Several inches of thick cold steel, one side of the edge deliberately honed enough to slice through the thickest wind. My sense of smell was sharper than that — sharper than any blades.
It rarely made mistakes. Detect and search, I had molded to become a hunter rather than the hunted.
After Weiss and I agreed that it was time to head back to our room, my primeval instincts kicked in as soon as we entered the dormitories. It happened automatically. I lifted my chin and held my nose in the air to draw in deep, long breaths.
There was something unsettling. It was a type of smell that held a sense of familiarity. I inhaled another time and let the scent drift through my still incomplete memory bank. Like a pick and a lock, there was a click inside my head.
It was that smell again.
The same smell that appeared in the forest out of nowhere — the same exact moment when I thought I heard a voice speaking to me.
The scent hadn't faded away from my consciousness. It remained fresh as it clung to the edges of my memories. Despite how the trace circulated and blended in with a cobweb of other scents, it was still discernible.
Faint, but still noticeable.
My nose twitched, and I drew in the air deeply again to sift through the strung-together scents.
"Is something the matter?" Weiss asked, noticing my unusualness.
She mimicked my behavior and deeply breathed in to get a hint of what I was trying to smell. Of course, she had no clue. Given the dark shadow casted over her eyes, she obviously smelled something undesirable.
"I'm noticing something familiar in the air," I answered her.
Weiss had the wrong idea and pulled the hem of her collar closer to her nose. She silently whiffed.
"It's not me is it?"
A small laugh escaped from me when I saw how silly she looked. Not so ladylike, but adorable.
"I guarantee that you don't smell like this."
"I would be ashamed of myself if I did." Weiss wrinkled her nose in disgust. She sharply twisted to the side and observed a couple of unfamiliar students walking the other direction from afar. "I never realized how this area reeked of rancid sweat."
She clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
"Aren't you blessed that you're not a Faunus?" I mused.
The idea of Weiss being born as a Faunus was an entertaining thought. If she developed a keen sense of smell, I was certain that a lingering putrid odor would kill her faster than just the speed of my semblance.
"I'd be dead at birth if I was," Weiss let out a short, snarky laugh at her own dark humor. She snapped her attention back to me when she stared off longer than she wanted. She rubbed her temples and grunted out a heavy sigh. "We should head back to our room. I think the stench is giving me a headache."
"Hold on." I held up a hand.
Weiss stayed in place, her hands now at her hips. But her patience wore thin as the odor didn't sit right with her. I could easily tell by visually measuring how deep her scowls were.
With the smell wafted into my nose, the scent locked in and the final pieces connected together. An image of a path fabricated in my mind, and I pointed to the opposite direction from where we were heading.
"It's this way."
"What?" Her scowl broke as she now wore a puzzled expression.
Turning my heels, I started to pursue the scented path.
"Wait, Ruby!" Weiss called out when I started ahead of her. She scurried to catch up and she deliberately induced a blank expression the moment she turned my way. "What are we doing?"
"Following the scent," I replied nonchalantly. My eyes didn't tear away from the path. I marched straight ahead navigating us to find its origins.
"And why are we doing that?" She inquired, not a single thrill in her voice.
"Well…" I slowly ran a hand through my bangs and pushed them back to keep them out of my sight as I walked. "I'm trying to figure out who this scent belongs to."
Weiss responded quietly with a single hum. "What's so special about it?"
"It's not exactly special…" I trailed off trying to piece my words together. "It keeps on disappearing whenever I come close to it. One minute the scent is locked in. The next second it just magically vanishes."
"Magically vanishing?" Weiss' brows rose so high that it towered over Beacon. "That sounds a bit far fetched. Are you sure there wasn't anything that could've hindered you? It happened before."
"There wasn't. I'm positive," I assured her. There wasn't anything pungent in the forest that could've prevented me from tracking it. Absolutely nothing. "It happened a couple of times. It just… Up and instantly vanished."
"I see…" Weiss took note of it but wasn't entirely convinced of my story.
"I don't understand how that logically works..."
