A sigh echoed from the room. A man sat in his home, contemplating his choices as the snow lightly fell outside. A small barking sound could be heard from below, causing him the peer down to his pet dog. His expression changed as he pet his canine companion from the wooden stool he sat upon. A loud whimper could be heard as the dog peered up at their owner with puppy dog eyes. The man, seeing this, continued to pet it in an attempt to comfort his companion.
"I'm fine, Zwei. Don't worry about me." Taiyang said with a cheerful expression upon his face.
The huntsman had a lot of things on his mind. What was he going to do today? What should he do now that he had already taken Zwei out for a walk? Why is Zwei so damn durable? It doesn't make any sense for such a small pup to be that strong. It just doesn't. Why is my surplus of dust missing?! Taiyang's face scrunched up in confusion as he thought more and more about why the hell Zwei was like this — unaware that his petting was becoming more and more rough on the dog. In an attempt to get his owner's attention, Zwei barked loudly, yanking his owner out of his thoughts.
"O- Oh! Sorry Zwei." Yang's father said, quickly bringing his hand away from his furry companion's head. Sighing, he went back into his thoughts. He didn't have to do any missions today. He could safely assume that his bills would be paid for quite a while because of his job. But then, his mind wandered back to what had happened to him and Ruby back when they were visiting his wife's gravestone. He didn't believe his eyes when he saw her standing in front of her grave. Hell, she even turned around the look at him and her daughter. Now that was alarming. His wife had been dead for years! How in the hell was she there?!
"Oh no." Taiyang's eyes widened as he stood up from his stool in shock, much to his dog's surprise.
His wife had come back from death to haunt him.
That had to be it, right?! She was haunting him because he wasn't there to protect her! That has to be it! Taiyang thought to himself, pacing around the room nervously. A sudden guilty feeling came over him as he thought more and more about how his wife was now haunting him after all these years. The paranoid huntsman looked around, watching for any signs of white cloaks and blank faces. His conditioned huntsman instincts kicked in, watching for any signs of suspicious noises or movement within his own home.
Creak.
Taiyang jumped as he heard the slight sound from right behind him, his arms up in the arm. His expression paled almost immediately as he waited for his impending doom. Slowly, he turned behind him to see — nothing. He raised an eyebrow as he scanned the room. Scratching his head, he looked down to see Zwei.
"Oh. Hey Zwei." He said as the pup looked back up at him with a confused expression.
He forgot that his dog was there with him.
Sighing, he crouched dog and pet the dog tenderly, much to Zwei's joy. The pup barked happily as he ran around in circles. A brilliant idea came to mind.
"Zwei, we're going out for another walk." Taiyang smiled as Zwei stopped and began hopping up and down in joy.
Thankfully, the headmaster at Signal had given him some time to get things together since what he saw was hurting his performance during teaching, so he had a whole three weeks off due to the headmaster being in a good mood that day. The concept itself was a simple one, even by someone like Taiyang's standards. Repent at his wife's grave and ask for forgiveness. Maybe then she'll rest in peace. Maybe.
As Zwei ran around him in circles while his owner trudged through the snow filled forest, Taiyang could not shake off an uneasy feeling. Was she watching him? That was a bad thought. However, something in his mind made him shake it off. He was going to her resting place with good intentions. She couldn't possibly attack him right now… could she? The thought was a scary one, and something that wished to linger within the confines of his mind.
Finally, grave was in sight. Sighing deeply, he made his way to his wife's resting place. He stared at it, still mourning his loss as the old memories of him and his team resurfaced. They stayed together for all four years of Beacon and then some, forging unbreakable bonds that still linked them today. Or so he thought. His first love, Raven, had seemingly disappeared off of the face of Remnant, leaving behind his first child they had. Then, a couple years later, he had fallen in love with another woman, another member of his team. Summer was a kind, loving mother to both Yang and Ruby. She was always smiling, seemingly never burdened by the jobs she took as a huntress. Then one day, she never came back from a mission.
Taiyang frowned as the thought passed by once more. They had built a grave for her here at patch. All three of them visited every year in remembrance of what they all lost. Sighing once more, the huntsmen immediately shifted into a groveling stance, folding his hands together.
"I'msorrypleaseforgivemedon'thauntmeialwayslovedyouplease-"
Zwei tilted his head in confusion as he saw his owner begin to speak at alarming fast speeds. The words eventually turned into gibberish as the man seemingly went insane. This went on for half an hour as the huntsman cried out endlessly, seemingly waiting for a response from his dear beloved. As the man's lungs had finally reached his limit, he took a deep breath and finally sat up from his position. Heavy breathing ensued as the huntsman peered up at the clouds in the sky.
"I'm sorry, Summer..."
Taiyang sat there in silence as the snow fell lightly around him. Zwei nudged him tenderly in hopes of getting back to the house. However, the attempt made no difference in his owner's mood as he continued to sit there, contemplating about his dead wife. His eyes widened as he heard movement a few meters away from him. Quickly sitting up, he turned and faced the source of the sound. It was from the forest of hibernating trees behind him. Zwei started barking loudly at the approaching threat.
