Ch. 8

Velvet stood in silent shock in one of the school's gardens. One minute she was picking flowers with Yatsuhashi, now she was looking at what looked like her missing older sister, Remora. She was completely frozen, speechless, and unable to comprehend the existence of the girl that stood before her.

"Hello Velvet," Remora managed to utter before she was pulled into a very tight hug by her younger sister, which she returned.

Velvet buried her face into Remora's chest, with no intention of letting go. She looked up at Remora, tears in her eyes.

"Remora! It's really you!" Velvet cried. "I had been wishing for your return for so long."

"So have I sister," Remora replied, also teary eyed.

"What happened to you? Why did you and Klyde disappear?" Velvet asked.

"It wasn't their fault Vel. They were captured by the White Fang," Jurano said.

Velvet gasped. "But couldn't you have escaped?" she asked them.

Klyde shook his head. "They threatened to hurt you and your parents. This turned out to be a bluff, but they would've had us killed if we did," he told her.

Velvet hugged her sister again, this time pulling Klyde into the fray. She continued to silently cry. Klyde just wrapped his arms around both sisters.

He sighed. "At least we're all together now."

The rest of team CFVY along with RWBY and KAJE happily smiled as they witnessed the family reunion. Yang grabbed Ruby in a bear hug, thinking of how bad she would feel if she were separated from her sister.

"Yang! Too tight! Too tight!" Ruby gasped.

Yang immediately let go of her. "Whoops, sorry Rubes," she apologized.

After several minutes of embracing, Velvet broke off from Klyde and Remora.

"But wait, if you would've been killed if you left, how did you get here?" Velvet asked them.

"Your friends Abaddon and Yang helped us. They freed us from the White Fang, then brought us here to ask the headmaster for a dorm to keep us safe," Klyde answered.

Velvet gazed in Yang's direction, who was giving Velvet a thumbs up. And as if on cue, Abaddon walked into the garden, carrying a large bone in his mouth. He had dropped off Weiss' textbook in front of the RWBY dorm and visited the CFVY dorm. When he found it vacant, he merely guessed that they would be in the school garden and decided to stop by the cafeteria to grab a steak on the way there.

"Hmmm, I wonder if he'll play fetch," Yang wondered aloud, which caused the others to laugh.

"Alright, how much did I miss?" Abaddon asked.

Velvet ran over to Yang first and gave her a hug, who returned it in kind. Then Velvet went over to Abaddon and hugged him as well. This caused him to almost drop his bone.

"Whoa, you almost made me drop my snack. You don't find a bone like this every day," he chuckled and returned Velvet's hug.

"Hey, now that your family's here, why don't you spend the rest of the day with them?" Abaddon suggested.

"I intend to," Velvet answered.

She walked over to Remora and grabbed her sister's arm, telling her that they were going to the city to catch up on lost time. Remora agreed and grabbed Klyde's hand as Velvet led them to the docks.

"Well, it's about time for my nap," Abaddon said as he headed inside.

"Same here," Jurano added.

Although, as he was about to head in, Velvet grabbed his hand and started pulling him towards the docks as well.

"Come on Jurano. I want you to come with us," she pleaded.

"Crap, I was just about to take a good ass nap. What do ya need me for?" Jurano asked as she continued to drag him.

"I don't wanna be the third wheel," Velvet giggled.

As everyone watched Velvet pull Jurano away, Coco strolled up next to Abaddon.

"Good job kid," she said as she smacked him on the ass.

This attracted Kathleen's attention, who immediately gave Coco a dirty look as she and the others walked inside.

"You know what this means?" she asked Abaddon once the rest of her team was out of earshot.

"What? That Jurano's gonna get less than what he bargained for?" Abaddon smiled.

"Maybe, but it also means that Yatsu has some competition," Coco said before going inside.

"Hmmm, never thought Yatsuhashi could be the jealous type," Abaddon thought. But he decided to shrug it off go inside.

Jurano spent the next two weeks with Velvet, Remora, and Klyde. After class, Emma was usually with Ruby, Kathleen would study, and Abaddon usually spent his time sleeping. It was on the next Monday evening, while team KAJE was in their dorm, that Jurano told them something surprising.

"She kissed you?!" Emma screamed.

"Yeah," Jurano said smiling, "she did it a few days ago."

"Miracles do happen," Kathleen joked as she picked at Abaddon's hair.

He was sitting on the floor, laying fast asleep against her legs.

"Shut up Kathleen. At least I'm not the one hiding my feelings," Jurano replied.

Kathleen turned away, her face blushing deep red. "What do you mean? I'm not hiding anything."

