Yahallo! Kaage here with part 2 of "The Shining Beacon"! I've been re-watching RWBY non-stop and reading transcripts to try to make this story as accurate as possible.
In other news, I've hurt my hand during Kendo practice, as well as my ankle when I was putting up the posters for the new International Music Club. I just need 4 more people to make the club official!
So see you at the end!
~Kaage
~Volume 1, Chapter 2: The Shining Beacon, Part 2~
Eventually, the 5 young Huntsmen and Huntresses found their way to the main hall.
"Well, I'll see you guys during the initiation. Cinder, Em. Let's go find Mercury" Rain walked away, waving and smiling at the socially awkward duo.
"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!" Yang waved towards Ruby.
"Oh! Hey, I-I gotta go! I'll see you after the ceremony!" Ruby said towards Jaune, leaving.
"Hey, wait! Ah, great. Where am I supposed to find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?!" Jaune sighed, walking away, not noticing a Red-headed Amazonian watching him walk away.
Ruby stood beside Yang arms crossed. "How's your first day going, little sister" Yang asked
"You mean since you ditched me and I exploded?"
"Yikes! Meltdown already?" Yang asked, surprised.
"No, I literally exploded in front of the school! And there was some fire, and I think some ice...?" Ruby explained.
"Are you being sarcastic?" Yang asked skeptically, smiling broadly.
Ruby scoffed, not noticing Weiss standing right beside her. "I wish! I tripped over some crabby girl's luggage, and then she yelled at me, and then I sneezed, and then I EXPLODED, and then she yelled at me again, and I felt really, really bad, and I just wanted her to stop yelling at me!"
"YOU!"
"Oh, God, it's happening again!" the young girl said, quickly jumping into her sister's arms.
"You're lucky we weren't blown off the side of the cliff!" Weiss shouted, pissed.
"Oh, my God, you really exploded..." the blonde said, wide-eyed.
"It was an accident. It was an accident!" Ruby spoke, only to have a pamphlet titled 'DUST for dummies and other Inadequate Individuals' shoved in front of her face. "What's this?"
Weiss started listing off policies to a clueless and horrified Ruby, going faster and higher pitched with each word "...The Schnee Dust Company is not responsible for any injuries or damages sustained while operating a Schnee Dust Company product. Although not mandatory, the Schnee Family highly encourages their customers to read and familiarize themselves with this easy to follow guide to Dust applications and practices in the field"
"Uuhhh...?"
"You really wanna start making things up to me?"
"Absolutely?"
She then handed the pamphlet to Ruby. "Read this, and don't ever speak to me again"
"Look, uh, it sounds like you two just got off on the wrong foot. Why don't you start over and try to be friends, okay?" Yang said, trying to be the voice of reason.
"Yeah! Great idea, sis!" Ruby agreed, putting the pamphlet away and holding out her hand as she clears her throat. "Hello, Weiss! I'm Ruby! Wanna hang out? We can go shopping for school supplies!"
"Yeah! And we can paint our nails and try on clothes and talk about cute boys, like tall, blond, and scraggly over there!" Weiss spoke seemingly enthusiastically, pointing towards Jaune who, in the background, picks up on the mention.
"Wow, really?!" Ruby said, thinking Weiss was 'giving her a chance'.
"No"
"If only Rain was here..." Ruby said, downcast.
Now Yang was in the conversation. "You saw Rain?! Where is he?!" she asked, grabbing Ruby by her shoulders and shaking her back and forth.
"Yes, where is Rain? I need to talk to him" Weiss demanded, hands on her hips.
"And why do you need to talk to him, huh?"
"To discuss something. And to reprimand him" the Snow White-Haired girl said, mumbling the last part.
And in the background, Ruby was struggling to tell them anything.
"Uhh, guys..."
Cinder was PISSED. Very pissed. Who did she think she was? Just because she held the title of 'Heiress', she acted like she owned Beacon and everything around it.
On the other side…
"Where is that prankster? When I find him..." Emerald muttered, irritation leaking out of her.
