A/N: Hoo-boy, I'll explain myself in the notes after.
Sibyll moved through the crowd, pushing aside the festival goers in a panicked search for the young girl. How long had it been already? Where could she have strayed to be gone for so long? Had someone enticed her? Snatched her away under his lapse of vigilance? She had looked at him expectantly, trusting that he could have best such a trivial game for the prize she sought to give away. Just when he finally won the damn thing, she disappears.
The young hunter trusted in the little one more than he let on.
He believed she would never voluntarily stray away, or that she would brave the crowds on her own. Chisa, though growing slowly accustomed to Ruby and Jaune's team, remained to be a reluctant and shy child. To think she would simply vanish—
He shook his head as searched the crowd.
It began to thin out as the night grew long, stalls beginning to put away their wares while a few people lingered about. Yet he found no sign of the young girl.
"Oh, you haven't by chance… seen my little sister, have you?"
Sibyll squeezed his eyes shut, trying to shut out the voice out of his mind.
"She's still quite small, and wears a big white ribbon. Have you seen her out there anywhere?"
No, it would never come back to that. He would make sure it would be different this time. Not Chisa… not the little one… His hands gripped the side of his head tighter, praying that the pressure would silence it. He would find her… He knew he would… He would find her this time…
"Oh, how did this happen… Why would she ever go outside?"
He only meant to save her, take her someplace safe and away from the beasts prowling outside. It was never meant to end that way… Never from desperation, fear, or a horrid death…
"At least…I'll have something to remember her by."
He never meant to kill them both…
His guilt ridden mind forced the truth from his tongue, and the truth had driven the older sister mad to her death.
The body of the girl lay crumpled upon the floor, unmoving in the bloody remains that pooled beneath her. Face obscured by crimson and blonde hair, and her limbs rested haphazardly in awkward angles. As much as he wanted to look away, Sibyll continued to watch the result of his error. He should have never returned the ribbon, once bloodied and now pure white.
It was his fault…
He only meant to help the young girl, her eyes peering hopefully through the barred window. One small life saved for the many he had taken… Did he truly think he could redeem himself through her? Was he that selfish?
Carefully, he removed the white ribbon from the girl's grasp.
It would serve to be the mark of his sin among many, and to remind him of the deaths left behind in his path.
"Not this time… Not this time…" he murmured to himself.
The ring of his scroll brought back his attention, and found the call to be from Ruby. She could see much the dread tore away at him, and likewise, he saw how much worry was etched onto her face.
"Have you—"
"We found her," she quickly answered. "She's safe."
Sibyll released a withheld breath, taking a moment to lean against an empty stand. Chisa is fine and she's in safe company.
"Was it your team or Mister Arc's that came upon her?"
"It was…"
Ruby looked off screen, an underlying worry still etched on her face. Why would she still be concerned? He only wanted to thank them for finding the little one, even if they were still uneasy around him. It would only be right to do so, yet he frowned slightly as he watched her move a distance way from something before answering.
"It was Raven who found her."
"Branwen?"
It was admittedly unusual for the woman to reappear now after their brief discussion. Sibyll assumed that she, like Qrow, had come to declare her warnings before disappearing entirely. For her to arrive now… did not bode well as Sibyll began to move.
"Yeah, she was patrolling the city and keeping an eye on… things. She was making sure to cover the ground the police can't when she found Chisa and the other lady."
"There was another woman involved?"
"From Chisa told us, she needed help and she went after her. But don't worry! Raven took care of them and they won't hurt anyone anymore—"
"What do you mean 'they won't hurt anyone'?"
The young reaper grew silent over the scroll. It wasn't reluctance to answer, but a refusal to do so, even as she tried to maintain eye contact as best she could. He waited for an answer, any answer, but she looked around as if to find an explanation elsewhere or from someone else.
"Ruby!"
The image on screen shook as she fumbled with the scroll. It jostled for a moment before the image was replaced with Blake, her serious expression mixed with some pain; brow knitted while her mouth was set in a strangled grimace. She was withholding something, but to the young hunter, it seemed to be a suffering she was experiencing on her own
"Sibyll," she began, "we'll give you directions to where we are, but I need you to keep calm. Alright? Chisa is fine, but she's being taken care of."
