Two years later, age 14
"Alright class," the instructor called, attracting his students' attention. "That's enough for today. Cool off and have a great night!"
I let my muscles relax and, across from me, Yang Xiao Long did as well.
"Nice spar, partner," she said, a grin on her face as she offered me a fist bump.
I reciprocated the gesture, thinking back on the fight. "Even again," I muttered to her, disbelief lacing my voice.
"I'm pretty sure I hit you more," she said, thumbing her nose as she started her stretches.
"I'm pretty sure you fail at math," I quipped, thumbing my nose back at her as I began mine.
She laughed and we fell silent, both focused on our cool down routines.
"So," she said some time later, breathless as she finished a stretch with a degree of flexibility that I couldn't even get close to. "I still think you should join up at Signal."
I sighed.
"I know," she said quickly. "Your mother and your sister need you. I get that. That's totally cool.
"But if you want… you can just take some of the extra classes. After the school day ends, you know?"
I glanced at her as I straightened, finishing my last stretch just as she finished hers'. We made our way over to the lockers together; it was winter in Vale and heavy coverings were necessary.
"That still doesn't account for the ocean in between Vale and Patch," I said dryly.
"There's a tunnel," she argued. "It's totally possible!"
"Maybe," I said noncommittally as I pulled my coat on – a hand-me-down from our neighbor's son. Once upon a time, it was navy blue, now the color had faded to a lighter shade through heavy use. Next to Yang's crisp Signal jacket, I probably looked like a hobo.
I snorted, amused by the thought, and headed for the door.
"Oh come on," she said as we walked out of the dojo. "How else are you gonna build a weapon?"
I glanced reflexively at her bracers; rather, I glanced at the part of her coat covering her bracers. That was true…
Ever since my father was killed by Grimm, again-
I'll kill them all. Every last-
I started training myself to be able to fight better. The night of that lunar eclipse was a sudden and shocking wake-up call – if I wanted to live a happy life in this far-more-dangerous world then I needed the strength to defend myself. The strength to defend my loved ones. Going un-noticed would not work, it was either fight or die.
To that end, I now worked with my Aura every night before bed. I took martial arts classes on Saturdays. I even started reading up on any piece of information I could find regarding Beacon, Signal and every huntress and hunter that did something noteworthy enough to be put in a book.
Of course, I also had to start working to support mom and Phoebe. Our neighbors helped when they could, but some of them were just as bad off as us; we could not rely on them. I now spent most days working as a stocker for a local grocery store, in lieu of attending school.
"Maybe," I said neutrally.
Yang scoffed. "Are you worried about falling behind? You can keep up with me and I'm one of the best!"
"Really," I said, poking a faded bruise on her cheek. It was still incredible to me, seeing Aura heal simple injuries like that. Bruises and scrapes would disappear before my eyes and small cuts were barely around long enough to see at all.
She jerked away from me reflexively and stuck her tongue out.
"Think on it," she said as she swung a leg over Bumblebee, her motorcycle.
I was completely jealous of it, not that I'd ever tell her that. She was a teenage girl and I had a hunch she would tease me for it endlessly.
"I will," I said, turning away and waving over my shoulder. "Later Yang!"
I wasn't completely certain I wanted to become a hunter. That would mean leaving mom and Phoebe on their own while I was away at school. It would certainly be the easiest way to gain strength, but it might not be the best for my family.
At the same time, I knew I needed a weapon if I wanted to fight on par with the Grimm. The Signal class would be useful. And attending it didn't mean I had to attend Beacon too. If I could find a way to go to it and not take away from my familial responsibilities…
My Scroll chimed and I pulled the device out, slightly annoyed at having to draw my hands out of my coat pockets.
The annoyance instantly faded when I saw the message waiting for me. It was a good one.
The first application I made, QuikPik, had just hit one hundred downloads on Beacon's virtual Quill – because apparently that was their name for apps – Library. It was essentially the same thing as Earth's Snapchat and my attempt to make Scrolls more than just business tools.
"Enten!"
I turned just in time to see Yang pull up beside me on Bumblebee.
'How had I missed the noise?'
Bumblebee was not quiet nor was it small; add to that the fact that it was a garish yellow in color and I realized that I must have grown so used to its racket that I instinctually phased it out.
"Want a ride," she asked once she stopped, offering me a helmet.
