Chapter 10: Time to Say Goodbye

The sounds of metal clashing against metal filled the courtyard, sparks flying into the growing light, the sun rising in the distance.

Lance swung low, Iron Maw narrowly missing its mark as Shinai leapt above it, knees hugging his chest. The samurai slashed downwards, missing his mark as the blonde huntsman rolled away, Shi En slicing against the ground.

The greatswordsman kipped up to his feet, dragging Iron Maw across the concrete as he dashed away, free hand raised in acquiescence. "Alright, alright, I yield, I yield!"

Shinai gave his teammate a small head nod, resheathing his blade as the duo made their way off to the side.

"I saw it though-" Lance began, dropping his coat onto the ground as he took a long drink from his mug. "I was way too slow on that draw- and definitely way too slow trying to follow it up."

His leader nodded back as he took a drink himself. "A lesser opponent might not have taken the risk to counter. You can't always underestimate your opponents though."

The larger huntsman put a shocked hand to his chest. "Shinai? Bragging? Unheard of!"

Oracle nudged her partner, tipping her hat back on her head, sitting backwards on her chair at the moment. "How come it's blondie that always takes his shirt off, huh, Captain? Not even once?"

Shinai simply gave her a flat, long look.

"Aight. Point taken."

Lance snorted as he sat down on the bench beside her. "You love it and you know it."

"Mm... never said that."

"You thought it."

"Nnnope. Can't say I did, hon."

Ulysses cleared his throat pointedly as he rose to his feet, twirling Avenger around. "I'll take Kyani."

The greatswordsman idly gestured off towards their leader, the samurai nodding. "After you, big man. I'm tired of getting schooled."

The two dark huntsman exchanged nods as they stepped away from the bystanders, readying their weapons at their sides.

Daria stared at the duo with a frown from her perch on the bench, Gail off to her side, quietly buried in a book. "Tournament starts in two days, guys. Don't you think you should take it easy?"

Oracle straightened up, face falling into a stony expression. "'Iron sharpens iron!' 'Be as ready as possible for the tournament!' You know the captain. This how he works."

Lance shrugged as he leaned over the back of the bench, taking a swig from his water bottle. "Hey. The captain got us this far."

"Give yourself some credit, hon. And me some while you're at it."

"No, for real. I think I'm a great fighter," The blonde swordsman pointed at the two combatants ahead of them. "He made us a great team."

Oracle shrugged. "I mean… you're not wrong. But he's only as good as the parts he's got to mess with."

"Well... I'd agree to that, but I think Shinai could make any team top-tier."

"Yeah, but you're the sloppiest member on this team, and I'd put a bet on you in any fight, 'gainst just about anyone."

Lance turned to her, unimpressed. "Cowboy Queen of Backhanded Compliments, right here. You make it an art, O."

"I know, and you'd be lost without me, blondie."

He sighed, leaning back into his seat. "At least the Captain picks up my slack. Guys like him, Pyrrha, Rainier, hell, even Yang? That's some next level stuff. Those are the kind of people I'm scared of running into this tourney," His head bowed for a moment, before a frown claimed his face, turning back to the leader of DRGN. "Where's wolfie and Nash anyways?"

Daria slumped slightly, her enthusiasm draining from her. "...Nash is working on his mech."

"Ah. Yeah. Those… Cerberus guys, right?"

"...Yeah."

Lance and Oracle shared a concerned look, before a grin reclaimed the blonde's face. "Cheer up, Copper. Next time we see them, it'll be all of us. We'll see how how big and bad they are then."

Daria gave him a small, thin smile, before casting her gaze back down, troubled expression belaying her disbelief.

Oracle reached around her teammate and gave the leader a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. "Where is Rain anyways? Never like him to miss a fight?"

The shorter girl turned over her shoulder, peering off into the depths of Beacon, a note of sadness creeping into her expression.

Rainier stared hard at the wall, blinking tears away as his breathing hitched. "Stop it." He hissed to himself, wiping at his face with the sleeve of his jacket, the white fabric coming away damp.

He didn't stop blinking, focusing terribly hard on centering his breathing, failing horribly.

"Rain?"

He jumped in shock, turning towards the silhouetted form of Daria walking towards him, face pulled up in concern.

"Ah, Daria! I'm sorry, I was just-"

"You're… fine. Are you?"

He turned his gaze back to the wall, wiping at his eyes again. "…No. No, I don't think so."

His leader walked towards him- and sat down across the dark hallway from him, staring at him with a frown.

She didn't say anything though, simply sitting quietly.

Rainier avoided her gaze, ducking his head to stare at the ground between his feet. So the duo sat quietly for minutes, time stretching on in silence before he finally opened his mouth, not deigning to raise his eyes yet.

"I have to beat Shinai."

Her eyes snapped back to him. "What?"

"I have to beat him."

"W…why?"

"Because. Because I have to. I have to. I don't know why, and I don't expect you to understand. But I have to. I know none of that excuses everything I've done, everything I've missed, but… I don't know. You deserve to know."

"I…" She trailed off, staring at him. "Is that why…"

"Why I missed the dance. Why I show up exhausted every night. Why I avoid SOUL. It's an obsession, I know, but I can't escape it. I have to beat him."

