Chapter 7:
The Return
Location:
Beacon Infirmary
Ruby was pacing back and forth, nervously awaiting news on Yang's condition.
"Calm down Ruby, she'll be fine." Weiss stated, obviously not worried about her teammates condition.
"Much to my chagrin, I have to agree with her. Besides, it's only been a few minutes, you can't expect her to be fully healed right away." Blake stated, uttering the first words since they landed.
While she appeared calm, sitting outside of the operating room, Blake was shaking on the inside, feeling her heart weighed one thousand pounds. Guilt bared over her, constantly leaning on her shoulder, blaming her for this situation.
Ruby may have been thought of as spastic and unfocused, but she was capable of picking up on things that others didn't. So, when the look of guilt flashed across the feline's face, she caught it. Sitting next to Blake, she quickly hugged her, ignoring the slight tense in her partner's posture in the corner of her eye.
"It's not your fault Blake." Ruby said, looking directly into the kitten's amber eyes.
"Ruby, I know it's not, but I can't help but feel that it is." The faunus responded, keeping her gaze locked into her leader's eyes.
Seated directly across from the two, Weiss looked on in unrealized envy.
"Just wait, she'll be fine." Ruby comforted as she unwrapped her arms from the kitten.
"Guys!" They heard a familiar voice yell from down the hall, catching their attention.
The three turned their head to see their sister team running towards them, Team CFVY trailing behind them.
Stopping in front of them, Team JNPR paused to take a breath.
"What...in...the world...happened...to...you...guys!?" Pyrrha exclaimed, still panting, noticing their bandaged state.
"My god, Blake are you okay!? What happened to your ear?" Velvet questioned, worried for her fellow faunus. Fox was standing next to her, nodding in agreement to his teammates question.
"...A...a lot happened Vel. Too much to describe right now." Blake responded, looking down in sorrow.
"Where's Yang?" Coco asked, worried about the blonde bombshell.
"She's in surgery. Her wrist are in really bad shape." Wiess answered. "We haven't received any news."
As if waiting for a cue, Ms. Goodwitch walked through the doors at that particular moment.
She turned to the teams. "She will be fine. It will take a bit of physical therapy, but she will make a full recovery." She announced, making everyone present sigh in relief.
Ruby dashed in front of the teacher with her semblance. "Can we see her?!" She asked, her spirits high, as usual.
"Not yet." Ms. Goodwitch responded. "They are still finishing up in the operating room, so it will be some time before you can see her. I suggest you all go get something to eat and relax, it will a few hours at minimum." She suggested as she began walking away.
Ruby sighed in relief, turning to her friends. "You heard her guys! Who's hungry?"
Location:
Beacon Cafeteria
"So..." Coco started.
"So what?" Ruby asked innocently with a tilt of her head, lowering her fork from her face.
"W-What happened to you guys?" Velvet answered shyly, her salad untouched. "You all just disappeared, fell of the face of Remnant, and all of a sudden your back? Where did you go?"
"It's a...long story." Blake sighed, wincing and reaching up to paw at her bow. "To start off, there was way more grimm then there was supposed to be. When we arrived, it started off slow, we were handling it. Then, more and more, they just kept coming. Until..."
"Until what?" Jaune asked.
Blake glanced to Ruby, passing her the conversionary torch. "This weird nevermore popped out of nowhere, and all the other grimm seemed to panic and run away. At this point, I was the only one left standing."
"What was so weird about this particular nevermore?" Pyrrha pondered.
"It was stronger, faster, bigger, even looked different. It was going to kill me." Ruby explained.
"Then why didn't it?" Ren inquired.
"It did." Ruby responded. "Or at least, it tried to. He stopped it before it could."
"He? He who?" Coco's eyes narrowed behind her shades.
"You can call him Mr. Wolf." Said a calm and collected voice from behind the fashionista, making her stiffen, and quickly spin around in her seat.
"Hello Professor Ozpin." She quickly stated with respect evident in her voice, making the headmaster chuckle.
"Nice to see you as well Miss Adel. As I was saying, his name is Wolf, and you will meet him again very soon." The headmaster responded as he walked away.
As he passed Blake, he sent her a subtle sideways glance, catching her attention, and winking at her.
"What do you think he meant by that?" Nora asked in her usual, upbeat voice, completely breaking the tense atmosphere that the headmaster had created.
"I'm not sure, but I'm sure we will find out." Blake said as she turned her attention back to her half-eaten tuna sandwich.
"Ah there you all are." Another strict, yet familiar voice said from behind them, causing them all to turn around yet again.