"Kathleen, we've known for years that you're in love with Abby," Emma interrupted. "Both of you are attracted to strong people. Also, when he left six years ago, you became a ghost. It wasn't until he returned that you really came back to your senses, but don't worry, he doesn't know about that. He doesn't even know how you feel, Abby's always been clueless when it comes to stuff like that," she explained.

"You should probably tell him sooner or later," Jurano added.

"I know. I'm just trying not to show obvious signs until I'm ready," Kathleen explained, then looked back at Jurano. "But let's go back to you and Velvet."

"Yeah, does this mean she's your lucky rabbit now?" Emma asked in excitement.

"Well, we were already kinda close. This just brought us closer. The reason she kissed me was because I punched the shit out of this dumbass named Russel. He was tugging on her ears to see if they were actually real," Jurano explained.

"Oh, a member of team CRDN. I've seen them in action before, bunch of idiots," Kathleen fumed.

"One of them tried to pull on my ears," Emma added.

"Those ears belong to me and me only." Abaddon had woken up from his sleep. Although, he didn't move from his positon as Kathleen's playing with his hair relaxed him.

"And who do 'these' ears belong to?" Kathleen asked, pulling on his wolf ears.

"Aah! Ok Kat, they're yours! They're yours! Damn!" Abaddon screamed.

Kathleen let go of his ears and stood up, stepping away from her bed.

"Well, I'm going to the gym. Anyone coming?" she asked.

"Nope," Jurano, "I have a study 'date' with Vel. Plus, I don't wanna get my ass kicked by you over and over again. Later guys."

Jurano walked out of the dorm and down the hallway.

"Uhh, I wish I could," Emma lied, "but I was gonna make some cookies with Ruby. Sooooo, bye." Emma quickly gave her brother a hug before running out the door.

Kathleen smiled at Abaddon, the last occupant besides her.

Abaddon stood up. "Well, it's just you and me Kat."

Abaddon put on his gauntlets while Kathleen sheathed her rifle swords on her back.

"I bet I can get at least five hits on you this time," he said with smirk.

"Pff, we'll see. Or you'll just get your ass handed to you," she replied.

They left their dorm, closing the door behind them and walked through campus. After a long stroll, they came up to a set of grey double doors. Abaddon opened the door for Kathleen, then went in himself. The inside of the gym was a massive domed circular area with white walls and two sets of grey bleachers facing each other, one on the left and the other on the right. The walls were decorated with flags that held the Vale insignia. In the middle of the gym was a flat octagonal combat area for training and a giant screen above each of the bleachers that displayed the combatant's aura levels. There were also three other open doorways connected to the gym: one for weapon storage and lockers, one containing a weight room, and the last had vending machines.

There was a match already occurring in the arena. Jaune was up against Cardin. And Kathleen could tell that they were nearing the end of the bout as Jaune was running low on aura.

Jaune looked up at one of the screens. His aura level was in the orange, another hit would send him into the red and he'd lose.

"Alright, I can do this," he said to himself, getting into his battle stance.

Cardin took his stance, his mace at the ready. Jaune charged him with his right sword hand held back and shield in front. Cardin dodged to the right, which was a mistake. Jaune faked his sword swing to get Cardin's attention, then hit him with a hard shield bash. Cardin was temporarily stunned, and that hit took down a good chunk of his aura.

"Great, let's see if I can keep this up," Jaune thought.

He held his shield up again and charged, but Cardin was ready. When Jaune tried to fake his attack once more, Cardin swung his mace and knocked Jaune's sword away. He then hit Jaune in his exposed side with his mace, knocking the blonde to the floor and sending his aura into the red. Jaune slowly got up off the floor and on his feet.

"Better luck next time Jauney boy," Cardin said as he walked over to the bleachers on the right side of the room where his team was.

Jaune collapsed his shield into it's sheathe form. He then went to pick up his sword and placed it into the sheathe on his hip. He turned to his teammates, who had strolled off the left bleachers and towards the arena to check on him.

"Sorry guys. I don't know if I'm cut out for this," he told them.

"Jaune, don't put yourself down like that," Pyrrha said as she placed a caring hand on his shoulder.

"She's right. Just a little more practice and you'll do fine," assured Ren.

"And maybe you'll even break his legs," Nora added loudly.

"Uhm, Nora. I don't think I wanna go that far," Jaune replied.

"Then can I do it for you?" said a familiar voice from his left.

Jaune turned to see Kathleen and Abaddon walking towards them.

"Hey guys," greeted Jaune.

"Hi!" Nora said while Ren only smiled and waved.

