Couldn't think of a creative name for the chapter xD Oh well!
This chapter was pretty fun to write as I was able to develop my AU Qrow. I hope you guys all enjoy.
It is nearly 4AM as I send this out, and will probably be my chapter for the day.
As always, please review, especially when I am developing a character far out of canon (even though canon Qrow is only existent in name xD)
POV: WEISS SCHNEE
Chapter 46 – Weiss and Qrow's Quality Meeting.
I wake up early in the morning. Out of habit I've always woken up at about 6AM, and I go under the assumption that it is no different today. I am usually the second person awake, Yang being the first. I look to my right at Ruby's bed. I can't see her from this angle, but I am more than certain she is awake. To my left I can see her room door completely shut, but there is a dim light underneath the doorway, pretty far down the hall.
Awake as usual, Yang? Wouldn't be surprised.
I place my palms at my sides, carefully pushing myself up from the unzipped sleeping bag before a sharp pain shoots up my back, along with several sharp cracks. I close my eyes tight, fighting to get myself into a complete upright sitting position.
And Ruby actually volunteered to sleep in this thing? My god she's a trooper.
I clench my teeth as I turn around to replant my hands on the floor and climb to my feet. The agonizing pain in my back not giving in even when I make it completely upright. Each step I take sends a brief pain along my lower back. I begin walking towards the door, looking over my shoulder to see Ruby still fast asleep with her lips parted and making slightly audible breathes. Her hair is slightly messy, possibly from tossing and turning during the night, but her bedhead is sort of cute in a way. I guess when you treasure someone enough you end up finding a positive thing in anything and everything about them.
Sleep tight, Ruby. I'm gonna try to get the kinks out of my back.
I let out a mild sigh, opening her room door and carefully closing it, holding the knob turned to avoid the clicking sound the door would make otherwise while it is being closed. The light I saw from underneath the doorway earlier was indeed coming from one of the bedrooms, but surprisingly it was not Yang's, and instead was the other bedroom that Mister Qrow was most likely staying in. I walk up to the door and peek inside, my eyes widening in surprise to the spectacle. Yang was inside doing pushups, wearing her usual sports bra and tight gym shorts, but what surprises me is the fact that she is doing pushups in sync with Mister Qrow.
Now, that may not sound too impressive, but it becomes extremely impressive when she is balanced with her toes on Qrow's calves, and her hands on his shoulder blades. She was doing pushups on top of him while he was doing pushups with the added weight of Yang, along with the added force of her pushing down on his back to do her own pushups.
Mister Qrow was in a a leather jacket that covered his entire physique yesterday, but right now he is in a black muscle shirt, and basketball shorts, matching the black and gold colors of what Yang wears. His arms and legs are both slender, yet every inch of his limbs are anything but straight. There's a curve along every part of them, whether they be concave, or convex. He is 10 times fitter than Yang, perhaps even 20. I stand quietly in the doorway, watching each of his pushups with Yang beginning to slow down. I have no idea how long they have been at it, but soon enough Yang's body is shaking and she collapses onto him, and he continues without a delay in his rhythm.
For the first time ever I see Yang being completely outdone in both muscle and endurance. Mister Qrow continues his pushups for well over five minutes until it appears he grows bored and moves to a knee with Yang still draped over his back. He carefully reaches behind him to grab the back of Yang's thighs, and in a graceful motion he shifts to a complete upright position. His grip on Yang's thighs allowing him to piggyback his niece while she places her spaghetti-weight arms on his shoulders. His back is still towards me, but I get a slight startle when I hear him speak with a cheerfulness in his voice that is very similar to Yang.
"I'm the one who trained Yang, Y'know . . . At least when it came to muscle and endurance training."
He turns around, and for the first time I recognize a small bracelet on his right wrist, and an identical one on Yang's. On Yang's I can make out a percentage. On hers it reads 50%, and on Mister Qrow's it reads only 5%. Yang is on his back, completely exhausted, and eventually she begins to snore. I am amazed for a second time. Yang Xiao Long has just been through a workout that left her sleeping. My jaw drops at the sight, and he only laughs at my amazed expression.
"Um, what is that thing on your wrist? I saw it on Yang's too." I ask in curiosity.
"Oh, these?" He raises his wrist to me to show off the device. "It is meant to restrict the amount of aura one can access out of themselves. It acts like a dam, allowing only the amount that passes over the top to go through. So once you reach the amount of aura numbered on this, then well . . . it's like you don't have any left."