"Oh, hello Mrs. Goodwitch." Pyrrha responded.
"Hello everyone, just thought I would let you know that Yang is out of surgery." The teacher announced.
"Can we see her!?" Ruby asked, leaping forward, ready to speed off at a moment's notice.
"Unfortunately, no. She is still in critical condition and will not be able to take visitors until the morning." Goodwitch responded, making the speedsters face fall.
"Well, come on guys. We could all use some sleep after this." The team leader said as she trudged by, waving to her teammate's. "Bye guys, see you tomorrow."
Wiess and Blake glanced toward each other, worried about their leader, but stood up and left with her anyway, after saying a proper goodbye to their friends.
Location:
Beacon Dormitories
Blake quietly slipped through the door, closing it carefully as to avoid waking her sleeping teammates. She walked down the hall, heading towards the closest staircase, lost in thought.
Climbing up the steps and opening the door, she embraced the cool night air, still wearing her clothing from earlier in the day. She walked to the center of the rooftop and sat down, leaning against nothing, looking up, still as could be, bathing in the moonlight.
Slowly, she reached into the back pocket of her pants, pulling out what Wolf had put there that morning. Bring the object to her front, she discovered it was a small, folded up piece of paper.
Unfolding it, she gazed upon the white paper, illuminated by the light of the moon. In the middle of the paper there was a black wolf, with a violet infinity symbol in the center of the fur on its chest. Behind it waved ten tails, the tips of which were the same color that decorated the symbol on its chest. Its eyes glowed a deep royal blue.
What surprised Blake the most was when its eyes blinked and its head tilted.
'Hey little kitten.' Blake heard a familiar voice say. Whipping around to search for the source she found nothing. A confused look on her face, she slowly looked back at the paper, only to find it now blank.
'That was quite cute, if I'm to be honest.' She heard again, noticing a light weight on her shoulder.
Slowly turning, she found a tiny wolf with ten tails sitting on her shoulder. Its fur was white instead of black, but that was where the differences ended. It still had the violet symbol on its chest, the purple tips on its tails and its eyes were still royal blue.
It took her a second, but she finally placed the voice. "Wolf?" She asked quietly.
'Who else do you know that's this magical?' She heard, realizing that the wolf on her shoulder hadn't actually moved its mouth when he spoke. After a moment it dawned on her.
"Are you-"
'Talking directly into your head while controlling the tiny wolf avatar on your shoulder?' He asked rhetorically as she saw mirth enter the wolf's eyes. 'Why yes, yes I am. How's Yang?'
"She's fine. Stable, they said, but we haven't been able to see her yet. Ruby has been depressed all day. Besides that, everything else is relatively okay." She answered, reaching up and lightly petting the wolf's head, deciding not to ask how he could do any of this.
'Well that's a lie.' He responded after a moment of enjoying the petting before she stopped at his statement.
"What do you mean?" She asked, wearing a blank expression.
'You, are by all meanings of the word, not okay.' He paused for a moment, looking into her eyes as his changed to a chocolate brown. 'You feel guilty, thinking that what happened to her was your fault. Blaming yourself for what happened to her. Am I wrong?'
Blake turned her head away from him, staying silent.
'Not going to deny it?'
"What's the point? You're right, and it's not like I could lie and convince you otherwise." She admitted, hanging her head.
'Well, that much is true.' He paused as he saw a tear rolling down her cheek. The wolf moved to nuzzle her cheek with its snout. 'What's the matter?'
"Everyone keeps telling me that it's not my fault…and I think some part of me knows that. But the rest of me…..says that it was." She whispered, followed by a silent sob. "That what happened to her was my fault. That it's my fault that Yang almost died. That she could still die, is my fault…and every time people say that it's not my fault….it hurts worse." More sobs, increasing in frequency, volume, and intensity.
The wolf moved, laying its head vertically against her cheek. 'I understand that pain. However, when I felt it, I actually was at fault. You, on the other hand, are not.'
"What do you mean?" Blake asked as her sobs calmed ever so slightly. The wolf shifted away from her face so she turned her head to look into its now bright red eyes.
'Tell me Blake. If you could give your life to save hers, to ensure she lived as she should, would you?' She nodded her head without hesitation. 'Well there you go.'
"That doesn't make any sense. What does one have to with the other?" Blake asked with a cute tilt of her head.
'You would give your life for hers without a second thought. Does it make sense that one being would be willing to die for another? No, no it does not. Then again, love often times tends to make as little a sense as possible.' He explained, the wolf not breaking eye contact with the female faunus throughout the explanation.