He opened is mouth to speak, but the raven haired girl cut him off.
"I know what you want to say, and I know what you're feeling. But we don't want to escalate the situation any further, even if they deserved it."
Sibyll nodded, and followed where Blake directed him. He turned a corner to where the edge of the festival thinned out to find them all; Ruby and Yang speaking with two large questionably look men while Weiss knelt in front of Chisa and Blake kept an eye out. Jaune and his team seem to be talking to speaking with someone on their scroll, with Nora and Pyrrha tending to a woman, and the young hunter could pick up the familiar voice of the headmaster. Sun and his team stood the furthest away, keeping guard over three men who had been restrained and forced to sit on the side walk.
They looked considerably rough, bruises and cuts adorning their body, but the largest of them looked to be unaffected by his wounds. The man look at Sibyll, sneering, and the young hunter felt a familiar sensation churning at his stomach; one he had done his best to quell for so long.
He moved quickly to Chisa, finding the girl in a worrying state: her costume ruined and dirtied, a few scrapes here and there, and a pained expression while she tried to smile at him.
"Sibyll," she winced as she spoke, "you're here."
The young hunter knelt before the young girl, hand gently reaching out to inspect her for any more wound, and she leaned into the familiar touch. His eyes drifted lower to where Weiss held a blue crystal over the young girl's stomach; a small, subtle cool meant to cool the bruise that covered a large portion.
"We'll have her checked at the infirmary to be sure," Weiss answered his concern. "For now, I'll do what I can."
"And the two with Miss Xiao Long?"
"They're a part of the Furious Dragons Association; they look over the neighborhoods and are tied with Yang and Ruby's father," Blake answered. "They were the first to find Chisa, but she and the other woman fled thinking they were trouble. After Raven dealt with the other three, they came in took control. Police should be on their way to pick them up."
It should have been news of relief, but Sibyll couldn't remove his eyes from Chisa's wounds. She had been hurt under his watch. They had hurt her, and she…
"Which one?"
The heiress looked up from her work to see him addressing Chisa. His face was unreadable as the young girl fidgeted slightly under his gaze. Blake moved to stand closer, and Weiss knew that posture meant to intervene.
"Sibyll…"
"Which of those men did this to you?"
"Don't."
He shrugged off Blake's hand that was meant to serve as both warning and reminder. Chisa looked between them nervously, before lowering her head.
"…the really big one…"
"And did that man do anything else to you? Anything I should know of?"
"…"
"Chisa, I need to know."
The young hunter had lifted her chin, and she found his empty expression frightening. It stopped her from answering him outright. She didn't know who she should be more afraid of: the man that threatened her or Sibyll.
"He had a knife…and he wanted to hurt me and the lady…"
"I see."
Sibyll stood and turned.
"If you are able to move her, take her back as soon as you can. She does not need to see what comes next."
"Wait, what are you—?"
Weiss turned to find the young hunter stalking toward the restrained men as Blake tried to hold him back. Her protests caught the Team SSSN's attention, leaving Sun and Sage to intercept him. Sibyll pushed passed Sun only to be confronted by Sage, the young teen standing taller over him with firm hands holding him in place. Yet the heiress flinched when Sage crumpled over in pain, Sibyll's glowing fist fading as Scarlet and Neptune stepped aside.
It was a pitiful sight for the young hunter, two men who boasted more height and mass than he cowering before him. Perhaps it was Raven's handiwork that left a fearful effect; the crimson cuts across their bodies were deep enough to leave them alive with a message. They ducked their heads while he stood before the largest one, a self assured grin Sibyll had broken when he had lifted the man to his feet and struck him. The body staggered, but he had taken the man by his collar and slammed him against the brick wall of the building; a sickening crunch echoed upon contact. It didn't deter the larger man as he maintained a bloody smile, one which Sibyll was sure to erase soon.
"Don't!"
Ruby tried to pull the young hunter off, but he continued to strike the man across the face.
"You…think…this'll…scare…me?" the man challenged.
"No... This," Sibyll struck again,"is simply for my own pleasure."
