Roy's consciousness flickered to life, floating in an inky black morass. He felt strangely disconnected from his own body, but could tell he was somewhere warm. Suddenly, a light split the darkness and Roy felt himself pulled towards it. His eye cracked open and immediately began to water from the pink light of late evening shining through Beacon's infirmary windows. He tried to raise his hand to wipe the moisture that was partially blinding him away, but a painful tug on his forearm caused him to look down at the offending limb. An IV tube was inserted into his arm just above the wrist, allowing a steady drip of clear liquid aura enhancer from a plastic bag hanging next to the bed.
Roy's body was haloed in a soft blue glow as the enhancer did its job, mending wounds in days that would leave a normal person bed ridden for weeks. Turning his head to the right and squinting through the tears, Roy could somewhat see his teammates laid out in a similar manner in the neighboring beds. Ebony, marked by her flowing black hair, was in the bed directly beside him. Hunter, with his reddish brown mop in the third bed and Dahlia's dirty blonde locks were in the fourth. Hunter appeared to still be in the worst shape, an oxygen mask still in place over his nose and mouth.
Roy tried to slide himself farther up in the bed, ignoring the stabbing pains in his side. He raised his non IV arm and finally cleared the moisture from his eye. It was then that he discovered how swollen his face was. The cheek on his blind side was swollen and purple, wrapped in several layers of bandages. He gingerly touched the swelling, wincing as a jolt of pain ran through his cheek. Deciding to leave it alone, he turned his attention to his IV hand and found his hand completely swathed in bandages.
Oh...right, he thought, I burned my hand pushing Black Orchid's flame channeling capabilities.
He flexed his hand, sucking in his breath as his hand zinged horribly. The door to the infirmary opened and Roy looked up to see professor Ozpin enter the room, cane in hand.
"Ah, you've awakened. Good," the headmaster said, smiling.
The smile didn't mask the grave look in his eyes, nor the slightly sad air that followed him. Roy propped himself up on the pillows and attempted to speak, his hand flying to his cheek as a jolt of pain ran through his jaw.
"I wouldn't try to speak yet," Ozpin said, taking a seat in a chair beside the bed. "Your cheek is fractured and your aura is still recovering. You and your team were gravely injured by that grimm." The headmaster withdrew a scroll from his coat pocket and slid it open, calling up several pictures of the Calamity's corpse, "Your team did very well against the nirasha. Few have seen one, let alone survived to tell the tale. I daresay Professor Port may pester you quite a bit for details."
Roy nodded gently, careful not to jar his broken ribs.
"When you're suitably recovered, I would be interested to hear a full recounting of what happened during the course of your away mission," Ozpin continued, his face growing sad as he closed the scroll. "This was not how your first away mission was supposed to go," he said gravely, "but take this as a valuable lesson of how unpredictable working in the field can be. Your team was put in a horrible position and while you didn't emerge unscathed, you did get out alive."
A small cough came from Roy's right and he gingerly turned his head to see Dahlia gazing at them with half lidded eyes. "Does this mean w-we all get A's?" she asked, her voice rasping slightly from fatigue.
Ozpin smiled and arose from his chair, "After the true events have come to light and your team has recovered sufficiently. Then we can speak of grades."
Dahlia's bruised face twisted in a slight pout, but she nodded nonetheless. Roy tried to muster a smile, but the pain in his cheek caused the grin to twist into a grimace.
Ozpin gently patted Roy's leg, "I'll leave you to your recovery, I look forward to hearing the whole story." The headmaster walked to the door, pausing with his hand on the knob, "Oh I almost forgot, we've found young Sadie a home with professor Cobalt. Last I checked she was being spoiled rotten" Ozpin turned and left the room, a quiet chuckle drifting back through the doors as they shut.
Roy settled back against the pillows, feeling the cool fabric of the pillowcase against the back of his feline ears. He was glad that Sadie had found a home, a good one from the sound of it. He felt his eyelids grow heavy once more. The wound in his side from the Calamity's spike felt better, if oddly warm as his aura worked to mend it. His burned hand throbbed under the heavy bandages and he made another mental note to fix Black Orchid as soon as he was able. Unable to stave off the fatigue any longer, Roy closed his eye and dropped back into a fitful sleep
:
Recovery was a long and difficult road for Team SHDE due to the plethora of broken bones, cuts, bruises and internal injuries their auras had to mend. Dahlia was the first team member out of bed and spent her time patiently waiting by Hunter's bedside until he finally woke up. The larger boy's injuries had been the most severe and he was the last one to get back on his feet.
