Hello again. I'm late, aren't I?
Chapter 12 - Mend and Break
Even if he was walking at a steady pace, the habitual 5 minutes journey to the infirmary felt unnaturally slow.
Not because he was hindered, nor because he wasn't serious about it.
It was exactly the opposite.
The girl weighted nothing in his arms, and he was dead set on bringing her to the medical wing the fastest he could.
It was his fault after all.
Cardin's face was devoid of emotions.
That wasn't the case of his brain and heart though. The first was working at full speed while the second was beating like crazy.
It was her fault! His fast-beating organ tightened.
She attacked me! It tightened some more, hurting him.
I only defended myself! The pain was now almost unbearable.
At this moment, he understood that this was beyond everything he had done before. Far beyond.
There was no way he could find excuses, shaking it off like nothing happened.
Something awfully real happened.
He wounded her.
I could have killed her... The pain softened, replaced by an ice cold grip.
He was still feeling it, the sadistic thrill of power, coursing through his arms.
But for very first time, the guilty pleasure was nowhere. As much as he wanted to rely on it, he couldn't find it in the myriad of uncomfortable sensations.
They flooded his whole being, as soon as his opponent fell.
Blondie...
His memories of the scene were terribly accurate.
No. Xiaolong...
Cardin witnessed everything.
The boiling shards of her destroyed golden gauntlets penetrating her skin, sinking in her arms...
And for the first time since he departed, he winced emphatically.
Tell me Xiaolong... Did it hurt?
Such a useless question. Of course there would be no response, he silenced the girl himself...
Yes. An awful lot. For sure.
Aside from the reddened bandages, just the sight of her slumbering, but undoubtedly pained face, could give away the answer.
He arrived at the infirmary. One of the nurses had been waiting for them, and she promptly led him to one of the intensive care rooms. He laid his victim down on a white couch, and was then quickly sent away by the staff.
He kept looking at Yang as long as he could through the door's window, but eventually the curtains were closed.
Cardin stood alone in the white corridor for quite some time, instinctively knowing that if he were to move, the train of negative thoughts would start again, faster than ever.
"Mr. Winchester?"
He turned slowly, to face the headmistress. There was no hint of resentment in her voice, nor in her blank expression. The knight answered: "Yes?
-I suggest you leave quickly. Mrs. Xiaolong's teammates will arrive shortly, and I don't want to risk any fighting. I wo...
-I understand." Cardin said, already on its way out before she could finish.
She sighed, not in the mood to reprimand him. She wanted to use her energy sparingly, since there was still a lot left for her to do.
Two hospitalized students meant the redaction of several accurate reports: a literal mountain of paperwork.
And then, she would have to discuss another matter with the headmaster: whether or not the one who caused this should be punished, and how severely.
"Professor?" The student called, stopping in his tracks.
-Can this wait, Mr. Winchester? Team RWBY is already on its way." Glynda said, eyeing her scroll, and the knight who was still facing away.
-Is it alright if..." He paused several seconds, searching for the right words. "Can I... Come again? Check on her?
-I would prefer that you don't, but if you really insist..." She frowned. What an out-of-character request.
-I do." came the boy's stern reply.
There was no need for Glynda to see his face, just by hearing the subtle hint of regret, she knew that it affected him, a lot.
"Then notify me first, Mr. Winchester, so that I may schedule your visits. I think we both don't want you to run into Mrs. Xialong's friends right now, don't we?
-Yes..." It wasn't a question of them retaliating, but rather of him not being able to face them.
"Good.
-Thank you, professor..." And after that courteous response, he left.
She watched him, witnessing his normally bold and boisterous body language now reduced to a mere shadow of its former self.
Glynda could tell that the granitic ego was now reduced to rubble. It was as if her student's new weapon, in hurting someone, had crushed its wielder instead.
But perhaps the most interesting thing was the slight stop the knight marked in front of the room they both knew his other victim, Jaune Arc, was resting in.
The sorceress' lips curled up in a faint smile.
Finally.
Emerald was following her boss diligently. The latter's interest had been sparked by the previous incident, and as result she was in a good mood.
The thief was also pleased to see Cinder like this. She was after all the confident woman who recruited her, gave her a purpose, and freed her from what could have been an eternal street rat life. In return, she swore loyalty to her.
