Ch. 7 Reunion
Blake stood there dumbfounded. There he stood, a small smile on his face, probably from the look of surprise undoubtedly on hers. After all these years, the only person she had had to comfort her, to talk with, to just let go of her frustrations when the day had been tougher than usual, was standing there acting like everything was almost normal. Sure he was probably containing his reaction, but she just didn't understand how he even managed to find his way here, and after 5 years no less.
She wasn't exactly mad or upset that he was here, a small part of her was actually excited that things seemed to actually be changing for the better with her new start a Beacon, this being a highlight thus far. The face and eyes looked just as they had, the hair, while a bit longer, was also exactly the same, as well as the calm and collected demeanor. It all added up to having to be true in her mind, but at the same time it also seemed too good to be true, she had to confirm it for herself, but this wouldn't be the time nor place. She could put her suspicions to rest only when she had gotten an explanation from him as to how and why, but for now she would have to contain her reaction to something not so drastic as questioning him over everything.
Well, now as good a time as any to reply to him. "It-It has." She let the words stumble from her mouth.
"Blake you know him?" Yang said quizzically, cocking an eyebrow and looking at her.
"She does indeed Miss Xiao Long, although I'm afraid we haven't gotten to talk for quite some time." Rex said coolly. "We were childhood friends. Haven't gotten to speak with each other for 5 years now I'm afraid. I'm actually quite glad she actually recognized me after so long." He said with a short chuckle.
It was Blake's turn to recover: "Well I would've recognized you sooner if you didn't have your face covered by that hood the entire time, and hid your name from everyone." She said in a deadpan tone. "What's with all the cloak and dagger?" As she said this, Blake found it quite ironic, wanting him to explain himself to her in front of everyone when she herself was keeping her entire past save him a secret from her teammates.
Rex seemed to me thinking it over in his head. He finally responded: "Well it's interesting that you ask, I can't say I have any great reason other than that I prefer to keep myself hidden from those that would be better off not knowing who I am, my terms of being here are… interesting, to say the least. No criminal stuff or anything like that! I'm looking at you Schnee, I saw that look."
Blake turned to see Weiss looking away with a dignified huff. Of course she would come to conclusions. That's exactly the reason why Blake was keeping her past a secret, people coming to conclusions without actually trying to understand. That was the entire basis of her and Rex becoming friends all those years ago anyways, he was the only one who actually took the time to understand, and was also the only one she would trust with anything, that is, after she came to understand why and how he got here.
Rex continued, now pacing back and forth between the girls and drawing their attention: "Now, on to business, we can have idle chat later when we have nothing else that needs to be sorted." This statement seemed to make the heiress perk up a bit in the corner of Blake's eye, likely happy that they could get this sorted and she could be done with them for the rest of the day no doubt. Blake wouldn't be surprised if Weiss was secretly fuming over not being picked leader still, even when there were better things to be worried about now that initiation was over.
"First off, as your mentor, I am tasked with assisting you with any conflicts that you 4 may have with each other, as well as with other students. I'm not going to solve them for you, but I will do my best to at least get you on the right track so we don't have a bunch of angry armed students walking around school who hate each other. And secondly, I will be in charge of supplementary training, I can answer questions on pretty much anything, I've done more reading and practice and had more experience with various forms of combat then is probably healthy for me, and I am here to help impart this information and expertise unto you 4. Any questions?" Rex finished his short speech to them, stopping and glancing at all of them briefly.
He got four stares back at him. "No? Ok then… well in that case I guess I will show you all to your dorm so you can make yourselves at home. Yes, Miss Schnee I have my own dorm so you don't need to protest about me sleeping in the same dorm as you."
Blake could here another huff from next to her, knowing the heiress had likely been about to protest about just such arrangements. She just rolled her eyes as Rex started walking off towards what was the direction of their dorm.
Upon arriving at the dorm, Blake found that the suitcases of their stuff was already there. The wanted to unpack right away, but like her other three teammates she was bone dead tired from the day and wanted nothing more but to relax for the rest of the evening. However, unlike the rest of her teammates, she also wanted answers as to how Rex got here, but she had to get him away from the team in order to not spill any information about herself that may lead to a problem, especially with the Schnee heiress. Thankfully, that little issue seemed to solve itself quick enough.
