Here we are at Chapter 73. Let's get back to Blake and Rokurou in Menagerie. Rather than do the assembly scene from the episode, I decided to do something else where Rokurou can have more of a role to play. I do not own RWBY or Tales of Berseria. They belong to their respective owners. Here's chapter 73. Enjoy.

Chapter 73: A Misguided Blade

In Menagerie, things aren't exactly going so well for Blake and her family. Earlier that day, Blake's father, Ghirs Belladonna, had called for a big assembly of the Faunus of Menagerie, along with some journalists and news crews to broadcast the event. He made it known to the populace about Adam Taurus' plans to take over the White Fang, and attack Haven Academy. When he said it was time to step up and stop him from making the Faunus looking worse to the world, the people were cheering for him. But, when he said that they should go to Haven to protect it, they quickly became more hesitant. It only got worse when Ilia interrupted the event and slandered the Belladonnas for wanting to help the humans, and then quickly made an escape before the authorities to detain her. All-the-while, Rokurou watched the scenario unfold before him.

The next day, Rokurou went walking around, scoping out the town and seeing what the populace thinks about all that was said at the assembly. He walks around the port, listening in on the conversations going around.

"I don't like what the White Fang is doing, but is it really a good idea to go to Haven?" one male Faunus asks.

"Why should we help the humans? It's not like they'd do the same for us," another says.

"I came to Menagerie to escape the violence, not to just go back into it with a weapon in my hand," a female Faunus says.

Rokurou listens in intently while walking by; the people paying him little mind. He eventually gets a drink and sits down at a table by the ports.

"The people around here don't seem too keen on joining the fight. The only way for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing. As long as they sit around and do nothing, things are only going to get worse for them. Silence can be also be a form of consent. After all, it's not like they're saying they don't agree with Adam Taurus' actions," Rokurou thinks while sipping his drink.

"I don't like this at all," he hears a female aquatic Faunus say from the waters below him. "I don't agree with how the White Fang have been doing things, but I don't want to have to fight either. Wouldn't it be better to just wait until things get better for us?" she asks her friend.

"All I know is, I don't want anything to do with this little crusade the Chief is going on about. I mean, I respect him a lot; he does a lot for us, but I don't want to have to put my life at risk," another female aquatic Faunus says.

"You wait too long for something to happen, and it may never happen," Rokurou says, gaining their attention. "I understand not wanting to risk your life, but don't you think some things are worth the risk?" he asks them before sipping his drink again.

"And how would you know? You don't know what it's like for Faunus out there. The problems of the other kingdoms are not our problems. If you ask me, they brought this on themselves," the second girl says.

"And what do you think will happen if Adam succeeds in taking over the White Fang and destroys Haven Academy. After the Fall of Beacon, opinions of Faunus have dropped big time. How bad do you think it will be if Haven falls because of the White Fang?" Rokurou calmly retorts, making them hesitate to reply. "And just because you leave someone alone, doesn't mean they're gonna leave you alone. The problems of the kingdoms will eventually spread here to Menagerie, and then there will be nowhere on Remnant that the Faunus can feel truly safe," he says and gets up after finishing his drink. "Sometimes the worst action to take... is no action at all. And living in fear is no different than not living at all," he says and then leaves, causing the two Faunus to stare at each other with unsure eyes.

Rokurou continues walking through the town, hearing different versions of the same thing from the Faunus around him. He sighs and takes a detour, going down a darkened pathway west from the direction of the Belladonna home. As he walks down, he begins to feel like he's being watched as he glances around. It gets quiet as he feels he's gotten far enough away from the rest of the populace and soon comes into an opened space with just the trees and some wooden crates around him.

"Alright, you can come out now," Rokurou calls out.

Just then, a group of White Fang members jump down from the trees, surrounding him on all sides. One of them... is Ilia.

"You actually walked right into our trap. I can't tell if you're incredibly brave, or just that stupid," Ilia notes.

"You do know that I kicked your butt the last time we fought, right?" Rokurou notes, not nervous at all.

"That was only because I was alone and you surprised me. It won't happen this time. Get him!" Ilia calls out and the White Fang members attack.

Rokurou pulls out his swords and waits for them to get close. One attacks with a spear, and he knocks it off target with his left blade before making a quick swing with his right downward to break the blade end off, and then spins around to deal two blade strikes on his opponent to take him down. After that, another Faunus attacks with a shortsword. However, Rokurou blocks with his right blade and kicks him in the gut, and then makes a cross slash to knock him back. Ilia joins the fray, swinging her whip blade around at Rokurou, but the demon samurai swings his left sword around into a reverse grip and has the whip wrap around his left blade. Ilia tries to electrocute him, but he stabs the sword into the ground, causing the electricity to travel into the ground instead of towards him. One member attacks with a downward swing of his blade, causing Rokurou to let go of his weapon. However, when the member attacks again, Rokurou wields the blade with both hands and makes a super-fast swing, ending up behind the member, who falls to the ground. Two bandits come at him with more spears, but he throws his daggers at their hands, separating them from their spears. Making a quick grab of his left sword, Rokuorou charges at them with his blades reeled back. A few quick swings and he's right behind them while they fall to the ground. After that, it's just him and Ilia now.

