Chapter 2

A/N: So it's been a hot minute. I hope all of you are doing well and keeping your hands clean at this time! Due to demand, here's the next chapter of Lingering Shadows. I was surprised seeing how quickly it rose in popularity among my stories and I'm glad it is. I do hope you'll like this chapter. As always, criticism is welcomed, positive and constructive. Just dealing with online classes which isn't my favorite. But powering through.

Well anyhow, enjoy the chapter.

As always, I don't own RWBY or Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.

Meditation; the practice of achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm state. To center one's self before or after anything. It may be simple as sitting down in a quiet area and simple breathing, but it can do wonders for an individual. And that can be taken up to more complicated levels from simple breathing to constant sutras from monks in their hallowed monasteries.

For Sekiro, it is as simple as breathing, second nature if you will. The constant training he had done back then with his adoptive father, Owl, and instructor, Lady Butterfly, he was taught to meditate, to steel his mind and not be easily distracted during training and would be actual missions. Time and time again, it would serve him well. It would continue to aid him for as long as he was alive, even though he often thought he should've died for his lord.

Though even with getting his mind settled and ready to do a task at hand, it wouldn't prepare him for what laid in store for him. This strange world of Remnant and it's mysterious that it held in store for the Shinobi.

It had been around near a couple weeks ever since his sacrifice to Lord Kuro and waking up in the world of Remnant. It was still bizarre to him, but he learned as best he could to blend in without too much suspicion to his person. Even if he was the lone human amongst the Faunus population.

Sekiro had to count himself lucky as he was given a place to stay by his host, Ghira, who wouldn't take no for an answer, and that he's free to stay for as long as he'd like. The man, or Faunus as he'd come to learn, was just as stubborn as a headstrong Ashina samurai. It truly felt reliving that he had somewhere to stay instead of staying outside fending for himself just as he always had.

Though as welcomed as he was in the Belladonna household, the Faunus that inhabited the island nation of Menagerie weren't as kind to his arrival and stay. Sekiro had learned from the books in the library in Ghira's home that in the history of Remnant, the Faunus were sadly discriminated against with a revolution happening against humanity. It reminded Sekiro of the constant warfare Japan was in, when one samurai clan was wronged, they would declare a feud, and that would escalate into intense combat.

It was a surprise to Ghira that Sekiro admitted with a white lie that the "village" he came from, there was no such form of thinking as everyone worked together and got along. It made Ghira quite astonished that such a form of unity was possible, even if on a small scale level, after all the bad blood spilled between mankind and the Faunus. But when he asked Sekiro if he'd ever return to his village, the Shinobi merely replied that he fled when it was attacked and destroyed by bandits. Ghira dropped the conversation entirely in respect to his guest.

Even with a story such as that, not many trusted Sekiro to which he couldn't blame them for. Normally such things wouldn't bother him considering what he has done. That was back then. Now? It was his second chance at life, to live it how he saw fit. To live by his own code how he saw fit with his morals.

He wanted to repay the same kindness Ghira had given him. What better way than by showing that very kindness to the Faunus of Menagerie even if they didn't appreciate his very presence. After all, the way of the Shinobi was more than stealth and combat, branching further out into survival and psychological warfare.

It was indeed a surprise for many Faunus when they've been seeing Sekiro constantly out for the past week doing tasks and favors for the residents of the town. Why would a human be helping them so much? While some weren't as hostile to Sekiro, it was still confusing for them.

Yet over that same week, Sekiro was slowly winning the hearts and minds of the townsfolk with simple tasks such as carrying heavy items into homes, helping out down at the portside of town with fishermen, even helping out doctors with his knowledge in medicines while of course keeping that to his chest.

Even if it would be a long road for most townsfolk to truly welcome him in, he wouldn't stop.