"Welcome to your room for the next four years' girls. My dorm is further down the hall if you need anything. Oh and Blake, if you want to talk in private, I'll be on the roof for a while winding down for the night." Rex said calmly as he stepped out of the room without another word. The door closed silently behind him, and Blake could hear the sounds of surprisingly light footfalls walking off towards the roof.
When the footfalls were beyond even Blake's faunus hearing, she heard to plops of bodies hitting beds, and another huff from the Heiress. "He thinks he's so good doesn't he?" Weiss spat out with a bit of venom in her voice. "He's only a year older then us, how much more could he possibly know? Has he ever even been to a combat school before? I haven't seen nor heard of any form of credentials from him, let alone anything to prove to me that he really is as experienced as he says he is."
Not even five minutes alone and Weiss had already managed to tick Blake off, she wanted to just lay into the girl right there, but she knew she had to measure her response appropriately. "And how would you have any idea what he has been through? Not everyone that comes here got accepted because of credentials, some got in because of exceptional skill. I mean look at Ruby, she's here two years early, not because she graduated, but because she took initiative and Ozpin recognized it and allowed her in! Maybe you could give him some time before you jump to conclusions. He might surprise you." Blake walked out of the room before Weiss could say anything further. She was left hanging with a surprised expression on her face, her mouth dropped open slightly.
"I…" Weiss began before the door shut behind Blake, a look of genuine distress on her face that she had already managed to upset one of her new teammates.
Blake calmed herself down as she stepped out onto the roof. The cool night air was refreshing on her skin, and the night sky's black blanket was only blemished by the light of the shattered moon. In the moonlight, she could see Rex sitting there, looking up at the moon, his hands clasped together and his legs crossed. He had his hood down, and the light illuminated his face as she approached where he sat near the ledge of the roof.
She quietly sat down next to him. "Hey. Am I interrupting anything?" she said as she noticed his eyes were shut.
They opened a moment later, his steel blue eyes meeting her amber ones. "If I didn't want to be interrupted, I wouldn't have invited you up here." He gave a smile. "How have you been Blake?"
"That's it? After five years you just look at me calmly and ask 'how have you been'? How did you even get here, where did you go? Why did you leave the monastery and subsequently everything you had going for you there and no doubt at Haven?" Blake could feel the flush in her face as she got upset. Just how could he act like it was nothing? He winds up here after five years and acts like it was all planned out. Meanwhile she felt a mix of emotions ranging from over joyed to angry.
"Well, I suppose I can start with your first statement." Rex began. "I guess you could say that's it. I'm trying to maintain my self-control, to be perfectly honest I wanted to tackle hug you, but for one I didn't know if you would recognize or remember me after all these years, after all I have no idea what you have been doing, you could have changed drastically for all I knew. I'm glad to see that you took my advice and that isn't the case." He scooted over next to her, still keeping his eyes locked with hers, until he pulled her into an embrace.
Blake was surprised at first to say the least, interestingly enough her heart fluttered slightly. She hadn't felt a genuine hug for years, much less any form of indication or words that told her that she was cared about by anyone for purposes other than her talent of being able to fight. It was nice, and she met him in the embrace after a moment. She let the seconds roll by before they released each other, and he turned his head skyward once again.
"As for how I got here, and why, well… I wandered. Truth be told Blake, I messed up. Bad. One day at the monastery, I let my curiosity get the better of me. I found some old… tomes I guess you could say. They contained some dark things, things I can't get out of my head now, as well as an ancient power. It's an old darkness, a darkness that I can still feel a piece of inside me, it's not enough to control me, at least not all the time. It's only ever taken over whenever I hit emotional break points. But it's dangerous. Sorry I'm spouting all of this to you without answering your remaining questions, but I've had two years with no one I could trust to talk to about it, and now you're here and I can actually speak my mind with someone for once." He hangs his head in shame. "I might be a monster."
Whoa, that was a lot of information, a lot of heavy information. It also answered her question on why Rex left the monastery. She had no idea it was that bad however. It worried her that Rex had apparently changed, but as of yet she hadn't seen said change, so she was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now. Right now It looked like he had been needing a talk like this for a while now. If what Rex said was true, which she wholeheartedly believed it was, then what he needed was someone to comfort him and help him sort his mind, not someone to affirm what he already thought of himself as true. She knew the feeling of thinking that everyone would hate you if they knew what you were. Rex never judged her for being a Faunus, and she refused to let herself stoop to the level of those she despised just because something sounded bad. There was more to a person, especially someone like Rex, than one bad decision. Even if it had a large impact on him, she would give him a chance, just as he was giving her a chance now, not even seeming the least bit upset at her even though he knew that she had probably had to do some awful things in the new White Fang. She placed an arm around his shoulder, time to try and be comforting.