The air was still as the black cat processed what Wolf had said to her.
"W-Wait, w-w-what are you t-talking about?!" Blake stuttered. "I never said anything about l-love."
'Implicit, not explicit. You wouldn't die for someone you don't love.' He said as the wolf turned to stare at the moon.
"I don't lo-" She started before Wolf cut her off.
'Don't deny it Blake. Please. Just don't. I know the difference between caring for a friend, and caring for the one you love. I know them both quite well, so don't deny what I already know is true.' He pressed, making any argument of denial she had die in her throat. 'It's simple. You need to accept it. If you don't, you'll only hurt worse.'
She hung her head in shame. "How?" She questioned in a quite whisper.
The wolf turned its eyes back in her direction. 'How what?'
"How do you know all of this? How did you figure all of this out so fast? It's...simply...impossible." She sobbed, getting quieter with each syllable.
The wolf just sat, staring at her, letting her cry. Until it vanished.
Feeling the weight disappear from her shoulder, she momentarily halted her tears.
Suddenly, two arms wrapped around her abdomen and dragged her backwards into a comfortable embrace, a pair of legs encasing her own. Though the night was still, a slight breeze blew past her ear, sending chills down her spin and goosebumps down her legs.
"No more crying, okay?" She heard in her ear as the breeze grew more intense. "It makes me sad to see such a cute girl cry."
"Wolf?" She asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
"Yeah Kitten?" He responded, shifting to breath on her cat ears instead.
"Why do you care so much?" She inquired, trying to keep her voice under control.
"Why do I care about what so much?" He pondered calmly, subtly blowing into her ears, making her shiver more.
"Why do you care so much about my team? About my friends? About..."
"You?" He finished, feeling a subtle nod in response.
"I get that you killed that nevermore on principle, that you had anything with Orokin energy, but after killing it, you could have walked away, pretending we weren't even there. You could've ignored us and left us to die." She reasoned.
"Yet, I didn't. You want to know why, no?" He realized, following her train of thought. "To be honest, I didn't leave you all to die because I felt something coming from you and the little rose. Something I haven't felt in...a very long time."
"And what's that?" Blake asked, finally reeling in her emotions. "What could you see in us that would make you save us, nurse us back to health, and care for us as we recovered?"
"In your team? I saw potential. Potential to be great. Potential to be as we should have. But in you and Ruby? I saw longing. In Ruby? Longing for a proper family, for her mother, for her aunt. She wants her family to be whole again. In you? You long for normality. You want things to go back to how they were. For peace. For honesty. You want to be the person you were before it." He answered, slightly squeezing her closer towards the end, noticing she didn't object to the embrace.
"Before what?" She asked quietly.
"You know what, Kitten." Wolf stated, trying to make her answer her own question.
He was met with silence as she tried to force him to change the subject.
"Blake, you can't pretend that it simply didn't happen." He coaxed her.
"Why not?! Why can't I pretend that nothing ever happened!? Just pretend that I never..." Blake burst out before she stopped herself, tears streaming down her cheeks again.
"You didn't just anything. Blake, you need to tell someone. And right now, I'm the only one here. Besides, what's wrong with telling your friendly neighborhood hollow howler?" He responded, trying to lighten the mood ever so slightly with a half asses joke.
The faunus was silent for a moment.
"Promise me..." She whispered.
"...promise me you'll never tell...anyone...ever." She turned to look at him through her tears.
"I swear on my soul, for it is all I have left." He swore, steel in his voice as he gently grabbed her hands, massaging her palms to coax her into comfort. "Start when and where your comfortable. It's not even midnight yet. I'm here for as long as you want me to be. Whenever you want me to be."
She hesitated before asking, "...Promise?"
"Promise." Wolf answered immediately.
There was a tense silence.
It may have lasted seconds.
It may have lasted minutes.
It may have lasted hours.
It didn't matter.
"I was turning fifteen." She began, breathing deep. "I had a few friends among the white fang, but those I had where close. They through me a small celebration. I had fun. Got a few gifts. Adam Taurus, a bull faunus who I had known since I was a child, said he would give me my gift from him later. Admittedly, I had a small crush on him. The celebration ended. I went up to my room. Adam had disappeared a few minutes earlier. As I walked in my room, the door shut and locked behind. He was on the other side of it when I walked in. He grabbed me and threw me on my bed. At first I was giddy. I figured he was playing around before he gave me my gift. Then he pinned me down. Hard. I got confused, but I got the picture when he started ripping my clothes off. I struggled until he hit me and shouted in my face. I just lied there. Didn't move. Didn't cooperate. Absolutely nothing. I broke. He kept doing it. Time after time. For almost a year. Until I ran away after an assignment. It was a while before I could even talk. He made me realize...maybe the humans aren't that wrong when they call us animals."
