RWBY: Grey Chapter 5

Weiss's mind wandered as she toyed with the earpiece Ruby had thrown at her while she was leaving the dorm. She had heavily considered running back to knock some sense into the younger girl, but, as much as she wanted to deny it, she was simply more interested in seeing exactly what their new teammate was up to. She checked her Scroll again, running her finger along the screen to bring it center on Yuri's position. Jeez, he's on foot and he's nearly there, the airship is only two thirds of the way. What? Did he mainline coffee or something?

She gave a grunt of discontent, then leant against the railing, eyes focused on the ground below. I remember him saying that he lived in Menagerie, I wonder what spurred that life choice... well that's assuming he wanted to live here. But he's Human, right? This is a mainly Faunus area, despite them not being confined to it any longer. She looked down to her Scroll one last time. He's made it into the urban areas, the airship should land in a moment, so I need to figure out where he's going.

The airship came to a stop moments later, and Weiss stepped onto the landing platform. I'm in luck, he's just a few blocks down the street. Now... let's see. She scanned the area for a moment before finding what she was looking for, a ladder. She jumped up the rungs quickly, hopping over the edge onto what seemed to be the roof of a rather derelict building. She checked the Scroll again. Five hundred feet. I need to get over there. She sprinted across the rooftops, hopping quickly from one to another. She caught a glance of Yuri's silhouette on the street, then huddled against a low hanging front on the roof.

She peeked over then wondered why she hadn't noticed the main attraction on the corner of the street. A house, ablaze across the street. The fire was vast, and intense enough that its heat blasted against her face. She squinted, trying to see more clearly past the heavy glare brought on by the flames. After a moment, her eyes adjusted, but just barely. "What do you see?!" Came Ruby's voice from the earpiece. Weiss considered asking where exactly she had gotten the device, but a wave of heat from the burning husk of wood and stone made her change her mind.

She turned her Scroll's camera on, then linked it to Ruby's. "Here, you three can watch if you'd like, although I'm not sure what we're about to see." She said. She shifted the camera over the wall. She could see Yuri facing a group of three people while panting, which she didn't find surprising considering he ran the entire distance. She could hear him screaming over the flames. "Huh... so... it seems the warning wasn't enough!" He shouted angrily. One of the men laughed. "You think we're scared of some wannabe hero?" He asked. He lunged at Yuri, revealing a sword and angling it towards his neck.

Yuri stepped to the side, looking rather distant, as though he wasn't there mentally. His hand wrapped around the assailant's wrist. He wrenched the sword from his hand, spun it around, then lodged it in the man's chest. The man spat up an incredible amount of blood, then dropped to the ground. Another one charged, screaming in anger, swinging a rather nasty looking club. Once again, Yuri did a slight sidestep, grabbing the man's wrist, then twisting it. The man dropped to his knees, face contorted in an. Again, with a rather distant gaze, he pressed his foot to the man's chest, then gave a hard tug on his arm. Weiss felt her stomach lurch as the his flesh tore away, the arm, skin, bone, muscle, all of it split as the arm was removed.

Yuri swung the bloody stump and slammed it against his opponents face. He dropped to the ground, shivering as the blood slowly drained from his right side. CRACK! The gunshot rang out in the streets, overpowering seemingly every other noise in the world. Yuri's shoulder jerked back as the bullet slammed into him. The third one had pulled a revolver and shot Yuri in the back through the left shoulder. The man let loose another two shots, one piercing Yuri's stomach, and the other his lower chest. Yuri jumped forward, his still distant gaze twisted in pain he didn't even truly seem to feel. His hand wrapped around the barrel of the revolver, and he tore it from the man's hand.

He flipped the pistol around and pressed it to the mans skull, his fingers wrapped around the trigger. He cocked the hammer back, then squeezed. The bullet slammed the man's head to the ground, where he stayed, now completely lifeless. Yuri circled around the building, coming upon a group of people near what seemed to be the front of the house. There were two adults, and two kids, likely a family. Yuri had seemed to regain himself, and managed to speak despite his fresh bullet wounds. He wheezed as he did. "Everyone get out?" He asked.

One of the adults, who were now clear to Weiss as Faunus, turned and scanned the children. Her eyes widened in horror. She spun around angrily to the male. "Where's our baby!?" She screamed. His eyes did the same. "I thought you were going to get her!" He said. "Shut the FUCK up!" Yuri screamed. They spun around to him in fear. "What room?" He asked. "Umm... third floor, first room on the left." The male said. Yuri nodded, untying his cloak and tearing his shirt off, then turned and kicked the front door of the blazing house in.

Weiss looked down at her Scroll, studying Yuri's Aura levels. His Aura levels had dropped significantly, he had recovered his Aura from the fight with Yang, and his reserves had jumped back up to 95%. Now... likely because of the bullet wounds, his Aura had dropped to 27%. Weiss was rather worried, even more so when she was the number drop to 20%. I... hope he's going to be okay. The number drained further, this time... to 3%. Yuri... you need to get out of there. 0%. Crash! One of the walls gave way, and Yuri, clutching a small bundle, dove out the new hole.

