Umbra Hart

"So Umbra? What do you think?" Looking at himself in the mirror, Umbra had a bored expression on his face. He was wearing a black suit with the blazer left open, much like his uniform. It was way more fancy than anything he was used to wearing. Sighing, Umbra decided that if Coco liked it then it was good enough for him.

"It's fine. I'll go with whatever you think is best." Coco shook her head at Umbra's response.

"You have to like it too Umbra, you're going to be the one wearing it." While you could say Coco was more than somewhat addicted to fashion, Umbra couldn't really care less. So long as it didn't make him stand out, he was fine with it. Shrugging, Umbra turned to face Coco.

"Like I said, it's fine. It's not bright or flashy so that's good enough for me." Happier with this, Coco gave Umbra thumbs up.

After changing back into his normal clothes, him and Coco went to check out. It cost Umbra nearly the remainder of his lien, but he wouldn't have any need for lien sooner rather then later. As they walked out, Umbra asked Coco a question that he had been dying to ask.

"So… how did you manage to find a place that would let me in?" Umbra had been fully expecting to be turned away when they arrived. However, the only thing that happened was that Umbra earned a few dirty looks while they were inside. Patting Umbra on the shoulder, Coco answered.

"I know the people that work there. Ever since Pharos, I've visited the place just about every week. It's my favorite shop in the whole city." Nodding his head, Umbra wasn't all that surprised by Coco's response.

For most of the way back to Beacon, Umbra and Coco walked in relative silence. Every now and then Coco would try and make small talk but Umbra would only respond with a word or two. Once they reached the landing pad where the Bullhead would take them back up to Beacon, Coco started talking about Pharos while they waited.

"You know Umbra, back at Pharos, there was one girl I had my eye on but… the only thing that ever came of it was some light teasing on both ours sides. I'm pretty sure it's because she was too busy looking at someone else." Leaning against the railing, Coco looked up at Beacon. "She was strong, caring, and pretty much everything a Hunter should have been." Umbra knew who Coco was talking about. While he'd rather not talk about her, he wasn't going to stop Coco. "Yeah… Carmine would've been quite the Huntress someday. But she just… vanished one day." Looking back at Umbra, Coco took off her sunglasses. "Then not long after, you did too." Shaking her head, Coco laughed. "You should've seen the look on Velvet's face. She was so worried about you two." Growing tense, Umbra shuffled in place.

"She was a lot stronger than me… If it wasn't for Carmine, I would've shared the same fate as Onyx and Cedric." Walking up to the railing, Umbra kept his gaze fixed on Beacon. "Of course it was you and Velvet that saved us, but Carmine was the one that kept the two of us alive." Ignoring the part about him and Carmine going missing, Umbra wasn't so sure how to respond. Pressing further, Coco kept talking.

"That was one crazy year huh? After you two left, things just didn't seem the same anymore." Feeling an ever so slight pain in his chest, Umbra looked the complete opposite direction of Coco. "With everything that came out though, I suppose I can understand why you left Umbra. You… went looking for her. Didn't you?" Trembling, Umbra reached up to his chest with his free hand.

"I uh… suppose you could say that." Lying through his teeth, Umbra steadied his breathing. While it was true that Carmine disappearing played a major part in him leaving Pharos, it wasn't for the reason Coco thought.

"Did you ever find her? Or the person responsible?" Taking a moment to think on how best to answer Coco's question, Umbra lowered his gaze.

"I was able to find the one responsible, yeah… But someone else beat me to the punch. All that was waiting for me was a corpse." Turning away from Beacon, Umbra leaned back against the railing. "As for Carmine… All I could find were her weapons." Umbra wanted to tell Coco the full truth, but was too afraid to do so. While he knew that Coco had always been one of the few people to have his back, a part of him was scared that she wouldn't believe the truth. Before he could think on it any further, Coco thankfully decided to change the subject.

"You know Umbra, you should try and be a little less combative with teams Ruby and Juniper. Maybe you'd be a little less grouchy if you had some more friends here." Hearing the Bullhead approaching, Umbra sighed as he pushed himself off the railing.