Throughout her tale, he never moved. He just sat there, holding her while she talked, comforting her as she cried.
"I know it's selfish, but would you promise me one more thing?" She hiccupped through sobs.
He nodded.
"Stay with me. For tonight. Just hold me here. In your arms." She pleaded.
"I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here whenever you need me." He vowed.
"Thank you Wolfie." She whispered, her voice hoarse from crying.
An eyebrow raised. "Wolfie? Seriously? That's what you come up with? Of all things?"
She shifted on him, laying her legs out, pushing Wolf down to the roof, laying her head on his chest as she lazily gazed at the stars near the moon.
"Shut up. Tonight, you're my Wolfie. It's cute enough to match your..." She stopped to yawn. "...cuteness. So shut up and let me lay here while you let me."
Wolf chuckled. "I don't think that's a word, but okay. And don't worry I'm not gonna stop you."
"Really?" She yawned, snuggling into his chest, reaching up and ripping her bow off, quickly drifting into the dimension of dreams.
"Yeah, really. Now sleep." He wrapped on arm around her waist, shifting the other behind his head.
She yawned again. "No, I have to go back to the dorm, I still have classes tomorrow, I can't just-"
"Hush, Kitty Kat!" He cut her off. "I'll take care of it. Just sleep." He whispered into her black ear.
She let out a cute yawn, her ears twitching. "...Okay. Goodnight Wolfie."
"Sleep tight Kitten." He whispered, trying to refrain from commenting on how she started purring as she drifted off.
He laid there, listening to the sound of her breathing, the vibration as she purred, staring up at the moon.
'If it's any consolation King, I think she will make a fine Queen down here. Along with the others.' A maniacal voice said into Wolf's head.
"Now's not exactly the best time, Zangetsu." Wolf sighed.
'To bad King, now is when it's happening. She needs support, we can be that. After all, you are trying to keep them from becoming even remotely like you, right King?' The shinigami, hollow and quincy hybrid zanpakuto asked sarcastically, already knowing the answer. 'It's like you forget how well we know each other.'
"I suppose one could consider that a reason for our actions. However, the rest must wait. She needs our help, and we refuse to stand by and let someone go through this alone again." Wolf responded, glancing down to make sure the faunus on his chest was still asleep.
'Whatever you say King. I'm gonna go find something to do.' Zangetsu said as he started to retreat into the depths of his territory in Wolf's inner world.
"Go find Nozarashi. She can entertain you for a while. Just keep it down, would you? I'm enjoying hearing her purr." Wolf said, figuring he could give the hybrid some entertainment for a while.
'Hell yeah! Thanks for the tip Kingy. Enjoy snuggling with our soon to be Pussy Cat!' The zanpakuto screamed as he rushed off towards a bloody battlefield, his cackling fading into the white noise before Wolf shut off the connection to his inner world.
Wolf looked back down at the faunus using his chest as a pillow as she purred in her sleep.
'Suppose I could give her a little while. She certainly needs it. After all, being unconscious is very unfulfilling rest. I should know.' He thought to himself as he shifted, settling into gaze upon the stars till they were no longer visible.
Location:
RWBY Dorm
Ruby quickly slapped off the alarm. Massaging her sore and still healing muscles.
"Wake up Wiess, classes start soon." She said, stirring the heiress from her dreams.
"Hey, where's Blake?" The princess asked sitting up on her bed.
Ruby turned around holding a piece of paper. "According to her note, talking with Professor Ozpin." She said, handing Wiess the tiny sticky note.
"Oh, well. If she's late to class then it's her problem." Wiess said, standing up and stretching. "Come on, we have a lot of note taking to catch up on."
Location:
Beacon Infirmary
Blake shifted, trying to get comfortable in her seat.
Wait.
Seat!
Her eyes snapped open and she jumped up, quickly analyzing her surroundings.
She was in a hospital room, sitting next to a bed. Looking into the bed, she saw a head of golden hair and a familiar pair of pink lips.
"Ah, you're awake." Came from her left. She was greeted by the sight of her headmaster standing in front of the door to the room.
"Professor Ozpin?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.
"Yes, Miss Belladonna?" He responded, taking a sip from his eternal mug.