Roy didn't wait until he was fully recovered before getting out of bed. As soon as he could stand without falling, he retreated into a solitary corner of the weapons workshop and threw himself into perfecting Black Orchid's dust channeling mechanisms. In truth, this was simply an excuse for Roy to be away from his team. Ever since he woke up, feelings of guilt had slowly begun to consume him. Fighting the nirasha had been his decision, his order to his team and they'd nearly died because of it.
His conscience tried to tell him that he'd made the right decision, he'd saved lives by making the sacrifice play. For a moment or two he would listen, but then the memories of how much his team had suffered would come rushing back and snuff out the voice of reason. Roy stayed isolated in the workshop, leaving his scroll and teammates behind. Eventually, he even began sleeping there as to avoid his team altogether; that is if you could call it sleeping. Every night, his dreams were filled with the faces of the dead. The Haribels, Corvatts, Momo, Umber. They all haunted his nightmares and he was lucky if he got even a single hour of sleep.
It didn't take long for Ebony to figure out where he was and she began to come to the workshop once a day, knocking three times on the door. At first, Roy refused to respond, but her insistence finally got to him and he replied with three knocks of his own.
They continued with this simple exchange until the Saturday after they'd returned. Roy was aimlessly fiddling with a spare part in his corner when he heard the door lock click as someone used their scroll to gain entry. His ears drooped in shame as he turned to see Ebony and Hunter walking toward him.
"Guys...I don…" he began but Ebony held up her hand, "Roy, before you say anything, let us say our peace."
Roy sighed and leaned against the workbench, his hand clenching around the spare part tightly. Ebony took a deep breath and began to speak. "When you first isolated yourself, I held my tongue. I knew you had things to deal with, we all did. I thought you would come around after a while, but a week has passed and you're no better than you were. No, you're worse. You don't sleep, you don't eat…"
Roy opened his mouth to argue, but Hunter cut him off, "Water and trail mix doesn't count bro."
Roy sighed and gestured for Ebony to continue,
"Please Roy, come get some fresh air and something to eat with us," she implored.
Roy staunchly avoided making eye contact with either of them while he formulated his refusal. Ebony's cool hand gently gripped his chin and turned his blue eyed gaze back towards her.
"Just one hour, that's all I ask," she said softly.
Roy leaned into Ebony's touch, realizing just how much he'd missed her. He nodded, reluctantly allowing Ebony to gently take his hand and lead him from the workshop into the open air. It was just past midday and the sun had just drifted past its zenith to begin its slow descent into the west. A cool breeze was blowing from the north and the few puffy clouds drifted lazily across the still blue sky.
The school grounds were as green as ever, the grey stone paths and pale buildings contrasting the green nicely. Across the commons, the windows of the cafeteria reflected the deep azure sky as the door of the building opened and Dahlia came wandering out. Her eyes lit up as she caught sight of her teammates.
"Hey guys!" she cried as she jogged over, a wrapped sandwich in one hand and a bottle of milk in the other. "Wow, I didn't think you were going to get him to come out!" she exclaimed, handing the sandwich and milk to Roy. Her playful smirk softened into caring smile and she patted his arm, "We've missed having you around."
Roy allowed a small smile to play over his lips at the kind gesture and murmured a soft "Thanks" in return.
Ebony smiled too, "Let's go find somewhere to sit," she suggested.
The others nodded and followed her to the backside of the school where several white marble benches looked out over the surrounding woodlands. Roy sat and unwrapped the sandwich, sinking his teeth into the soft bread. He allowed a sigh of contentment to leave him; after days of eating nothing but old trail mix and water from the drinking fountains around campus, the sandwich tasted like heaven.
He set the sandwich down just long enough to grab the bottle of milk. The cool glass bottle felt soothing to his hand and the cap came free with a satisfying pop. Taking a deep drink, he drained half the bottle in one go. His team sat in silence, waiting until Roy had finished his meal before speaking.
"So," Ebony began, "do you want to tell us why you've kept yourself so isolated this past week?"
Roy sighed and set the empty milk bottle down with a soft clink, "Not really."
Ebony frowned and gently took Roy's hand, "I think you should talk about it," she said gently.
Roy avoided eye contact, choosing instead to focus on the view.