The young hunter raised his fist once more, but was restrained by Jaune. Sibyll could have easily shaken him off easily yet it was the warning look he wore that forced him to pause.
"Can't…do…anything to…me…"
At least for a moment as the young hunter turned back the large man.
"You think you… can get away with… roughing me up... without the cops knowing? You have nothing… on me… And with how I look now… I could tell them… some Fang sympathizers… tried to shut me and the boys up…"
"We have evidence and witnesses. You're not getting away with lying," Jaune warned.
"But who are they… going to believe?" the man retorted. "Especially with everyone being… nervous about the White Fang… hiding among us, do you think some… brats protecting a freak… is going to be overlooked?"
He sneered.
"Oh, they'll keep an eye on us… but they'll suspect you and your little friends more."
"You must think yourself to be clever," Sibyll noted.
The man spat blood at Sibyll's face grinning all the while. By the man's perspective, the blood should have startled the young hunter as it would most people. The mere fact that Sibyl hadn't so much as flinched shook his resolve. It only deepened when the young hunter smiled.
"Allow us to correct that. If you would be so kind Miss Valkyrie," he called out. Jaune and Ruby's hold over him disappeared and were replaced with their protests. From the corner of his eyes, Sibyll saw her expression to be as furious as his own. Her usual smile was gone, and in its place was a barely restrained anger; lips pursed while she watch him intently. Sibyll moved the man by his collar, pulling him into the open street and shoved him forward.
"You place a great amount of faith in your arrogance. Hopefully it is enough to see you through. Now, run."
Sibyll pulled forth Evelyn from a haze of smoke into his right hand and aimed it at the man's back.
"You… You can't do this! If you kill me—"
"If I kill you, then I will face the consequence of my actions. A feat you feel exempt from, but if you are able to outrun me then fate has decided so. One…"
"Don't do this!" Ruby pleaded.
"Two…"
The bound man took off down the street, eliciting a few concerns from the other. Blake moved to the young hunter, pulling back on his arm to stop him. As much as she wanted him too, she wouldn't allow him to compromise himself…or worse. She could almost feel the anger and bloodlust he had once delved into as if it were her own; all the carnage and meticulously slow process he inflicted on others in that city. Blake would be damned if she allowed him to do that now.
"Sibyll!"
None of them accounted for any particular tricks he would pull, or if they expected him to, yet the sounds they heard shattered their resolution. Agonizing howls filled the night air; screams, pleas, and strangled shouts. It spoke of unimaginable suffering, of unfulfilled vengeance which sprang forth from Sibyll's left hand; adorned with a ghastly, pale glove. The voices of the tormented manifested into ethereal, skull-like forms that sought after the fleeing man. Their intent and target was clear, and moved swiftly to engulf the man entirely.
They couldn't hear his screams above the ones smothering him. His body fell onto the street, convulsing unnaturally while the crimson mist covered every inch before disappearing completely.
The Executioner's Glove bears the deepest grudges, and to release even a portion of their temper was taxing for Sibyll. He could feel their malevolence sapping away at his reason, his vision so focused on the man before him as the voices spoke into his ear. They tempted him, asking and pleading for their anguish to be answered for. He would have obliged, but Blake's frightened hold on him stayed his mind.
It had happened too quickly to stop Sibyll, and the shock of it all allowed him to leave Blake's grasp to assess the effects.
Eyes rolled back unnaturally.
Mouthing foaming, mumbling incoherently.
The body twitching in spastic motions.
The young hunter had checked the man's vital to find his breath shortened and heart pacing too fast than the considered norm.
He would survive, but in a state befitting the filth of his nature.
Sibyll dragged the body back to the remaining two, their panicked screams going unassisted by the surrounding teens. He dumped the body before them and savored their fear of him. He knew that they knew their place and how fleeting their lives were before him.
"Know this," the young hunter warned, "I have killed people more deserving of life than you three, and I have ways of disposing your remains effectively should this happen again. So you will do exactly as I say. Do you understand?"
The continued to cower, forcing Sibyll to summon another three phantoms to hover behind him menacingly. The ethereal skulls snapped and moaned at them, only held back by the patience of their master.
"Do you understand?" he asked again.