"Rex, you aren't a monster. You even telling me is proof enough of that. If I thought of you as a monster because of one mistake. After all the things you have immediately forgiven of me by giving me the chance to show that I hadn't changed either, what kind of person would I be to hate you for one mistake?" Blake said softly.
Rex looked up at her. His eyes somber still, but with a bit of gleam to them again. "Thank you Blake. Even after five years, you are still the only person I could ever share something like that with and you would understand and not hate me for it… I'm glad I got lucky and found you again." He placed his hand on hers as it was draped over his shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat for a moment. The wind blew a cold chill between them and Blake and Rex broke the gaze they had been sharing.
"You should probably head back downstairs to your team." Rex concluded. "Weiss might jump to conclusions, if the short amount of time and what I could read from her face tells me anything, she is going to be… difficult. But I think I can work with her."
"Of course." She said as she hurriedly pulled her arm away and stood up. She walked over to the door before she turned around one last time. "Goodnight Rex, it was good to talk. I expect a better explanation of how you got here another time though, alright?"
"Of course Blake, and goodnight." He said as he looked back up to the night sky. She shut the door and made her way back down to the team dorm.
When she got back into the room, she was surprised to find both Ruby and Weiss now sound asleep, and Yang was the only one awake. She shut the door quietly and went and sat on the empty bed next to Yang, the blonde watching her silently the whole time. Blake looked at her quizzically. "Why haven't you gone to bed? You looked like you were about to pass out earlier?"
"Well, I wanted to make sure you were alright. Weiss calmed down by the way, when you stormed off she seemed actually distressed that she had upset you greatly with that. I don't think she realized how much you actually cared." Yang said with a slightly worried look in her eyes.
"I'll be alright, Me and Rex have known each other for long enough that we can understand each other well enough. There is no way he would ever bring harm to me, you have mine and his word on that. The same goes for you all, he's a good person, even if he seems like he talks big. He's actually really bad at speaking with more than a handful of people at a time. The speech he gave yesterday probably took all his effort. I got upset at Weiss because she doesn't know him like I do, and while I don't personally vouch for the experience in the world that he says he has, I can vouch for the fact that he has been training longer than any 2 of us combined I would wager." Blake replied to her blonde teammate, reminiscing on some of the chats she had with Rex long ago.
Yang's slightly worried look went at ease, before turning to a sly grin that Blake was coming to know well by now, and she dreaded it. "So he's totally more than a friend, isn't he Blakey" she batted her eyelashes at Blake.
"Oh my god we are not like that!" Blake said in exasperation at Yang's teasing. She did her best to keep quiet though, she didn't want to wake the other two. Thankfully, Yang seemed to relent, sort of.
"Whatever you say Blake. I haven't gotten to see much of you two together yet, but I know chemistry like that when I see it. Buuut I will let it go for now." Yang said with a sigh. "Good night Blakey."
Blake rolled her eyes. "Good night Yang." She quickly changed into her black and grey yukata and shut off the light. She slipped under the covers. She lay there, thinking on what had transpired throughout the day, as well as what Rex and even Yang had said to her. Maybe she did feel something more for Rex, maybe she didn't. She didn't have time for these feelings if they were true however, she still had a goal to help right everything that she had helped make wrong in the world. If she did end up having feelings for him, or anyone else for that matter, they would have to come second. It was too early to tell really what else she wanted or how she felt about anyone else. Only time would tell her she supposed. With that however, she drifted off to sleep, contented with the path she was on for the first time in her life.
The next morning, Rex got up and did a routine similar to that of the past week. He showered, ate, and meditated. After he finished meditating, he saw both his team and team JNPR running across the courtyard in a full sprint. 'Heh, late for class it looks like. Guess I can take this time to go and try and meet some of the other mentors before they run off to classes as well.' Rex thought as he stood up. He walked back inside, as he passed the team dorms, he noticed both were left open. He shut both of them with haste, shaking his head a bit at their carelessness, before hearing a small throat clear behind him.