I thought for a moment, declining to mention the rose decals, blood red in color, intermixed with strawberries on the helmet and suppressed the reflexive impulse to decline because it would inconvenience her. Instead, I asked: "You sure? I live on the edge of the city, near Forever Fall Forest."
She nodded without hesitation, grinning at me from under her visor. "That's kinda on my way anyway. What's a ten minute detour compared to the hour long ride back home?"
Well, she offered and I wasn't about to turn down a ride home when the walk took me nearly an hour by itself.
"You know," I said as I accepted the helmet and climbed on behind her. "It never occurred to me until now… How are you legally driving this thing?"
She grinned at me over her shoulder and put a finger to her lips before flooring it.
'Why am I not surprised…'
One year later – age 15
I straightened, throwing my arms up over my head in a stretch to try and work out the kinks in my back. Pulling weeds was far from a glamorous task, but they needed to go if the family garden was to flourish.
I turned to go back inside the house and fiddled with the device on my right forearm, repositioning it so it didn't dig into the skin near my elbow so much.
'Something I'll have to ask the instructor about next class.'
The device was my weapon. It consisted, in its dormant state, of two white bands that rested around my wrist and just below my elbow. Stretching between the bands was a thick column of metal, also white in color.
It was Aegis.
I was absurdly proud when I finally got it to expand and collapse with the flip of a switch on my wrist; it made the money spent to get me into the early-evening classes at Signal all seem worth it.
Expanded, Aegiswas a kite shield that was nearly as wide as I was and half as tall. Right now it was unadorned, a simple shield, but hopefully that would change in the future.
I had plenty of ideas as far as adding some offensive power to it went – Yang's younger sister, Ruby Rose had been a great help in that department. The girl was a natural weaponsmith and, despite having just started at Signal two months ago, was already much better than I was.
My Scroll chimed and I pulled it from my jean pocket to see that I had a message from another advertiser, this one for a sports drink of some kind.
It was pretty common for me to receive messages like that one now. QuikPik was a hit at Beacon Academy and the companies that wanted to attract its students saw my app as the perfect medium.
I already had enough existing contracts though and I didn't want to insert any additional ads into the software – there was a fine line between having an acceptable amount of them and too many.
Thinking about my app – calling it a quill was far too cheesy for my tastes – led me to thinking about the money I was able to generate with it. It was a supplemental income, certainly, I still worked at the grocery store and my mother still picked up any work she could find as well; it was enough to pay for my Signal class though, a little more than enough actually. The Melkwegs now had a weekly family outing to The Fox and the Hare, a faunus-friendly restaurant not far from our home.
"Oh, sweetie," mom said as she caught sight of me. She had a pile of clothing in her arms and I didn't recognize any of it as ours'. A repair job maybe? She was pretty good at sewing. "Can you go get Phoebe?"
I glanced at the clock.
'5:46. Is she still at the park?'
"Sure," I said. "Are we still going out tonight?"
It was Sunday, usually the day we had dinner at The Fox and the Hare, but that changed depending on what work mom found.
She shook her head. "Not today. Sorry sweetheart – I know how much you like going out."
"No worries," I said, nonchalant. "Life throws unexpected surprises at you, sometimes."
Mother laughed. "Isn't that true."
Silence descended upon us then and mom sighed. I was about to turn toward the door when she reached out and gave me an impulsive hug.
"Mom," I asked, uncertain. I was taller than her now, almost an entire head taller actually. She had her face pressed into my shoulder but her shoulders weren't shaking.
'No tears then, at least'
I was horrible with crying women, in this life and my past one.
She pulled back with a deep inhale and put her hand on my cheek.
"You're growing up so fast," she said quietly. "I don't know what we'd do without you."
I was struck speechless by the sincerity in voice but she didn't seem to care that I could only answer her with stammering.
"Go on then," mom said, a smile on her face. She kissed my cheek and released me completely.
"Uh, see you when I get back," I said once I had gathered my wits, turning toward the door.
"And don't let her talk you into letting her stay!"
I snorted and called back to her in acknowledgement, shutting the door to the house behind me.
It would probably happen anyway; I could not say no to that girl if she pushed me on something. It was like she knew exactly what buttons to push to get her way.
Without dad, she looked up to me as her primary male role model. It was a heavy responsibility that caught me by complete surprise when I realized what she was doing. She would watch and observe me when she was younger – she still did it now, from time to time. In most situations she imitated what mom did, but sometimes, I saw myself in her actions.