They nodded their heads in frightful agreement.
"Good. You will confess to the authorities of your crimes, but you will leave what happened here unspoken. Should they ask about your leader, tell them he received what was due for dishonoring the innocent."
Sibyll knelt to their level, the hovering skulls just a few feet away from them.
"I have no qualms about killing vermin like you. Given how you hurt my little one, I should have you strung up and flayed. Perhaps an hour on the pyre should cleanse you two."
He snapped his fingers and the ethereal skulls drifted closer. Their snapping jaws were inches away from their faces before disappearing into nothing, the young hunter stowing the glove away into a fog.
"Consider yourselves lucky. This is the only moment I recall where my 'mercy' allowed anyone to live. Pray that you do not squander it."
The young hunter stood and turned to face the surrounding teens. They watched him with trepidation as his eyes looked about them, before landing on Chisa who still remained. By her fearful expression, he knew that she had seen everything and silently cursed the heiress for staying behind. He moved toward the little one, scooping her gently into his arms, and set off back to Beacon while leaving them rest of the group behind.
Chisa sat in the infirmary while the nurse attended to her injuries. They had given her some more ice dust to cool her bruises, but her mind was more focused Sibyll. Throughout the entire trip back he remained silent. He had kept her close, unwilling to let Ruby or the others hold her as the airship took them back to the academy. It was only when they arrived at the infirmary did he relinquish her. Even when the nurse was informing the teens that nothing else was wrong and precautions about treatment, Sibyll sat the furthest away.
It scared her, seeing how different he could be or that he could do what he did. She had always known him to be the quiet and nice person she came across in the forest. Sibyll was would never be angry, even when she knew people in her town talked about him behind his back. He would always let it go, but now…
She shivered at the thought of those ghosts chasing down the man. Their cries reminded her of that night and how terrible they were up close. She didn't like how the man's body shook as if he were in a nightmare that he couldn't wake up from, and she saw how Sibyll summoned more of them for the other two. Is that what he was really like? He continued to stare at his hands as she felt Ruby sit with her on the examination bed.
"How're holding up?"
"I'm okay… Do you think that lady will be okay too?"
The young reaper gave her a small smile.
"Yeah, she'll be alright. The police will take care of her, but she was lucky you found her when you did."
Chisa looked back to the young hunter.
"Sibyll?"
He didn't move when she called to him, prompting the rest to the teens to look at him. She folded her hands together as she tried again.
"Sibyll, I'm sor—"
"How could you be so foolish?"
She recoiled from his question as she stood from his seat, eye boring into hers and filled with an angry expression. He moved to stand over her, crossing his arms as she lowered her head under his gaze.
"Do you not understand the danger you were in tonight? Your injuries could have been worse or fatal."
"I—"
"And how could you wander off like that? You promised to stay close when I asked."
"But I—"
"I am disappointed in you Chisa, and that is what troubles me most."
Heat rushed to her face as the shame and disappointment settled in. She didn't mean to break his promise or that she went off on her own. When the woman cried out for help, Chisa followed after as best as she could. Hopefully if she knew where they were going, she could have gone back for help. The only reason she ran in was because they were going to hurt the older woman.
Chisa had been afraid, but she was more afraid to watch it happen.
Chisa had been afraid, but she guided the woman as best as she could; navigating the scary alleyways with her night vision.
Chisa had been afraid and hurt, but she did what Ruby or Sibyll would do; she stood her ground even when the man was scarier and bigger than her.
She had been brave, even when she was afraid. She helped.
That must have counted for something, right?
Ruby had praised her when the scary men brought her and the older woman to safety. Her parents would have been proud of her too, right? Her mother protected the weak, even when they didn't like her for being a woman. Her father did the right things, even when she had heard him talking to himself about how it would have benefited them instead of other people. So when she had done something she felt was right at the end, why was Sibyll as angry as he was? Why didn't he see that she had done something she never thought possible? After all his lessons about growth and improvement, didn't she grow too?
It was that particular question that set the heat to her face with anger as looked up to stare back at Sibyll. Her hands folded into tiny fists which shook.
"That's not fair…" she mumbled.
"Pardon?
