A/N: Sorry I'm a little late guys, this chapter took more to write than I thought it would.
So here is the chapter with how Rose and Pyrrha react to the match. I added Pyrrha on the suggestion of a buddy of mine. I rather enjoyed writing Pyrrha's reaction.
I added one last scene to help push plot, But I don't want to spoil it here.
I don't own RWBY or RoosterTeeth.
Guilty Rose Chapter 14
"What happened back there, Rose?"
Yang's question finally broke the silence of the infirmary.
The doctor on call had already been dealing with three third years that were in critical condition after their mission went wrong. Thus, Rose's hand's and arms had been bandaged to stop the bleeding. Of course Rose offered to stitch up her wounds herself, stating that she has stitched herself many times before. This offer was met with a resounding 'no' from everyone else there.
The silence resumed after the question though. Rose couldn't even look her in the eye after Yang stopped her from stitching up her wounds with that look.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!"
Rose winced at Yang's sudden shout. There was no need given the blonde was at her bedside other than to prove how upset she was.
No one was happy about the fact that Rose got her so badly during a simple sparring match, but Yang was especially upset. Weiss put a hand on the blonde's shoulder to try to calm her.
Blake stood back this whole time stewing in mixed feelings.
"I don't want to talk about it Yang."
This was not the answer Yang was expecting nor wanted. Rose had been honest and forthwith about everything except when she first asked about Cinder. It both concerned and infuriated the blonde that her sister was trying not to answer her question. This made her desperate for answers. Desperate enough to play a card more likely to backfire than actually work.
"Ruby."
The name rang in Rose's ears, it was foreign but familiar.
"Yang, I told you-"
Rose was cut off when Yang dropped to her knees and put a gentle hand on her thigh. Lavender eyes looked up into silver with so much feeling that the faunus could only fall silent.
"Ruby, please. I haven't had the chance to be your big sister for the last twelve years when you've needed me the most. So let me be a big sister now. Tell me what happened back there."
Rose met the gaze and began chewing on her lip. She remembered Amber and Glynda's first reaction to this part of her. She didn't want to see Yang's.
But she had nowhere to go now, and no way to avoid answering.
"I don't use aura to protect myself."
The sentence hung in the air for a moment. Yang's face contorted slightly, not knowing which emotion she felt.
"You don't use your aura to protect yourself. Why would you possibly do that?"
Rose swallowed the lump in her throat. Once again, she knew she had to tell them.
"Do you remember when I told you that the Oni Tribe's training would beat me more than train me in the beginning?"
That question left a pregnant silence while Rose took breath. No one liked where this conversation was heading.
"I found out that they had a rule regarding training new members for the most part. 'You can beat until the first sign of injury, then you stop and find a different way to motivate them.'"
The tension in the air was officially ready to snap, but Rose had to press on.
"It wasn't a big deal before I unlocked my aura...but when I did..."
Rose began trembling at the memories of the days before she learned how to not defend herself.
Aura may protect one from being physically wounded in most cases, but you still felt pain.
When the memories finally got to much, she hugged herself and a brief sob escaped her lips.
"I figured out how to force all of my aura back into my body so that it wouldn't protect me anymore. I let them hurt me so that they had to stop… It worked well in the beginning."
Rose could feel the tension in the air getting worse, but decided to push on.
"When they found out I did this...they got angry...but they didn't do anything too harsh, at first."
Rose paused to take a breath, this was one of the memories she really wish she could forget but was burned into her. Literally in this case as she gingerly touched a scar on her lower back. A phantom burning pain began emanating from it, making her physically cringe.
"No, what they what they finally decided to do was change the rules of sparring on me. They were to keep fighting until first blood or until the opponent could no longer fight. Then they became 'until the Akuma or Hannya said stop'. That first fight with those rules...they made me keep beating my opponent until he was nearly dead...Hannya would whipped me every time I hesitated in a spar already...when they added that rule though, it was the first time she added her semblance...and fire dust."
The phantom pain became searing for a moment then it suddenly vanished. It vanished because Yang wrapped the faunus up in a hug that she couldn't escape if she wanted to, so didn't struggle at all.
The room stayed silent for a while as everyone seemed to be dealing with the newest revelation about Rose's past. One slighty better than the rest, solely because she knew the entire bandit tribe had been dealt with by a sadistic psychopath.
It was a while later that the doctor came in to check on Rose. She said that the wounds were already healing spectacularly from Rose's aura and stitches were no longer needed. She said this was more than likely due to the faunus' semblance, a fact Rose confirmed. The doctor also said there would be scars, but Rose didn't mind.
….
Pyrrha couldn't stop shaking. It had been hours since the fight and she only just stopped crying.
The match, it replayed in her head again with full detail. The spartan cringed trying to hold back the tears.
Pyrrha had fought in more fights than she could remember, entered and won dozens of tournaments. But never she had been in a fight like that. A fight that bloody and brutal.
"So much blood."
It was like the gladiator fights of old Mistral. Fights that ended with fewer combatants coming out than going in.
