WBY each thinks about the past, Ren offers what he can to comfort them.

This chapter is dedicated to my great friend Jerich, who passed away on March 27, 2021.

Sparring has never been one of Lie Ren's interests. He understands that it's essential for improving one's self, but he preferred to simply observe from the sideline. Even during his time in Beacon Academy, sparring had never been something Ren liked to participate in.

He had watched his team, and on occasion Team RWBY, spar each other countless times, but had very rarely joined in. His friends respect his decision and will only spar with him when it was in Professor Goodwitch's class. So Ren was quite surprised when Weiss, of all people, asked him to spar with her.

Ren stared at the white-haired girl standing several feet in front of him, her shoulders tense and icy eyes trying not to look away. The two of them were in the backyard of their rented house on a cloudy afternoon.

"Uh, what?" That was all Ren managed to say after getting over his surprise. One moment he was doing his katas, the next Weiss had come out and practically demanded that he spar with her.

The blue-eyed girl resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I asked if you would spar with me?"

When Ren only blinked at her, Weiss sighed and her posture lost some of its tension. "I know you don't like sparring, but you're the only one available at the moment and I'd like to get some things out of my system." She briefly explained as she walked to the opposite side of the yard.

"And sparring helps?" Ren asked with uncertainty.

Weiss shrugged as she drew her rapier. "In some ways, yes." Then without any warning, she lunged at him.

Ren almost wasn't able to dodge the sharp blade. Jumping back to a safe distance, the black-haired teen grabbed his weapons in one smooth motion, thankful that he had kept them on him.

"That was unnecessary," Ren said with a hint of irritation. Weiss looked sheepish and apologized. With a defeated sigh, Ren dropped to a defensive stance and nodded his head. A smile tugged at Weiss' lips and soon the two huntsmen-in-training were exchanging blows.

Slice. Block. Kick. Dodge. It went on like that for a while. Weiss would thrust her rapier, making Ren block it with his blades. Then Ren would send a kick towards her, and Weiss would gracefully dodge.

Ren could tell that sparring did somewhat help Weiss. With every blow that she dealt, Ren could feel her relax a bit more. Sparring wasn't something he liked to do but seeing how it made his friend more relaxed made Ren glad that he was able to help.

The feeling was short-lived, however, when Ren noticed the sudden shift in the way Weiss moves. When they started, her movements were graceful and calculated, but as they continued to spar, Ren noticed how it became more impetuous. More reckless.

Upon parrying one of Weiss' attacks, Ren caught a glimpse of Weiss' face and her expression made him do a double-take. Weiss' usually stern look had become more desperate as if she was focused on trying to prove something. The pink-eyed huntsman recalls Jaune describing to him the expression he had when he was blindly attacking the Nuckelavee. Ren instantly knew that something was wrong.

"Weiss, stop!" His call went unheard as Weiss continued to come at him with continuous attacks that seemed more like flailing at this point. Ren knew that he needed to end this fight before someone gets hurt.

Thinking fast, Ren blocked Weiss' blade with his own, and, taking advantage of her momentum, delivered a push kick. The white-haired teen fell on her back, her rapier falling from her hands and landing a few feet away. Weiss' eyes were wide and her breath coming out in puffs as her focus seemed to return to the present.

Heaving a sigh, Ren wordlessly put away his weapons. He walked over to Weiss and offered her a hand, keeping his face free of any emotion. Weiss stared at him for a moment before accepting his hand and letting him pull her up. As the smaller teen dusted herself, Ren went and picked up her weapon.

"I'm sorry."

Ren turned to see Weiss with her head down and her arms wrapped around herself. Walking over, the green-clad teen handed her the rapier, which she took with hesitance. He noted how her eyes looked up at him but didn't meet his gaze.

"It's not your fault," Ren told her. Weiss shook her head, icy blue eyes glued to the ground.

"No, Ren. It's my fault. I let myself get lost in my head." Ren opened his mouth to speak but Weiss continued. "Halfway through our spar, I felt like I was back in Atlas. Back to when I was trying to prove to my father and sister that I can be a great huntress."