Though right now, the shinobi in question was outside of the Belladonna household, just to it's side where there was plenty of space for him to practice his swordsmanship, under the light of the shattered moon.. Deep exhales escaped from his mouth as sweat dripped off his chin. Kusabimaru held tightly in his right hand while his left clenched into a fist a few times. Even with his left arm back to it's restored state, he was still acclimated to the trusty Shinobi Prosthetic that had served him without fault on his quest to save his former lord.

"Flesh and bone… Yet I'm still used to the steel and gears of that arm," He mused to himself in some amusement. Yet that didn't stop Sekiro as he slowly got his left hand to hold his katana in both in front of him. He evened out his breathing, steeling his focus forward before slashing downwards. A quiet yet audible whoosh was heard as the blade sliced through the air. He then brought it up diagonally and reset it right in front of him again.

His ears twitched hearing footsteps along the grass causing Sekiro to glance to his side, getting into a battle ready stance. Though he felt ashamed and relaxed his posture when he saw it was the woman of the household. "Oh… Apologies…" He muttered out to the one that approached him. He still wasn't one for much talking, but thanks to Ghira over the past couple weeks, he felt just a little bit more comfortable in conversations that went on.

Beside him was a woman with a warm smile on her face. Just like everyone else in Kuo Kuana, she was a Faunus. It was clear what kind she was with the large black cat ears that adorned her head.

A soft laugh slipped through the cat Faunus' lips as she waved it off. "It's quite alright, Sekiro. I just came out to see if you were alright," She mentioned to him in a friendly tone.

Sekiro sighed in relief, being thankful she wasn't offended. He went on to sheath Kusabimaru, hearing the small click once his katana was locked in. "I… I shouldn't have my blade drawn to you as such… It… It was disrespectful of me, Lady Belladonna," He told her, giving her a curt bow in apology.

"Oh you don't have to be so formal, Sekiro. Kali works just fine," She reminded him with her smile never fading.

Another sigh escaped from Sekiro but he nodded, a small but present smile appearing on his lips. "Sorry… Just a habit…" He replied to her before looking around. "Where is your husband?" Sekiro inquired.

Kali smiled a little more and laughed yet again. "Ghira is currently in a meeting with some of the elders of Kuo Kuana. Just in terms for another protest with for the White Fang."

Sekiro nodded at her as he let that sink in. "Another protest… The White Fang is a stubborn group… But I do acknowledge that same stubbornness… That's the third protest this month from what I've learned…" He thought, having heard from Ghira himself who was the High Leader of the White Fang movement. "I do… I do hope that the efforts will reap its rewards…" He told Kali.

Kali let out a long sigh but she nodded. "All we can do is hope. I just pray none of the others in the White Fang promote for more radical efforts. We can't allow ourselves to stoop so low for all Faunus around Remnant."

Sekiro was about to respond to her before he caught something out of the corner of his eyes. "What the…?" He muttered before widening his eyes seeing a glint from the moonlight. "Kali, get down!" He shouted and lunged for the cat Faunus. He tackled her to the ground, covering her as he heard a thunk right after. Looking up, he saw that there was a knife lodged in a nearby tree.

"You dodge quickly… For a scumbag human," He heard a voice coming from the trees. Sekiro quickly got up and helped Kali to her feet, though shielding her body to protect her, with his left hand now placed on his sheath.

"Show yourself," Sekiro demanded as his tone was of a monotone nature now, eyes peering into the darkness as his vision changed to help see in the dark better.

There was a rustle in the trees before he saw a figure slowly coming out. The figure looked woman like as she approached him. A hood was over her head with a black mask obscuring her face. In her left hand was two small throwing knives while the right held a dagger in hand.

Kali gasped seeing their assailant as she glared at the hooded figure. "Who are you?" She demanded as Sekiro kept acting as her shield with his right arm keeping her back.

The hooded figure scoffed before laughing a little. "No one. Just someone who's tired of the fruitless efforts the White Fang has had for years. And it's sickening that the High Leader has taken a human in."

"We're trying to show that we can live peace. We found him unconscious on the beach!" Kali shouted at her.