"…Rain, who knows if you'll even face off during the tournament?"

He shook his head. "If we don't, I'll wait for my next chance. And the one after that."

"Where… where is this even coming from?"

Rainier took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. "…In… In Vacuo, it's important to find your place, and to prove your worth. That is Vacuoan culture. In turn, it can… instill some… unhealthy habits. Do you want to know how good Shinai is? In sanctioned matches- tournaments, etc- he is 28-1. 28-1. Pyrrha is the only person who has ever beat him. That is how good he is... and he beat me. With ease."

Daria stared at him silently, letting him continue.

"He's better than me. I know that, and so does he... But that's not good enough. I have to prove that he's not. For you. For Gail, and Nash, and my family. For me. For my pride. I have to prove that he's not better than me. I don't expect you to understand. But… I want you to know that I'm sorry, for all that I have done. And I hope you forgive me. And I hope that you support me."

"I… I do."

He let out a shaky breath that he didn't know he'd been holding, a slight smile claiming his face as he closed his eyes. "…Do you want to know what Tsuki showed me in his 'Nightmare'?"

The DRGN team leader pursed her lips, but nodded anyways, her gaze locked onto his face, the tears beginning to well in the corners of his own eyes.

"I was back at my family's villa in Tear's Fall. It was just like how I'd left it. It was like a waking memory. My brother, father, sister, and mother were there. Acting like they always act. Remarkably accurate. But… do you want to know what the 'Nightmare' part was?"

She nodded again.

"In my arms, swaddled in… in her blanket was…" He trailed off, breath hitching. "In her little blue blanket was a skeleton. A little, baby skeleton. That… that was Priscilla. My little baby sister, Priscilla," Tears began to fall freely down his face.

He sucked in a sobbing breath. "Oh, she was the most beautiful thing. Bright white hair, tanned skin, my mother's lilac eyes- a- a- a little, mischievous smile planted on her face always. But in the dream… she was gone. And I couldn't let her go… I couldn't… I couldn't do anything," He breathed in shakily. "And everyone acted like she wasn't even there. Like nothing was wrong at all. I couldn't put her down- or- or-" He bowed his head, burying his face in his sleeve as he struggled to keep his composure.

Daria silently scooted over to his side, sitting by him and leaning her head against his shoulder.

Rainier brought his head back up, looking to the ceiling and letting out a choked sob, face a despairing grimace. "Gah. My little baby sister. Priscilla. I haven't said that name in five years…"

"What happened?" She asked quietly.

"Uh… in… when… the Platinas have… always been so staunchly anti-White Fang. It… We're a… a very influential family in Vacuo. My- at the time my father, now my brother, is a protector of Vacuo, particularly the… the west. Known as the 'White Wolf'. The White Fang… didn't… approve of us disapproving of them… but… well, they couldn't win us over," He sighed, bowing his head again, tears falling freely to the floor boards beneath them. "So… they decided… to get rid of us entirely. After all… what else could they do? So… one day, they… marched on my family's home- a dozen of them, maybe. Led by a man by the name of… of Adam Taurus,"

"Blake mentioned him." Daria muttered.

"…Right. But… they apparently did not know our family too well… Adam being stationed in Vale and all. So, they weren't… prepared for us. The… the six of us. We held them off and sent the… well, the survivors running. But…" He trailed off, pain finding its way back to his face as tears came anew. "Before we found them… they'd already been… been in our home. And they'd… they'd already found…" He cut himself off with a sob.

"They'd already found Priscilla. When we found her… she… she…" He let his head fall again, breath shaky as it left him. "She was already gone." He managed to finish with a choked whisper.

Daria said nothing wrapping her arms and holding him close to her.

"She's… buried in a small shrine behind our villa, overlooking the sea. She loved the sea. Priscilla," He sighed, wiping at his eyes. "Thank you. I haven't… I haven't told that story since it happened. Thank you… please remind me; before we all leave for vacation, I want to tell that story to Blake."

Daria nodded, rising to her feet, one hand resting on his shoulder. "I'm going to get some food. Do you want to come?"

He waved her off gently. "I'll pass for now, Daria-"

"How long has it been since you've called me Dearest Daria?"

He smiled slightly at the memory. "Well… you told me to stop."

"I was mad at you."

"And I never go against a friend's wishes."

"Well… you have my permission."

He turned his smile towards her, pale yellow eyes misty. "Dearest Daria. Yes, I quite like that. Thank you- for the offer. But… I have a maelstrom of previously buried emotions to deal with at the moment. I'll come find you later, yes?"

She smiled. "Yes. Take your time, Rain."

"Thank you." He whispered as she walked down the hallway away from him, leaving him sitting alone.

Cinder stared at Rainier, glowing ember eyes twinkling with ideas. She backed away from the hallway, strolling back outside, pressing a hand to her ear. "Congrats, Goldie. Your intuition wins again."

"What now?"

"The little wolf is obsessed with the samurai."

"Called it. What's the plan?"

"Oh… I think I can swing something." She trailed off with a victorious smile.