His body slammed against the ground, but the bundle didn't move. He struggled for a moment, then stood up. He turned to the parents, and handed the baby to the mother. The mother unwrapped the child, a tiny young girl. The girl shuffled in her mother's arms, sitting up in her hold. Her eyes focused on Yuri, she broke into a huge, toothless grin. He grinned back, then broke into a violent cough. He faced the mother. "Take care of her." He said. He knelt down slightly, tapping the baby's nose with his finger. "Grow up, kid... just not too fast. Do something... worthwhile with your life." He laughed. He picked up his shirt and cloak.

He began to walk away, then spun around on his heel. "I'll speak with the Council, you know, about getting your home restored." He said. "Oh, we... can't afford to have it restored." The mother said. Yuri scoffed. "I'm paying for it." He said. He rummaged around in his bag and removed what looked to Weiss like a mask. He pressed it to his face. The woman gave a gasp of surprise. "You're with old ORB, aren't you?" She asked. "I didn't know that ORB had Humans." She mused. "I'm a person, not just a Human." He said. She smiled, then nodded. "Thank you... ORB." She said. He turned away, then, once again, turned back.

He pointed at the girl. "What's her name?" He asked. "Oh! It's Luna." She said. He pressed his hand to the top of the girl's head. "Well, little Luna, you're a Faunus, and I'm a Human... but that doesn't matter, we're both people. Never let the outside dictate the inside. Love everyone, even if they don't love you back." He said, before turning away. "Thank you, once again." She said. He threw his hand in the air. "Don't mention it, people should help one another. Call the police, and have them move the corpses in your backyard." He laughed.

He made his way down the street, walking for about an hour, with Weiss following behind him, before turning into a bar. Why is he...? I should get down there. She jumped off of the roof, landing rather gracefully next to the door. She looked inside. Yuri was sat at a bar, hands clasped together. He turned his head slightly. "How long do you plan on following me Weiss?" He asked. She felt her heart leap into her throat. "Come here." He said.

She did, opening the door to the bar and taking a seat on a bar stool next to Yuri. He turned to her. While she turned off the earpiece, he raised two fingers, and the bartender turned to him. "Jeez Yuri, you seem to come in here in a worse condition every time." He laughed. Yuri laughed as well. "Yeah... you know my line of work doesn't always leave me unscathed." He said. "Very true... the usual?" He asked. Yuri nodded, and the man poured a rather thick whiskey into a small glass. He slid the glass across the bar surface. Yuri caught it as it passed in front of him.

"You... drink?" Weiss asked. He nodded. "Not often... but sometimes... it's just better to forget." He smiled, then downed the glass. He slid it back across the counter. "Another?" The man asked. "Please." He said. The man filled it again, then another glass, then a third, then a fourth. He placed them all in front of Yuri, who quickly went to work on each of them. After what seemed like no time flat, the glasses were empty. Yuri stacked the glass on top of one another. "That was top-shelf stuff, ow much do I owe you?" He asked. The man shrugged. "I'm not gonna charge someone who's always been there for me." He said.

Yuri frowned, then pulled a black Lien chip out of his bag and tossed it on the bar. "Hey... I thought I said-" "That was there when we arrived." Yuri cut in. The man looked down at the chip, then up at Yuri. "You're one stubborn fuck... seems like I keep forgetting that about you. Get outta here, before I run you out myself." He said. Yuri grabbed Weiss by the hand and lead her out the door.

"Where to next... oh that's right!" Yuri said rather happily. He tugged her down the street with him for another hour before turning into another store. A loud chime rang as he opened the door, and they stepped inside. An elderly tiger Faunus woman, who looked to be about ninety, was sitting behind a small counter. The rest of the store was covered in various items of clothing. The woman held her gaze on Weiss, then shifted her eyes to Yuri. "Oh... Kallen... it's been a while. How can I help you?" She asked quietly. Yuri gave a slight bow, then motioned towards a staircase in the back. "Your granddaughter upstairs?" He asked.

The woman turned to the staircase. "Kaliya! Yuri's here!" She shouted. Stomp! Bump, bump, bump, bump! A young girl leapt down the stairs grinning. Her eyes locked on Yuri's and her gaze never faltered. "Got work for me?" She said. Yuri nodded, removing his cloak and his bags. Her eyes plastered to his wounds, she grimaced. "Those don't look to good... you gonna be okay?" She asked. He laughed. "I think you've seen me in worse states." He said. She shrugged. "True enough, so what have you got for me?" She asked. He handed her his cloak, then placed his bags on the counter. "I'd like you to fix up my cloak." He said.

She darted over to the counter and snatched the cloak up. "Ahhh, you ass! You ruined my handiwork again!" She quipped. He shrugged. "Well, if I didn't appreciate it, I wouldn't come back here, would I?" He said. She nodded. "Anything else?" She asked. He pointed to the bags. "Those are getting pretty old... I want three new ones." He said. "Larger, or the same?" She asked. "Just a bit larger, please." He said. She nodded, picking the items up and dashing upstairs.