And that fact terrified her.
She like, so many others, idealized the lives of huntsmen and huntress to fight to protect those that couldn't protect themselves from monsters. Pyrrha was now realizing the true reason for combat class. Monsters weren't only in the form of grimm.
The spartan shook harder at the thought.
Jaune, Ren, and Nora stood there, unable to do anything but watch their friend and teammate suffer. Every time they tried to comfort her, or otherwise get her attention, Pyrrha wouldn't respond. It was too heartbreaking to bear.
It was nearly time for lights out when the trio heard several footsteps and voices coming from outside their door. they'd known the voices long enough to immediately recognize them as belonging to team RWBY. It only took a split second for the trio to silently come up with a plan to help Pyrrha.
The three left the dorm quietly and were greeted with the sight of a full team RWBY.
"Ruby! You're okay! You are okay, right?"
The faunus obviously was not prepared for the sudden hug, spin, and question that Nora assaulted her with.
"I'm fine Nora. Look, I didn't even need stitches."
"Really?"
"Yeah, apparently she can use her semblance to speed up her healing."
"That's certainly a relief, but are you really okay?"
Ren's voice made it clear, he wasn't asking about her physical wounds. Rose couldn't help but give him a small smile.
"I'm fine."
Ren reluctantly nodded to Rose's response just before Jaune finally spoke up.
"If you are fine, then we could really use your help. Pyrrha hasn't calmed down much since the match and she won't even acknowledge us when we try to talk to her. Could you show her your okay?"
Rose didn't know how to feel about the request. She was more than happy being asked for her help, but it was upsetting that she was the cause of Pyrrha's distress in the first place.
"Sure Jaune...Um, you guys hold back though and let me talk to her alone."
The six other teens more than a little confused and concerned at this, but none of them said anything.
Rose entered team JNPR's dorm to find Pyrrha curled up in the fetal position on her bed. Even Rose could tell this girl was a complete mess.
"Pyrrha?"
Rose sighed when the girl didn't react. She walked over and sat down next to the spartan. The bed dipping seemed to get the girl's attention enough that she glanced up and took notice of her visitor.
"Rose?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"You're okay?"
Rose showed Pyrrha her bandaged wounds with a small smile.
"I've had much worse, so these were nothing to heal."
"That's...good."
Rose gave her a questioning look.
"I mean, it really is a relief that you're okay, it is. I'm just dealing with some heavy thoughts."
"I'm not good at talking with people, but I can listen if you'd like."
Pyrrha mulled the offer over and figured it couldn't hurt.
"I just...realized why we learn how to fight other people here at Beacon."
Rose couldn't help but smile a small sad smile at this. She had this very same dilemma, though for an entirely different reason.
"You know, I realized the same thing a while back...I wasn't very happy about it either."
Pyrrha let loose a mix between a scoff and a laugh.
"Yeah, my feelings exactly. I joined to save people because...let's just say I'm tired of hurting people."
It was Pyrrha's turn to give a questioning look. A look which Rose waved off.
"I asked Glynda, I mean Professor Goodwitch about it. She told me something that at least smoothed my nerves over. She told me 'yes, inevitably all huntsmen and huntresses will have to fight, injure, and even kill other humans and faunus. You will still be saving lives, because an unfortunate fact about our world is that not all monsters are grimm'."
Pyrrha soaked in the advice for a moment, then looked back at the faunus.
"Did that really make you feel any better?"
"No. Not really."
"Then how are you dealing with it so well?"
Rose took a long pause before answering.
"I'm really not...I just try not to think about it."
Pyrrha didn't look to pleased about the response. But after a moment of thinking about it, she couldn't fault the girl. This wasn't an easy thing to deal with by any means.
"How about we make a deal. First one to figure out how to deal with this shares with the other."
Rose got up and smiled softly at the other girl.
"Deal."
….
It had been a few weeks since Raven moved in to the apartment with Summer. It was an interesting transition to say the least. Almost as bad as adjusting to the team dorms during her first year at Beacon.
"Ugh, I'm so glad Yang doesn't have any boys on her team."
Summer was walking through the city of Vale after buying groceries. Thank Oum for home delivery of groceries. Summer couldn't imagine carrying all that food.
"I forgot just how much it takes to feed two people. Especially when one has Branwen DNA."
The woman pinched the side of her stomach dejectedly.
"I'm gonna have to ask just how Raven and Yang keep their figures with all the food they eat."
The wolf faunus adjusted her cloak out of nervous habit. While doing this, she accidentally hit one of buttons hidden under her pendant. Immediately the cloak turned crimson.
Summer let out a long ragged sigh. She forgot she still had this setting to her cloak.
A small smile developed on her face as she played with her cloak, remembering how Ruby used to fawn over it.
"She was so happy when she got a cloak of her own, just this color if I remember. I really should have explained what this cloak actually was."
Summer pressed another button that cycled the cloak back to white after several camouflage settings. This was quite the expensive piece of hardware. It was a specialized dust fabric that could change to nearly any color scheme or pattern after being programmed.