"Ahem, Rex is it?" Rex whirled around at the sound of the voice, almost like Weiss', but with a bit more of a regal tone, maybe a bit more sass? The voice belonged to a girl who looked roughly his age, maybe a year older. She had jet black hair that was short in the front, but had extremely long, spiraling extensions of hair that wound down to her waist on either side of her head. They seemed to be held up by several white ribbons atop her head. She wore a black jacket and skirt that ran to her knees, a white blouse and red tie underneath. Her pale skin was a bit off-putting, similar to her blood red eyes. They seemed to be piercing into his very soul as they stared him down.
"Umm, yes." Rex said hesitantly, unsure of who the girl was or how she knew his name.
"My name is Sanguine, Sanguine Ludenburg." She said with an unnatural smile on her face. She extended a hand out to him. "I'm the mentor of Team JNPR. I was informed by Headmaster Ozpin to talk to you if I had any questions on being a mentor, as JNPR already seems to be bonding tightly with your team, RWBY, based on their interactions during initiation. It's a pleasure to meet someone so highly regarded by Ozpin himself."
Rex shook her hand warily, still off put by how she had seemed to be able to sneak up on him without being heard, and in those heels no less. He recovered quickly however, and made a response. "Good morning Sanguine. You caught me off guard, I wasn't aware anyone else was still in the building."
Sanguine gave a small giggle in response. "I do seem to have a way of getting around unnoticed by many." She clasped her hands together as she said this, giving a small smile. "I must say, you seem to be cut of a different figure than most of the other mentors. You seem to speak of experience instead of the run of the mill students who chose to be mentors, thinking that it would be an easy task. They have no idea what they were in for. You however, seem to have a drive, experience that can speak to others and they can be confident you know what you are talking about, because you've done it before, put it into practice, like with your little speech that you gave on the first day. I could feel the experience behind you, I knew that you were someone who had actually been out there and done things before, even if you came of as a bit odd and perhaps a bit edgy?" Sanguine put one hand to her chin as she though on that last comment. "Yes, a little edgy, but good overall, very convincing." She smiled and clasped her hands back together.
Rex was surprised at the sudden praise, but he kept his cool. "Why thank you Sanguine, but really I'm terrible at speaking, I was just speaking my mind and anything I could say that sounded convincing was what I used. Though I get the feeling that's not the only reason you approached me, is it?" Now it was Sanguines' turn to be surprised at his perception.
"Well, I see I can't hide it from you, yes, there is more to it than that. I actually wanted to get to know you more since our teams will be working closely together, and was hoping you could talk to me about how you ended up getting here, as well as what you plan on doing to help out your team. To be perfectly honest, I don't know that I'm ready to help mentor a team either." She said drooping her head slightly, but maintaining her proper form.
"Well, as far as how I got here, I wandered, and that's all I will speak of on that subject. As to what I will be doing with the team…" Rex thought on it for a moment. "After this week I will likely have them do an increased number of spars then the curriculum calls for, I want them to be crushing their classmates, not just beating them by the skin of their teeth. In my opinion, the overall combat level of the first years needs to be much higher, and many lack the diligence to meet my standard, so I'll have to get it through to them one way or another. I will also be doing Grimm fighting days on the weekends, or Fridays, whenever they don't have something planned that is. They are going to be fighters and warriors, but I do want to give them some time to socialize and be themselves. This will probably only really start happening more second semester though, when I get a better feel for how they all work alone and as a team. I want to get to know them better before I start trying to push them further. I would suggest you do the same with your team."
"Wow, that's… a lot more than I thought I would need to be doing, but there is wisdom in that." Sanguine mused. "I'll take your advice on that, and plan out my own schedule accordingly. Unfortunately, because I am also a student, and not exempt from classes like you appear to be, it won't be as… intense. But it will be adequate nonetheless." Sanguine said with a smile. "Maybe I can compare notes with you later on things I can do to make my team to the same caliber that yours seems to be on track to being if all goes well, I will not settle for mediocrity. But alas, I must go to my own classes for now. See you around." Sanguine gave a slight bow and walked down the corridor.