"Semblance is a possibility," she speculated.
I snorted. "Now that sounds a bit far fetched."
She half shrugged in response. "It's not entirely wrong."
"It's not," I admitted. "But the idea itself sounds odd. Let's say, hypothetically, it is a semblance. The whole situation doesn't make sense. It just shows that whoever this person is… Is trying to avoid me."
"Perhaps that's their intention," Weiss deducted.
I frowned at that idea.
All for what?
Silence crashed down around us. Our conversation tapered off, our footsteps now replacing it.
The trail we followed had us crossing through hallways and skipping past a few lecture halls. I tried to match the scent with the people who I came across with recently, but I couldn't figure who it was remotely connected to.
It was still hazy.
"It's getting stronger," I mumbled confidently to Weiss.
Determined to put a face on this scent, my pace quickened. I briskly crossed through a corridor that led us to the other side of the dormitories.
Taking long and quick strides, I hurried to get to the bottom of the trail while Weiss closely followed behind.
"Ruby, can you slow down a bit?" Shortness of breath, Weiss began to pant. The carpet didn't do much to soften our rushing strides as it echoed noisily across the walls. "The scent isn't going anywhere this time. We're in close quarters!"
"It might vanish instantly again!" I reminded her. I didn't want to take any chances. If I was given an opportunity to figure this out, then I'll take it.
I smelled two other scents tagged along with the one I was originally following, making it a total of three people.
When the scent became stronger, a few voices accompanied with it. They were just around the corner at the end of the hallway. As much as I wanted to eavesdrop in their conversation, the range of my hearing had a limit. It couldn't extend beyond that far especially with other background noise conflicting with it.
From what I could make out from their indistinct chatters, it was a heated discussion.
As Weiss and I drew closer, one voice became recognizable. He tried to conciliate one individual specifically and provided his own reasons to why it must happen this way. The heat emanating from the conversation abated as the other two had withdrawn from the conversation to hear him out.
"Is that…?" Weiss questioned hesitantly as she slowly pieced together who that voice belonged to.
"Yeah it is."
I knew exactly who Weiss was referring to. No one in Beacon could have possibly mistaken it.
However, it wasn't his scent that I was purposefully following. Nor was it the other individual, an aroma that had a subtle hint of perfume. It was the other one.
The one that carried a vague scent of distilled spirits.
As Weiss and I approached the corner of the hallway, the voice waned and the conversation dropped entirely. The hallway was silent again, our shuffling shoes becoming the dominant noise. Right before we rounded the corner, the trail that Weiss and I had been following suddenly went missing.
Poof.
Just like that. It vanished.
It was exactly similar to the time at the forest.
"Professor Ozpin," Weiss greeted politely. She curtsied respectfully when he came into sight. "And Professor Goodwitch. Hello."
"Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch," I greeted as well but with less sincerity. My eyes cut between the two and I took in a final whiff from the air.
I wasn't mistaken.
The scent had really disappeared because it wasn't these two. They smelled nothing close to distilled spirits. Just bitter coffee and flowery fragrance.
"Hello, Miss Schnee. Hello to you too, Miss Rose." Professor Ozpin pushed his spectacles above the bridge of his nose, a smile gracing his features warmly. "What brings you two here in such a rush? With the racket you two were making, Professor Goodwitch and I could hear you all the way down here."
"I told you to slow down," Weiss rolled her eyes at me.
I rubbed the side of my neck at their remarks.
"Sorry Professor Ozpin," I bowed my head and apologized. "It's just… I was following something and it led me here."
"Something?" With a smile still stretched on his lips, the headmaster cocked his head to the side. "What could that possibly be?"
"I'm not exactly sure…" I honestly admitted.
Between the two races, it definitely did not smell anything close to a Faunus. So that was ruled out. But I didn't understand how a human scent was able to disappear that quickly.
That was impossible. Wasn't it?
"Was there another person with you guys by any chance?" I sprung the question onto them.
Professor Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch exchanged a look before the headmaster took the initiative to answer.