"Relax Em, it was his choice he didn't want to join us. Don't take it out on him" Rain said, putting his hand on her shoulder, making Emerald squeak in surprise.
"EEPP! Don't do that Rain! Your hands are cold" Emerald pouted, making the wolf Faunus chuckle.
"Add sleeves next time. Maybe then you won't get a cold shoulder"
"Hmph"
"Hey Cinder, you ok? You seem angry" he asked, looking at the brunette in the eye. "It's about that Weiss girl, isn't it? Don't let it get to you" he said, seemingly reading her mind.
One would think that by living with Rain for 2 years, she would be used to his direct way of talking. But no, she still blushed upon contact, no matter how casual the gesture, and her heart keeps thumping when his Rose Red eyes looked into her own Amber ones. But besides that, she was a calm and level-headed person, and maybe a little manipulative.
Please stop looking at me like that. She thought, suppressing a blush.
"Hey guys, found him" Emerald called, pointing at their gray-haired friend talking to Pyrrha.
"Hey Pyrrha!"
"Hello Prryha"
"It's nice to see you Prryha"
"Oh hello! What are you doing it here?" Prryha asked curiously, cocking her head.
"Rain, can you explain it? You do it better than me" Mercury said, tapping his shoulder and walking behind him.
"Well, Mr. Ozpin invited me to attend Beacon after he saw my… skills in action. All I did was give a condition that the three of them join me and it went from there"
"Oh… ok!" Prryha said, finally understanding.
"Hey guys, Ozpin's there"
Soon, the Huntsmen and Huntresses attention is drawn to the stage, where Professor Ozpin is readying the microphone, with Glynda beside him.
"I'll... keep this brief" Ozpin started, looking around. "You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step"
"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed" Glynda said. And with that, the speech was over.
"He seemed kind of... off" Yang said, skeptical.
"It's almost like he wasn't even there" Ruby spoke, agreeing.
Jaune just approached Weiss from the side. "I'm a natural blond, you know!"
And all Weiss could do was put her hand to her face in exasperation.
It was the first night at Beacon, and students are splayed out in sleeping bags. Ruby, in her pajamas and with a sleeping mask around her head, is writing in a journal when Yang crashes next to her, similarly dressed.
"It's like a big slumber party!"
"I don't think Dad would approve of all the boys, though" Ruby added, not looking up.
"I know I do!" Yang said, purring as she watches several muscular, shirtless guys... and Jaune, dressed in feetie pajamas, waving to her, which makes her groan before she returns her attention to Ruby. "What's that?"
"A letter to the gang back at Signal. I promised to tell them all about Beacon and how things are going" Ruby answered.
"Aw, that's so cuuuute!" Yang squealed, getting knocked back as a pillow is launched at her face.
"Shut up! I didn't get to take my friends with me to school! It's weird not knowing anyone here!" Ruby defended, face red.
"What about Jaune? He's... nice! There you go! Plus one friend! That's a hundred percent increase! Though I won't count Rain" Yang said, whispering the last part to herself
Turning on her back, Ruby added, "Pretty sure Weiss counts as a negative friend. Back to zero..."
"There's no such things as negative friends! You just made one friend and one enemy!" Yang reasoned, only to get hit with another pillow, to the face. "Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!"
The two sisters then noticed a candle being lit nearby, and there the bow-wearing girl sat, leaning against a wall, reading her book.
"That girl..."
"You know her?"
"Not really. She saw what happened this morning, but left before I could say anything"
"Well, now's your chance!" Yang added, grabbing Ruby's arm and lifting her up.
Now Ruby was freaking out. "Wait! What are you doing?!"
The mysterious bookworm noticed the commotion, looking over her book to see Ruby unsuccessfully struggling against Yang's grip as she leads her sister over to her spot before letting go.
"Hel-looooo! I believe you two may know each other?" Yang sings.
"Aren't you... that girl that exploded?"