"Emerald?" The fire witch's voice brought her back to her senses. "Aren't you gonna answer this one?
The dark-skinned girl had been spacing out, and thus failed to notice her scroll vibrating in her pocket.
-I'm sorry! I'll cancel it right a..." She drew the scroll from her pocket, and as her finger neared the hang up button she saw the name and paused. Russel?
"Hmm? The dancing Mohawk?" tried Mercury.
"Do I?" Completely ignoring the brawler, Emerald sought approval from her superior.
"This is your plan, carry it on." Cinder answered with a smirk.
The girl reciprocated with a genuine smile: "Sure. Please go on ahead, I'll catch up as soon as I can." Now what with this idiot... She thought while leaning on wall.
She started to read what appeared to be a long string of messages. No wonder why they all assumed it was a phone call.
Em, the girl irked silently, still as pissed as ever when addressed with the diminutive. It served its purpose at giving her puppet a sense of intimacy, but she still hated resorting to this trick. you saw that fight too right?
boo me, I saw you
it was kinda weird and all, and
anyway
I'd really like to talk with you
like, asap.
"Definitely rushed..." She grumbled. Even the idiot felt something from the previous encounter, and given the propensity his team has always had to lack clear interactions and roles outside of bullying, he decided to come to her.
In a way, he was all but stupid. He sensed that something was off, wrong in so many levels that he subconsciously decided to escape the hold of those rotten ties. He's less of an hypocrite than the others, that's the only thing she'll ever give him credit for.
Maybe it was the moment after all. They already chatted lots since they first started dating, or so Russel thought, but she still had not succeeded at bringing forth her target's weaknesses. Not the easy kind, she already had plenty.
No, what she was after were the most subtle ones, which would allow her to dive in his psyche using her smooth words and a bit of Semblance, then turn his world upside-down, show him part of the truth.
Because ultimately, Russel was disposable. Russel will have to die.
Her thumb hovered over the reply button several seconds, pondering her next move.
Haven section, the roof. I'm coming. She'll have to move quick. The boy was still no slouch when it came to freerunning.
This is progressing nicely. I will be back later. She sent this second message to Cinder.
Further into the academy, the fire witch smiled upon reading those words. "Let us snatch their pawns."
"Oh, you're already here." Emerald remarked once she finally made her way up to the top of the Haven building.
"I just arrived." And here he was, sitting on an edge, feet over the void, and definitely sounding weak. It was a first for her, seeing him down. "You alright?" He asked with concern.
"I can live with it.
-Of course." The boy said, acknowledging the fortitude of his love interest. "I should do the same, but... I can't." He admitted.
"Why?" It really was a blessing for her that he felt that secure when she was close, gracing him with her presence. The buttons were so easy to push.
"I'm scared of him. You know..." It was still difficult for him to go on with his confession, even with the cat already halfway out of the bag. "Cardin, he's changed. Everything we knew about him's gone! And the others, they can't see shit! It's almost... Sad..."
Emerald took several seconds to take in the fear-turning-into-wrath, and then she started pouring oil on the fire: "We're surrounded by people who... Can't see shit." It was important to use his words, even if she wasn't the vulgar type.
"Yeah, totally! Right?" Somewhere inside, Russel's anger made him cross a line.
"I hate that. I would like to open their eyes! See what we see!" She played along. The occasion was too good to miss. Her target's rebellious nature was rendering the game almost dull.
"Yeah, me too!" He was now totally engrossed by the perspective.
"Tell me, Russel..." Now was the important part. "If I told you that I have a plan to do exactly that, what would you do?
-You?" The green-haired boy caught the not-so-subtle hint, and tried to play it cool. "I would help you! Why are you even asking?
-Thank you, Russel." Emerald beamed beautifully, mixing the act with the satisfaction. Her plan couldn't be more successful.
Despite Roman's failure, all will be ready for the festival.
The kingdoms have always been pieced forgeries. Soon enough, they'll be tatters again.
When it falls.
Please: Review - Follow - Favorite
I won't lie to you all who took interest in my story (no matter how much plagued with mistakes it is), I may not continue.
I have the ideas, I know where I want to go, but writing in English is a tedious process which takes a lot of time and energy. Even more so without a beta reader.
On a side note, never underestimate the reviews' positive powers! Right, winddemon199?