"None that I have noticed." There was a little strum in his throat when he replied.
Why had I picked up three human scents earlier?
Then again… There were two scents now.
What the hell was going on with me?
"Strange," Weiss muttered my thoughts aloud for me. My intensely skewed frown caught her attention and she tried to put me at ease. "Perhaps your nose is playing tricks on you?"
What?
My nose betraying me?
I shot Weiss a strange look and she unknowingly shrugged back in response.
Ozpin darted his eyes towards the corner of the ceiling and kept them glued there. Bewildered to why his gaze averted, I followed his line of sight to see what had caught the headmaster's attention for so long.
And there, sitting in the dark on a wooden beam, was a dark shadow.
It cawed loudly — loud enough to make students wonder why there was a bird indoors. My ears flickered and my silver eyes studied it for a while.
It looked similar to the one in the forest…
Perhaps it's just my imagination?
"There was a disturbance reported earlier," Professor Goodwitch explained as she noticed how we were distracted by the bird's presence. "A bird accidentally wandered through the dormitories. Professor Ozpin and I were tending to this... Problem."
"Do you need help?" I offered my assistance. I watched the bird ruffled its feathers with its beak. "I can get it for you."
"Thank you, but there is no need Miss Rose." Ozpin softly chuckled. He shifted onto one side and leaned into his cane. "I believe the bird will fly out on its own and continue what it was planning originally."
"Are you sure…?"
The bird didn't budge from its spot, its red eyes now glaring down at us.
"I don't think a bird would be able to wander out without guidance," Weiss doubted as well.
"Some birds are intelligent creatures," Ozpin disagreed. Without taking his eyes away from the bird, he continued with his explanation. "Crows and ravens tend to be regarded as the most intelligent in its kind. Do you agree, Professor Goodwitch?"
The professor nodded.
"And despite their playful behavior," Ozpin elaborated. "They're quite the hunters. Their cunningness and their ability to use any means or tools to survive… We can learn a thing or two from them."
Weiss and I shared a glance with each other before returning to Ozpin.
"So with that," the headmaster wrapped up the conversation. "I can say with certainty that this wandering bird here will be able to find its way out. If not, then eventually."
Ozpin coupled his response with a reassuring smile, and with his cane, he walked past us. Professor Goodwitch followed right at his side. A tap here against the carpet and a tap there, the tapping sound stopped when Ozpin paused.
"Before I forget," he slowly turned back to us. He hesitated for a moment. His expression didn't give away his thoughts but he did seemed troubled. For once, his smile fell as an apologetic frown replaced it. "Team RWBY are to report at the arena before dinner. Miss Rose, please bring your combat gear with you as well."
"How about us?" Weiss asked, frowning. "Are we required to bring ours?"
"That will not be necessary, Miss Schnee. You and Miss Xiao Long and Miss Belladonna will be spectating."
Spectating?
"It's not a team thing?" I asked, visibly confused. Most of our training had been team focused. If not, then partner centered.
"I'm afraid not. See it as an individual test." He studied me before switching over to Weiss. "Are there any other questions?"
He gave us a moment to think, and Weiss and I shared another look with each other. She shook her head when nothing came to mind. However, one question surfaced for me.
"What am I fighting…?" I asked cautiously.
My ears flickered when the bird noisily cawed.
Was it a Grimm?
An obstacle course?
Maybe it was a highly advanced robotic machine designed and imported from Atlas?
"Or…" There was another possibility that I had not considered. "Who am I fighting?"
Our gaze met, but Ozpin didn't speak immediately. He stood silently in thought. His eyes shot down to the carpet for a brief second. I thought I saw a flash of guilt coming from them, but I disregarded as some trickery of light.
"I'm sorry Miss Rose." His words weighed heavily as his voice had suddenly gone softer. Sincere and apologetic, he continued. "It is not my place to disclose that information. You will know when the time comes."
I opened my mouth, but decided otherwise. With Professor Ozpin unexpected change in tone, I quickly accepted his obscurity and did not press any further.