The chameleon Faunus swings her whip blade around at him several times, but Rokurou blocks each strike with his swords.

"You know you can't beat me, so why even try? But then again, I've faced powerful opponents in the past with little chance of winning, only to come out on top in the end. But I did have some help from my old friends. I guess there's no shame in trying. However, I pity your blade," Rokurou says.

Ilia recalls her whip back into his blade form, "What's that supposed to mean?" she asks.

"Throughout this short fight, I can feel it. The conflict from your blade that's coming from you. You're doing what you think is the right thing to do for your people, and yet at the same time, you're hesitant. I can only assume that's because of your history with Blake," Rokurou explains.

"THAT is none of your business. You don't know anything about me, or about her," Ilia angrily retorts.

"I know that you two were old friends once, and that she doesn't want anything bad to happen to you. I also know that you don't want anything bad to happen to her. All that inner conflict is expressed in your blade, and that's why it's pitiful. The truth is that you don't want to fight Blake at all, but think you have to because after everything you've been through, that fear and hate are the best choices for getting what you want. A blade used for reasons like that is just pathetic in my eyes," Rokurou says, a gust of wind blowing by to show his demon eye again.

"Just who... just what the Hell are you?!" Ilia yells.

"I'm just a guy who loves a good blade, a good sake, and a good fight. That's all there is to it," Rokurou replies before sheathing his blades. "You'd better get going. The authorities will be here soon. Your friends here are gonna have to get locked up, but that doesn't mean you should be with them when they do," he says.

"Why are you letting me leave?" Ilia asks.

"Who knows. Blake still seems to have faith in you. Maybe I'm just taking a chance on that faith of hers. I like to gamble a little bit sometimes to. Makes things more fun. Now get going, and remember what I said. A blade being used when your hearts not truly in it, is a blade that's bound to break at some point under the weight of your inner conflict," Rokurou says. Ilia grits her teeth a bit, but takes her leave anyway. Rokurou sighs and looks to the unconscious White Fang members around him, "Welp, better get these guys taken care of," he mutters.

…

Later that evening, Rokurou is back at the Belladonna household, explaining what happened earlier that day to the family. However, he left out the part about letting Ilia go.

"To think that the White Fang would be so brazen as to attack you in broad daylight," Ghira mutters.

"To guy are getting out of control," Sun notes.

"You said Ilia was there, but she wasn't with the members we arrested. Where did she go?" Blake asks.

"She must've run off when she saw her buddies getting their butts kicked by me. I beat her once before, so when she saw that their numbers were decreasing and soon enough it would be just her, she decided to make like a tree and leave. Oh well, we'll just have to get her next time," Rokurou shrugs his shoulders.

"Well, we at least got some more of their members arrested. The less they have running through town, the less control they have over the Faunus in town," Ghira notes.

"Did they say anything that could help us?" Kali asks.

"Nope. They didn't really say anything other than that they want me gone, and then the fun got started," Rokurou says.

"The ones we captured have been keeping their mouths shut as well. They're nothing if not loyal to their cause," Ghira adds.

"Well, at least we've got a few more of their members off the streets. The less forces they have at their disposal here, the easier it'll be for us," Rokurou notes.

"Well, what do we do now?" Kali asks.

"We continue with the plan. Blake, Sun, and Rokurou, I want you three to go out through the populace to try and get volunteers that will join us in our mission to protect Haven Academy. I want as many people to fight with us, but I will not force them to fight in this battle if they do not wish for it. That would make us no better than the White Fang. Until my messenger returns from his mission to Haven, we have to focus on what we can do here. I'll do my part in getting things ready for the voyage. Hopefully we can get a lot of volunteers for the mission, otherwise we'll be in some trouble when we get there," Ghira explains.

"Okay, we'll get started on that early tomorrow," Blake says, nodding her head.

"Welp, I'll see you guys tomorrow then," Rokurou says and takes his leave.

…

Outside Ghira's study, Rokurou polishes his blades, focusing on Kurogane Stormquell at the moment.

"Well Kurogane, it looks like things should be getting a little more challenging. How do you think the others are doing right now? Yeah, I'm sure they're fine. They're all a couple of tough fighters, if our past adventures are anything to go on," Rokurou notes.

"Do you always talk to your swords?" he hears and looks to the side to see Blake walking up to him, Gambol Shroud in her hands.

"Don't you?" Rokurou asks as he goes back to polishing his swords.