"Abaddon, Kathleen, how are you?" greeted Pyrrha.

"We're doing fine, thanks for asking," Kathleen replied with smile. "We came to train like we usually do."

"I heard several students were frightened by you two," Ren mused.

"Yeah, they tried to pick a fight with us and lost. Badly," Abaddon replied.

"Abaddon, you ready?" Kathleen asked.

Abaddon was about to answer, but then he looked at JNPR with an interested look on his face.

"Hold on Kat, I think I'll spar with one of team JNPR first, specifically Nora. I wanna see what that hammer of hers is made of," he said.

Nora jumped in excitement as she grab Magnhild and shifted it into its hammer form. Abaddon checked his shield gauntlets as he and Nora headed to the arena. Kathleen and the rest of team JNPR sat together on the bleachers to watch. Even team CRDN, who hadn't left the building, was paying attention. As the combatants entered the arena, the screens on the walls turned on to display Nora and Abaddon's faces along with their aura levels.

"If I use my swords she'll surely break them. Looks like my fists and shields are the best options here," he thought.

Nora and Abaddon assumed their battle positons. They waited for either one to strike. After a few seconds, Nora made the first move. She charged at him, swinging her hammer in an overhead arc. Abaddon rolled out of the way seconds before her hammer hit the ground. Abaddon regained his footing and charged at Nora. He managed to shield bash her left side, causing her to skid back a few feet. She swung her hammer from her left. Abaddon blocked the strike with his right shield gauntlet, but then Nora let loose one of her grenades. The explosive impact sent Abaddon flying to the other edge of the arena.

"Holy shit, she's got grenades in that thing?!" screamed Russel.

Abaddon stood back on his feet just in time to see Nora coming in with another crushing blow. He sidestepped the strike, then dashed and punched Nora in the stomach. She was thrown back from the blow, but quickly recovered. She began firing a few grenades. Abaddon dodged each one as he sprinted towards Nora. He jumped up and was ready to deliver a kick to Nora's head, but she was fast with her hammer. She swung Magnhild upwards, hitting Abaddon and sending him upwards towards the ceiling. Abaddon had reduced some of the damage by crossing his arms at the last second. He almost hit the high ceiling before he stopped and started going back down. As he was falling, Abaddon angled himself so he'd land on his feet. Nora stepped back as he landed on all fours with a loud boom. Abaddon stood back up, unfazed and smiling.

"Your hammer packs one hell of a punch," he said as he dusted himself off. "Shall we continue?"

Nora only smirked as she charged at Abaddon once again. They each continued to dodge and exchange blows, but Nora's strikes seemed to have a decreased effect on Abaddon. In the last few seconds of the fight, Abaddon dashed forward as Nora swung down with her hammer, but he went in too fast for her and hit Nora with a hard punch to the gut. Nora was sent flying as her aura dived into the red. She landed on her back, her hammer by her side. Abaddon went over and helped Nora to her feet. He picked up her hammer and handed to her.

"Thanks for the match Nora. That was fun, don'tchya think?" he asked her.

Nora replied by lowering her hammer and letting the tip lightly touch his forehead, "Boop."

"I'll take that as a yes," Abaddon laughed.

Abaddon and Nora joined their friends on the bleachers. Nora had collapsed Magnhild back into its launcher form and placed it on her back. She sat next to Ren while Abaddon stood near Kathleen.

"That was a great match guys," Pyrrha said.

"How'd I do Ren?" Nora asked him.

"You never cease to amaze me Nora," he replied, earning a bear hug from his energetic partner.

"You held back didn't you?" Kathleen asked Abaddon.

"Well, you're one of the only people that can make me go all out in the ring Kat," he replied, scratching the back of his head.

"Hey Abaddon, I'm curious about your semblance," Pyrrha said.

"Yeah, you shrugged off Nora's blows like they were nothing," Jaune added. "You even managed to catch Nora's hammer in your bare hand at one point!"

"Uhh, my semblance is a bit complicated. My parents call it 'Restless Guardian.' It allows me to have nearly unlimited stamina as long as I have aura, hence the restless part. And also my durability grows over time, to the point that I can't be cut by swords, penetrated by bullets, or hurt by attacks from Nora's hammer. As my defense increased, Nora's attacks became less effective, but she still brought me down to about half my aura," Abaddon explained.

"So are you bulletproof right now?" Jaune asked.

Nora started poking Abaddon's chest for good measure.

"Sadly no," Kathleen answered. "His semblance only activates in battle. We don't know the limit, as in how durable he can become, but I know that once a battle ends all that 'armor' goes away. He has to recollect his durability again in the next fight. He's considerably strong as well but that doesn't stop me from beating him every time."