I just quietly nodded.
"If there are no further questions," Ozpin cleared his throat, his voice leveling back to normal again. "We will be on our way. Professor Goodwitch?"
He turned back to let her know that he was finished. Being unusually quiet, she simply gave a nod. The two professors took off down the hallway. With how poised they walked, their feet didn't give out too much noise.
"Are you sure?" Professor Goodwitch sounded very concern.
"It's the only way." Headmaster Ozpin answered regretfully.
"There are other alternatives..."
"We need quick results. Our past mistakes cannot be repeated."
"And what if it's true?"
"Then we will —"
My ears couldn't pick up their conversation as their hushed voices were no longer in range. Their backs grew smaller and smaller until they disappeared down the hallway.
"Ruby, that's terrific news!" Weiss praised proudly. "Professor Ozpin must have acknowledged your abilities."
"You think that's the reason?" I asked hesitantly.
Something about it made me feel anxious. It wasn't just the scent disappearing from the beginning. There was that conversation between Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin.
Past mistakes?
Alternatives?
What were they talking about…?
"Why else would he want you to bring your combat gears? More than not, he wants you to demonstrate your skills."
"I guess so…" I mumbled half convinced.
"You should be happy." Weiss slapped my back which caused me to lurch forward.
"Hey — !"
"You're fortunate to be given this honorary challenge. A lot of people, including me, would be delighted if we were in your position. So why do you sound so unsure?"
"Maybe a little bit anxious?" I answered with uncertainty.
"You'll be fine, Ruby," she said with a faint curve on her lips. She placed her hand on my shoulder and gave a little squeeze. She regarded me with those gentle blue eyes.
"You're right," I breathed out a sigh. She was worried… That look she was giving me was a dead giveaway.
I stopped over analyzing the situation. I figured there was enough to worry about. One little fight wasn't worth adding onto our plate.
"I'm always right," she responded not so humbly.
I stifled a laugh. Weiss wasn't right all the time, but I didn't want to rain on her parade.
"We should probably head back and tell Yang and Blake the news."
"Right," Weiss agreed. We turned back to the direction from where we came and continued on.
"How do you think they're doing?"
"I'm certain they're fine," Weiss replied without seeming too bothered. "Your sister knows how to comfort someone if the situation requires it."
"Yeah…" I rubbed the back of my neck when I recalled a certain incident with Torchwick. "She's good at that."
"Being Blake's partner and all," Weiss continued. "She was probably able to get Blake to open up. You noticed didn't you? How Blake seemed more distant."
"She probably had a lot going through her mind," I assumed.
Like how I had a lot on my mind.
"With our encounter with the White Fangs, I wouldn't be surprised."
"Are you thinking that she's concern about the White Fangs?"
"With their inexcusable relations with Torchwick, I don't see how it isn't. If I was in her shoes, I would want to know what they are scheming."
I stroke my chin when her comments sank into my thoughts. What she said was true. Like what Team JNPR commented earlier ago, the White Fangs refused to collaborate with any one other than their kind. Seeing the two together was off putting.
Something was wrong with that picture.
By the time we arrived to our room, Weiss dug into her pocket for her scroll. Right as she was about to disengage the electronic lock, I grasped her hand to refrain her from doing so.
Weiss opened her mouth to protest, but I pressed my finger against my lips to hush her.
"Listen," I whispered quietly.
She stared at me vacantly and cocked her head to why I had stopped her. But from the glint sparking in her eyes, she understood why.
"Don't think about doing this alone, Blake."
Weiss and I heard Yang's voice coming through the door. The heiress pressed her ears against the thick wood while I leaned against it. Having sharp hearing made it more convenient. I didn't need to attach myself against the wall like some tree slug.
"Yang, I can't sit back and do nothing. The White Fangs are my business. The rest of you shouldn't be involved in this mess."
"But we're already involved!" Yang argued back. "I get it. You're concerned about the White Fangs as well as our team's well being. But we should investigate this matter together. You know… As a team."
