The sick feeling never went away like I thought it would. I stretched out on my bed, unable to sleep. For a while, I tried to listen to the gentle ticking of my clock hoping it would lull me to sleep with its steady rhythm to no avail. Eventually, I didn't even care about sleeping anymore.
I just wanted to throw the damned clock out the window if only to put an end to its stupid tick-tick-ticking.
Instead, I jumped out of bed. Immensely frustrated, I stalked out into the hallway and into the bathroom. A few minutes in a warm bath would hopefully relax my nerves enough to get some rest. I stumbled to turn on the lights, threw open the shower curtain, and let the water run warm. I began to undress.
Something alerted my senses and I froze. I expanded my aura outward, knowing I would be able to detect any nearby auras. It was part of what made me special, and one of the few perks of my ability that wasn't horribly lethal. Sure enough, I could sense a spark of someone else's aura. It was subtle, which meant they were trying to conceal themselves. Anyone from Beacon either didn't know I would be able to sense them, or shouldn't care. Normally, if I hadn't already been on edge, I wouldn't have noticed such a small warning at all. But I had been risking my life, in one way or another, since my early childhood and the fear had left me paranoid.
I redressed and locked the door. I left the water running, deciding that if this person would use the loud sound to drown out their movements, so would I. I silently moved to my bathroom window and pried it open. The night air slapped me in the face and woke up my senses. A small victory, I supposed. I climbed out as quickly as I could, ignoring the five stories of empty space between me and the ground, and jumped to my back porch. My back door's lock had been broken, expertly damaged to the point of needing replacing. However, I never heard anyone breaking the lock.
The implications sent a frigid cold shock down my spine. I peeked into my own apartment.
Roman never even bothered to hide. He was sitting in my living room, looking around with place with curious detachment. He had removed his white coat and placed it down carelessly on my sofa. It was statement, really. He was making himself comfortable, claiming territory.
He was currently on my computer. For long and doing what, I wasn't sure. But I must have waited too long to sense his presence because he was suddenly standing again, done with whatever he had been doing on my computer.
He walked over to the bathroom, where the water could still be heard running. He jiggled the handle a couple of times. For a split second, a look of subtle confusion crossed his face and left as he worked out why the bathroom door was locked when I was supposed to be the only one home.
By then, however, I had already entered my own home and snuck up behind him. He spun around, swinging his cane in a defensive maneuver. I blocked it, sweeping it aside and jabbing at him with the palm of my hand. It landed, but not in the way I had hoped. He applied a similar blocking maneuver as I had done, but only succeeded in throwing off my aim. It was a glancing blow off of his arm, doing minimal damage. Still, it had applied enough force to push him back into the door.
I attempted a proper punch this time, aiming for his throat. But he grabbed my wrist. I tried to correct myself, but his grip was too strong. He spun me away from him, and brought down his Melodic Cudgel down on my back.
I was left with no option but to roll with the hit. The pain burned and spread across my back and shoulder like wildfire. However, I somersaulted with the hit. It was enough to keep him from breaking anything, but there would be a nasty bruise there tomorrow. The roll also put some precious distance between us. With his hold broken, I was able to turn to face him again. I was just quick enough to see his next swing coming and I concentrated some of my aura into my hands. Both of them were surrounded by a subtle glow. With one of those hands, I blocked his swing, concentrating the power into a small shield. With the other, I thrusted out at him, powering my hit with my aura.
He flew back, hitting a wall hard. The hit had stunned him for mere seconds, but I used that time to rush to the adjacent wall and to my dart board. Rather than being filled with darts, however, it had three large daggers sticking out of it. I yanked all three out of the board, spun my heels, and aimed for Roman's head.
With ease, Roman deflected two of the knives. The third and final one, although, I threw just a split second slower, hoping to throw off his timing. He moved to deflect that one as well, but missed. It dug three inches into the wall above his head.
He bared his teeth at me in a twisted parody of a smile, and my stomach churned. He knew he had the advantage in this fight. I was weaponless and in an enclosed space. If I wanted to unleash the full power of my aura on him, I would not only face severe backlash myself, but could significantly damage the building, potentially even bringing down a chunk of it and injuring dozens.
His cane was also a problem, allowing him 360 degrees of maneuverability with his weapon. His upper body defenses were too strong to efficiently attack with his cane and speed. His lower body was a better shot, but left me more vulnerable to strikes from his cane. This was the same advantage that came from swords and other long weapons, and was a weakness of bulkier weapons like Ruby's scythe. It was why I had picked my circular sword in the first place. But it was secured in my bedroom, having seen no reason to bring it to the bathroom with me.
Only a second passed as I assessed my situation, but it was enough for him to recover and take the initiative. He came at me swinging again, and I was forced back. Side-stepping his attacks, I kept blocking his cane with small shields of my aura, doing my best to conserve my aura at the same time.
The more I used my aura, the more tired I became. My head started to hurt from the strain, but I didn't allow myself to misstep. I desperately searched for an opening.