Wait, so are you telling me that he outdid Yang without wasting even 5% of his aura!? That's . . . terrifying.
"So . . . h-how's Yang? Did you leave the bracelet on her?"
"Nope. She'll be awake in about an hour. She's one hell of a trooper. She's a thrill seeker . . . just like my sister – her mother."
Mister Qrow begins walking by me, over to Yang's room and comes out shortly later while rotating his arms, most likely to relieve the tension in them from his workout.
"I hear my niece – other niece – Ruby is pretty protective of you."
Damnit Yang!
"I suppose for a lack of better words, yes she is. It worries me that she does not believe in my own ability." I sigh, remembering the several times Ruby has gone above and beyond to 'protect' me. It was protection in its own right, but at the same time it always found a way to make me feel inferior. Like I will never be able to match her level of skill and compassion, and will be a burden in the future.
My depressing thoughts are interrupted by a healthy laugh from Mister Qrow who shakes his head and holds his hand up in a rather dismissive manner. His laughing makes his eyes squint, and shows the very minor signs of crow's feet – or rather Qrow's Feet (damnit Yang!) – Along the outer parts of his eyes, displaying his age despite the rest of his youthful appearance. Mister Qrow is the most physically fit person I have ever seen, and to think he is only a former Hunter and current school teacher at a weapon specializing school is far beyond my thoughts as to how he is able to stay like this.
"Sorry for laughing," He says while still chuckling and shaking his head. He places his hands on his hips and looks down towards the floor a moment before looking back up at me with the same warm smile he displayed last night. "Believe me, she's not doing it on purpose. She used to act like that with me, Tai, and even Yang once she was able to get her hands on a completed Crescent Rose. It's part of her personality, really. She wants to protect everyone she holds dear. She told herself that she wouldn't dwell on the past, and will instead make sure her future with the people she cares for is set in stone."
I listen intently, watching as Mister Qrow tilts his head and points behind me towards Ruby's door. I look over my shoulder, expecting there to be something else, but in fact he is pointing to her door, and begins to explain something I never knew.
"Summer's Little Rose," He begins, his enthusiasm wavering for a split second, yet he still has an incomparable optimism in his voice, "That's the one sign that proves she still dwells on the past. When I see her take that down, I will know she is ready to face the world and all the difficulties it brings."
I turn my head to look back at Mister Qrow, confusion written in my body language as well as on my face, yet it seems to only make him laugh again.
"I'm sorry, I digress. You see, Summer is actually the name of Ruby's mother." The smile on his face disappear and a more serious look takes its place, with a very slight display of sorrow in his eyes. "Ruby lost her mother while Summer was on her last mission. Ruby blames herself for some reason. She was very young at the time, but well . . . kids are kids I suppose. Something as drastic as that and they don't know what to think. Ruby was never one to blame the world, or think the world to hate her. Summer raised her far better than that. My niece couldn't hate anything except the things or people that hurt those she cares for. The only thing my niece hates are the creatures of Grim. She won't hesitate to kill them. I'm sure you've seen how efficient she is at it. She lost the most precious person in her life. All she is doing with you is making sure it never happens again. Deep down she knows just how efficient you are, and I can tell you have amazing combat prowess, but at the same time, with her being a child at the time, I suppose she thought her mother to be invincible. I mean, Summer was the definition of a super mom, even going as far as to treating Yang as her own. Unfortunately, this world is a cruel place, and the nicest people are not always the ones that get a neat and tidy ending."
So, when I asked Ruby about that . . .
"I . . . I really don't know what to say. I can't say I know how it feels. I truly don't. Needless to say I hate my father's guts. I hate the White Fang with a passion for what they've done to my grandfather's company. I hate my last name and the attention it brings. I want to change everything about myself and my life. I always thought I had it rough. I mean, as an heiress in everyone else's eyes I am sure that they just see a spoiled rich girl . . . which I suppose I am, but there is far more to it. I've gotten everything I could ever ask for and hated it. Ruby has gotten everything she has taken away from her, but can still smile like she does. I live in the shadow of my parents, and get swallowed deeper inside the harder I try to get out, and"
I look down, taking a soft breath. Mister Qrow decides to finish my thought with perfect accuracy.
"And Ruby leaves the shadow of her mother the more she tries to be just like her."
There's a long silence between us. To the point that I can hear that light ringing in my ear whenever there is not another thing to be heard.
"Anyway, how about you and I go out back? I'm curious to see what your semblance is. Whatever it is, I can tell you've been training to use it in various ways. There's a strain on your body that flaunts that." He nods his head.