Daria frowned as she picked her way forwards through Beacon's mechanical shop, the whirring of machines filling the air. She marched towards the only light in the building, sparks flying up from beneath it.

"Naaash?" She asked quietly.

"WHAT!" A voice yelled back, the machines ceasing activity.

Definitely Nash.

She rounded a corner, looking at her partner with a frown.

The boy was currently stationed on top of a ladder, blowtorch in hand, tools laid out over Phalanx's shoulders. The boy was staring at Daria, welding helmet perched on top of his head. He was covered in grease, fingers wrapped in bandages. Dark bags hung over his eyes- but he still retained the childlike look somehow.

"Nash, it's almost midnight." She said, still frowning.

The boy blinked and looked around, eyes locking onto the windows of the shop and the pitch black sky outside. "Oh. Huh. Yeah, guess it is."

"You coming to the dorm anytime soon."

"Uh…" He stared at his mech, Phalanx stripped of paint, but looking relatively put back together. "N…o? Can I stay? I'm almost done, pinky promise."

Daria shook her head. "Yes, you can stay. Just don't stay up all night, okay?"

"Will do! Or… not do? I dunno. Just gotta finish the head, and get some new paint goin' and I'll be done!"

"Okay. Door'll be open."

"Night Daria!"

She turned on her heel, pointing at him with narrowed eyes. "No all-nighter!"

He saluted her with a broad, goofy smile. "Pinky promise!"

Nash groaned as he rolled over. "Close the curtaaaains."

Daria glared at her partner. "What did I say?"

"It wasn't… all night…"

"FOUR O'CLOCK IS STILL AN ALL-NIGHTER!"

He groaned again as he put his pillow on top of his head.

"And you are not allowed to take a nap!"

"Whyyyy."

"Because tomorrow's the first rounds of the tournament, and you cannot be tired tomorrow morning, so you need a good night's sleep."

The boy whined. "Rainiiiier."

The faunus shrugged. "She's correct, my short friend."

"Uuuuughn."

"But she is! We must all be prepared as possible for this tournament. It will not be easy," He turned his eyes to his teammates. "That means you two as well. Whatever you need to do to be ready, please do it, yes?"

Daria nodded. "Seriously. Everyone in this tournament had to qualify for it, just like we did. Whatever you gotta do to get in the right mindset- do it. Savvy?"

"I believe that's my line."

"Mine now."

Rainier shrugged.

"This tournament's going to be the absolute hardest thing we'll do this year."

Nash sat atop Phalanx, freshly painted with red and gold, blue eyes trained on the Colosseum floating high above Vale, banners flying in the wind. He reached down and patted his mech, nodding to himself

"It'll be tough. The other teams that we'll be facing will be ready for us."

Gail breathed in deeply from her perch in the tree, legs crossed beneath her as she centered her breathing, feeling the dying light of the sun wash over her. She swallowed hard and nodded. "For them."

"Whether they be Beacon, Shade, Haven, or Atlas- everybody's gunning for everybody."

Ulysses grunted as he hammered away at the punching bag, hands wrapped in tape, earbuds blaring with music as he rained down blow after blow, face pulled up in a determined scowl. He pulled his fist all the way back- and let loose, the punching bag going flying off of its hook and soaring to the other side of the room.

"We're fighting for our school, our Kingdom- adopted or not- and each other."

Lance huffed as he hefted himself up, pushing himself above the cross bar and holding himself up for a long few moments. Breathing out, he lowered himself back own- then pulled himself up again, sky blue eyes hard as scenario upon scenario blared through his mind as he ran through the tournament over, and over, and over again.

"No matter what, I'm proud of how far we've come."

Oracle spun on her heel, firing her revolvers as fast as she could manage, the trees around her shredding from the bullets. Pirouetting, she effortlessly unloaded the shells from her pistols, and replaced the canisters with ridiculous speed, turning on her heel the opposite direction, firing into the trees again- this time a little bit faster.

And then she did it again.

A little bit faster. And a little bit faster.

"But a finalist position is rather appetizing, isn't it?"

Daria stared at the papers in front of her-

RWBY, SOUL, JNPR, CRDL, DRGN-

Brown eyes shooting across their contents as she ran through each report over, and over, and over again, nodding to herself as she scrawled sloppy notes on a paper to her side, plans, strategies, ideas and so many other notes filling her mind as she ran through each Beacon team ad nauseum, nodding in satisfaction as she leaned back, turning her gaze to the orange light of the dying sun shining through her window.

"Whatever you have to do- we're ready. We're ready to go through anybody we have to."

Shinai let out slow breath as he waved his hands in front of himself slowly, Shi En floating in the air before him as he centered himself. As he would be for the tournament.

Absolutely zen. Purple eyes closed as he exhaled slowly, raising one foot into the air.

As ready as he would ever be, disappearing into a cloud of purple smoke, reappearing above it, and slicing it cleanly down the middle with his katana, landing with a slow exhalation of breath.

Ready.

Rainier stared at the setting sun with pale yellow eyes, nodding to himself from his perch atop one of Beacon's many pillars, standing straight. He turned his eyes to the sky, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"Even if they are our friends."

-Volume 2-