RWBY: Revenant
By Endbeats
Chapter 31: Before – Orphiucha (2)
"That should stop the bleeding," Ursus said as he finished wrapping Liu's arm with a bandage.
"Thanks." It was the worse wound he'd gotten on this entire trip, which was to say, not that fatal. However, the emotional trauma and guilt was far worse for Orphiucha. Since they returned, she'd been hiding in her tent, not even coming out for food. Now, the sun had dropped over the horizon and Kang, feeling the nervous tension of the camp, decided to give the group a break for the evening.
Sagitari herself was hiding inside her tent as well, so it was just Ursus and Liu sitting outside.
"What do you think about what happened, Ursus?" Liu asked.
"About Orphiucha not using her semblance? I'm not sure. I know she has a bit of personal issues involving it, but… she was willing to let a team member die before using it? I feel a little upset about that. Regardless, she's my friend and I forgive her."
He sighed. "I don't want our team to nearly disband again."
"I agree," Liu said. "You know, Ursus, you've changed a lot."
Ursus' eyes widened. "What?!"
"In a good way, I mean! I'm glad that you've opened up to us now."
Ursus smiled a little. "Well, you guys were the first to ever really accept me. Minus my family, of course."
Liu realized he never talked much to Ursus on the topic of his past. Other than his time in school, of course. "Where is your family?"
Ursus scratched his head. "They live on the east of Vale. There's me, my mom, my dad, and my ten other brothers."
"Ten?!"
He laughed. "Yeah, and I'm the youngest. Strangely, I'm the biggest, too. My brother, Kuma, comes close but only by a few inches."
"And what did your family think when you decided to become a hunter?"
"They weren't too ecstatic to say the least. But eventually, they learned to accept my decision."
Liu smiled and laid down on his back, looking at the night sky. "Family," he muttered, "You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your family. Which group do you think our team is under? We didn't choose each other, after all."
"I thought we did when we got the chess pieces?" Ursus laid down beside him on the grassy ground.
"I mean before that. We all met each other by coincidence before that whole chess piece examination thing, so you could also say we didn't choose each other. Meeting each other in the forest was also random."
"I don't know where you're going with this."
Liu rolled his eyes. "I'm talking about Orphiucha! She's talks about how she hates her father, so maybe we need to reassure her we're her family."
"She doesn't like her father?"
Liu leaned up. He forgot Ursus didn't know that. "Crap, forget I said that."
"Huh? When did she tell you?"
"I… well, I talked with her one night outside."
Ursus kept looking up, but groaned. "Liu, I don't think that's going to work. Do you have any other ideas?"
"I… don't know."
Following this, the two boys kept looking at the stars. It was all they could do in this troubled time. Just observe.
Soon, though, the issue of reconciliation would fall onto them rather than Sagitari, and observation would have to come to an end.
Three more days had passed, and neither Orphiucha nor Sagitari were talking with one another. In fact, Orphiucha kept quiet with everyone, only replying to all questions with a simple one-word answer. When all team training and assignments came to an end, she went back into her tent and closed the zipper, unseen by anyone until the next day.
More worrisome, though, was Sagitari. She kept positive, of course, but it felt forced, especially around Orphiucha. Around Orphiucha, she acted as if the girl didn't even exist, calling out to Liu and Ursus instead. It made the two worry how their leadership was changing for the worse.
Even more worried, rather than worrisome, were both Liu and Ursus, who had no idea how to tackle this issue. They simply went along with training, which left Liu the worst of the two. Every single training session alongside Orphiucha felt awkward, so much so that it distracted him from his semblance training. Uncle Cam tried as much as he could to bring her out of her shell, but she would have none of that. She still wouldn't use her semblance, which kept concerning Liu. She just fought with her batons until she fell to Cam, then retreated back into her tent.
With no more options and evening training over, Liu took Ursus with him to his father's airship, where he was residing in his office.
"Dad?" Liu asked as he knocked on the door to his quarters.
Kang opened the door, a mug of coffee in his hands. "Liu! Ursus! Great to see you! Come in, come in!"