"Actually . . . I slept in Ruby's sleeping bag last night . . . that may be the strain you see . . . I can't arc my back at all." I answer, trying to lean backwards but a sharp pain telling me not to.
"Hm . . . Yang has always been good with massages. She may be a brawler, but her semblance makes her ideal for dealing with muscle aches. It's part of the reason she can heal so quickly. Has she ever offered to help you out with any pains?"
"No," I pause, recalling the time she deadened my arm, "Actually, she did, but I refused out of stubbornness and anger."
"I see, well this time I recommend you don't. Anyway, how about we go downstairs? I can cook up some eggs to at least hold you over until Ruby or Yang get up. Those two are the real cooks around here." He begins walking by me, motioning me to follow while shaking his head to let his hair settle naturally, though it still had a messy look to it. I follow behind him towards the stairs, and after he takes one step down he pauses.
"There's one thing I forgot to tell you, Weiss." He says without turning around. His voice is much slower and more monotone than earlier. The sound of something shattering echoes in my ear, and immediately my eyes are drawn to his wrist to see the bracelet he was wearing simply dissolve into the air. There's a powerful aura nearby, but I can't see it, feel it, or even tell where it is coming from.
Is this him?
He looks over his shoulder, his dark hair complimenting the terrifying look in his eye that pierces my very existence. I can see my fear filled expression in his pupil The soft, red-eyes that are similar to Yang now being exposed as something far more demonic.
"This is just a formality, because I am sure you won't . . . but if you break my niece's heart . . ."
My eyes widen as I spot his aura for the first time, although it could hardly be seen as aura. I watch as red streaks become faintly visible around him. If I did not know better I would simply call it lightning. As seconds go by the red becomes outlined by a pitch-black color, and my body freezes completely in place. I can't shiver, I can't breathe. I feel as though I am trapped within an air-tight casing that cannot be broken. Yang has given me death glares before, even terrified me with the showcase of her power, but all of that pales to what I feel now. I want to scream and cry. I feel as though my life is in danger, or rather that it is seconds away from being taken from me. I almost forget that he was speaking to me on something, at least until he opens his mouth to talk.
". . . I won't hesitate to kill you."
I part my lips and try to gasp for air after his words. I can't breathe at all. My body still is not responsive to me, and I can't tear my eyes away from his gaze. I am stuck in a spider's web with nowhere to go, at least until Mister Qrow slaps my back gently enough to not hurt me, but get me out of my trance and I take a sharp breath of air in return.
"Sorry about that. Like I said, just a formality. Hope you don't get too scared of me now." He says so casually while walking down the steps and going towards the kitchen, "I'll get the eggs done, come down when you can."
It takes me over ten minutes to be get myself downstairs. My body has finally stopped shaking, but only after I realized something. His threat is no different from Yang's, and I didn't fear Yang's because I don't plan on hurting Ruby, so for that same reason I have no reason to fear their uncle. I walk into the kitchen, watching as Mister Qrow is just finishing using the gasoline powered stove and served a plate of scrambled eggs. Onto the round, glass table on the opposite side of the kitchen, away from the stove, sink, and pantry which are all against the same wall as one unit. The pantry is made of solid wood, stained to adapt a darker color and remain water resistant. The stove has a white countertop while the rest of it is black, including the grates that are placed over each of the burners.
"I salted your eggs and all that fancy stuff. Like I said, just enough for you to hold over until the real chefs get up." He says, motioning me to the table I already noticed. "I'm telling you, those two cook amazing food at home, but I think I will be able to cook better than them one day. I'm sure I will, actually."
I listen as he boasts about his growing cooking skills. I sit down at the table, pulling the plate of scrambled eggs closer to me. I grab the nearby metal fork and scoop up some of the fluffy, yellow delight. I haven't had scrambled eggs in a while, and can't wait to see how a talented huntsman who is as skilled as Mister Qrow can also find time to learn how to cook, I am far beyond impressed at this point, even though it is an extremely trivial dish.
I take a bite out of the eggs, my eyes widening at their taste. I drop my fork, unable to keep my body under my control. My expectations are completely shattered with my first bite. I never thought it was possible, but now I am truly, undoubtably, and indisputably shocked. I keep my thoughts to myself as I look over to Mister Qrow who is blending several raw eggs for his own protein drink. A man of many talents is exactly what he is, although there is something I never accounted for.
These eggs are the worst things I've ever eaten in my entire life!
Hope this chapter came out good in your opinions!
As always, please review, follow, and whatever else you guys do.
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