Something about her whole demeanor didn't sit right with Rex, but she spoke true. She was in fact on the list of mentors when Rex went to check it on his scroll. However, he wasn't convinced she had nothing to hide. There was something peculiar about Miss Ludenburg, maybe he would find out eventually, but if he was to work with her, he would have to put those worries aside to actually help the students. He walked off to attend to some business that Ozpin wanted taken care of with Professor Port after class, hopefully this day didn't have to be too eventful.
Rex finally found Professor Port standing outside on a large balcony after his class had concluded. The round man's burgundy suit and moustache were impossible to miss. He casually strode up next to the man as he looked out over the Beacon grounds. "Afternoon Professor Port." Rex stated.
"Oh Ho! Rex was it? One of Ozpin's favorite mentors, and one of our staff now correct?" Port exclaimed with much enthusiasm. "To what do I owe the pleasure this fine day?"
"Yes, you could say that. However, Ozpin sent me to find you because he wanted to have a chat with you about bringing a live Grimm inside the classroom like you apparently did. I must say, quite impressive to have caught one and kept it alive for long enough to be of use."
"Ah, I see… did he err, seem upset, at the mention?" Port seemed to be somewhat distraught behind that moustache of his.
"Hmm thinking on it no, in fact he was quite intrigued when he heard about it. Nonetheless you might want to go talk to him." Rex replied.
"I will do just that!" Port said happily as he began to turn around.
"Professor Port!" A voice Rex immediately identified as Weiss Schnees' could be heard clear across the balcony
The two of them turned around to see the Heiress approaching them. "Ah Miss Schnee, to what do I owe this fine pleasure?" Port bellowed out.
"I Enjo- ", Her voice cut off as she realized Rex was there also. "O-oh, am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all child! Please continue. How can we be of service?" Port responded back, speaking for the both of them.
"I…I Enjoyed your lecture." Weiss said this, but Rex could see that she did not seem to be at ease.
"Weiss, what's really going on?" Rex piped up, cutting Port off before he could reply.
"What, how did you…" Weiss began.
"Weiss, I can tell fairly well when someone is upset, please, talk to me about it, I would hate for you to forgo me, your mentor, who is supposed to help you all with your problems should they arise, to ask a teacher about it instead. Port, if you will, go ahead and head to Ozpin's office so he isn't kept waiting too long, I think I can handle the affairs of my own team." Rex said calmly, even though he was dreading having to put up with the Heiress.
"Errr, yes. I should probably not leave the headmaster waiting should I? Right! I will be off! I bid the both of you good day!" Port promptly left in search of the headmaster.
Once he was gone Rex motioned to sit. "Weiss, please, I have already come to figure you don't respect me, or do you trust me. But you never will if you don't let me help you and prove to you that I can do the things I've told you I can do. So let's start here, what is bothering you?"
Weiss let out a sigh and sat down. "I just… I think I should have been the leader of RWBY."
Rex let out a chuckle at this. "And what makes you say that? Why do you believe you would be a better leader than Ruby is?"
"Because I have more training, I've worked harder, trained harder, and frankly I know I can do a better job than she can. She has only been a nuisance all day. She has done nothing to prove she can handle the responsibilities of being a leader!" Weiss said, almost exasperated.
"And what makes you think you can do any better than she can after only one day of school?" Rex asked.
"Pardon?" Weiss furrowed her brow, looking up at him with a confused expression.
"After one day, I see no reason why I could agree with you being leader over her." Rex began to pace back and forth. "Ruby is energetic, a bit immature yes, and has never been put in a leader role before. But her enthusiasm is something that can make her perfect for the job if she is given the tools to become the leader she is envisioned to be. Right now what I have seen from you is that you are confident yes, but also you didn't get what you wanted, and you have also done nothing to prove to me that you have earned the right to even question her position, save for disagreeing with a choice that was made. What reason do you give for anyone to want to listen and follow you, when you can't even follow someone else and put trust in them yourself?" Rex looked at her to see her reaction.
Weiss just sat there dumbfounded. "But…but I don't understand. What you say is true, I suppose, but why would they choose her over me when I've put in the time and effort to get where I am today, and have always wanted the position, and she just seems to go with the flow and doesn't seem to understand the seriousness of her appointment?"