"Yeah, it would have been hard for Ruby to be a huntress if she just wore a normal bright red cloak. Can't even imagine the kind of outfit she'd pair it with."
She shuddered when the thought of Ruby wearing some kind of goth girl outfit.
"When I find her I'm going to get her a proper camo-cloak."
Summer nodded to herself and resumed walking down the sidewalk towards her home. She decided to look around to help pass time when she noticed a cloaked figure. And after noticing the figure, she then saw a certain alabaster haired girl walking and talking with the cloaked figure.
"Huh, cloaks really aren't as inconspicuous as they used to be. Maybe I should actually make sure Ruby doesn't wear cloaks at all when I find her."
Suddenly she realized this cloaked figure might actually be team RWBY's ever elusive leader. A mischievous grin developed on her face. Finally, she set eyes on her prey, and nothing would take her from the hunt.
Right as she thought that, Summer noticed a ram faunus glaring at the cloaked girl and holding a scroll to his ear.
"Sir, I found her. Yes, a wolf faunus matching your description, and she's with a Schnee no less… What? The Schnee doesn't matter… Fine I'll just get the little traitor."
"I just had to open my mouth."
Summer glanced between her original quarry and the faunus several times before settling on what she'd do.
Reaching for the small of her back, her hands found the compact form of Silent Blossom. Despite it being broad daylight, Summer crept up behind the faunus who was now following Rose. The huntress hit the release on her weapon and it split into two. The sleek black weapons were almost unnoticeable with how she wielded them. And with one swift motion her right weapon in kama form was athe faunus' neck while the left in knife form was pressed against his back.
"You seem to have some unsavory plans for those two girls, and I really don't appreciate that. So, how about you tell me everything and I decide whether you go to the police station or morgue."
The man swallowed thickly, he was ready to die for his cause, but this woman's voice wasn't just promising death.
While he was hesitating, Summer pressed the knife into his back harder.
"Okay! I'll talk!"
"Good."
"I'm a member of the White Fang here in Vale. We've been ordered by our superior to take that girl in the cloak in as a traitor to hour kind."
"And what makes that girl so special?"
The man looked at her like she was crazy, as if she didn't know who she was defending.
"That girl is the Guilty Rose."
Summer went slack when she heard that. Enough that the man could shove her and escape. She didn't go after him though, she didn't even think about pursuing him.
At that moment all she could think about was that her oldest daughter was on the same team as a killer. And that Yang not only didn't tell her, but actively hid the truth from her.
"Wait, Ozpin had to know about this girl...and he didN'T TELL ME!"
After plotting how she was going to make her former headmaster eat his favorite mug, she remembered she was only threatening air with her weapons. The faunus sheepishly put them away before people started staring.
When Summer checked to see if her daughter's teammates were still, she found that they had already moved out of sight.
The faunus then debated on what to do about the situation. She wanted to track down Rose and at minimum make sure the girl was no threat to Yang. Then she felt like she should call Yang and have a nice long talk about everything. She also wanted to carry out her plan to make Ozpin answer for letting a killer in to Beacon, after which she would make him eat his coffee mug, maybe she could get Glynda to help with that.
The woman groaned and rubbed her temples to relieve her developing headache.
"Yeah, I'm going to go home, take a nap with Rae, and then decide what to do."
Summer took a few steps further before stopping. She couldn't help but feel like at passing some kind of warning on to the two girls, they were still Yang's teammates.
The woman retrieved her scroll from her pocket, pulled up her daughter's contact, and tapped the text message icon.
Yang, tell you're teammates that they need to head back to Beacon NOW. Apparently, the White Fang in Vale are really interested in your team's leader.
And that's another thing we need to talk about!
I'll call you tonight around 9. Be ready to tell me everything.
A/N: And cliffhanger, again. Sorry guys, this one wasn't intended but I thought it would be a good place to end the chapter.
Now for a bit of discussion!
I'll answer any questions you guys have as far as the reaction to the spar goes either through PM or I'll add it to next chapter's A/N if I feel it's important enough.
Now for Summer's part in this chapter. I apologize for nothing. The scene took a different turn than I originally intended, but I like the result.
Before you ask, yes, I enjoyed writing Summer talking about what she'd do when she finally found Ruby while staring at her daughter's back.
Which reminds me, Summer's gear.
I gave Summer's cloak an actual purpose that fits her skill set. Because let's face it, the only place on Remnant where a pure white cloak is a good idea is Atlas. So, as I described in the chapter, her cloak can change colors and patterns but they need to be added as 'modes'. And yes, giving her a crimson cloak mode was also fun, as well as the following inner dialogue.
Now for her weapon. Silent Blossom is a sleek black compound bow and it breaks down into two weapons that switch between kamas and knives.
Yes, I went there, and yes, it was worth it.
So as you guys can probably guess this is what inspired Rose to make Guilty Rose the weapon she did.
Final bit of discussion, Yes, Yang will freak out next chapter but that's all I'm saying!
I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
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