"You should've left him there to rot! No human deserves to be shown mercy when we've been given none!" The hooded figure screamed back. "High Leader Ghira doesn't deserve his position!"

Kali was about to shout some more before Sekiro slowly stepped forward as his thumb pressed against the guard of his katana. "Sekiro?" Kali muttered softly before she could sense something. It came from Sekiro.. and intent… on fighting… and to kill. "You can't fight… You don't even have your Aura unlocked yet," She pleaded to him. It was strange to her how a young warrior like him hasn't had it unlocked at all.

Sekiro remained quiet as he kept a calm look on his face while keeping his eyes on their assailant. "It's okay, Kali," He replied to her all calm like as his thumb pushed on the guard, popping Kusabimaru out and placed his right hand on the handle. "Go. Get the guards. I'll take care of this," He said. He then drew out his katana, assuming a battle ready stance with both hands holding his blade.

"But-"

"Go."

Kali was wide eyed at this but something told her that Sekiro would be alright. "Okay… I'll leave this to you," She told him and then run off to get the guards.

The hooded assailant smirked behind her mask as she took a step forward and herself took a stance herself. "How foolish of you, human. Now I know you don't have an Aura to protect you." She gripped her dagger and spun it around before pointing it at him. "Oh I'll enjoy killing you before my blade tastes Ghira's blood," She announced to the Shinobi.

Sekiro didn't flinch at all, keeping his gaze on her as his own grip tightened on Kusabimaru. "You won't kill me… Nor those who've sheltered me." A fire now burned behind his eyes, standing his ground. "Face me," He simply told her without pause nor fear in his voice.

The assailant laughed once more before darting forward to attack. Sekiro saw this and rushed forward himself. She brought her dagger down to strike. He brought Kusabimaru up to intercept. Their blades clashed with some sparks coming off their weapons, both bathed in moonlight.

"Remember, Sekiro, with hesitation…"

"Comes defeat."

Sekiro steeled himself before he surprised his opponent but suddenly rushing forward. He couldn't afford to waste a second now while his assailant was just backing away. This made her widen her eyes from behind her mask seeing he was already on the attack. He raised his katana and swung down on her.

A loud clang filled the air as she narrowly blocked it. "H-He's strong!" She thought being shocked he had such strength even without his Aura unlocked. But the attack wasn't over yet as Sekiro angled his handle towards her face and suddenly bashed it into her mask.

A cry of pain came from her as she managed to back away and held her face. She could feel blood dripping from her nose from that sudden attack. "D-Damn you!" She shouted but gasped as he was on the attack once again. She got a knife into her left hand and threw it at him, hoping it'll find it's mark.

To her dismay, it didn't as Sekiro quickly reacted and deflected the incoming knife with ease and closing in the distance at a quick pace. Nothing fancy or flashy, just getting the motion done. Something he remembered well from Isshin Ashina when he posed as the "Tengu of Ashina" on their first meeting.

"The ways of the Ashina blade! It's our school of fighting, but there are no hard and fast rules. Just win your battles. That alone is the most important rule of the Ashina Style."

Sekiro knew that from experience far too well. First clashing blades with Genichiro in the Moonlight Field, he whittled the Ashina Lord to claim victory… Only for his left arm to be sliced off.

So he adopted that same sort of style too, using it as such against his assailant. He closed in once again with his eyes boring holes into her. She could feel the killer intent radiating off of him now as he was ready to strike once again. She tried to attack him, slashing from above to get him. A loud clang was what she heard instead as Sekiro had parried her attack and was ready to strike.

"T-This is it…" She thought seeing that this human was far more skilled than she thought.

Sekiro went to strike as he aimed for her neck and swung his blade. Though much to her shock, at the last second, he flipped his katana around so it was the back of the blade facing her rather than the edge. It struck with hard force causing her body to tense up before going lax. She collapsed to the ground, her dagger falling out of her hand as she was now out of commission.