"S-Summer?! Is that you?!" Taiyang shouted out in paranoia.
"I'm sorry!" He cried out to deaf ears.
Finally, a figure emerged from behind the trees and pounced towards the season huntsman. Taiyang's mouth flew open as he could only see the approaching threat get closer and closer. How a terrifying force his wife had become! Her teeth had grown to considerable lengths, her body covered in a deep layer of fur and white plating! And worst of all, the top of her face was covered up with a white mask with red markings! Oh wait.
Narrowing his eyes, Taiyang instantly regained his composure and proceeded to punch the approaching Beowolf in the face, knocking him back into a tree. He sighed as he just caught himself believing that his wife had just become a Grimm.
"I'm an idiot." He chuckled to himself as he focused on the threat at hand. A brilliant idea comes to mind as Taiyang peered towards Zwei. The Grimm charged towards the huntsman again, only to get a boot to the face, stunning it.
"C'mere Zwei!" Taiyang said, beckoning Zwei towards him. In a joyful manner, the corgi ran towards him as he obliged his owner's intentions. Yelling, he threw Zwei into the air, making him zoom into the clouds. Chuckling to himself, he peered up for a moment before focusing on the Beowolf once more. The Grimm was still, in fact, trying to bite out his jugular. Dodging its sluggish movements, the hunter ducked under a slash to deliver an uppercut to the face with his right arm, stunning it once more. Reeling back his left fist, he threw a punch that sent the Grimm staggering back. Taiyang then immediately proceeded to dropkick the Beowolf to send it sprawling. Moments later, the Grimm then began to slowly turn into black smoke before its body disappeared entirely.
Smirking, Taiyang raised a fist in triumph. It had been a while since he had to beat down a Grimm with his bare hands. The sense of adrenaline never really occurred when he was using Crush and Sunder — the Grimm would just die after getting struck once. Not that he'd detest using his two best friends in a fight, they served him well after all these years.
Once again, something caught his eye in the distance. Black blurs rapid approached towards him — the intent to kill emanating from the Grimm. Taiyang's eyes widened as he smiled with a wide grin — only for it to drop as he realized where he was. He was fighting Grimm in front of his dead wife's grave — now that was just a disservice to the dearly departed. Suddenly, another brilliant idea came into his mind: Don't allow the gravestone to be hit. Protect it. That'll surely balance it out, right? 'I'll be fiiiiine.' Taiyang thought as he readied himself for the approaching creatures of Grimm.
I am the father, now hear me roar
You've made a big mistake, I'm here to settle the score
I know your methods and I can see
you've taken liberties with all that is dear to me
I kept my distance to give them space
but if you cross the line, I'll meet you face to face, yeah
I didn't come to negotiate
You've lit the powder keg, and I'm gonna detonate
The older Ruby Rose listened on to her new album she had just acquired from Vale's commercial district. This particular album struck a chord with her as she bought it with reckless abandon. She had plenty of money from her job as a huntress — she could go on plenty of shopping sprees without the worry of running out Lien. She looked out of the window, watching the clouds go by slowly as the birds remained silent.
Taiyang was visibly enjoying himself as he punched another Beowolf square on the snout while taking mind of his dearly departed's resting place. Following up with a roundhouse kick, he launched the Grimm into another one of its kind. Upon collision, both of them disappeared into a black cloud of smoke. His mind wandered slightly as he realized that Zwei had not come down yet. Did he overdo it? No, he obviously knew his own strength. That would be almost impossible. Perhaps he grew wings and moved to greener pastures? No! Of course not, that'd be a stupid idea! The hunter shook his head in hopes of getting rid of such thoughts.
But then again… Zwei did like exploring places. It wouldn't be too farfetched, right? Taiyang stood up straight with his hand on his chin, contemplating on about what happened to his favorite canine companion.
"Yang and Ruby are gonna kill me for this." He groaned.
Slowly, a Beowolf circled around the huntsman hoping to capitalize on what seemed like him in a vulnerable state. Lunging forward he threw his claws at the hunter's blind spot — only for it to bounce off and impact the Grimm in its face.
A shrill howl could be heard from Taiyang's side. Peering to the left, he sees a Grimm clasping its face with its paws. The Beowolf stares at the huntsman, its eyes burning with hatred. A smirk crept upon Taiyang's face as he realized what just happened. The Grimm's attack bounced off when he subconsciously activated his semblance.
His semblance was a simple one which allowed him to focus his aura into a shield that redirected the force from an attack back to the attacker. Problem was, his semblance was limited to only shielding one side of his body. Good thing was, he was skilled enough with it now to shift the shield's position almost instantly. It was a defensive semblance with offensive capabilities if used properly against certain attacks. Paired with the fact that he was, in fact, a brawler — he seemed good all-around in a fight.
It was a good self-defense mechanism as well. It allowed any objects thrown at him to rebound back to the one who threw it — much to Qrow's dismay during their time at Beacon. Man, good times.