Yang emphasized the team part quite loudly to get it through Blake's thick skull.
Blake sighed.
"Sometimes doing things alone might not be the best idea…" Yang pressed on with a sadder tone in her voice. "Trust me on this, Blake."
"You've done it before...?" Blake asked. Their conversation had taken a turn as they dived into something a little more personal.
This time, Yang sighed as she started to explain.
"When Ruby was ten years old, I was twelve. Our dad took us to Vale for the first time, and Ruby and I weren't exactly easy to handle."
Yang spoke with a hint of amusement as she recalled one of her fondest memories.
"We took off running and left our dad in the dust. I don't know why. We were silly at that time."
"That's when Ruby and I physically bumped into the White Fangs." Her voice started to drop low and became more frail at the faintest recollection of that particular time.
"Things eventually got a little out of hand, but did you know what Ruby told me to do?" Yang prompted the question. I took Blake's silence as a no.
"She told me to run," Yang drew a short somber laugh afterwards. "I was so stupid at that time. They wanted her, not me. And she told me to get away from here."
"And I ran," Yang chewed out bitterly. "I'm supposed to be the responsible one, but yet, I still ran. I regretted it, Blake. I should've been there for Ruby."
"You were only a child. What more could you have done?" Blake tried to justify her actions. "This was out of your hands."
"I still blamed myself for it!" Yang slammed a fist against the wall.
I winced. My ears had folded at the unexpected noise while Weiss had jolted back at the startle. Chewing the bottom of my lips, I partially crossed my arms and gripped down as I took all this in.
About Yang…
I had no idea that she felt like this.
"Ruby and I were already training to become huntresses. If I haven't ran, I could've done something!"
Hearing Yang's story, Blake stayed quiet.
"I shouldn't have ran…"
Weiss wasn't able to catch that last murmur, but I heard it. Her voice weighed heavily with regret as she couldn't undo her mistake in the past.
"A lot of people in my life had already disappeared," Yang mentioned hurtfully. "My mother, Ruby's mother, and then Ruby. Whether it was by choice or not, they disappeared."
"So I investigated," she said. "I barely had any clues about my own mother's whereabouts. Ruby's mom was forever out of the picture. So that left with me with Ruby. At the age of twelve, I decided to find Ruby all by my lonesome self. I was so determined to find her that I barely slept and I barely ate. But I could only go so far."
"Yang…" was all Blake could manage out.
"I eventually collapsed from exhaustion. I was lucky that my uncle had found me."
Yang paused to draw in a sharp breath.
"So what I'm trying to say is let's do this as a team. We can go much further if we do this together."
Blake didn't respond immediately. It made me wonder what went through her mind after listening to Yang talk about a piece of our past.
"Alright. Fine," she conceded. "You convinced me."
"R-Really? I mean that's great!" I could practically hear Yang beaming. "We should start soon! Let's go tell the others."
Blake chuckled. "I don't think we need to tell them at all."
I flinched when I heard footsteps approaching this way from the other side of the door. They were Blake's. I could tell. The way Blake walked was much lighter compared to Yang's, and she had suddenly stopped right at the door.
Uh oh.
"Why not?" Yang sounded very puzzled.
"Because."
Weiss quietly yelped when I tugged her away from the doorway. I figured the last thing she probably wanted was falling flat on her face and blemishing her perfect skin.
The door pulled open, and we were greeted by a smiling Blake and a very confused Yang peering over her shoulders.
"Ruby?" Yang was taken aback. "Weiss too?"
"You're not the only Faunus," Blake mused. Her bow twitched to remind us what she hid underneath.
Weiss wiggled out of my grip and played it cool by smoothing down the nonexistent wrinkles on her skirt. She then crossed her arms and uttered a humph.
"It was Ruby's idea."
"Weiss is just as guilty as I am," I mimicked her.
I felt bad that I couldn't do anything for Blake, but I was happy that she returned back her normal self for the most part. It seemed like the conversation with Yang had helped her a lot.
