RWBY: Grey Chapter 6
Yuri's muscles yawned and bowed as he stretched them below the warm waters of the pond. He was cautious, doing his best to keep his now closed wounds from reopening. He had sneaked his way back into the dorm room, arduously scaling the huge wall to their window. He grabbed his bag, filtering through it to pull out some light medical supplies, and was out and back into the forest in less then three quarters of a minute.
He had used the cover of night to sterilize and clean his wounds, before ripping the bullets out of his flesh with a rather rusty pair of tweezers. His howls of pain attracted many Beowolf to his area, but they seemed disinterested in him, just the noise. He had sutured the wounds after he had cleaned them again, and for the next two days had spent the majority of the time in the waters of his secret pond. He had felt Blake's presence nearby a few times, likely watching him to make sure he was okay.
The sound of footsteps interrupted his peaceful soak. The gait was familiar, although he had only heard it once, and for a very short period. Despite turning his head to the sound, he kept his eyes closed, absorbing a bit more of the peace, despite the disturbance. "Hello, Ms. Goodwitch." He said curtly. She gave a cough of acknowledgment. "I have been asked to inform you that classes start in two weeks." She said. His eyes opened. He was just a bit annoyed now. "Wouldn't my Scroll have saved you the time?" He asked.
No answer. He turned around. She was gone, he could hear her in the distance, well out of earshot for her. He scowled. Classes, eh? Oh well, I suppose that I have to go. Still, doesn't mean I can't relax for the next few days. He stretched his legs out a little further, shimmying slightly lower, the water now up to his collar bone. Another interruption came forth, but this one made him smile. "Hey, Blake, back again?" He asked. She gasped, and nearly slipped on the muddy ground nearby. He pushed a pulse of Aura towards her, keeping her on balance. She took a few seconds to right herself. "Thanks." She said under her breath. She wasn't sure why, she knew he'd hear her anyway.
His smile made her heart pound. "You're welcome." He said cheerily. He turned to face her, and opened his eyes once more. "What's up?" He asked. She averted her eyes from his, but could still feel her face heat up. "I was... just making sure you're doing alright." She said. She saw him beginning to climb out of the water, and she turned away. He ran a small towel over himself, then pulled his underwear and pants back on. "Decent." He said, and she turned back to him.
She hadn't seen him in any sort of sexual way, at least, not until he had sprang that kiss on her so unexpectedly. Her mind flashed back to that night, and she could feel the blush on her face deepen. "Sorry about the other night, by the way." He said. The other night wasn't a problem, I actually enjoyed it. I didn't even get nervous about it until halfway back to Beacon... now it's hard to even look at him. She waved him off. "It's fine." She said. He shook his head. "No, it isn't, I didn't even ask you before I did that, and that's a problem." He said.
She sighed. Yes, technicality wise it was a problem... but it doesn't change the fact that I don't care at this point. Fuck, right now I want him to do it again. She felt her heart start to pound, and she coughed to clear a bit of her own tension. "Anyway, Weiss said that you should come back either today or tomorrow so the two of you can start to study a bit." She said. He nodded. "Thanks for telling me... tell her I'll be back early tomorrow morning." He said. He smiled at her. "By the way... you don't have to put a lot of thought into the other night... I did that simply because I like you." He said.
She felt her mind melt. I wasn't expecting him to be so forthcoming. I can't very well just tell him how I feel yet... or more like I don't really know how I feel. She coughed again, returning her thoughts to their rightful place. "Well then, I'm off." She said, and turned away. She nearly passed out, sprinting the entirety of the way, her mind dizzied with Yuri's words. It doesn't seem like thinking about him makes me nervous, that's a good sign. It doesn't matter, Blake, he and Yang are all but together now. She closed in on the school, and nearly collided with Sun, who attempted to greet her, but she completely ignored him.
He turned to catch her attention, but he caught a rather soft scent on the wind. A human? Wow... he's pretty deep in the forest too. Maybe it's her new team member? He was now more interested in her rendezvous partner than bothering her, and instead turned his focus to the forest path. He began the tiresome walk along the shadowed forest floor. His eyes spotted a small clearing with a group of large stones, which as he neared, made him feel slightly nauseous. He passed through the clearing, following the scent as it got stronger.
Yuri turned his head, hearing a noise in the distance. I don't recognize those footsteps. He hopped into the branches of a nearby tree, catching himself on one of the thicker branches. A young man walked into the smaller clearing. Yuri pulled out his jitte, then dropped behind him. Yuri wrapped his fingers around the man's forehead, pulling his head back and sliding the blade to the base of his throat. "I don't know you... so give me one reason not to take your head off." He said.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy... I'm from the school. Are you Kallen?" He asked. Yuri pulled the blade away from the man's throat, then pushed him away. "Talk." He said. Sun put his hands up. "Not here to fight, just wondering who you are." He said. Yuri's eyes darted over his body. Faunus. "Monkey... you must be Sun." He said. Sun's eyes lit up. "You know me? I guess you are Yuri." He said. Yuri, now aware that the person who had interrupted was friendly, gave a small bow. "A pleasure." He said.