Weiss looked to Yuri, who was starting to seem a bit more lethargic. His black shirt had been stained even darker due to his blood's consistent pouring into the fabric. "You sure you're going to be alright?" She asked. She didn't know him well, but then again she didn't know anyone in Team RWBY well until recently, and she was, truly, rather concerned. He seemed to consider her question for a moment, as though he were unsure of the actual truth. He turned to her, then gave a weak smile. "I... I'll be fine."

They sat there in silence for what seemed to be at least two hours, before Kaliya returned with Yuri's things, along with an addition. "I know you wear a mask with this cloak, but it only covers your eyes, so I added a small lower face cover that you can pull over your nose." She said. She tossed him three new bags, each now black rather than the dark brown they were previously. "These bags are made of Ursa leather, so try to take care of them." She said. He fished through one of the bags, pulling out a few Lien chips, tossing them to her. She looked down, then counted them out.

"This is too much... even with the Ursa leather, the total would only be forty thousand Lien." She said. "Shut up, I'm leaving." Yuri said. He grabbed Weiss' hand again the lead her out of the store. "Hey! You stubborn shit!" The girl shouted after them. "How much did you give them?" Weiss asked. "Umm... a couple hundred thousand I think." He said lazily. She looked at him for a moment. His face was pale, or, paler than before. "Hey... you don't so good... you should sit down." She said. "I... told you... I'm-" His legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the pavement.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Yuri... Is he going to be alright? I'll get the Headmaster... and Professor Goodwitch. Those wounds look really bad. Yuri's eyes opened, the dark, quiet space of the dorm his welcome. He felt his chest, the wounds giving a sharp bite pain in response. He stood up, then took off his cloak. He opened his bag of belongings then pulled out his mask. He dug a bit deeper, then found what he was searching for, a small silver ball. He moved over to the other bag and pulled out the revolver from earlier that day. He walked over to the window and placed his mask face down on the dresser. He placed the ball in the nose depression, then opened the window. He threw himself out of the window, and into the darkness below.

Ruby opened the door, then made a noise of surprise. "Yuri's gone!" She said. "What!" Came Yang and Weiss' response. Blake walked in calmly after they rushed into the room. The three girls scrambled as they searched for the missing young man. Blake walked over to the window, her eyes locked firmly on the mask. She noticed the ball in the nose, and picked it up. Open window... She sniffed the small ball. It has his scent. She sniffed the air. He went out the window... again. "I'll be back in a bit. Stay here and contact me if he gets back before I do." She said. The girls nodded, and Blake sprinted out the dorm door. I know where he is.

She stepped through the forest, Yuri's scent on her nose confirming her belief. As she walked closer she could see Yuri in the clearing with the grave stones. She could see him fumbling his fingers along the revolver. He looked down the sights, then pulled back the hammer. He pressed the barrel to the side of his head, then, pulled the trigger.

Click.

That was it... no gunshot... nothing. Blake could feel her hands shaking... despite not knowing why. Yuri turned around, focusing his eyes on her. "You're here." He said. The revolver slipped out of his grip. She stepped closer to him slowly, her eyes locked with his. "You... tried to kill yourself?" She asked. He smiled weakly, then turned away. "When I was with them... we only wanted one thing... for everyone to love each other, so that there could be peace." He said.

He turned to her. "I killed those men today, I don't know what happened, I just forgot everything... I drifted away from the morals we lived by... that scared me." He said. Tears began streaming down his cheeks, his body shuddering violently. "It made me remember how hard it's been to live without them... they were my family." He sobbed, dropping to his knees. Blake felt her heart throb with sadness from the sight of his tears. Her mind scrambled for an appropriate response. She knelt down beside him.

"You... told that girl... that she should love everyone, despite the way the world treated her, right?" She asked. He sucked in a breath, his face red from crying so heavily. He nodded, rubbing his eyes to clear the tears. "Don't you need to keep spreading that message... so that the world can eventually change, and the Humans and Faunus... can just be people?" She asked. "I appreciate the love you show the Faunus, and I agree with the message you're trying to propagate." She continued. "If... you need... someone to stand beside you and help you... so you don't have to feel lonely... I will." She finished.

He looked at her for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Wow... I can't believe that you're so willing to help someone you hardly know." He said. She shrugged. "Alright." He whispered. "You sold me... I guess it's just not my time to go yet." He said with a sigh. He turned to her, then grabbed her by her elbows, lifting her up as he stood. He stayed still for a moment, then cupped her chin in his hand. He tilted her face up to his, and, to her surprise, pressed his lips to hers.

He pulled away after as quickly as he had initiated. Smiling happily. "Thanks." He turned away, beginning to walk deeper into the forest. "You know... there's a warm lake back there." He said, pointing immediately behind the gravestones. "It's really amazing at killing stress, you should try it some time." He said, before disappearing behind the thick trees. Blake, still trying to process the event that had just occurred, pressed her fingers to her lips. Did I... enjoy that? She smiled, then turned back towards Beacon.

It doesn't matter... at least he's okay.