Of course, none of my efforts mattered. Roman was not slowing down, and he was too smart to leave any obvious opening. Any small opening I did manage to find, he either blocked or my hit didn't slow him down enough. The hit would simply send him a couple feet back, he would recover, and the cycle would begin again.
Inevitably, I hit a wall. Literally and figuratively. My heel caught on my rug, I tripped, and my body slammed itself up against a wall. Before I had time to recover, Roman was on top of me. His hand wrapped itself around my neck and pinned me in place.
"It looks like I'm a better teacher than I thought." He told me.
I squirmed underneath him. "You are an absolute prick," I spat at him. He lifted my head slightly and slammed it back into the wall. His smile grew.
"And you are going to give me some answers." His grip tightened and it became harder to breathe.
"Why don't I take that stupid hat of your and shove it up your-"
He slammed my head again. "Come on, now you know that's not what I wanted to hear."
"What makes you think I'm going to tell you anything?" I hissed, trying to take deep breaths to keep myself from passing out.
"Because I'm asking nicely." He answered. His thumb briefly traced up and down my neck. It wasn't a seductive gesture. It was a not-so-subtle reminder that he could, and likely would, break my neck. "Because you're dead if you don't"
"I'm dead if I do," I pointed out. He pretended to consider that for a moment then shrugged and nodded.
"Yeah, yeah you are." He conceded. I struggled against his grip more forcefully, my lungs beginning to softly burn from the lack of oxygen. He pressed his weight against me in response. He leaned in closer. "But if you don't tell me what I want to know, then Team RWBY is dead."
For a moment, I was dumbstruck. Beacon teams were often putting themselves in danger or making enemies. It was why we kept team information strictly confidential.
"How…?" I began, but stopped myself.
My computer.
"I got to say, I never thought you would be someone's personal kiss-ass. By the looks of your apartment, he can't be paying you well, either." Roman mused. "And it's not as if you could stop me from killing your girls."
He barely finished his last word before I took my free hand, clenched it into a fist, and punched him right in the jaw.
It didn't hit hard, but it hit hard enough. Roman's grip loosened on my neck and I used my leverage to head butt him squarely on the nose. Blood streamed freely from both nostrils and he took a few steps back. Completely free from his grasp, I used the wall one more time to support myself as I kicked him in the gut. Roman was knocked back again, completely stunned. I unleashed my aura at him, not letting up my attack.
He sailed across the apartment, crashing through my back door. The backlash from my aura knocked me against the wall, leaving me breathless. My head cracked hard against the wall, and pain shot through my entire body. A deafening ring filled my ears and for a delirious moment I thought someone had pulled an alarm. It took a couple of moments for the shock to wear off, and I feared that I had left myself vulnerable for too long. But Roman was still picking himself up the floor even as I came to.
I pursued him, rage emitting off of me in hot waves.
"You, of all people, should know not to threaten the people I care about." I told him, my voice dropping into a low threat.
Again, in the back of my head, I couldn't for the life of me recall when I started to care for them. All I could picture is Team RWBY and Team JNPR and the dozen of great moments we have shared.
All I knew, dammit, was that I cared for them, and Roman wanted to kill them.
By the time I reached him, he had mostly recovered. He leaned against my railing for support, readying his cane for a fight. But my aura had hit him hard, and he wasn't able to bring himself into a full stand. Still, his cocky smile never faltered.
"Oh, look who's the big, bad, mad body guard, huh?" He chuckled and swung his cane. Again, I blocked his cane with my arm, willing my aura into a small shield. This happened twice more. He would swing from a different angle, and I would block.
Then he surprised me by throwing his whole weight into a low-sweeping kick. I managed to dodge the kick, but I was becoming exhausted and lost my footing. I managed to recover my stance before falling over, but the mistake had put a small amount of distance between us again. He was able to get better leverage and went for another hard swing.
Willing my aura to my hand, I grabbed his cane mid-strike. The aura absorbed most of the blow, but the hit still reverberated through me. Pain shot down my arm, but it was well worth the risk. The maneuver had caught him off guard.
Not releasing the cane, I kicked him hard in the gut, pressing him against the railing. His grip on the cane reflexively loosened and I yanked it free from him. I used the hook end of the cane to grab his leg and yank it out from under him. He fell hard, smacking his head on the railing behind him. Vulnerable, there wasn't much he could do to defend himself from my strike. I raised the cane high, bringing it down on him,
I stopped mid-strike, the cane frozen in place an inch above his head. I looked him dead in the eye. "I am not like you." I said. I tossed his cane over the railing.
His smile grew even larger. "Oh, I highly doubt that, sweetheart. You're more like me than you realize. Or do you think that everyone has forgotten what you did just because Ozpin pulled a few strings and got you out of prison?" He looked at me up and down, straightening himself into a seated positon. "No, I think you're more like me than you would care to admit." He added, appearing thoughtful.
I heard knocking at my door. Unsurprising, considering the noise that we must have caused. Still, I never turned away from Roman. You never turn your back on an enemy.
Roman had taught me that.
"You are delusional." I spat back at him, grinding my teeth. "You're right about one thing, though. You were a good teacher." He raised an eyebrow at me. "It's just that Ozpin was better."