"While there's a chance you could be right, I highly doubt it. Not all of my problems revolve around a lack of friends." Boarding the Bullhead with Coco, a question popped into Umbra's head. He wasn't sure if asking it was a good idea, but curiosity got the better of him. Before asking his main question, Umbra decided to lead into it with another. "Coco… do you really still view me as a friend? Even with everything that I've done?" Laughing, Coco gave Umbra a playful punch to the shoulder.

"Of course I do! We wouldn't be here right now if I didn't! While I do have some questions for you, I'm certain you'd tell me the truth and I'd at least start to understand why you've changed so much." Feeling even worse for lying earlier, Umbra once again avoided looking Coco in the eyes. Nearly backing down from his main question, Umbra had to work up the courage to ask it. Losing his scowl, Umbra looked Coco in the eyes.

"Coco… if you ever had to kill me… Would you let me know first? Or… would you stab me in the back and make sure I never saw it coming?" Giving Umbra a puzzled look, Coco crossed her arms.

"What kind of question is that? Is there an option were I don't kill you?" Embarrassed that he even asked, Umbra immediately regretted it. As a student, when would Coco find the time to follow Umbra around anyways?

"Forget I even asked. It was a stupid question." While Umbra was done with the conversation, Coco was not.

"Well now I want to know where that even came from. Is it because of all the trouble you got yourself into?" Waving her off with his free hand, Umbra wasn't going to answer her.

"I told you to forget it. It's nothing." All the way back up to Beacon Coco tried to get Umbra to answer her, but due to all the time he spent with Ruby, he wasn't going to break so easily. Tuning out Coco, Umbra turned his attention towards the dance he was being forced to attend. While he was dreading it, he was at least hoping a fight or two would break out to keep him entertained. That, or someone fell over their own two feet. He'd take whatever he could get.

Silver King

Returning to his team, Silver kept thinking about what Umbra had told him. While Umbra was the last person Silver would ever trust, he had to admit that Umbra's words had put him on edge. Maybe that was Umbra's end goal all along. Reaching his teams dorm room, Silver shoved the whole conversation to the back of his head and tried to forget it even happened. When he entered the room Iron, his best friend and captain of the team when he wasn't around, was the only one hanging around the room. The others must have gone off to try and score some last minute dates to the dance.

"I was startin' to get a little worried man. Thought you might've been… you know… tricked." Laughing, Silver gave Iron a little shove.

"Come on man, you really think I'd let Umbra take me down? So far, the two of us are even when it comes to fights." Silver almost considered counting the fight they got in at Pharos, but decided he couldn't really consider that a true fight. Going back to the desk he was sitting at, Iron went back to what he was doing.

"That's exactly why I was worried. Even don't mean anything. Enough about that though, what did Umbra wanna talk about?" Not really knowing what to say, Silver decided it would just be best to dodge the question.

"It was nothing. Just a stupid prank or something. All he told me were more lies." Walking over to the mirror in the room, Silver looked himself over to make sure he was ready for tonight. "Where are the others by the way? I already have an idea or two, but why don't you confirm it for me?" Putting his pencil down, Iron leaned back in his chair in order to look at Silver.

"They wanted to go see if any lonely ladies still didn't have a date for the dance tonight. It hasn't been all that long, but I'm assuming it's going about as good as you'd think." Smiling, Silver shook his head.

"Steel and Platinum are about as charming as rocks aren't they? How could it go any other way but good?" Figuring it was up to him to bail the two out, Silver made his way to the door. "Alright, I'm gonna go make sure those two aren't making total fools out of themselves. I'll be back." Keeping his attention focused on his work, Iron waved at Silver as he left. Not knowing where to start, Silver picked a random direction and started walking.

Sometime during his time wandering, Silver saw Aero from Team AZID. Feeling a brief surge of adrenaline, Silver ducked around the corner. Peeking around the corner, Silver watched as Aero walked away from him. While he knew it was stupid, Silver couldn't help but be slightly suspicious of Team AZID now. He knew they weren't bad, but… What if Umbra really was telling the truth? Figuring it couldn't hurt to at least follow Aero around without him knowing, Silver began to trail Aero.

Keeping to the shadows and staying withing reach of areas he could duck into to hide, Silver slowly kept behind Aero. At some point Aero's scroll went off. At first Silver thought it was his and panicked. Once again it was a stupid thought, but Silver was on edge. Taking out his scroll, Aero answered the call.