Blake sits next to him, "Not really. However, my team leader, Ruby Rose, is a total weapon nut. I'm sure you two would get along quite well," she notes.

"Heh-heh, she sure sounds like it. You told me about her once before. What kind of weapon does she use again?" Rokurou asks.

"Well, she uses a scythe that also doubles as a sniper rifle. She said she went a little overboard in customizing it so it's a little over the top. However, she knows how to use it quite well. She learned how to use it when her uncle trained her with a scythe. Her uncle was a teacher at Signal Academy and is apparently a veteran huntsman, so he's quite skilled himself from what Ruby and Yang told me about him. She said that she was 'complete garbage' before he started training her personally," Blake explains as she pulls her blade from its sheathe.

"I see. Hopefully, I'll get to meet her someday. I'm not much of a fan for ranged weapons like guns, but if her weapon is still a bladed weapon, then I'd love to get a look at it," Rokurou says. Blake hums as she starts polishing her own blade. "Don't think I've ever seen you work on your blade before," he notes.

"I always polish it and keep it in good condition. But... after talking with you, and thinking about how well Ruby takes care of her 'precious sweetheart', I think I haven't shown Gambol Shroud as much respect as I should. I built this weapon and overcame many opponents with it as well, but I guess I never really thought to much about it. A weapon is more than just a tool; they're an extension of ourselves. They're a part of us, as Ruby once said. Gambol Shroud is my partner, and I want to thank you for helping me remember that," Blake says.

"No problem. Buy me a jug of sake, and we're even," Rokurou jokes.

Blake deadpans, "I can't buy you sake. I'm not even old enough to do that," she notes.

"Ugh, I can't get anywhere with women," Rokurou says before he laughs again.

"Listen, about Ilia, did she really escape during the fight?" Blake asks, getting serious.

Rokurou stops laughing, "...Nah, I let her go," he admits.

"Why?" Blake asks.

"Who knows. Maybe it was on a whim. Maybe I thought that locking her up again on house arrest wouldn't really solve your problems with her. Maybe I thought that the only way to get through to her is to fight her head on and make her see the error of her ways. Her blade is decent, but because of why she uses it, it's become pitiful. I could her blade crying as I fought her. A weapon is an extension of ourselves, so if the blade is crying, then maybe, she's crying too. Maybe deep down, that old friend of yours is still in there, deep within that hatred that she's brewing outward. I can't reach her... but maybe you can. She's hesitant to fight you, and I think deep down she still considers you a friend. Why else would she try to get you to leave, but have no problem coming after people like me, people she doesn't really know that well? I know you don't really want to fight her, but if you're going to get through to her, you're gonna have to fight her. The best way for two warriors to understand one another is to cross blades with one another. That's part of the code I live by; my creed, to quote an old friend," Rokurou explains.

Blake thinks upon his words, "I see. I think you're right. I don't want to fight Ilia, but if I'm going to save her from Adam's influence. I'm gonna have to. Deep down, Ilia is a good person. Things have just been so hard for her, that maybe it's become difficult to see the right path that she needs to take. After struggling for so long and following the wrong people, I think that she decided that it would be easier to take the same path that Adam is taking. But, just because one path is easier than the others, that doesn't mean it's the right path to take. I realized that when I learned how my running away from my teammates was a mistake. I once said that it was really hard to stay with them when they got hurt because of me... but I think I was fooling myself. I've always run away when things got too hard. I always took the easy way out... But no more. I'm done running. When we settle things here, I'm going to stop Adam from destroying Haven. I'll confront him, and this time I won't run away. I'll fight... with Gambol Shroud," Blake declares.

Rokurou smiles, "Good. I can see your blade smiling now," he says.

"Huh?" Blake mutters, but then looks at her blade, seeing it shine a little brighter than before, a different feeling to it now. "What happened?" she muttered.

"You were so focused on your big speech that you never noticed how much polishing you did to your blade. However, I think that your weapon has been waiting for you to finally say those words. A blade isn't meant to be used to run away, or to rust. It's meant to be used to fight. You're ready to actually start fighting now, and I think that made Gambol Shroud happy to hear that," Rokurou says.

Blake stares at her blade, "I see... Gambol Shroud, you've been waiting for me too, haven't you?" she mutters.

"You've got yourself a fine blade there, Blake," Rokurou says.

Blake smiles at him, "I had a good teacher, and a good friend. Thank you, Rokurou," she says.

And that's the chapter. Rokurou has a little chat with both Ilia and Blake. It didn't go so well with Ilia, but it seems Blake has finally realized the true meaning behind his words. Now comes the next step in her mission in Menagerie. We'll be getting to Yang and Weiss in the next chapter, with a little bit of Ruby and Velvet. Who knows what will happen next? Until then, please Read and Review.