Case in point: I went to pick her up from a friend's house once when she was three. This friend was a human so the family lived further in the city, away from areas that were more accepting of faunus.
Of course, Phoebe was only a girl of three at the time and adults, no matter how prejudiced, would not go after a child.
The human children, however, were a problem. They learned from watching their parents and when they saw adult faunus get treated like trash, they figured faunus kids were supposed to get treated like trash too.
Anyway, I was just getting to the house when I saw a human child harassing Phoebe and her friend. They were in the front yard, playing with chalk on the driveway, and the boy had just dumped his water all over whatever they had drawn.
Phoebe's friend immediately burst into tears and started running for the house, but Phoebe waited until the boy started running and grabbed one of his shoelaces.
The kid fell in the grass, unharmed but certainly shocked. He was just picking himself up when I reached the driveway. Between myself and the friend's parents, we were able to get an apology from the boy and the boy's parents – who were neighbors – as well.
Through it all Phoebe's face was strangely blank, but the second she and I had left her friend's house, she burst into giggles. The rest of the trip home was spent recanting every detail of the incident and the boy's face as he apologized.
What struck me about the incident most was the similarity to another one that had occurred just days before.
The entire family was walking downtown and someone roughly shouldered his way by mom. She stumbled but kept smiling as she spoke to Phoebe; I used a very small amount of my Aura to trip the asshole while they were distracted. When the man accused us of tripping him I played innocent and managed to make him look like an idiot in the process – we were well over fifteen feet away from him when he fell.
I had thought that Phoebe hadn't seen me do anything, but apparently she was sneakier than I gave her credit for.
A childish scream – playful, not fearful – broke me from my thoughts and informed me that I was at my destination: the park. It was a simple setup that consisted of a bare metal swingset, a few slides and a sandbox.
Searching the area, I found my sister playing with two other children in the aforementioned sandbox. An elderly faunus, a woman by the name of Lucia Grebble, was sitting nearby on a bench. She would watch the children when they played in the park on Sundays, her effort to help take some pressure off of the faunus parents' shoulders.
"Hey Mrs. G.," I called when I got close enough.
She looked up from her crossword. "Enten," she said, a smile on her face. "I swear you're getting taller every time I see you."
I grinned. "Maybe you're just getting shorter?"
"I certainly hope not," she chucked. "I already have enough trouble trying to reach tall shelves. I don't need any more!"
I smiled and a companionable silence fell over us. Phoebe was in the middle of a game of some kind and I didn't want to interrupt her.
"What's that there, on your arm?"
"This," I asked, bringing Aegis' bands up for her inspection. "It's Aegis, my shield."
"Oh," she exclaimed when I expanded it for her. One of her hands rose to cover her mouth for a moment. "I didn't know you were training to be a hunter!"
I shook my head, watching as Phoebe picked up a bucket of sand and threw it into the pile she and the other kids were making. "I'm not," I verbalized. "I just want to be able fight if… well, if there's a next time."
"Oh, dear," she said quietly, laying a hand on my left arm – the one without the shield. "The memories never fade, but the pain will, given time."
"Thanks," I said, equally quiet. I was surprisingly affected by my late father's passing, even now, regardless of my mental maturity. I spent several sleepless nights wondering what I could have done differently, how I could have saved him.
I had the power, but I was still so useless that night.
- claw marks, no arm, ribs exposed –
"Enten," I suddenly heard Phoebe gasp. "What is that?!"
She was in front of me now. Her knees and hands were absolutely covered in sand; she even had some on her face…
"What, this," I asked, lifting Aegis up in front of her eyes.
"Yes," she huffed, stamping her foot and pulling the shield down below her head so she could glare at me. It lost absolutely all of its animosity given the black rings around her eyes, though.
"Well it's a shield, silly!"
"Enten!"
"It's the shield I made," I laughed. "It's what I've been working on at those extra classes… Now why don't you say goodbye to your friends?"
She turned and belted off the quickest 'bye!' I had ever heard before promptly turning back to me.
"Are you gonna be a hunter? Can you use Aura? Do you know hunters? Oh! Or a huntress?! I want to be a huntress! Wait! Have you seen Beacon!?"
I laughed again, wondering where this interest had come from. She never told me anything about wanting to be a huntress.
"Alright alright, slow down!" I waited for her to take a breath. "What's with the sudden interest in being a huntress?"
"Because they're awesome," she exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. "Emilie's dad is a hunter and he can fly!"