Ebony sighed and tapped him on the shoulder, "There's someone who wanted to see you today…"
Roy's keen ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps and he turned to see Sadie standing behind him, clad in an adorable black dress. Her eyes were gleaming and her face lit up with a smile. Roy got up from the bench and walked around it to face the tiny girl. He knelt and held his hand out to her. She moved forward, ignoring the hand altogether, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Roy stiffened for a moment, but eventually allowed his arms to gently encircle the small faunus.
A prim cough caused Roy to look up to see Professor Cobalt standing a short distance away, Professor Goodwitch standing beside her as prim and proper as ever.
"I thought Sadie would like to see you again." Cobalt said, gesturing to the small girl in Roy's arms, "But whenever I brought her around, you were nowhere to be seen Arashi. I needed advice! She's clawing all of my furniture!"
Roy looked at the ground and mumbled an apology. Glynda straightened her spectacles, the brass frames flashing in the sun.
"Would now be a bad time to have you accompany me to my office Mr. Arashi?" she asked.
Roy released Sadie and stood, straightening his school uniform. "No, I'll come" he said, "Will Professor Ozpin be joining us?"
Glynda nodded, "He will. Come along," she said, turning with a flick of her cape, beckoning Roy to follow.
The two of them made their way to Glynda's office, walking through the cool uniform corridors and hallways of the school. Ere long, the black wood doors and shiny metallic nameplate of Glynda's office came into view. The normally pristine nameplate was stained in places from brown splotches that peppered its surface and Roy could've sworn he heard Glynda growl at the sight of them. Opening the door, Glynda motioned for Roy to enter, following through after him and shutting the door with a soft click.
Ozpin was standing behind Glynda's desk, his cane leaning against the beautifully crafted rosewood furniture. He held an old leather book in his hand and was smiling fondly at the contents of one of its pages.
"Mr Arashi," the headmaster greeted Roy, shutting the book with a gentle snap, "All recovered I hope?"
Roy nodded, coming to a halt in front of the desk, "Very nearly sir. I assume you want to hear everything that happened during my team's time in Olmsted?"
Ozpin set the book on the desk and sat in Glynda's chair, gesturing for Roy to take a seat in the adjacent chair. "You assume correctly. The real question is; are you ready to tell us?"
Roy took a deep breath, his hand gripping the chair arm tightly and nodded, "I am."
Ozpin laced his fingers together and stared fixedly over his spectacles at Roy, smiling warmly, "Splendid, you may begin when ready."
Roy cleared his throat, steeled his nerve, and launched into the narrative. He spared no detail, withheld no piece of the narrative no matter how horrifying. When he had to recount Momo's death, a lump appeared in his throat and he had to fight to keep his voice steady. The old wound being reopened became too much and his voice finally broke, his cheek becoming wet with tears. He took a moment to compose himself, wiping away the wetness on his cheek with the heel of his hand. After taking several calming breaths, Roy resumed the narrative.
Ozpin stayed silent throughout the narrative, the only thing betraying how he felt being his eyes. They hardened when Roy told him about finding the Harabel's bodies and softened as he struggled to keep his composure talking about Momo's demise. When Roy reached team SHDE's stand against the nirasha, Ozpin's eyes gleamed with a triumphant light.
By the time Roy had finished the story, the afternoon light had been replaced by the pink light of late evening. Silence permeated Professor Goodwitch's office after Roy stopped talking. Over the course of the story, Glynda had settled in one of the wooden chairs around the room and Ozpin had risen from his chair, turning to look out of the arching window behind the desk.
The headmaster sighed, "A truly trying ordeal." he said, turning to face Roy once more, "I commend you for coming out of it alive."
Roy nodded, his gaze trained on the intricately patterned carpet between his shoes. "Professor Ozpin?" he began tentatively, "I would like to resign as leader of team SHDE."
Ozpin blinked in surprise, "Whatever for?" he asked.
Roy gripped the arm of his chair until his knuckles turned white. "Throughout the mission, I made questionable decisions and let my temper get the best of me. But worst of all, I lead my team into a fight I knew we couldn't win. I almost got my entire team killed."
Ozpin was silent for a few moments, then stood and walked around the desk to stand in front of Roy. "Mr. Arashi, I'd like to show you something…" The headmaster picked up the leather book from where it lay on the desk and opened it, handing it to Roy.
Roy scanned the book and his eyes widened as he saw its contents; every page was full of photos of what was undeniably Beacon's faculty in their younger days. A significantly thinner Port with his arm around a glasses-free Oobleck smiled back at him next to a picture of a younger Glynda, minus her spectacles and clad in a Beacon Academy uniform.