"What is it." From where he was, Silver could only faintly hear Aero. Slowly moving closer, Silver did his best to be quiet. "Why is this of any concern to us?" There was a brief pause before he shouted. "WHAT!?" Scared at the outburst, Silver almost tripped. Scrambling to a hiding place, Silver felt his heart began to race as he was almost spotted. "Those incompetent idiots. Have them clean up their own mess. Fast. We shall talk about this more at a later time." Hanging up, Aero continued walking.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Silver began to calm down. Making sure that Aero was gone before coming out of hiding, Silver slowly got back up. As much as he wanted to keep following Aero, Silver had a feeling that after that call he'd be a little more on edge himself. He didn't sound very happy.

Speaking of the call, Silver was on the fence as to whether it was suspicious or not. On one hand, it seemed pretty normal. Somebody made a mess, and Aero just wanted those responsible to clean it up. That was the simple answer, wasn't it? Of course, since Umbra planted the seed of doubt in his head, Silver wasn't so sure it was that simple. That mess could be related to someone they were working with messing up their evil plans. Angry that he was letting Umbra's words get to him, Silver focused back on his missing team members. Dammit Ozpin! Why'd you have to keep me back for that damn talk?

Umbra Hart

Currently, Umbra was standing off to the sidelines with Ruby. Since Ruby was the reason he was stuck here tonight, he half expected her to be out there dancing. Though he supposed that her social awkwardness and inability to even walk in heels kept her from doing so.

Seeing someone approach him out of the corner of his eye, Umbra noticed it was the same girl that he caught multiple times staring at him tonight.

"Hey Umbra. I couldn't help but notice you were standing here looking all gloomy." Ignoring the girl, Umbra simply took a sip from his drink. "Why don't you and I share a dance? You might have fun." Resisting the urge to splash the girl with his drink, Umbra was somewhat proud of himself.

"Go. Away. If it were up to me, I wouldn't even be here in the first place." Pouting, the girl looked defeated.

"Aww. Are you sure?" Having nothing more to say, Umbra went back to ignoring her. "Alright, I guess you win this time Umbra. One of these days though I'll melt that icy heart of yours! You'll see!" When she finally walked away, Umbra loosened the grip on his cup. Off to his side, Umbra heard Ruby laugh.

"See Umbra, not everyone here hates you." When Umbra didn't respond, her laugh turned into an awkward one. Taking a quick glance over at Ruby, Umbra sighed. Feeling like he couldn't take much more, Umbra finished his drink and put his cup down. Done with both the crowd and music, Umbra made his way towards the balcony. That way, he'd still technically be around.

On his way out, Jaune had come back from wherever it was he went. Instead of wearing a suit, he was now wearing a dress. For someone who was such a coward, Umbra never expected Jaune to do such a thing. He had to admit, Jaune gained the slightest bit of respect from Umbra. Maybe he wasn't as cowardly as Umbra had thought.

Once he was outside, Umbra looked up at the night sky. Feeling much more comfortable now that he was alone, Umbra felt himself relax. Slowly making his way over to the railing, Umbra reached under his shirt and pulled out the necklace that Catelin had made for him. Looking down at it, Umbra couldn't believe that a 12 year old had made it. Maybe just like Umbra, she too had an unhealthy obsession with learning everything there was to know about the Grimm.

Looking back up at the night sky as he rubbed the model tooth, Umbra noticed that underneath the shattered moon a star was shining brighter than all the others. When he saw it, he smiled. His smile didn't last for long however, as someone had snuck up on Umbra.

"Hey Umbra, are you…" Doing his best to quickly hide the necklace, Umbra noticed that it was Ruby. He was surprised that she managed to sneak as close as she did in her heels. "Is that… what I think it is?" It seemed as though his best wasn't good enough. Ruby had seen it.

"Yes. It is. I'm still trying to decide what the best way of getting rid of it is." Now it was Ruby's turn to smile. Instead of saying something more, she thankfully chose to stay quiet about it. Joining Umbra in looking up at the sky, she tried to search for what he was looking at. "You know Umbra, I think I've started to figure you out. At least just a tiny bit. You know, when I was little, I… also lost my mom. I know what it feels like… to lose someone." Tightly gripping the railing, Umbra stayed silent. "It hurts. A lot. But shoving others away, and being all by yourself, it's only going to make things worse." Afraid that she was going to continue on, Umbra finally stepped in to the conversation.