"Uh, yeah! My name's Ruby! But you can just call me Crater... Actually, you can just call me Ruby"
"Okay" the bookworm said, going back in her book.
"What are you doing?" Yang whispered to Ruby.
"I don't know- help me!" Ruby whispered back, before going back to smiling.
"So... What's your name?" Yang asked, trying to help her socially awkward sister.
By this time she sighed as she's distracted yet again. "Blake"
"Well, Blake, I'm Yang, Ruby's older sister! I like your bow!"
"Thanks!" she says, irritated.
"It goes great with your... pajamas!"
"Right..."
"Nice night, don't you think?" Yang asked as Ruby laughs uncomfortably.
"Yes- it's lovely! Almost as lovely as this book!" Blake said, with Ruby and Yang standing there. "That I will continue to read" she continued, but they still didn't get the hint. "As soon as you leave"
"Yeah, this girl's a lost cause" Yang concluded, about to walk away.
"What's it about?"
"Huh?" Blake asked, surprised.
"Your book. Does it have a name?" Ruby asked, pointing to the book Blake was holding.
"Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body" Blake explained. She clearly was not expecting this.
"Oh, yeah... That's real lovely!" Yang said sarcastically.
"I love books. Yang used to read to me every night before bed. Stories of heroes and monsters... They're one of the reasons I want to be a Huntress!"
"And why is that? Hoping you'll live happily ever after?" Blake asked, laughing a little.
"Well, I'm hoping we all will. As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"
"That's... very ambitious for a child" she spoke, her smile turning into a frown. "Unfortunately, the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale"
"Well, that's why we're here! To make it better" Ruby reasoned, a small smile on her face.
"Oh, I am so proud of my baby sister!" Yang squealed, hugging Ruby into the air.
"Cut it out!" Ruby shrieked, kicking out and causing the forced sisterly bonding to evolve into a dust cloud of fighting limbs and flying stars.
Blake let out a light chuckle. "Well, Ruby, Yang, it's a pleasure to ha-"
"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" Weiss said, storming onto the scene in her own pajamas as Ruby traps Yang's leg.
"Oh, not you again!" Weiss and Yang said in unison at the sight of each other.
"Shh! Guys, she's right! People are trying to sleep!" Ruby reasoned, trying to calm them down.
"Oh, now you're on my side!" Weiss rebutted.
"I was always on your side!"
"Yeah, what's your problem with my sister? She's only trying to be nice!" Yang defended.
Now Weiss was outnumbered. "She's a hazard to my health!"
Blake, who rolls her eyes at the fight, simply closes her book, reaches over to grab her candle, and blows it out, enveloping the room in darkness.
While all this was happening, Rain was tossing and turning, trying to sleep. Right now, he wished he wasn't a Faunus. He could clearly hear the argument between the three girls and their screams and shouts were not helping.
By now he had enough.
He got up and walked out of the ballroom, trying to find his way to the roof. As soon as he got there, he moved to a secluded corner and started meditating.
Feel the Beast, Feel the Human, Feel the Balance. That was the mantra he kept repeating in his mind. He sifted through his emotions. Happy, angry, nervous? No, anxious. Anxious for tomorrow. It was a confusing mix of feelings, positive and negative.
He has been trying for the longest time to find the balance between the Man and Beast inside. So far, he's found out that meditating worked best. This was now commonplace in his routine. Every day, he would meditate at least once. One in the morning, to calm his nerves and steel himself for the day, and one at night, to sift through his emotions and further balance the forces within him.
"Brilliant night, isn't it?"
And this was one of the obstacles he faces during meditation. And all he had to do was ignore it.
"sighs… Just like your mother, so focused on the task at hand. Excellent, but it can be trouble if you're not careful"
Now THIS caught his attention. He opened his eyes and saw Professor Ozpin, looking at him softly.
"You knew my mother? She's never mentioned that"
"The two of us were in the same year at Beacon. We were close, despite being in different teams" Ozpin explained, looking at the moon. Rain could see… sadness? Regret? Anger? Why was he feeling this way?