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Sun snickered at Yuri's exposition of the last bank heist that he had foiled. They had walked towards the town, and were now near the center. "The absolute highlight of that night... had to be... when the idiot who planned it... panicked, and forgot the code to let himself out of the vault." Yuri laughed. Sun howled, patting his hand against his thigh as he did. "Wow, that had to be quite the experience." He said. Yuri nodded. "So... being a vigilante... is that really so... exciting?" He asked. Yuri smiled wryly. "Exciting, heart-wrenching, nerve-racking... those are the words I would use to describe it." He said.
"I had a family of like-minded individuals, we worked, lived, and laughed together... and they were taken from this world... far too early." He said. "Wow... must have hit you hard." He said. "What exactly made you desire to do this kind of thing?" He asked. "Specifically... it was... growing up... the way I did." He said. "I don't follow." Sun said. Yuri gave a sigh. "I grew up... in a larger family... an older sister, two younger ones, and two younger brothers. My mother... is a researcher... she was working with Dust effects on Human and Faunus biology, or something of that nature." He said, before breaking into a soft yawn. Hmm, I'm not tired... I guess I'm just comfortable.
"My father was a researcher as well, creating Dust-based weaponry. We were a tight knit family, and we cared about each other. I had a friend, Faunus, she was a little older than me, but we were rather close, so I never grew up with that conditioned hate towards Faunus, so when we were forced to move to the Menagerie, I was horrified at how they were treated." He said, stopping to catch his breath. "But seeing how people were starting to treat one another, it planted some kind of disgust in me... eventually, my parents decided to move... but me, at the ripe old age of eleven... decided that I was going to stay."
Sun gave him a look of confusion. "You're human... right? Wouldn't it have been safer to stay with your family?" He asked. Yuri nodded, stretching his arms into the air. "Of course... it's a place where the majority of people are Faunus... and Humans aren't exactly beloved by them even now... and it was rough for the first year or so... but eventually, my constant well meaning and the fact that I simply see Faunus as people... helped them to finally trust me as a protector... not long after... I met the rest of ORB." He said. "ORB?" Sun asked.
"ORB... Our Righteous Blood." He said. "Sounds pretty cult-esque, right?" He asked. Sun nodded. "That's kind of... you know... murdery." He laughed. Yuri laughed in turn. "Yep, we went around on full moons sacrificing children to our loving master the Moon God." He said, trying his hardest to keep a straight face, but eventually failing. "Oh... oh... okay, need to catch my breath." He gasped, laughter choking out in between the gasps. They calmed down after a moment, and Yuri began.
"I and Kaia, my childhood friend, met them when they were discussing the best way to take down criminals before they struck. We were just walking by, but I told them that you really can't, especially since they weren't law enforcement. If you try to undermine a group before they've done anything illegal, it becomes assault. So I told them that they needed to stick close to their targets, and learn what they're planning. Once they enact their plans, you can bring them down." I said.
He nodded understandingly. "Yeah, it'd probably be bad if you got sued for assault despite their bad intentions." He said. Yuri shrugged. "Yeah, at the time they weren't really familiar with legal proceedings, but... that was because the three of them were orphans." He said. "Really? How old were you when you all met?" He asked. Yuri thought for a moment. "Well.. I was eleven, and Kaia was thirteen. Umm, Jonah, Mint, and Aria were all fourteen at the time." He said, nodding to himself, affirming his statement.
He did a quick spin around. "What is it?" Sun asked. Yuri put his finger to his lips, asking Sun to give him a moment. Sun quieted down, and Yuri listened to the wind. "Fuck you, you stupid bitch!" Came the shout from about three blocks away. Yuri reeled back. "You hear that?" He asked. Sun nodded, and they began sprinting down the street, nearly hurling themselves into the road as they tried to turn the corner where the sound was located.
A man, Human, was holding a woman by the wrists. At closer inspection, the woman was a Faunus, rat. "Why the fuck are you in our part of the city?" He screamed more than asked. Sun stepped forward, but Yuri pulled him back. "I'll go." He said. He stepped forward, hands tugging on his cloak's strings. "There a problem?" He asked. The man turned to him, then grinned. "Hey man, help me hold this stupid fuck down, I've got something for her." He said.
Yuri took a soft step forward, then planted his fist into the man's stomach. The man's fingers released the woman's wrist, and he began clutching at his stomach, before giving a rather violent dry heave, then collapsed on the ground. "Dude! I thought you couldn't do anything until they did anything!" He said. Yuri turned to the woman, who was now massaging her wrists. "Was he hurting you, Miss?" He asked. She nodded and he turned to Sun. "That guy was hurting her, I just stopped him." He said with a shrug.
"Why did you help me... aren't you Human?" She asked. He nodded. "Yep, but that really shouldn't matter, should it?" He said, giving her a smile. "I helped you because you're a person, that's all." He said. She looked at him for a moment, then bowed gratefully. "I wish more people, Human and Faunus, were like you." She said, turning with a wave. As she walked away Sun strode up to Yuri's side. "Jeez man, you beat that dude down." He said.
Yuri looked at the man slumped on the ground for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose, he had it coming though. Anyone who can attack someone because they don't like them is scum. I attack people to protect others, regardless of my own safety." He said. Sun shook his head. "I think you're crazy. But maybe that's just me." He said. Yuri turned back towards the school. "Come, we should be getting back." He said. He seems to be okay with Humans and being equal, I wonder what his opinion of the White Fang is.
It doesn't matter right now, I've got some studying to catch up on.