"You've got me all figured out, huh? Loss… You think I'm the way I am because of loss? I guess you're not technically wrong…" Not able to look at Ruby, Umbra kept his gaze to the stars. "I lost something alright. In fact, I've lost just about everything in life. Not only did I lose just about everyone I ever cared for, but I also lost my hopes and dreams. It was all thanks to people like you too… Hunters…" Feeling his chest begin to hurt, Umbra was close to walking away. Expecting Ruby to back down after that, Umbra was surprised when she didn't.

"You know Umbra, you view Hunters the same way Weiss viewed the Faunus." Annoyed that he was being compared to the spoiled princess that was Weiss, Umbra snapped at Ruby.

"Weiss has never known hardship a day in her life. Everything she's ever wanted was most likely just handed to her. Everyone sucks up to her because of the wealth and power her family owns. I however, had none of that. When I went to Pharos, every day of my life was a chore just to get through. I was the school punching bag simply because of rumors. Weiss and I share nothing in common." During his time at Beacon, Weiss had made sure Umbra knew of the Schnee name. It only gave him more of a reason to despise the girl. Just as Umbra thought he'd finally got Ruby to be quiet, she started speaking again.

"Weiss has had to deal with her own problems too Umbra. They might not be the same as yours, but she has hardships of her own. I'm sure if you talked to her, you'd see that. Just like if you were to talk to me, then-" Lashing out, Umbra finally had enough. Glaring at Ruby, he sent as much malice her way as he could muster.

"Every single day, it's like you make it your mission to annoy me as much as you can! You and your stupid friends make this place next to unbearable for me! No matter how many times I tell you that I hate you and want nothing to do with you, you still come back… If I just tell you everything you want to know, will you promise to just leave me alone already!?" While she was slightly spooked, Ruby didn't run away. Instead, she nodded her head and stood her ground.

"Yes… I promise." Taking a deep breath, Umbra calmed himself before starting. If this would finally get her off his back, he was more than willing to tell Ruby about his past. It wasn't like he was going to be around for much longer anyway.

"As I tell you just about every other day, I can't stand Hunters. I've been outcast by them, abandoned by them, and lied to by them. Almost every interaction I've had with a Hunter has been a bad one." Since she already knew how he had been treated at Pharos, Umbra figured he'd skip that part and start with how he was abandoned.

"One day at Pharos, we were sent out on a group training exercise to the Forever Falls. My group just so happened to be with people that I could actually talk to. Believe it or not, one of them was Silver's brother." Remembering Onyx, Umbra had to fight back his tears. "While we were out, things took a turn for the worse. Instead of staying to help, our Huntsman that was supposed to protect us left us to die. Because of him, Onyx and Cedric both died." Remembering the day that they recently went to the Forever Falls, the sight of Silver being picked up by the Ursa was quickly replaced by Onyx being picked up. "Another one of my friends fought to her limit while I was frozen in fear. She fought to protect the two of us. If Coco, Velvet, and their group hadn't shown up, we surely would have joined Onyx and Cedric…" Inching ever so slightly closer to Umbra, Ruby tried to be stealthy about it.

"So that's why you're so nice to Coco and Velvet…" Ruby was going to say more, but she chose to cut herself short.

"If I had just left Pharos after that, or even sooner, maybe things would have been different. Maybe I'd…" Shaking his head, Umbra didn't want to think about those kinds of what ifs. "I should have left… But I didn't. I couldn't. Leaving would have meant leaving… her." Feeling his breathing become uneven, Umbra wasn't sure if he wanted to continue. "Carmine… she uh… was special to me. She was the first one to reach out to me. She introduced me to everyone else I talked to back then. Helped me build a stable version of my sword. Protected me in the Forever Falls…" Taking a quick peak over at Ruby, Umbra looked away just as fast. "If you were a bit taller, and had green eyes, the two of you would look almost identical." Looking down at the ground, Umbra found it difficult to keep his head up. Getting even closer to Umbra, Ruby put a hand on top of one of Umbra's.