The edge of my lips quirked up; that was an exaggeration. I'm pretty sure I knew of the hunter in question.
"Why are they awesome?"
"Because they protect people," she nodded. "Is that why you're gonna be a hunter?"
"Maybe," I said. Opening up the can of worms that came with telling her I wasn't going to be a hunter was not on my list of things to do tonight. I fell into silence instead.
"You're gonna be a good one," she said simply. "You protect mama and me. And now you can protect everyone!"
"Everyone? Even the people you don't like?"
She frowned. "Well, yeah! They're still people!"
I hummed, idly wondering if she would still think that when she was older. Or maybe I was just an asshole.
"They are," she insisted, pouting now.
I laughed. "Of course they are."
She grunted and turned her head away from me. "They're meanies sometimes," she said then, quieter. "But that's 'cause they don't got someone like you."
"Have," I corrected. "And what do you mean?"
"They're mean 'cause," she furrowed her eyebrows, trying to think of the right words, probably. "'Cause they don't go-have a big brother!"
It was sweet that she thought so much of me. I picked her up, ignoring her protests, and maneuvered her onto my back. I'd probably get so much sand down my shirt for this…
"I like it up here," she stated once she was done squirming and decided that she did, in fact, enjoy being carried.
"I'm glad," I said, a small grin on my face. "Maybe you'll be this tall one day."
She gasped. "No! Mama says you're taller than both of us together!"
I laughed again, feeling more light-hearted than I had in a long time. This was why I trained to fight.
To protect my family. My loved ones.
Everyone else? Tough luck.
Three months later – age 15
I watched, bemused, as Ruby tried to unjam her scythe-gun-thing. The girl, sporting her usual outfit that consisted of a dark dress with a flared skirt and red highlights, was ecstatic when she invited me out to Signal's training fields, going on and on about how she finally got her rifle working.
A glance over at her 'target' told me that it did indeed 'work'. The tree had a deep bullet wound in its side… Between the tree and the weapon, though, the tree definitely walked away the proverbial victor.
"Ughhh," she grunted in frustration, flopping onto her back and allowing Crescent Rose's not-so-insignificant weight to fall on her midsection.
"It did shoot the tree," I pointed out amidst the woosh of air as it was abruptly forced from her lungs.
"Yeah," she coughed, lifting up her weapon. "But it got jammed! What am I supposed to do if it gets jammed in battle? Who am I going to save like that?" She paused a half second. "No one! That's who!"
A sigh escaped my throat. "Come on Ruby, you're the best weaponsmith at Signal. You'll have it unjammed in no time."
"Nooo," she whined. "It's too deep!"
'Oh if Yang were here now…'
"Show me," I said instead.
She huffed, looking much like the child she was with the pout on her face. It was hard to remember she was two years younger than me, all in all Ruby was incredibly mature for her age.
Sometimes.
"Here," she pointed. "The casing is stuck and I can't get it out because the metal sheered it right through!"
Sure enough, there was a spent casing wedged inside Crescent Rose's barrel. It was impaled on the metal of the gun itself.
'The recoil on this thing must be something…'
"That's no problem, just use your Aura."
Her brow furrowed and she hugged Crescent Rose to her chest. "No, I don't want to break her!"
Was her control really that bad?
"Let me see it," I said, resolute.
She recoiled though. "No! You're just going to break her!"
"It's not like I'm going to punch her-it – 'Damnit Ruby!' –, I'm just going to remove the casing."
She still looked wary, hugging the giant scythe like it was some kind of deadly teddy bear.
"Gently," I added.
Ruby stared me down for another ten seconds, long enough that the silence was so awkward that I was about to give up and just go home. Eventually, though, she offered me the weapon by setting it down on the ground in between us.
I leaned over her – it – well aware that Ruby was watching me like a hawk.
'Honestly, this girl and her weapons,' I thought as I reached out with my Aura and meta-physically grasped the spent shell. With a gentle application of force, it was no longer impaled on the metal of the barrel and instead floating sedately above the weapon.
A gasp directed my attention back to Ruby; she was sitting on her butt with her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were wide.
"How did you do that?!"
I shot her a confused look. "I… used my Aura?"
"That's not Aura," she shook her head emphatically. "You punch stuff with Aura, and block stuff," she said, miming the two activities comically alongside her words.
"You mean," I started slowly, carelessly sending the spent shelling rocketing toward a nearby tree. It stuck in the bark. "You can't do things like that?"