"I don't understand," Roy said, looking up from the captivating images.
Ozpin smiled gently and gestured to the books contents, "The point I'm trying to make, Mr Arashi, is that you are still a young man, you're bound to make a few more mistakes because of this."
"But sir!" Roy argued, shutting the book and setting it on his chair, "People were hurt because of my mistakes, how is that acceptable?"
Ozpin placed a hand on Roy's shoulder, "Roy, do you know how many people live in Ulmsted?"
Roy shook his head.
"2,500 give or take," Ozpin continued, "You may not have made the best decision regarding the lives of your teammates, but you made the best decision that saved the most lives." The headmaster offered Roy a sad smile, "Spoiler alert, but this job will be full of decisions like that," he said gravely, "The fact that you made the decision at all speaks volumes of your potential to be a truly great huntsman. I believe you are right where you need to be."
Roy looked into Ozpin's kind hazel eyes and the icy wall of self doubt began to melt. "Thank you professor." he murmured.
Ozpin nodded, giving Roy's shoulder a light squeeze before releasing him. "Your welcome, now go and be with your team. No more shutting yourself in the weapons workshop."
Roy nodded back, "Yes sir."
Turning, he walked toward the door. As he passed Glynda, she offered Roy a curt nod.
"You've done well Roy." she said quietly, opening the door for him.
Roy dipped his head in thanks and passed through the door, coming face to face with his team. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked.
Ebony seemed to be shaking slightly, as she replied, "We came here to wait for you...you…" She suddenly launched a blow at him, causing him to backpedal away from her. "How could you?!" she cried, pointing an accusing finger at him, "How could you try and resign? Without even discussing the matter with your team?"
Roy raised his hands defensively, "I thought you'd try and stop me…."
"Damn straight we would!" Dahlia exclaimed. "As if we'd want anyone else as out team leader!"
Ebony stalked forward until she was standing practically nose to nose with him. "Do you honestly blame yourself for what happened to us so much?" she asked, "We could've said no, we could have hidden somewhere instead. But we chose to go along with your decision because it was the best one we had to protect the town."
"I know that!" Roy exclaimed.
"I'm glad!" Ebony cried, "Maybe now you can stop being such a gods damned HERMIT!"
Roy and Dahlia's jaws dropped and even hunter raised an eyebrow at the outburst. "Ebony…" Roy began but Ebony cut him off with a raised hand, "I'm sorry; I understand why you isolated yourself. But we went through the same thing Roy. I needed you, and you weren't there for me!"
Roy's ears drooped in shame and he offered her his hand. "You're right," he began, "I should've been there for you." He turned to Dahlia and Hunter, "for all of you and I can't say how sorry I am. Please let me make it up to you now."
Ebony looked as though she wanted to stay mad at him. But after a few seconds of conflicted glaring, she accepted his hand with a sigh. "You're an idiot," she said, "We don't want you to make it up to us. We just want you with us."
Roy nodded, squeezing Ebony's hand tightly, "Consider it done."
Turning, he led his team out of the school building into the cool evening air. His ears stood at attention allowing the cool breeze to gently caress them. Ebony moved past him, her tail waving lazily from side to side as she walked.
"You know that little soda fountain in Vale?" she asked.
"Yeah?" Roy replied.
Ebony turned and winked at him, "Let's all go get something, my treat."
Dahlia pumped her fist, "Heck yeah! I'll go see if Sadie wants to come!" She dashed off towards where they'd left Sadie with Hunter in tow.
Ebony watched them go, then turned back to Roy, "What do you think?" she asked.
Roy reached out and grasped her hand once more, "I think that sounds surprisingly sensible."
Ebony tutted, squeezing his hand reproachfully, "Glad to see the mission didn't make you any less of a smart ass," she said, rolling her eyes.
Roy's face broke into a smile, "Lucky you," he said.
Ebony's face softened. "Yeah…" she whispered, "Lucky me."
One more chapter to go! This story was a fun little experiment for me, I wrote it from beginning to end in a series of little writing journals and I think it came out quite nicely. I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.
This will be the last story that takes place before RWBY vol. 3. Tales of Remnant: Fall will cover Volumes 6, 7 and into the foreseeable
future. I hope you guys will stick around and accompany me on this journey.Until next we meet,
-Ar3mRising.