"You two aren't in trouble," Blake rolled her eyes at our childish retorts. "I assume you two overheard?"
Weiss and I nodded. I glanced back to Yang, but she had her eyes casted elsewhere, anywhere but me.
"How do you two feel about trying to find out what the White Fangs are plotting?" The cat Faunus asked.
"Seeing how dust is one of their primary targets, I'm pretty curious myself," Weiss gave her opinion.
"If it takes one less worry from your mind, then I'm all for it." I loosely shrugged. "But it's probably best if we discuss during or after dinner."
"Professor Ozpin want us to gather at the arena," the heiress elaborated some more.
"Arena…?" Blake murmured as she cupped her chin, pondering.
"I'm supposed to participate in a fight while the rest of you guys spectate," I explained to her. "I'm not exactly certain what I'm going up against since Ozpin did not disclose that to either of us, but I don't think it'll be too much of a challenge."
"Regardless, you need to prepare," Weiss inputted afterwards.
"I know. I know," I droned.
"Oh, that's fantastic Ruby." Blake nodded her head in acknowledgement as she took the news in.
"See," Weiss gave me an obvious look of an 'I told you so'. "Even Blake agrees that you're in a good position."
I chuckled in response. When my eyes returned back to Yang again, she still was the same as before. She avoided my gaze, and it made me worried.
"Let's head out then," I decided.
"Now?" Weiss wrinkled her nose.
"You told me to prepare."
"She got you there," Blake chuckled as she headed straight for the door.
"Let's go," I tried to hurry Weiss out of the room.
"I'm going. I'm going," she grunted.
I intentionally lagged behind while Blake and Weiss had filed out of the room. Yang strode past me but I grasped her hand firmly before she could get away. There was something eating Yang, and I knew why.
"Ruby?"
Right when Yang turned around, I closed in for a hug. It had surprised her and she finally found the strength to reciprocate the embrace. I rubbed my hands soothingly across her back.
I didn't say anything because I didn't need to.
I didn't know Yang had that all bottled up deep inside her heart. I didn't know she blamed herself for it all. I didn't know she lived with guilt and regrets. I wished I knew earlier so I could have taken it all away sooner.
"I'm sorry," Yang spoke quietly. She knew I had overheard her story.
Her apology sunk in and my arms tightened around her waist. I nuzzled into her, giving her the best comfort I could possibly give.
"Don't be," I told her. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of her hug as she clung onto me. It wasn't much, but it was a small start. A simple seed planted hoping it will blossom and take away the old pain sitting inside her heart. "It was never your fault to begin with."
"You have everything prepared?"
Weiss attentively watched as I equipped my gears in the locker room. Blake and Yang had already wished me luck before going up ahead. Taking the partner responsibility role quite seriously, Weiss purposefully stayed back to make sure everything was in order.
"Yep." I attached my weapon onto the magnetic holder. Weiss watched how I readjusted my clothes and my cape. "I'm set to go."
"That's good." She quietly nodded after she inspected me from head to toe. "Before you take off… Here."
She handed me a cartridge containing dust specifically fit for Crescent Rose.
"You think I might need it?"
"Taking precaution that's all."
"Thanks then." I smiled gratefully.
I took it and swapped the empty case for the newer one. Once I felt ready, I reached her gaze a final time. She had her eyes trained on me for awhile, but it seemed like there was another reason for that — like as if something was on her mind.
"Are you worried?"
Weiss absently rubbed her upper arm trying to debate what to say. "That's not it."
"Something is troubling you though," I said observantly. I leaned forward trying to catch those eyes that had fallen to the floor. With her head dipped down, the only thing I caught a glimpse of was Weiss biting her lower lips.
"Troubling wouldn't exactly be the right word for it…"
I pulled myself away to give her the needed space after noticing the confliction across her face. I gave her a moment to gather her thoughts, but I spoke first to break the thick silence between us.
"Want to talk about it?" I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.
"Trying to…" She softly muttered. "Just… Give me an another moment."