Liu and Ursus both entered into the room, though Ursus was a bit more cautious. "Isn't it a bit too late to be drinking coffee?"
"Ah, don't worry. It helps me do my work in the evenings. Now, what is it you wanted to talk about?" He motioned for Liu and Ursus to sit down at the couch on the side of the room. Now that he got a better look of the office, it made Liu wonder why his dad didn't just sleep in here. The floor was carpeted, the cough was soft, there was an entire library behind the desk opposite of the door, and even a coffee machine rested near the entrance. It was heaven compared to the grass outside.
"I think you know why we're here, Dad." Kang was far too smart to not know what was going on.
Kang nodded and sat down at his desk. "Yes, I know. I expected Sagitari to have gotten over her beef with Orphiucha, but it doesn't seem to have ended yet. Do you guys have any ideas on how to help?"
Liu and Ursus looked at one another before Liu spoke up. "Actually, Dad, we were hoping you'd have an idea. Maybe you could pull them together."
Liu's father shook his head. "Sorry, Liu, but issues within the team need to be solved within the team. I could make those two shake hands and apologize, but it wouldn't be heartfelt. When those two reunite through their own will, the team will become stronger. At least, that's my hope."
Ursus nodded. "But what do we do?"
"You two need to bring them together! And you better hurry before Orphiucha leaves the team."
Leaving the team... That sentence rung in Liu's head and made him freeze. Was this what the others felt when Liu told them he was planning on leaving the team?
"Sir, leaving the team?" Ursus interrogated.
Kang took a long sip of his coffee, one that felt like an eternity. "Orphiucha came by my office after that mission and requested a team transferal. Of course, I'm not in charge of that paperwork, I told her, but it seemed like she just wanted someone to tell it to. She asked if I keep it quiet also, but something like that can't be hidden from teammates."
"Orph…" Liu muttered. Now her? Wasn't she the one who stopped Liu from leaving?
"Why does she want to do it?" Ursus asked.
"I think she felt like she had betrayed the team after that assignment. Choosing to not use her semblance over saving a comrade, even if it was unconscious, is unacceptable in battle. Of course, I didn't discipline her for it, so her conscience is by doing the only thing she can think of, which is leaving the team.
"Sagitari knows this, as well. I told her after training, to which she replied with a simple 'okay.' I know that Sagitari doesn't want this to happen, but after her own… physical confrontation with Orphiucha, she's also experiencing some complicated feelings."
Liu looked down in thought. Not just Orphicha, but Sagitari as well? Both of them were playing this game, and no one was seeing the other's cards. Sagitari as the team leader should be the one to stop Orphiucha. But who would stop Orphiucha if Sagitari didn't?
Liu would. His negative feelings dissipated, and suddenly, a strange feeling blew over him. He felt confident, hopefully, and strangely, angry. He stood up in determination. "I've had it with those two."
"Liu?" Ursus tilted his head.
"Ursus, those two have been hiding stuff from us since day one, and if what they're hiding is the reason Orphiucha is going to leave, then I won't have any of it.
"I've… I've never been in a group like this in my entire life. Sagitari, Orphiucha, you, we all complete one another as a team, and I'd rather kill than see us broken apart. Come on, Ursus. Before, they were the ones who saved us. Now, let's do it instead."
Kang quickly interrupted the two before they left the room. "Some advice, Liu. Don't go demanding they tell you their past. Your team needs a counselor, not a detective."
Liu frowned and stopped his current excitable state. "Right. Let's go, Ursus."
Sagitari woke up to the entire tent being lifted up and swung around. She screamed out loud before she could put her brass knuckles on. Was it a grimm? A bandit? A bear?
"Sorry, Sagitari," Ursus spoke from outside.
"Ursus? Ursus?! What on Remnant are you doing?!"
"Liu told me to get you out of the tent as fast as possible. I didn't know how to convince you to get out, so I thought maybe I could shake you out."
"Liu? Why Liu? And stop already! Sheesh, you're gonna make me nauseated."