Her mouth had dropped open again. "That is so cool!"
"I'll take that as a no," I laughed, her enthusiasm was infectious.
"That must be your Semblance!"
I nodded, it made sense. I had never actually read of any huntresses or hunters doing anything with their Aura. It was just… there. It protected them and strengthened their bodies, but beyond that it was a non-entity. There were a few people that could use it to such a degree that it noticeably flared when they attacked or defended against an attack; I had thought I was just ahead in its manipulation, given my adult mind and too much time on my hands as a child. I guess not.
A thought struck me then. I had no idea what Ruby's Semblance was. Or Yang's, for that matter.
'Speaking of Yang…'
"Where's Yang today? And what's your Semblance?"
Ruby frowned, an expression that looked foreign on her face. "Yang's with her boyfriend. I tried to get her to come with us, but she was all 'No I want to see him!', ugh."
I couldn't help but smile. The thirteen year old evidently didn't care about boys. Yet.
"And your Semblance," I reminded her gently.
She perked up.
'The mood swings on this one…'
"It's awesome," she stated as she got to her feet. Without any further prompting, she shut her eyes in concentration. Her fists balled up and she leaned forward on her feet, like she was about to take off sprinting.
After about three seconds I started to wonder if I missed something, but then she vanished.
My eyes widened. There was only a trail of red rose petals now, which led to…
'Ah! Not quite vanished… but that was incredibly fast.'
"Wow," I said, looking between where she used to be and where she was now.
Ruby straightened and exhaled, looking quite proud of herself. "It takes me a while to use it, but I'll get better!"
I nodded and offered her a smile. "I'm sure you will."
She grinned back at me. "Yours is cool too though! You'll do great at Beacon!"
Her grin looked a bit strained toward the end; it took me a moment, but I came to the conclusion that she was feeling left out. And that made sense, outside of myself and Yang, I didn't know of anyone that Ruby hung out with. And she only knew me through Yang.
'Maybe I can convince her to socialize more and work on her weapon less?'
At any rate, I had a question to answer…
"You might see more of me than you think, Ruby," I smiled my best reassuring smile. "I'm not attending Beacon."
"What?!"
My eyes widened, surprised as I was at her absolutely flabbergasted expression. She had even dropped Crescent Rose.
"I'm not going-"
"I know, I know," she said quickly. "But why? Beacon Academy is where all the huntresses and hunters get trained! How are you going to be one without going there?!"
I was beginning to think it was a bad idea to tell her of my reluctance, but it was a little too late to take back my words now.
"Being a hunter isn't for me, Ruby."
"You…" She looked so lost. "Why don't you want to be a hunter?"
"I don't see any reason in being one," I shrugged. "I want to get strong to protect my loved ones, not everyone else."
Her brow furrowed. "But… that's so selfish…"
I knew her opinion of me was plummeting. It made me feel pretty bad about myself, but it didn't change my priorities.
"Yeah," I said simply. How could I explain what losing three parents felt like? What feeling so powerless and watching him die felt like? Seeing my mother, and even my five-year-old sister, deal with so much prejudice; what that felt like?
I couldn't. I couldn't put into words the way that made me feel.
"You… You don't mean that," she said softly. "You can't… What if you aren't there? You can't always be there to protect them!"
My jaw tightened ever so slightly. I didn't want to think about that.
I would.
"I will."
"You can't," she said, more angry than sad now. "You can't always be there to protect them!"
My fists clenched and I contemplated walking away, but that didn't sit well with me. Running away never did.
"I'll find a way," I said tightly.
She shook her head and stomped up to me. "When you aren't there, what will happen? What if a hunter is near, wouldn't you want him to protect your loved ones because you weren't-"
"Enough, Ruby," I spat.
Her words unsettled me. My reluctance to become a hunter had never been questioned before. I didn't enjoy having my flaws pointed out.
'But she's right.'
Sure, she's right. But only if mom and Phoebe go for a walk in the Forever-Fall-fucking-Forest. There weren't any Grimm near- There usually weren't any Grimm near-
'Damnit all!'
I shook off the thought and forced myself to calm down. Slowly, my breathing grew quieter and my posture, less rigid.
"This is my family," I said once I was sufficiently calm enough to speak without snapping at her. She looked sullenly at the picture I kept on me at all times – one of Phoebe at her last birthday. Mom was standing behind her, reminding her to blow out the candles on the cake.