"I said that's not fair!"
Ruby, Jaune, and Sun, along with their teams, flinched as the young girl shouted. Chisa narrowed her eyes, challenging Sibyll, but they brimmed with unshed tears. She wasn't sure whether she was more hurt or angry with him as she gripped her hands tighter.
"I helped!" she stated. "I helped even when I was scared and the only one who heard her! And I… I…"
"You did not call for help," Sibyll remarked. "You could have asked for anyone or draw attention to yourself through distress. Instead, you acted without thinking and placed yourself in danger Chisa."
"But Miss Raven came and—"
"And if she did not? Miss Branwen's appearance had been favorably timely, but what if it had not? You still risked your life unnecessarily and had only been fortunate enough to be saved."
She gritted her teeth. She wouldn't cry in front him, not when he was being mean to her.
"But if I didn't go after her, no one would know where to find her!"
"You were at risk of…" Sibyll released a pained sigh. "I would have preferred if you did not follow at all if I knew this would happen."
Chisa's eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief.
"You can't say that."
"That is the truth."
"But you help people!" she shouted. Chisa looked around the room, hoping to find some support from the others while she looked back to the young hunter.
"You're supposed to help people because that's what you do! You're just like Ruby and—"
"I am not the same as them."
Sibyll's expression hardened as he spoke.
"There is a very clear difference between what Miss Rose and the others do than I. They are the ones who you and the rest of this world look to for protection and guidance. They are the forces which eliminate the Grimm so that the rest of you may have a chance to expand and thrive. They fulfill their purpose because that is what they are meant to do."
His hands began to tremble between folded arms.
"That is not my purpose."
Chisa shook her head. Sibyll didn't say things like that, because he wasn't supposed to.
"Then what are you?" she questioned. "What do you do that makes you different?"
"…I clean up the mess left behind when there is nothing left to save…"
No… She wouldn't accept that…
"You would let that lady get hurt? Just like that?"
"If it meant your safety? Yes… I would have…"
Silence.
It was a silence that left an air of unease between the young hunter and the girl, leaving the rest to stand to the side in similar disbelief. Their mixed feelings about Sibyll only deepened by his admittance as it challenged the very foundation they worked hard to uphold. Huntsmen and Huntresses could never be that selfish, nor would they allow themselves to be so… adamant about the futility of choice. Even if they couldn't save everyone, Ruby and the other teams felt they would have tried to do right by they came across.
But to decide selfishly who lives and dies?
"No!" Chisa shouted. "You're wrong!"
"I am only doing what is best for you—"
"You're not my papa!"
Tears started to fall without her knowing as she looked back to Sibyll.
"He wouldn't be selfish to let someone get hurt when he could help! He would be proud of me! Because I did the right thing just like mama would have! Not like you!"
The young girl flinched when Sibyll's hand slammed against the top of a nearby service tray. Objects clattered against the linoleum floor, scattering wildly about and snapping the aspirant huntress and huntsmen into defensive positions; their eyes locked onto the young hunter.
"You insolent child!" he shouted. "Do you truly believe your own words? That he or your mother would be happy their child, whom they sired and raised, would join them in death!? You besmirch their memory with your arrogance!"
Sibyll leaned in close, mere spaces away from Chisa's who defiantly stood her ground.
"I may not be your father, but I promised him that you would be kept safe. I swore on my name that no harm would come to you when I buried him alongside your mother! Do not assume they would have been proud!"
"Shut up!"
She pushed him away as hard as she could.
"You're horrible and I hate you!"
Those weren't the words Chisa wished to say, but it they were the only ones which conveyed the turmoil within her heart. Bouts of disappointment, sadness, confusion, and anger swirled about wildly, suffocating themselves within her throat. Yet Sibyll's hands gripped her shoulders tightly as orange eyes burned into hers.
"You are not the first nor will you be the last to hate me," he answered. "But I will be damned if any harm were to befall you. I would have you resent me to the end of your days if it meant you drew breath every waking moment. Do you understand me?"
Frantic hands shook her as if to bring about reason.
"I will not allow it to happen under my watch!"
"Let me go!"
"Do you understand me Chisa!?"
"Stop it!"