"Mr. Ozpin, may I ask a question?"
"Yes, you may"
"Why do you feel sad, regretful, angry? I can see it in your eyes" Rain asked, worried and curious.
"And just as perceptive as your mother" he sighed. "I just wished I was there to protect them"
"You mean my family, sir?"
"Yes" he answered. "And I regret not being there to stop it from happening. I regret it everyday"
"Well… for the record, you had no way of knowing what would happen" Rain said, trying to take the negativity away.
There was silence for a while. Then Ozpin continued, "this person you're looking for… are you looking for your family's killer?"
"… Yes. Yes I am"
Ozpin began walking towards the exit. "Your mother, Luna, wouldn't have wanted this"
And with that, he left, leaving Rain to contemplate about the conversation. Soon, he felt streaks of water on his face. Tears? Am I crying? Soon after that, he started to silently break down, remembering the burning house.
~Rain's Memory No.1: The Flames of Loneliness~
The crackling of wood surrounded him as the inferno raged on. He kept running, going under debris and dodging falling rubble.
"Russet! Russet! Where are you little sis?!" the young boy shouted, frantically looking around.
"Rain! Honey, are you there?"
"Mom! I'm up here! Second floor! I can't find Russet!"
"Rain, listen! When you find your sister, run as far as you can! Don't look back!"
"No! Mom! Don't leave me! Come back!"
"Big brother! Where are you!" Rain heard his sister's sobbing voice.
"I'm coming sis! Mom, please stay! I'll get Russet!" he shouted, running to the source of the voice.
He finally found his frail, White-Haired little sister, huddling in the middle of the room. "I've got you sis. I've got you"
Soon, they were running, going down the burning stairs and headed to the frond door, only to have beams to drop, blocking the exit. All was lost, until he had an idea.
Out of nowhere, he bursts out of the window, hid sister in his arms, protected from the glass shards.
And what he saw killed him inside.
There was his mother, in the arms of a beowulf, bleeding and limp.
"Go… n-now"
And with that, the last light of life disappeared from her eyes. Rain turned tail and ran towards the forest, but as he reached the edge, the building exploded, catching Rain by surprise and throwing him to the ground.
The Grim were catching up. He had to act now. He spotted a kitchen knife and immediately went for it, brandishing it like a straight sword. He ran forward, cutting its hand as it tried to claw at him, and ended with the first one with a stab between the eye.
But the next one was quickly coming, and his knife was stuck. As soon as he pulled it out, he went low, cutting one of the Beowulf's legs before running for it, taking his sister in his arms and moving towards the forest.
They made it a mile before Rain slipped up, tumbling and spraining his ankle. They were dead. Unless...
"Russet, run. Take this knife, and go"
"But Rain-"
"Please, go"
"O-Ok, I'll go- Ah!" Russet screamed, getting tackled by a Beowulf.
"Russet!" Rain screamed. But the Grim weren't attacking.
"What interesting children"
The voice made Rain freeze. He turned to see a woman, White hair, pale skin, and a black dress. But her eyes. They were Grim's eyes.
"What a pure child. And so frail" she went, stroking Russet's cheek.
"Don't touch her!" Rain snapped.
There was a minute of silence. Before the woman broke the silence.
"Take the girl, and leave the boy. He'll die anyway"
"Wai- No! Take me, please! don't take Russet. Please leave her alone! Please!"
But all of the begging fell on deaf ears.
They left. Leaving young Rain alone.
He was alone.
Alone.
"Please..."
Dun, Dun, Dun! Ozpin knows Rain's past! But what is his role? What will happen during initiation? Will I grow taller than 1.70 meters? Find out in the next chapter!
So there's the next chapter. I got a little more ballsy when I was writing this. Now I was writing this during English class, saying that it helps improve my English. AND MY TEACHER ACCEPTED THAT REASON!
So anyways, thanks for the favorites and follows and see you in the next chapter!
~Kaage