A firm hand on her shoulder caused Weiss to look up to see Ren with a soft smile.

"Well to me, you've certainly proved yourself more than enough." He said and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

Weiss averted her gaze somewhere else. "I'm sorry for taking it out on you." She mumbled. "I understand if you don't want to spar anymore."

"I didn't say that." Weiss looked up at the taller teen. "You said sparring helps you get things out of your system, and it seems to me like you still have a lot more to let out."

Weiss gave him a grateful smile and the two teens once again stood on opposite sides of each other, their weapons raised and stances ready.

"Thanks, Ren," Weiss said. Ren smiled back and gave her a nod.

"Anything to help."

With that, the two friends lunged.

Lie Ren let out a pained groan as he walked down the stairs, one hand massaging his aching shoulder. The morning after a big battle, as Ren was beginning to learn, was always hard. Despite the wonders of Aura, muscle and joint pains were a constant. Sure, it went away after a short while, but Ren still finds it bothersome. Once his feet reached the last step, a muffled thud followed by a groan was heard from upstairs and it reminded Ren that he wasn't the only one who was feeling worn out.

Ren let himself smile as he made his way to the kitchen, mind already thinking up the different dishes his friends would like to eat in a morning like this. It was still dark outside so he figured he had a lot of time to prepare breakfast. He stopped in his tracks when he saw that the lights in the kitchen were on. His mind instantly became alert and he quietly approached the room. A part of him knew he was just being paranoid, but with all that's happened in the last few weeks, he didn't want to take any chances.

As he peeked into the kitchen, his worry quickly turned to relief upon seeing the familiar figure of Blake sitting at the head of the table. The cat Faunus was hunched over in her seat, her amber eyes focused on the steaming cup she's holding in front of her. Ren let out a sigh, relieved that it wasn't anyone dangerous. Blake's cat ears twitched at the sound and she sharply turned her head to face him, her eyes wide in momentary alarm.

The pink-eyed teen raised his hands in a show of peace, to which Blake responded with a relieved sigh of her own. Her gaze returned to staring at her cup and Ren suddenly felt awkward. The two ninjas of RWBY and JNPR have never really talked unless it was for a class, both not being all that social during their time in Beacon.

"What are you doing up this early?" Ren was snapped out of his thoughts at Blake's question.

Ren gathered whatever courage he has and sat down at the chair next to Blake with a deep breath. His shoulder ached again and he absentmindedly massaged it as he replied, "I figured a good breakfast would help everyone ease up after last night."

"That's nice of you," the black-haired girl said absentmindedly. Ren noticed the troubled look on her face, so he asked, "How about you? Are you alright?"

For a moment, Blake didn't reply, choosing instead to take a sip of whatever beverage was in her cup. Despite the slight awkwardness he was feeling, Ren stayed put. Finally, Blake sighed.

"I just feel weird coming back after all this time." Her reply was spoken so softly that Ren almost didn't hear it. She didn't say anything else, so Ren pressed on.

"How so?"

Blake had a faraway look in her eyes as she let out a heavy breath. "I ran away, Ren. When my team needed me I turned tail and ran." Her voice shook, but Ren chose to ignore it. "Then, after months, I suddenly come back. I'm just not sure how to act around them."

Ren reached out and placed his hand on her forearm. The sudden contact made the amber-eyed teen blink and look up in surprise.

"But you're here now, Blake. You came when your team needed you most, that's what matters. And I'm sure whatever happens next, Team RWBY will pull through. You girls have a knack for always coming out on top despite the odds." He said with a small smile.

Blake returned the smile and nodded her head in gratitude. Nodding back, Ren stood up and made his way to the kitchen counter.

"What would you like for breakfast?" He asked as he rummaged through the cupboards.

Blake smirked, placing her elbow on the table, and resting her chin in her palm. "Do you really have to ask?"