Sekiro let out a deep sigh and stepped back as this fight was his victory. He kept Kusabimaru out just case if he needed to retaliate if his opponent wasn't truly down for the count.

Though the sound of footsteps alerted him and allowed him to relax when he saw out of the corner of his eyes that Kali was coming over with some guards. Even Ghira was with them as his wife had informed him of the situation.

"Sekiro! Are you alright?" Ghira called out to the Shinobi as they got over to his position.

Sekiro nodded at his host and he slowly sheathed his katana while keeping his gaze on the assailant. "I'm… I'm alright."

There were sighs of relief from Kali and Ghira seeing that their guest wasn't hurt. Ghira then looked at the unconscious assailant with a disappointed sigh. "I heard from Kali. This one wasn't sympathetic to my ideas of protest."

"Indeed. She wished to have you removed. Saying you're not worthy of your position for taking me in…" Sekiro told him then sighed. "It seems my presence upsets those in the White Fang. I've… I've put you and your wife in danger."

"Sekiro-" Kali began before Ghira looked at his wife and nodded.

Ghira then smiled a little at the Shinobi and nodded. "Don't stress yourself out about it, my friend. We can handle ourselves. But I must thank you for defending Kali and holding the assailant off."

"It… It was nothing," Sekiro replied to him.

"Please, it means plenty to me. Any debt you think you owe me are null, even from the beginning. You are free to stay in our home for as long as you want," Ghira told him which did shock the Shinobi. Sekiro wanted to protest, but he swiftly remembered that he was quite stubborn and held his tongue.

Though it was a shock to them when the assailant gasped as she came too and sat straight up. "She's awake!" One of the guards shouted.

"S-Shit…" She cursed and quickly got up while reaching into her pouch.

"Stop her!" Another shouted as they rushed over to try to restrain her.

Sekiro acted quickly and darted over before she could as he had reached down to the ground where he grabbed the knife he deflected from earlier. In a split second, he threw it at her arm that went into the pouch. It found it's mark causing her to scream in pain, lodging right into her arm and she held it in a vain attempt to stop the pain. She had pulled a red crystal out of the pouch which fell to the ground and rolled away from her.

"Oh shit, she had a damn Dust crystal," The first guard muttered as they quickly got over to restrain her.

"The crazy woman was planning to blow up all of us," The other mentioned as they got her up to her feet.

Ghira let out a tired sigh while rubbing his face. "Take her to the jail and keep a close eye on her. I'll deal with her later," He ordered the guards.

"Yes, sir!" Both replied back to Ghira as they tied her hands behind her back and dragged her off.

"Y-You will pay dearly, traitor! You will pay!" She screamed at the top of her lungs as she was dragged away.

Sekiro sighed with his head shaking at the sight. "Troublesome," He muttered. But he then gasped loudly when Ghira suddenly patted him on the back rather hard with a hearty laugh.

"Well done, Sekiro! You really save us there," Ghira told him. "Looks like we're in your debt now," He mentioned with another laugh.

This honestly flustered the Shinobi seeing that his action had brought this along. Kali nodded being glad things were alright now with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Sekiro."

"Come along. I say we celebrate for what you've done for us!" Ghira proclaimed as he wrapped an arm around Sekiro's shoulders and pulled him along.

"Y-You don't need to," Sekiro managed to get out to him.

"Nonsense! You deserve some praise and food!" Ghira replied as Kali followed after the two men and shook her head.

"Don't get so rowdy now," Kali told them with a laugh.

Sekiro was flustered and speechless as this. He wasn't sure what to expect as he couldn't even escape from the grasp of Ghira. His strength far surpassed many he faced back in the lands of Ashina.

Though deep down, he had to admit… A party didn't sound that bad.

"Looks like he's rubbing off of me," Sekiro thought in amusement as he was still dragged along down into Kuo Kuana for some fun and merriment.

Hope all of you enjoyed the chapter! Stay safe out there everyone.

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And most importantly, wash your hands!