"I WILL NOT LET YOU DIE AGAIN!"
Chisa shut her eyes, drowning the world in darkness and sound. She didn't see who had removed Sibyll from her, but it had been violent as more things fell noisily to the floor. The young girl would hear his protests and angered shouts, something slamming hard against the wall with the sounds of a struggle before it stopped completely.
"Go."
A brief pause.
"LEAVE!"
She could hear Sibyll footsteps leaving, the door slamming behind him. The only noise that could be heard in that room was her sniffling, trying to hold back the tears. Chisa buried her face into her hands, surrendering to the sobs which shook her body and hurt more than the bruise on her stomach.
Ruby had pulled the young girl into her arms, and the little one latched on to her tightly. She had done her best to rub soothing circles on her back while her eyes scanned the room. Yang and Weiss had returned to their wrathful and distrusting demeanor, keeping an eye on the door as if Sibyll would return with retribution. Sun and his team had begun to pick of the mess alongside Team JNPR in silence, but the young reaper knew Sun kept an eye on Blake. The girl herself stood facing the wall where she had pinned Sibyll, her right hand balled into a tight fist that glowed orange before fading. She could make out the tinges of red where her nails had dug into the flesh.
"Blake?" Ruby weakly called out.
The raven haired girl had taken a moment to register the words meant for her before she turned.
Tears fell down her face, streams of grief and pain left in their path as they met with Ruby's. Blake's breathing remained calm, but even the young reaper knew that she suffered a pain she couldn't see. Within those amber eyes, Blake relived the young hunter's agony as he searched the remains of that heinous swine. Her hands dug and scraped though flesh before her eyes found that familiar sliver of ruined silk.
How long had she stayed in that darkened tunnel staring at ribbon?
How hard had she screamed in denial?
How long had that voice haunted her so filled with hope?
Those eyes which gave her complete trust?
Blake's heart wrenched at the thought of that young girl's final moment, so alone and faced with such a monster…
Had she cried for help or for Blake to save her?
Had it been… quick? Painless?
So many questions to be unanswered, to haunt her in her sleep, to remind her whenever Chisa would look at her; filled with so much familiar hope and trust. It was a look that hurt her more when she remembered how she ended Cormack's suffering; a dreadful creature looking at her in pain and confusion. She remembered the pull of the trigger, cleaning up the remains, and her promise at his grave.
Two different fathers.
Two different daughters.
Was she doomed to repeat the same mistake again?
Would she fail Cormack like she did for Gascoigne?
Chisa had turned to look at back Blake, her tears forcing the older girl to close her eyes. It was the same pained expression Sibyll wore when he realized that she had pinned him; moving on pure instinct to protect them both. His anger gave way to shame and regret, and he couldn't meet her eyes… like he couldn't meet Chisa's. Even when his memories lingered as if they were her own, Blake kept her eyes shut tight.
It was the only thing she could do to dull the pain in her heart throbbed in her heart.
A/N: Alright, I'm going to admit that this was supposed to be the resolution for this arc. I promised it, and I'm still promising it. This should've been the the chapter that brings about the closure you all (and I) needed but... something about it didn't sit right with me. I'm not leaving another cliffhanger to be intentionally cruel or mean, but I didn't want this arc to be rushed. It's the sole reason why this chapter is pretty brief (although I intended for it the chapters brief altogether; I happen to get a bit carried away with some of them).
Long standing conflicts are finally throwing a hurdle towards Sibyll and Chisa's relationship, with both having emotional baggage that needs to be addressed. We can't forget how Chisa's Side Stories came to be; it's her life after a tragedy. There was bound to be some hang ups that both she and Sibyll have (and let's admit it) yet to confront.
Chisa (while not fully aware) still suffers and grieves from the loss of her family and home.
Sibyll (being solely responsible for her misfortune) is still haunted by his journey in Yharnam and this is the second time we see him lose a bit of control.
I could have resolved it with a longer chapter, but I feel that having it in three parts would give them their space. And considering this is their first argument, those two need the space to get their thoughts and feelings and order. I hope none of you become too angry with my decision on the matter, and I promise you all that the anticlimax will come soon.
-Naught