He looked wildly around. His stomach hurt. Ren shuffled forward looking around. He saw melting corpses of grimm. He saw corpses of fallen soldiers and hunters.
He saw a broken Magnhild.
A chill ran through his body and he rushed forward. No. Nora would never give that weapon up. He had to get to it. He stepped forward quickly. He pushed his body as hard as he could. He was out of breath from only walking a couple steps. His leg gave out mid step and he crashed to his knees. Keep going. He started to crawl forward. He was almost there.
He bumped into something.
Ren looked down and saw her.
Her eyes closed.
A smile on her lips.
A hole through her chest.
He grasped her.
Pulled her in close.
He rocked back and forth.
He…
Ren opened his eyes and looked at her statue. They had captured her smile well.
"You asked me," Ren swallowed and stood up. "Why this day was so important." His leg quivered and he felt like he was going to fall. Ren tightened his grip on his cane and tried to push himself forward.
Ali moved to his side, as if sensing his struggle. She grasped his arm and helped him up.
Helped him.
Over his many years, both good and bad, so many people had helped him. And he was so thankful.
"You're finally going to tell me?" Ali said. Her voice was going quieter. The world was.
"Yeah." Ren chuckled. "It's the first day everyone" He nodded to the statue. "had pancakes together."
Ali giggled. Ren blinked. He couldn't feel her hands on his arm anymore.
"Help me over there." Ren nodded towards the statues. He looked at the weapons in their hands. They were 'replicas' of the previous hunters. No one would dare think they would put the fabled weapons of the hunters in a statue there. Most of them thought the weapons were at the museum dedicated to the tragic times.
Ali whispered. "Are you okay, uncle. Do you need your medication?"
Ren shook his head. "no. I don't. I need to show you something. Something important."
No. Ren had silently made replicas and swapped them out. The actual weapons were stored underneath.
Ren hobbled to the base of the statue and sighed. "Remember these words Ali. Remember them." He knelt. He placed his hand on the base and pressed down on the secret latch. "If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve." He swallowed. His throat was tight. His lungs burned in pain. But he had to say these words. "It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams are something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death."
As he spoke the final words, the sensors in the statues beeped twice and the base of the statue opened up. Out slid open several containers a soft glow lit the statue's marble.
Ali breathed. "Their weapons."
Their weapons. Ren looked at all of them. Crusted, rusted, broken, cracked, scarred and torn.
All of them there. Or at least would be. Ren reached into his robes and pulled out his StormFlower. He reached over and laid it gently where it belonged. He laid it next to Magnhild.
He pressed the button again. "Pancakes" He said again. The container receded inward and closed quietly.
Ali giggled. "Pancakes. Really uncle."
Ren cracked a smile. "Of course. You know how important pancakes are."
Ali shook her head. "Oh come on. So, you wanted me to see where their weapons were stored huh." Ali shrugged. "I guess the ones in the museum are just copies. So does that mean-"
Ren couldn't keep himself up right anymore and fell. Or at least he would have, if Ali had not caught him.
"Uncle?!" Her voice was so quiet now. The world was going dark.
"I'll get help. Just hang on."
Ren wanted to shake his head but couldn't. He could see their faces all of them.
"Goodbye," He whispered. "My old friends."
...
...
...
It was bright. It was warm.
He smelt something familiar.
Syrup.
Ren opened his eyes slowly. There was a roof above him. He blinked again. Green eyes now. Familiar ones. So familiar. He had imagined them for so long. Was he…. Was he….
"Wake up Lazy butt!" Nora cried.
Adrenaline surged through his body and he stood up quickly.
Nora. Her hair, youthful face. Beacon. Here. Ali. What was. Where was. When was. Ren turned around.
"-can't believe we've been at beacon for a whole twenty-four hours!" Nora sang.
Ren stared at her. Nora stopped in her parade and paused as she looked at Ren. She sobered slowly. "Ren?" Her voice was oddly quiet. An expression he didn't really see on her a lot. She only got like that when something truly serious was going on. "Ren are you okay?"
Suddenly, she was in his arms. His face pressed into her shoulder. The familiar smell of maple syrup. The warmth of her face.
Real.
Here.
Nora.
"Ren. Ren." Nora wiggled. "Okay now. Hold on." Nora pushed against Ren weakly. She stopped slowly as she felt something hit her shoulder. "Ren? Are you crying? What's wrong?"
Ren shook his head. "nothing Nora. Just a bad dream."
Ren looked up and saw people shuffle around. Some staring at them. Some walking to the bathrooms. He saw familiar blonde hair. He saw red hair. He saw young faces. He saw the past.
He couldn't help but smile.
"Nothing, Nora." Ren laughed quietly. He didn't know how this was possible. He didn't care.
"W-well." Nora said weakly. "You could let go of me dummy."
Ren nodded and slowly pulled back. Taking a good look at her. Her face was beet red and she wasn't looking at him at all. Something so starkly different from how he remembered her. Ren stood up and brushed himself off. He looked around him and felt a burst of energy within him. He couldn't help but think
Hello, my old friends.
HA So I can do happy endings. Anyways, I wanted to do this in celebration of the new Season coming out. It's not a dedicated or certified TenchiSaWaDa one shot and there's a reason why.
This main idea of following Ren actually came from Tobias Kitsune. He originally pencilled and forwarded me the idea. I traded a couple notes back and forth with him but he has yet to publish anything. So i decided to take it upon myself and give it a crack. It's not the best attempt but it's something nonetheless.
I wanted to get this one shot ( and plot bunny) out of my head. So, here's the follow up. What would happen to Ren now? I thought it interesting to have one of the exterme side characters take a crack at the spotlight. Anyone can grab the idea and run with it!
Hope you enjoyed and I'll be working on My Path that Loops and Flames born of dust Next!