"Weiss, I couldn't tell you why they chose Ruby over you, but what I can tell you is how you can make this work. All I ask you to do is to give her a chance. Ozpin let her in early for a reason, it was no fluke and no mistake. She has worked just as hard as you have to get here, she just has a different way of seeing things. I understand it can be difficult when you have learned to act or do things a certain way all your life. That is something difficult for everyone to come to terms with. What you can do however, is prove to her that you are a valuable asset to the team. You don't need to be the best leader, instead you can be the best teammate possible. You won't agree with her on everything and some things you just won't be able to have a say in, but if you prove to her that you are willing to work with her, to help her, she will grow and be the leader you would want her to be. No one ever became a leader in a day, and I don't expect her to now. But the only way she will ever get better is if she has a guide, and what better way to learn then to have someone who has got her back, and can steer her back on track if she starts to stumble. You can be that person Weiss, you have a good head on your shoulders, I can believe it, I hope you can see it too." Rex concluded his little speech looking her dead in the eye, awaiting her response.
"I-I think I understand now Rex, thank you. Perhaps I was a little fast to judge you after all." Weiss have a graceful curtsy and took her leave, Rex then stood alone on the balcony before he too walked away. The golden sunset ending the day.
About a week later, Things had been calm for a while. Classes were going fine, Rex's chat with Weiss had seemed to have a change in the girl. She seemed a bit more motivated to help instead of hinder Ruby and the rest of the team with her actions. However, while she had come to respect Rex's ability as a mentor, she still seemed a bit skeptical of his combat ability when he had laid on the training plan that he had worked up with Sanguine the past week while the teams were in the Forever Fall forest. She still wasn't convinced of his ability. Rex's chance to prove himself however, came in the form of a message from Goodwitch.
Rex quickly scanned the scroll as he stood up from his morning meditation. Apparently Goodwitch was going to be busy later that day, and was combining both combat classes for the day into one. She wanted rex there to be used as a good opportunity to show them how much they had left to learn, as well as monitor what the students themselves could improve upon in their fighting technique.
Rex was happy to oblige her, and sent a return message affirming that he would be there in just a few minutes. He gave a smirk as the message sent. This was going to be fun, and an interesting surprise for everyone else.
To say him walking into the practice arena was a surprise to everyone present would be an understatement. Every single pair of eyes in the room followed him as he made is way next to Goodwitch. None of them had yet to see him fight, nor did they know what his weapon or semblance was, save for Blake.
"Afternoon." He said plainly to her.
"Hello Rex, glad you could make it. It seems some of the students don't understand the effort it takes to be a good enough fighter to be successful in our line of work. I was hoping you could demonstrate otherwise after a few fights." Miss Goodwitch said as she looked to him.
"Of course, however, to make this a bit more of a challenge to me I will not be permitted to use my semblance. However, they can." Rex replied.
"Of course." She turned to the class and spoke up. "Today class, will be largely like any other. There will be several spars that are between predetermined students. However, we have the privilege of having Mister Rex here today to spar with one of you, and show you the level that all of you will need to be at if you want to be true huntsmen one day. You can't just put in the minimal effort into your training forever. And to add a bit of mystery to the opponent, Rex will be picking his challenger at the end of the class."
Murmurs ran throughout the students, but otherwise Rex and Goodwitch took their place at the edge of the area, and the students began their spars. First Yang vs Pyrrha, Pyrrha won that fight but it was much closer then Rex thought it would be. Then Jaune vs a boy named Cardin. That match was also closer then Rex expected, however Cardin still ended up winning in the end. Blake vs a boy he didn't recognize, apparently named Sky Lark. Blake destroyed him, he gave a silent nod of approval after that fight. Several more spars occurred between students he didn't recognize before finally Goodwitch turned to him. "It's time for you to show them how to fight."
Rex gave a nod, and as the last two students cleared the arena, he walked out. He took his place at the center of the arena and looked the students over. He knew who he wanted to fight, she hadn't been in a fight all day, and it was time to prove he was as good as he said he was. "Weiss Schnee. You will be my opponent." Rex said as he looked to the girl in white.
She strode down to the arena and brandished her weapon, the two of them getting into ready stances. She looked confident, but Rex could see past the guise. The grip on the hilt of her sword and the small beads of sweat forming on the fringes of her forehead spoke of suppressed nervousness.
"Begin!" Goodwitch announced.
Rex slid his katars down from their rails with lighting speed, all four seeming to absorb the light around them into their midnight hue. He rushed Weiss, closing the gap quickly as she sprang into action. She threw a flurry of spells from her rapier: Ice shards, fire bolts and lightning shocks. Rex danced around the spells as he got right up next to her and locked blades, cutting off her barrage of attacks.