"You made it sound like she survived that incident. What happened to her after? Did she leave for another school?" Moving his hand away and turning his back on Ruby, Umbra fought back tears.

"No. I gladly would've taken that over what really happened to her. There are a lot of different ways I wish things would have gone." Trembling slightly, Umbra couldn't believe he was about to tell someone what he knew. In a way, it almost felt wrong. Like it wasn't his right to tell anyone. "For a long time, her father had been… doing horrible things to her. One day, it crossed a line. That night, I found the door to her house open and her fathers body… but not her. I didn't know what to do, so I went to our special place. An overlook that had a nice view of Beacon. I found her there… Standing close to the edge…" Feeling something wet run down his face, Umbra wiped his eyes. "I tried, I really did, but... nothing I said worked. She jumped, and I was too slow. I didn't have my Semblance back then either. I would have done anything to save her. If it meant us trading places, I honestly didn't care. I didn't know it back then, but… I loved her. The Katana and Tantō I carry around and try not to use… Those were her weapons." Feeling Ruby hug him from behind, Umbra felt uncomfortable with the contact.

"Umbra… I'm so sorry." Wiping his eyes again, Umbra didn't know how to continue. Seeing as how he wanted to be done with their conversation, he figured he'd jump to the end.

"I left Pharos soon after that. After everything that happened, staying at Pharos was too much for me. I trained with my father at home for a few years. I thought that maybe I could at least still try and attend Beacon. If things had gone even slightly differently, you and me would've been normal classmates this year. Instead, to top everything off, I found out that my father and the other members of Team Shade were nothing but liars. The only one who ever cared about protecting others was my mother. Because of that, she wound up in a coma. One that my father put her in." Looking down at his hands, Umbra saw a quick flash of red spread across them. "It turns out, they really did have a hand in destroying Mt. Glenn. My father was never a hero. All this time, I was looking up to nothing but a fake." Having grown even more annoyed at the contact, Umbra finally used his Semblance to break free of Ruby's grasp. Moving a short distance away, Umbra kept his back to Ruby as she started speaking.

"I can't imagine going through any of that Umbra. I… guess I can see why you would want to be alone… But that doesn't mean you have to be alone forever." Umbra shook his head.

"Why not? What's even the point in trying to get close to someone? They're either just going to stab me in the back, or die. I'll end up alone again whichever way things go." Finally building up the courage to look at Ruby, Umbra turned back around. "Making friends won't bring back those I've lost, undo the things my father has done, or make me feel better about myself." Holding onto the railing, Umbra used it to steady himself. "Having friends won't change the fact that every time I look at you… I'm reminded of just how much of a failure I am." Ruby reached out to Umbra, but quickly pulled herself back.

"You're right. I know that you won't magically feel better because you have friends… But being alone isn't any better. If you had some friends, they'd make those hard times in life a little bit easier." Looking back up at the moon, Umbra gave his honest answer.

"I don't want things to be easier Ruby... I just want things to be over with. When Carmine stepped over the edge, she took a part of me with her. After that night, nothings ever felt the same." Feeling like he had been talking for too long, Umbra was ready to end their conversation. "There was a time I wanted nothing more than to be a hero people could count on. But I see now that that's not possible. Nothing I ever do will be good enough. The world doesn't care about me, so why should I?" Pushing off the railing, Umbra stuffed his hands into his pockets and began walking for the door. After taking only a few steps, Umbra heard Ruby say something.

"I care…" Hearing this, Umbra stopped. "Right now, I know that you don't want help. Nothing I do or say will change that… But if there ever comes a time that you change your mind Umbra… I'll be waiting. In the meantime, just know that I care." Not knowing how to respond, Umbra decided the best thing to do was just leave. Doing exactly that, he walked off in silence. He was too afraid to look back, because if he did, he didn't know if it would be Ruby standing there… or Carmine.

Before anyone brings it up, Umbra won't be anything more than a friend at best with the cast characters. Just wanted to clear the air before anyone gets angry and/or disappointed. It's not like he's in the right state of mind for romance anyways, and that's at least one cliché I'd like to avoid. I'll see you again in chapter 17, so until then have a good one and stay safe.