I saw the edge of the girl's lips quirk. "She's cute," she muttered softly.
"This was my family, before the Grimm got to us."
This picture was one I rarely looked at anymore. It was taken just a few short weeks before the lunar eclipse, a typical family photo set in front of a fireplace.
Ruby's shoulders drooped, evidently catching on to what I was saying.
Good. I didn't feel like verbalizing it any more than I already had. And yet… there was more to tell.
I jabbed my finger at the photo. "This is my second family. My parents, my birth-parents, were killed by Grimm as well."
Blood flying as it spun. Some in my eye? Sweat? Dive! DivedivedivediveDIVE!
The thoughts were blinked away before they could haunt me any further. I felt a grimace form on my face all the same.
"I will not lose them," I said, looking her in the eye. "I wi-"
My breathing hitched, completely taking me by surprise. I swallowed, finding it harder than normal. A blink of my eyes; a surprised expression flew onto my face.
'Am I?'
No. Hell no. I was over this. I was better than this!
I breathed deeper, trying to even it out.
Ruby stepped forward and looped her arms around my back. I swallowed again. My breathing wasn't evening out. I didn't need to be hugged! This wasn't helping!
Why wouldn't it even out!?
"Shhhh," the girl hummed as a long, shuddering breath escaped me. I felt my muscles start to slacken.
Blood. So much blood. No arm-ribs-why!?
I clenched my teeth even as my knees gave out.
Ruby caught me, somehow. Her weapon maybe. It was heavy and what was I doing?
"It's okay," she said quietly.
And like water released from a burst dam, it all came rushing out.
I was sobbing.
I lost all sense of coherent thought. The memories of those nights – of both nights – flashed through my head several times but I never felt anything about them. No rage, no pain. No shame. Nothing. I was an observer. A watcher with no attachment.
It was cathartic.
There was blood. So much blood. Why was there always blood? Why was I so weak?
I had blamed myself. Carried this burden for so long. I knew about it, the entire time I knew about it. I knew what I was doing! But I couldn't let it go. It was my burden to bear. It was always mine… Or was it? Was it my burden to bear?
Could I be blamed? No one blamed me. Should I blame myself?
I hadn't brought my family to Forever Fall Forest those days. Both of them.
I could have done something!
And I had! I had fought. So hard. I had saved so many people the second time… so many…
I gasped and swallowed, suddenly aware that I was on the ground now, awkwardly being cradled by a girl that was perhaps half my size. She was trembling, and for a second I thought she was crying too, but then I realized she was only trying to keep from being crushed by my weight.
Given the awkward, bent-over-backward position she was in, it looked pretty difficult. Something her exertion-strained, red face attested to.
She tried to give me a smile and suddenly, I was laughing.
As in, deeply. Harder than I'd laughed in a long, long time.
Ruby looked confused for an instant but, soon enough, she was laughing right along with me.
It was cathartic.
Two years later – 17 years old
I glanced down at my Scroll once more, just to make sure I had read the message right.
'Yeah, same as the last three times.'
Beacon Academy was interested in me, oddly interested. I had a sneaking suspicion Ruby – and Yang, to a lesser extent – was behind this.
Ever since The Great Cry – we'd had a good laugh over Yang's confused expression – she had been all about me going to Beacon. I was still resistant, not only because I felt the people I would be required to protect weren't worth it, but because I was needed at home as well.
My job at the grocer was important to my family. That income supported us, meagre though it was, and I couldn't just abandon them to go be a hunter.
'No matter how much the idea appeals to me more day-by-day.'
And that was true. Ruby and Yang were relentless in their attempts to sway me into going. Admittedly, there were some people that I felt deserved protection… but that was a far cry from Ruby's mentality of everyone being worth it.
No… I knew better.
In the end it came down to Beacon and the strength it could provide me. I would be stronger if I attended the school – that much was certain. It was a breeding ground for the best fighters Vale produced, filled with experienced teachers and challenging peers. That kind of competition would doubtlessly get me farther than I would ever progress by myself. Perhaps it was worth going, if only for a year, to see what it was like.
But the money situation with my family always ended the mental debate at that point – regardless of my desires, I needed to work. To support mom and Phoebe. Potential for strength it may offer, but Beacon could not provide for the Melkwegs.
Or so I had thought.
Now, as I read through the message again, I realized I was out of reasons… Which was… good? Right? I wanted to go? I wanted to see if it was worth it?