His smile crumbled at my words, his eyes turning into daggers. "Do you really think he isn't using you like everyone else?" He asked. "How stupid are you?"
I couldn't bring myself to respond to his question. I didn't really think he expected me to. Instead, I asked, "Why the hell are you here?"
His smile returned. "I already got what I needed." He held up a USB drive. I grabbed at it but he drew his hand away too quickly.
"What did you do?" I growled.
"Don't worry your pretty little head about that." He assured me, standing up. "You just worry about yourself." He jumped up onto the railing, balancing with ease. The knocking on the door became more violent. "Oh, and it would be in your best interest to keep your girls on a leash because, if any of them get in my way again, I'll kill them." He threatened.
"Lay one hand on them and, trust me; they will be the least of your worries." I shot back.
He jumped over the railing, grabbing onto a nearby tree. Branch by branch, I watched him lower himself to the ground and disappear into the night.
The knocking grew louder, rattling the door.
"What's been going on in there? Open this door, right now!" It was Glynda. Her voice was high with anger and annoyance. I slowly made my way back toward my front door.
As it turned out, it didn't matter. I was about half way to my door, when I heard the lock snap and the door flew open. Glynda, Doctor Oobleck, Professor Peach and Professor Port all rushed in, weapons drawn.
"What is exactly the point of having a lock if everyone insists on breaking them?" I demanded, crossing my arms defiantly at them. The three of them were too distracted by my apartment to notice. Chairs and tables had been smashed to pieces, scattered all over the room. The knife that I had thrown at Roman was still lodged deep into the wall. At some point in the fight, one of us must have broken a lamp as glass lay strewn across the floor as well. Simply put, a cyclone might as well have gone through this room for all the damage that was done.
"What happened? Are you alright?" Glynda asked.
"I'm fine. I just had an… unexpected visitor." I said slowly, unsure of how much information I should share with them.
Glynda, however, was no moron. Ozpin would have just finished his interview with Blake and Ruby a few hours ago. "Torchwick was here?"
I smiled bitterly. "Are any of us really that surprised?"
"How did he get past our security?" It sounded as is Professor Peach had asked the room, but her cold eyes stayed on me. I met her gaze, unflinching and unapologetic.
"I don't know Professor Peach. Perhaps we should ask security instead of wasting our time here." I said.
"Considering that you advise security, I don't think my question is completely out of line." She countered.
She wasn't entirely wrong. Because of my 'background', Ozpin couldn't legally make me head of security. However, nothing legally stopped me from advising security. It was slightly ironic, since what prevented me from being security is what made my advice so valuable.
Oobleck and Port both tossed me sympathetic glances. Out of all the teachers here, the two of them had always been the least suspicious of me, and I liked them in return.
"We all know that Roman Torchwick is unpredictable." Glynda said, her voice sharp. With that, Glynda temporarily ended the fight between Professor Peach and myself. Peach opened her mouth, probably wanting to point out that I knew better than anyone. One look at Glynda, although, and she thought better of it. "The rest of you go home. Apparently, the crisis is over."
With that, Professor Peach, Oobleck, and Port all turned to leave and I turned my attention to my computer.
I shook the mouse to bring the computer out of sleep mode and immediately tried to do a comprehensive search on my data history to figure out what Roman had managed to retrieve. The fact that he had gotten anything at all was impressive, but not surprising. He wasn't a moron, either, and given the right tools and significant time, there was little Roman couldn't break or hack in to.
I barely got started, however, before the screen began to flash 'Warning! Warning!' at me. "Oh, no. No no no no no." I muttered.
Sparks were suddenly flying out of my computer. The screen alternated between blue, red, and green. Finally, there was a hiss, a pop, and then nothing. I was almost a little disappointed that a skull and cross bones didn't appear before it officially died its painful death.
Angrily, I struck the computer with a closed fist. It hit the wall and the screen broke. "What do people have against me owning stuff?" I yelled, slamming the laptop closed and knocking it to the floor. "Piece of crap!"
"Who are you referring to? Your computer or Roman?" Glynda asked from behind me.
I forced a laugh. "Roman wishes he was worthy to be a piece of crap." I tried to swallow away the lump that had formed in my throat. "He took something off my computer, and now I don't know if or when I'll be able to figure out what." I explained. To my horror, my voice was shaking.
For a long moment, Glynda didn't say anything. "We will give you the resources to fix your computer in order to discover what he took, and give you a new one in the meantime for business use." She told me.
"He knew who Team RWBY were." I replied, not able to look at her. "He knows their names. He can find them."
She placed a hand on my shoulder. "Then we will double security, change our passwords, and do whatever else you recommend to increase security." She said. After another beat, she added, "Roman won't be able to get on this campus again. He won't get to Team RWBY."
Because of our differences, I forgot how kind Glynda truly was. She prided herself on her compassion and her judge a person's morality. As often as I knew Professor Peach would accuse me, either directly or indirectly, of being an untrustworthy criminal, Glynda's faith in me never wavered. She didn't see me as the person I used to be, but the person I was.
Or at least, who I tried to be.
Without another word, Glynda left.