Ren let out a laugh. "Fish it is, then." He said before turning to face his Faunus friend. "Would you like to help?"

Blake shrugged as she stood up from her seat. "I'm not much of a cook, so I guess I'll just take care of the drinks." She said.

Sharing another smile, the two ninjas of the group proceed to make breakfast for their friends.

Lie Ren was used to making plans. Having spent most of his childhood living in the streets with Nora, he quickly learned that it's better to be prepared. Being friends with Jaune and Ruby also meant listening to them come up with all sorts of strategies and combos. But sometimes, coming up with different plans can be too much for Ren.

That's how Ren found himself walking to the kitchen of the Cotta-Arc house late at night, having slipped away from the others after they had finished coming up with a plan to get to Atlas. When he got to the kitchen, he found Yang hunched over a cup of hot chocolate on the island in the middle of the room.

"Hey," Yang looks up and gave a small smile upon seeing Ren at the doorway. The black-haired teen walked over to the cupboard to get himself a cup of water, his eyes glancing at Yang for a short moment.

Ren let her be, having nothing to say at the moment. He settled beside her, his cup placed on the island in front of him as well. Ren internally wondered why the blonde was here since she didn't seem to mind helping with the plan a while ago.

Having seemed to know what was in his mind, Yang spoke, "All that planning makes my brain melt. I'd rather just hear the final plan later." Ren glanced at her as she took a sip of her drink, absentmindedly registering the beginning of a pillow fight come from the other room.

"It seems like Ruby and Nora are at it again," Ren said with a smile, his gaze staring off in the direction of the living room. "Though I suppose they deserve some fun after everything." Yang hummed in agreement.

"Yeah." She took another sip. "The past few days have been pretty stressful."

Ren noticed the faraway look in her lilac eyes. "Are you okay?" He can't help but ask.

Yang seemed to snap out of her thoughts and turned to see the concerned frown of her friend. "Yeah, sorry." She sighed. "Just got a lot on my mind."

Ren nodded and was about to say something, but Yang continued, "Everything just seems so hard now. We're trying to keep a powerful relic from both Grimm and the people who are after it." Ren noticed her grip on her cup tighten with every sentence. "Everyone we think we could trust turns out to be against us. And worst of all, we don't even know how to win against someone we can't kill!"

Yang's voice wasn't loud but in the quietness of the kitchen, it might as well be a shout. Ren watched as the blonde teen cover her face with her hands, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. He could still hear the others having a pillow fight in the other room, thankful that none of them heard Yang.

"I just don't know how we can win this," came the defeated sound of Yang's voice.

Ren wanted to say something, anything, to reassure Yang that things will be okay. But he had been having the same doubts, ever since Qrow had told them about the Maidens when traveling to Mistral. The pink-eyed teen didn't know how to reassure someone when he himself has been thinking the same. So instead, he wrapped an arm around Yang's shoulder and pulled her into a side hug.

Yang was surprised at first, but she soon let herself lean onto his embrace. "Thanks, Ren." She muttered.

And the two huntsmen-in-training stayed like that for a long while. Or, at least, until they had to go stop their friends from destroying the house with their pillow fight.

I didn't know how to fit three people into one interaction, so I just decided to split it.

Also, I'm really sorry for taking this long. A lot happened in the last few weeks. I meant to start writing this after the Volume 8 finale in hopes of getting some inspiration, but sadly, one of my best friends died in a car accident and I found out an hour or two before the finale came out. I still watched the v8 finale, but my heart wasn't really in it. Then it's just been one school requirement after another and before I knew it, it was the middle of April.

It took some time, but I finally managed to start writing this chapter. I also want to dedicate this to my friend. Her name was Jerich and she died at the young age of 16 on March 27, 2021. She was a great friend and a hardworking person. I just wanted to remind everyone to cherish every day you have with the ones you love. In this world that we live in, death is inevitable. Be thankful for what you have, be kind to everyone, and spend each day as if it was your last.

Anyways... I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And hopefully, the next and final chapter won't take as long. Stay safe, everyone!