I got off my bed, suddenly restless, and went downstairs to get some water. The stairs were descended quietly, with an ease born from years of experience using them, only to find my mother sitting at the kitchen table, a magazine spread out in front of her and a glass of water in her hand.
She greeted me mutely, with a smile, and I joined her at the table after procuring some water for myself. A few gulps later and I swallowed deeply, fiddling with my Scroll.
"So," I started slowly. "Beacon."
Mom froze, then looked up at me and smiled suddenly. She put down her magazine and sat back in her chair.
"I was wondering when you would come to me with this," she said. "It's all you've spoken of for the past two years."
My eyebrows arched in surprise and she laughed quietly, doubtlessly aware that Phoebe – notoriously light sleeper that she was – would wake at the slightest provocation.
It had made her a horrible baby.
"It was such a relief," she recalled. "I was worried you wouldn't enjoy yourself after Mars passed."
"I did," I said slowly.
She shook her head. "You were so concerned with getting stronger. Nothing else mattered to you… I… I wasn't sure what to do.
"I'm glad you've stopped blaming yourself," she finished.
I grunted, still surprised. I hadn't been aware of a change in my behavior. I knew now that I once carried the blame for dad's death on my shoulders. That, at least, faded after my talk with Ruby. My desire to grow stronger…though. That was still there. That was still very much there because I would not lose anyone else!
"I'm still not sure if I want to go," I said eventually – mostly out of a lack of anything better to say.
"Honey," she said, amused. "You're plenty strong for Phoebe and I. We all know that."
I supposed that was true. I was reasonably confident that I could take down most Grimm now, or at the very least keep them away from Mom and Phoebe. It was the people on the streets I was worried about; the ones who sneered and hurled insults at the faunus. Their strength was unknown. It was hidden. It wasn't judged by the thickness of their armor or the size of their body, like it was with the Grimm. A human's strength was only revealed after they decided to use it. I needed to be stronger than that… then them. Because who knew when someone would take the insults too far? Who knew when someone would cross the line?
I'd seen it happen before, there were stories in the news about it all the time, even. A peaceful rally that ended in death. A group of humans that murdered a faunus on the street because they thought themselves justified. It didn't happen often, but it happened.
Mom sipped at her water and continued, drawing me from my thoughts. "Why keep up with your classes, if not to keep up with your friends."
I frowned, glancing again at my Scroll.
'Five times now.'
She had a point. My friends kept me going. They were my competition; my measuring stick and I knew it was partially thanks to Ruby and Yang that I was as strong as I was now. By myself I would have no reason to push myself – I wouldn't even have the means to know if I was pushing myself. When Yang bested me in a spar, I forced myself to be better. When Ruby stayed up all night working on Crescent Rose, I found improvements that I could make to Aegis so I could match her work ethic.
So… mom was right. Partially, at least.
She thought I was over my need to get stronger for her and Phoebe but she also thought me a teenage boy. She probably didn't realize that I knew just how dangerous the world was for the faunus.
So was Beacon worth it? That was the million dollar question: was the strength it offered me worth the danger I'd be putting myself in for people who clearly didn't deserve to be saved?
In light of the realization that I wanted to grow stronger in part because of my friends, I was beginning to think that it was. Maybe, just maybe, I could stand the responsibilities were Yang and Ruby there with me.
I nodded resolutely and slid my Scroll across the table to her.
She picked it up, brow furrowed in confusion. As she read, though, a smile grew on her face and I felt one appear on my own in response.
"Sweetheart," she breathed. "This is- How?"
"I have a feeling Ruby's fingers are all over this," I said, my smile morphing into something of a smirk now. "Her dad and her uncle teach at Signal, they both know Beacon's headmaster."
"Why haven't I met this girl," Mom said, smiling softly as she looked back at the Scroll. Then, suddenly, her eyes darted up to the calendar.
"Honey," she said quickly. "The first day of class starts tomorrow."
My eyes widened. "What?"
"Tomorrow," she repeated, offering up the Scroll so I could verify it.
I read through the message once more. Offer of scholarship… Reimbursement for programmatic… Sufficient for a family of, say, three… Full four years… Class starts tomorrow. Don't be late.
Oh, hell.
"Uhh," I said slowly. "I guess I should go pack?"
A/N: (01/12/2016) Reviewed. Renewed. Revised and any other like word you can think of.
Happy reading!
-Phailen