"Yeah, I would say that Kathleen's the strongest fighter on my team. She's absolutely amazing," Abaddon added.

"Oh shush you," Kathleen said blushing.

"Hey, it's my opinion. Maybe you should spar with Pyrrha, I've heard she's plenty strong," Abaddon said.

"Sure. What do you say Pyrrha?" Kathleen asked.

"I don't mind. I'd actually be delighted to see what you can do," Pyrrha replied.

"Be careful out there Pyrrha," Jaune said.

Kathleen and Pyrrha both walked to the arena and faced each other on opposite sides. Pyrrha brought out her short sword, Milo, and her shield, Akouo. Kathleen unsheathed her twin rifle swords, Mortuus Concordiae. The screens above now showed their pictures and aura levels.

Nora stood with his hands raised. "Let the battle begin!"

"Damn, my body hurts," Abaddon whined as he lay on his bed.

He ate another of the cookies that Emma and Ruby made and tried to go back to sleep. Half an hour ago, he and Kathleen had just gotten back to their dorm from the gym. After an exciting match, Pyrrha and Kathleen settled at a draw. Then teams JNPR and CRDN left, leaving Abaddon and Kathleen to train by themselves. And as usual Kathleen beat him, five to zero. She always outmatched him, no matter how hard he tried.

"You're the one who asked me not to hold back," Kathleen chuckled.

She sat on his bed next to him as he lay down in his pajamas. She felt bad for hurting him, but he always said that he would beat her someday, somehow. That's one of the things she liked about him: his persistence. He kept going no matter what, forever determined. Kathleen gently stroked Abaddon's head as he fell asleep. She looked around at the others.

Emma was sitting on her bed in her PJs, drawing in her sketch pad. Jurano was also in his PJs: a short sleeve green shirt with red shorts. He was looking up at the ceiling while listening to music from his scroll.

"I guess I'd better go wash up as well," Kathleen said.

She walked into the bathroom and slowly took off her clothes for she started to feel tired as well. She turned on the shower and stepped under the hot water. It was so soothing to her that she had to fight the urge to sleep right there with the shower head raining down on her. After she was done washing up, she dried herself off and put on her under wear along with a blue sleeveless top and purple shorts. She picked up her clothes and deposited them in the hamper near the bathroom door.

She exited the bathroom and was about to go to sleep when there was a knock on the room door. She walked over and opened it to see Cinder with a mild smile on her face.

"Hello, my name's Cinder Fall. I was wondering if Abaddon was here?" she asked.

"He is, but he's already asleep. I don't know if he'll even-," Kathleen stopped mid-sentence when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She turned her head to look at Abaddon, who had overhead them and got out of bed to see what was going on. Although, Kathleen could tell that he really wanted to go back to sleep. Abaddon pulled Kathleen behind him as he faced Cinder.

"Hey Cinder. What do you need?" Abaddon asked.

"Hey, I was wondering if you could come to my dorm and we could talk for a bit. Just some things I wanted to discuss with you," Cinder said as she placed a gentle hand on his cheek. Her touch was warm on his skin.

"Maybe, but I'm too beat right now to do anything. Maybe some other time," he told her.

"Oh, come on. You could just sleep in my bed," she said smoothly, trying to inch closer to him.

Abaddon merely pushed her back a few inches with his finger, knowing that she was trying to manipulate him. He smiled at her attempt.

"Still not working Cin. We'll talk later, for now goodnight. And tell the others I said hello." Abaddon then closed the door on Cinder and went back into his bed.

"Looks like our leader's got a woman on the side," Jurano said. He had seen what was going on, but didn't give any earlier indication that he was listening.

"Haha, shut up dude," Abaddon laughed.

"Who was that?" Kathleen asked confused.

"That was Cinder. She's also an old friend from Marrowshin," he explained as he lay back on his bed. "Jealous?"

"Nope, not in the slightest," Kathleen lied.

To be honest, she didn't like the way that Cinder was touching him. It gave her bad vibes, but she wasn't sure if it was jealousy or her instincts warning her of a potential threat.

"I have more important things to think about, like sleeping," Kathleen retorted.

She went to her bed and slipped under the blankets. She lay on her side and closed her eyes as she tried to go to sleep. Although, there was still something bugging her about Cinder. Abaddon claimed to have seen them around the island, but Kathleen was pretty sure that she knew all of their friends from home. This put much doubt into her mind and she thought, "Why does it feel as though he's hiding something?"