Looking around, he realized that the number of Grimm around him had diminished rapidly — save for the Grimm to his left and another Beowolf. Cracking his neck, he finally got bored and decided to finish off the remaining Grimm. As the Grimm to the left struggled to its feet, Taiyang firmly planted his foot into the Grimm's face once more and stomped his face in — caving in the poor creature's skull. Looking to the right, he sees the last Beowolf lunge at him with reckless abandon. He ducked under the swipe from his claw, and delivered a powerful uppercut to the Grimm's snout, sending it flying into the clouds.
"Shoryuken!" He yelled out after having struck the Beowolf, a grin still lying on his face.
He sat down next to gravestone, peering up into the sky. What was he doing again? He can't seem to remember what he was doing here. Nor the fact that he thought he was by his dearly departed. A buzzing sound could be heard coming from his shorts. Taking out his scroll, he sees that the incoming message was from Ruby, his daughter.
hey dad, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you this to cheer u up!
I found someone you might like!
hint: thus kindly I scatter
I luv u! 3
-ruby
Thus Kindly I Scatter? What kind of hint was that? Is it related to one of Ruby's friends at Beacon? Wait, she made some friends?! Good going, Ru! But seriously, how was he supposed to figure out what that-
The huntsman looked to his side where his wife's gravestone was.
"WHAT THE HEL-"
Thud.
Zwei had just landed on his head.
I've been in mourning for twelve long years
I'm here to break these chains, I've come to bury the fear
I've woken up from the fitful sleep
This is my cross to bear, I've got a charge to keep
I made a promise to raise them right
Guarded and kept them safe; I taught them how to fight
But if their shelter is blown away
I'll be the firewall, and there will be hell to pay
Ruby sipped her pick-me-up as she continued to sit idly in the room she was sharing with a couple of students. Thankfully, they didn't mind her being there after Ozpin himself introduced her. She was glad that they didn't mind. She shouldn't have been in the past in the first place.
She sat up from the chair near the windowsill and glanced into the mirror from across the room. When Coco heard that she was going clothes shopping, she immediately hopped in to help her newly acquainted friend. It wasn't that she minded shopping for some new clothes, she enjoyed looking for new things to wear. What she actually disliked, however, was how long it took for them to shop for clothes. Seeing the almost infinite stores of Lien Ruby had, Coco had taken advantage of it by buying a mountain of clothes, extending the overall time by an extra 5 hours. They had taken around 3 hours solely in and out of dressing room, seeing which styles fit the huntress more.
It was safe to say that, Ruby was not going to be in need of clothes anytime soon.
So come on, show me what you're made of
I am not afraid of this juggernaut
I'm packing vengeance, enough to bring you to your knees
Give me your best shot, I can take the damage
Don't care what advantage you think you've got
Pull out the big guns, tap into your armory
Put 'em up so you can answer to me
For today, she was intent wearing a black sweater and shorts with black stockings underneath. She also had her white cloak over most of it as always. Coco, of course, wasn't happy with it and gave Ruby an accusing look when she saw what she was wearing. The huntress felt an obvious buzzing within her shorts and pulled out her scroll once again. It was from an unknown caller. Raising an eyebrow, she answered it.
You can rest assured there's nothing I will not endure
if it will keep my children far away from pain
I have seen the cost of all the battles I have lost
and I am not about to let this end the same
This will be the measure of devotion to my treasures
They're the only future I have ever known
They are all I've got, so I will give it one more shot
'Cause all I really have to fear is that I might end up alone
"…Hello?" The huntress called out, turning off the music as she took off her headphones.
"Hello, 'Ms. Rose!'" A hearty voice rang from the scroll.
It was Professor Port.
"Yes? What is it?" She replied calmly.
"I'd like you to come to the combat arena for a 'demonstration!'" He said loudly into the scroll, much to Ruby's discomfort.
Why was he always so loud? Furthermore, a demonstration? Again? 'Surely there's more to this than he's letting on.' She thought to herself. Her stomach dropped as she thought about the implications. Was he trying to reveal me? No, that'd only work on those who knew Summer's combat style. What in the hell was he thinking?
Sighing, the grabbed her combat gear and changed for the upcoming match. One could never be too prepared.
As she made her way to the arena, her mind wandered to and fro about what was going to happen. Was it truly just a casual demonstration? Or was it something else in disguise? He might have been her professor, but she knew all too well that she never really paid any attention to him. She made her way down the staircase into a dark corridor, a gleam of light coming from around the corner. As she got closer and closer to the entrance, the light came closer and closer causing the huntress to lift her arm to shield herself from the light.
Finally, as her eyes adjusted, her eyes widened as her stomach dropped at the sight of a massive crowd of people in the stands.
"Kick their butts, Mom!" She hears loudly from the crowd. The huntress turns to see Team RWBY cheering for her in the front row. Ruby and Yang in particular were waving signs that both said 'Go Summer!' while the rest of their team sat in silence. The rest of the crowd was just cheering for whatever reasons they had.
She looked up at the giant board of information to her left. It had three aura bars showing the names and pictures of the fighters. It said 'Summer Rose' and — her eyes widened at what she saw — Professor Port and Oobleck's name on remaining gauges.