"How did I get here?" She wondered, stretching and staring at her bed ridden partner.
Ozpin chuckled. "Wolf brought you here. He said it would be good for both of you if you were the first person she saw. Also said you had something private to talk to her about." He answered.
"Did he leave?" She asked, sorrow seeping into your voice.
"Not exactly." Ozpin responded, getting a desperate gaze from his student. "Don't worry, he'll keep his promise. After all, he can't do his job without being here."
"His job?"
"Indeed. I think it's about time I leave, and you might want to take this." He said, handing her a pass. "Stay until she wakes up, and talk to her. That pass is valid for all day, so no need to rush. Have a good day, Miss Belladonna. Tell Miss Xiao Long she has the staffs best wishes." He said as he walked out the door, shutting it behind him, making a thud loud enough to stir the brawler from her dreams.
Yang's eyes slowly opened, blinking away the sleep. Turning her head, she spotted her partner starring at her. "Blake?"
Blake sat up, grabbing the blonde's hand. "I'm here Yang."
"What the hell happened?" She asked, no care for her use of language.
"A lot. A lot happened. But it's okay. Everyone is okay." The faunus replied, growing more nervous with each passing second.
"Well that's good." Yang said, pausing to look down at her hands. "This sucks."
Blake nervously giggled at her partners attitude, before steeling herself and getting serious.
"Can I ask you something?" Blake said quietly, attempting to steel her determination.
"Sure Blakey, what's up?"
"What do you think of me? Please, tell me the truth." She pleaded.
"Well, you're shy, cute, pretty, fun and enjoyable. I like spending time with you. Why are you asking me this?" Yang replied.
"Because I need to tell you something, and you can do what you want with what I tell you." Blake said as she stood up and walked towards the door.
"And what is it that you're going to tell me?" Yang questioned as Blake opened the door and stepped out into the hall.
"That I've fallen in love with you." Blake said as she closed the door and walked away.
Location:
Beacon Lecture Hall
"What's all the fuss about?" Ruby asked as she sat next to Jaune and his team, Wiess sitting beside her.
"Apparently we have a new teacher for grimm studies. Nobody knows who he is though. Kind of weird if I'm honest." Jaune said as he pulled his notebook out of his bag.
The chair above Ruby was pulled back, making her look up, spotting her teammate taking the seat.
"Morning Blake. Where did you go?" She asked, snapping the faunus out of her aimless gaze.
"Hey Ruby. Just got up early to go visit Yang." Blake answered as she pulled out her class materials.
"You saw her!? How is she?" Ruby asked urgently.
"Don't worry Ruby, she's fine. Awake, actually. We can go visit her after class." She responded, waiting for the teacher to come in.
They waited a few more minutes, as the room got louder and rowdier, until it sounded like a club at midnight.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and an intimidating aura filled the room.
"Everyone, sit down, shut up, and get ready to learn." Came a familiar voice as a figure stepped through the door, making everyone follow the commands. "I took this job for very few reasons, and dealing with your shit certainly wasn't one of them."
He walked down the stairs, turned and leaned against the desk, revealing his attire to the class.
He wore a white buttoned up hooded trench coat, with black lining and spikes of color every few inches, bases at the lining. Black jeans with white lining showed at the split, along with silver combat boots with black laces.
"Now I'm going to be honest. Some of you will pass this class, most of you won't. Some of you will learn from your failure, but some won't. This course will no longer be easy, nor will it be taught by some old fart telling tall tales of his prime." He said as he slowly turned his head and observed the students.
"That being said, there are new rules. Rule number one, if you are a bully or racist, feel free to leave now. If I catch you in the act, it will result in immediate expulsion." He said, glancing towards a certain bird and his flock. "Rule number two, you either come here to work, or you don't come here at all. I won't tolerate slackers."
"Rule number three, no question is a stupid question. That being said, any questions?" He said as he walked around his desk and pulled out his chair while Pyrrha raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Nikos?"
"What's your name, Sir?" She asked.
"Call me..." He sat down, kicking his feet up on his desk, raising his head to show a pair of piercing blue slitted eyes glowing beneath his hood. "...Mr. Wolf."
I'm Back Baby!
I have returned to the land of the living, and bring you the biggest chapter yet.
Hope you enjoyed.
School is out, so hopefully I can put these out more frequently, but I make no promises.
I hope to post a chapter on Wattpad later today, so watch out for that.
Song of the day is "I am Defiant" by The Seige.
Dasvidanya
-Dexis Out
Meh