Orphiucha laid down on her sleeping bag and rubbed the same area of the tent with her fingers that she had been rubbing for the past week. It strangely comforted her and got her mind off of things. Seeing her fingers go up and down. Up and down. Left and right. Left and right.
Left and…
"Orph?" a voice asked from outside the tent. It was Liu.
"Not now, Liu." How could she face him? A friend she almost left to die. No, she couldn't face-
"Yes, now." Abruptly, Liu pulled himself into the tent with a determined look.
"Excuse me?! This tent isn't big enough for two pe-"
As expected, Liu tripped getting in and fell. On Orphiucha.
In actuality, he didn't touch her. He caught himself in time instead of falling completely on the floor. But his head was uncomfortably close to Orphiucha. Orphiucha couldn't help blushing being this close to Liu, and he seemed to do the same.
It took a second for her to respond. "Liu! Get off of me!"
"S-sorry!" he apologized as he positioned himself back him. "Anyways, we need to talk."
"No we don't, Liu. Now leave."
"No," Liu disagreed, "Orph, we're friends. I know what you did was because of… your issue, and because of that, I forgive you for not using your semblance. I did the second the assignment was over. But that doesn't mean I won't stop you from leaving our team."
"Kang told you?! I asked him to keep quiet."
"He told me because he cares. Ursus and I also care. Please, come out with me, and let's talk with Sagitari, because she cares, too. And don't worry, no promise breaking will need to occur."
The promise. The thing Sagitari and Orphiucha kept to keep from reopening past wounds. As long as it didn't involve endangering others, the promise could be kept. Yet, she broke it the minute she refused to use her semblance to protect Liu. That was what made Sagitari upset. Well, that and her steadfast belief in promises. Perhaps what Orphiucha did reminded Sagitari too much of her of past. That made her scared to face their team leader.
And yet, she felt comfortable with Liu. Looking into Liu's dark, honest eyes, she felt at peace. There was no judging. There was no force. He simply knew she would come out with him. His eyes filled her with a soft warmth that softened the fear and depression that plagued her heart. It was then that she realized Liu was the first man she could put her trust in.
"I… I shouldn't."
"Orphiucha, guilt will get you nowhere. Now, come on, please!" he said with his hand outstretched.
This was the boy who danced with her when no one did. This was the boy that took her heat and didn't fight back against it. This was the boy who listened to her complain in the night.
Suddenly, Orphiucha found herself jealous of Sagitari.
She grinned and took his hand. "Fine, I guess I'll talk with you guys."
Liu beamed back. "That's more like it."
Liu led Orphiucha out into the camp center. It seemed Ursus had also done his job and brought Sagitari out, though he had a massive welt on his head. At least he managed to get Sagitari, who had her arms crossed with a frown.
"I'm glad you came out, Sagitari," Liu said.
"What is it? I don't like being woken up, Liu." Liu almost wanted to remind her of all the times she woke them up in the dorm, but he chose to avoid bringing that up, especially due to the situation at hand.
Before Liu could say anything, Orphiucha spoke. "I'm sorry, Sagitari. I broke the promise. I put Liu in danger because of my own selfish reasons."
Sagitari didn't speak. She merely watched Orphiucha, trying to read the faunus' snake eyes.
She continued. "I… I want to transfer teams. What I did was awful as a team member, and I apologize to everyone here."
"Orph, you don't need to-"
She held her hand up to Liu. "But… I broke a promise to Sagitari, so I have to go through with the consequences."
Sagitari was about to speak up, but stopped once Orphiucha took a deep breath and started speaking again.
"I… trust you all, which I never thought I'd do again with humans. So, I'll go through with the consequences of Sagitari's promise, and tell you all about my past. About my father, Agustus Edelweiss."
(Author's Note: Thanks for reading this chapter of RWBY: Revenant! If you enjoy it, be sure to give it a follow, favorite, or review! Y'all know I enjoy writing this stuff. By the way, I know many of y'all don't really like to read the after chapters, but this set of chapters involves the after chapter I've been dying to read since I planned out the story! Please give it a read! If you want, that is. Anyways, see you and God bless!)