He held there for a second, keeping her rapier locked up, before pulling back slightly, feigning a recovery.
Weiss made to capitalize on the rebound with a fire infused thrust, but Rex had already gotten her to fall for the bait. He caught her rapier in between the blades of Vetita, twisting the blade up and forcing her off balance mid charge. He then went into a deadly spin of blades, slamming Vetita and Verum against Myrtenaster over and over, one after the other. The battering assault took its toll on the girl, and Rex brought both sets of Blades down at once, disarming her and sending Myrtenaster clattering to the floor. He used his momentum to finish with a spinning kick to the legs, tripping her up and sending her crashing to the ground. He heard a unanimous gasp as her aura dropped from near full to almost 50% with the singular hard slam to the ground.
He didn't give her the chance to recover. He placed a boot on the hand that he had seen her use to summon her glyphs, and rested Vetita's blades a scant few millimeters from her throat. "Do you yield?" Was all he asked.
Weiss could only nod. Rex sheathed his blades and offered her a hand up as Glynda came forward. "And that's the match." She stated.
Rex looked at the time. The match had only lasted 45 seconds. He picked up Weiss rapier and offered it to her. She took it silently, her head bent down in shame at having been bested so easily. Rex walked her back over to the arena exit and Goodwitch gave closing remarks to the class.
"Hey look Weiss." Rex began, getting her attention. "I know this might be hard to stomach. I wanted to show you all that you can actually learn a thing or two from me. I'm not just all talk. It's a hard lesson to learn. But you will be better for it. All of you will. I just hope you don't come to resent me because I did it in such a…brutal fashion."
Weiss looked up. "No… I understand better now. I guess I just thought I was better and didn't need to listen to anyone. It's something I'm learning a lot lately. Thank you for making me see I still have far more to learn then I thought I did." She walked back up to her team.
Blake was stunned at the efficiency Rex had in defeating Weiss. She could tell he held nothing back, but he hadn't even used his semblance. That was what scared her. He had taken her down in 45 seconds without using his semblance, and forced her to forfeit after a disarm and a singular blow that chunked her aura massively. While the others didn't know his semblance, she knew that could have easily been a 20 second match if he hadn't limited himself, if not even shorter.
"That was… Brutal" she heard Yang say next to her as everyone stared at the girl Rex was now walking back over to the entrance to the arena.
"True." Blake said. "But that also shows us how much we still have to learn, if Weiss was defeated so easily, and she isn't exactly a pushover."
"Yeah but just… wow." Yang said, still in shock at the match result.
Weiss now came up the ramp and back to her team. She looked distraught, but not as angry as Blake thought she would be. Ruby immediately shot over to her however. "Are you alright Weiss?!"
"I'll be fine Ruby. It was just a wakeup call was all. That fight taught me may things. One of them being I'm not nearly as good as I thought I was. While I'm upset, I also know I can work towards being as good as I thought I was before, and actually having the skill to back it up, like Rex appears to have."
"Well I'm glad you at least learned something!" Ruby exclaimed as she tried to give Weiss a hung, only to be stopped by a palm to the forehead.
Blake rolled her eyes and gave a small smile. She and the rest of her team walked out of the arena building and off to the weekend. The Vytal festive would be coming to town soon, and things were shaping up to be good for them, even if Blake had to continue keeping some secrets.
AN: Hey guys, so I planned on having this chapter up Friday, but well Life happened and i just now finished it, oh well. I cant say i'm quite satisfied with this chapter, probably because this is the part that i dreaded writing the most because plot wise in the show it feels very disjointed, and i feel like it shows a bit in this chapter. Something I will have to work on in the future. Also you may have noticed I excluded Forever Fall trip here. i felt it wouldn't be right for Rex to be involved in everything they do, especially because Forever Fall played more towards Jaune and team JNPR then it did team RWBY, so i didn't think Rex should be present for the trip. Don't fret however, i plan on using Forever Fall again, and I think it will be much better use of the location then just rehashing the Forever Fall trip again. Anyways, leave a review and let me know what you think of the chapter, how you are enjoying the story so far, and your thoughts on the introduction of the new character Sanguine. Shout out to my friend Rydu for giving me some assistance in understanding his OC a bit better and i hope i did it some justice.