Weiss drew a deep breath before slowly letting it all out. She slid her bangs away from her eyes and brought her chin back up. I could see her resolve, but the bashful voice and that accompanying shy smile coming afterward caught me off guard.
"When your battle is over," her voice picked up some semblance of courage. "I'll give you my answer."
It took me awhile to understand what she was referring to. But it finally registered in my head that she was alluding to our conversation at the docks — the time of my confession.
I had never thought that Weiss would be so… Meek about it.
"Okay!" My smile turned soft to appropriately match Weiss'. Regardless of what her answer was… "I look forward to it."
Wordlessly, she nodded in affirmation. Before I turned my back towards her, I gave her a toothy grin.
"I'll win. For you and the team, I'll bring us a victory."
"You better." There was no bite in it. Instead, she smiled sweetly.
My tail now turned to her, I strode down the long tunnel towards classroom arena. I heard a final good luck whispering from behind as it echoed against the walls.
As I slowly made my entrance, Yang waved from where she had sat. Blake, who was sitting adjacently, smiled while Weiss had barely just taken her seat. Professor Goodwitch and Headmaster Ozpin each stood at their sides from the bleachers. They watched me intently as their faces remained unreadable.
They hadn't spoke, made any announcements, or set the rules. It was unusual, but I didn't think any of it.
When I made my way to the middle of the arena grounds, I caught that smell again.
The same smell that had been messing with me for an entire time. The scent of distilled spirits became stronger. The heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway from the other entrance became louder.
My heart drummed in anticipation.
Was the person finally going to show themselves?
I held my ground, feeling antsy. I felt it tingling down to my toes as I waited for the person to reveal themselves.
When moment came, I quietly gasped.
My breath had gotten trapped in my throat when the person slowly emerged from the shadows of the tunnel. Head hanging down, his dull red eyes peered pass his fallen bangs until he slicked his hair back.
I knew him.
I remembered him.
The man who taught me the basics of a scythe.
"Uncle Qrow…?" Yang murmured from the sidelines. She was just as shocked as I was.
"That's your uncle?" I heard Weiss ask in confusion.
"Ruby is sparring with your uncle?" Blake was bewildered as well.
"Hey." He quietly greeted me as we stood face to face a distance away.
He looked rough compared to the last time I had seen him — rougher than the time of Summer's passing. He looked as if the alcohol had been eating him rather than the other way around.
"Uncle… Qrow?" His name escaped out of my lips slowly. Saying it made me feel warm inside. I liked it.
He weakly smiled back to me, remaining silent as if he had nothing special to say.
I shifted my feet forward in hesitation. I had forgotten why I was in the arena in the first place as Uncle Qrow's presence filled my mind. I had been absent from his life for so many damn years that seeing him again felt surreal.
I missed him dearly.
I took another step forward followed with another. My legs had a mind of its own as it was taking me to him. I was prepared to hurl myself at him for a long hug, but a startling gunshot echoing deafeningly within the confines of the arena had stopped me. The ringing noise screeched into my ears until my hearing regained its senses over the course of seconds.
My blood instantly went cold and my heart, figuratively, stopped.
Shakily, I brought my hand up to my cheek and touched where I had felt the sharp sting. The color drained from my face when I saw how my own blood sullied my fingers.
Why…?
My aura instinctively flared up and healed the cut.
Why would he…?
It was only a surface wound, but I knew that it was only a warning gunfire. Qrow had intentionally missed.
"Take your weapon, Ruby."
Qrow did not repeat again. He pulled the trigger once more and I narrowly dodged the ear piercing round as I leapt and rolled out of the way.
My heart and mind sank into panic as Qrow trudged forward, his weapon raised at me. His sword transformed into his scythe and he intimidatingly approached closer.
"Fight." Qrow swallowed thickly.
He flicked his scythe and slung it over his shoulders, looking more like a decaying specter rather than the loving uncle. It wasn't just his actions and his words that made my world spiral. The guilt-ridden, pained expression on his face had threw me entirely off.
He looked too remorseful to be the harbinger of death.
"Fight like your life depends on it."