Hey everyone it's time for another chapter. We are getting towards end of my first Volume of the Story of Two. I'm not sure how many more chapters there will be before the end but it will be coming shortly. Any way won to chapter 21!

Chapter 21: Discovery

I woke to the feel of bandages being fastened around my stomach before I was leaned back against a pillow. I didn't open my eyes, choosing instead to cast my awareness around the room and see what was happening. I was still at Beacon in the infirmary. The nurse walked out of the room after writing down something on a scroll. The room was empty for a moment before Velvet entered and walked over to my bed side.

She took my hand in hers and looked down at my bandages. Pyrra entered a moment later and stood at the end of my bed. She wore her school uniform as opposed to her armor and I wondered what day it was. I finally opened my eyes and looked around the room. Pyrra saw me first and smiled at me.

"Good to see you're awake." Velvet leaned forward and smiled when she saw my eyes. "According to the nurse my throw had enough force behind it to pierce through your aura as well as half way through your side." She bowed her head for a moment. "Sorry about that."

I shook my head drowsily. "It's not your fault. I always push for a fight. It's all I really know how to do. Injuries are bound to happen." she looked up and I nodded. She nodded back and left the room, saying that she had to go to class. Velvet remained and silence spanned between us for several seconds. I looked at her but she kept her eyes away from mine, keeping them locked to the bandages on my stomach or on her hands.

Finally I broke the silence. "So, what became of that argument that we had? I don't want to just forget about it." I raised my hand and gently drew her eyes to mine. "Will you talk to me now?" she looked at me for a moment, her eyes wide as she recalled our fight. I waited patiently and dropped my hand from her face.

She looked down slightly and gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry, Ike. I know I shouldn't be mad at you for doing something you've been doing since the beginning. It used to not bother me. We were just finding each other again after so many years and I figured you had changed. But now after weeks of being with you at Beacon, studying and sparring together, I guess I started to feel jealous towards Shay for having you weekends on the weekends when we didn't have class."

I listened to her without saying a word and tried to understand what she was saying. She wanted me around more, that much I got but it felt like there was more to it than that. "Velvet, I'm sorry I made you feel that way but you know how I feel about Shay. She helped me for a long time after Ozpin dropped me on my own." I could see that talking about Shay was making her uncomfortable, so I quickly changed my approach to the subject.

"Listen. You're the most important person in my life. You're like a sister to me," I grabbed her hand and squeezed slightly. "I won't lose you again Velvet. I'd die first before I let you be taken away from me." That declaration earned me a look from her. She locked her eyes with mine for a moment before a blush appeared on her face and she looked away again. I tilted my head slightly and wondered why she blushed.

I felt her pull her hand away in embarrassment. Then it hit me. I thought about it for a moment and then started chuckling. Velvet looked up at me still blushing. "It's not funny Ike." I looked back at her. She had an annoyed look on her face as well as the blush, she's so cute when she's mad. I stopped laughing.

Wait, Velvet, cute? I looked her up and down for a moment and faced forward averting my eyes from her as I thought. Of course she is cute, she always has been… Do I… am I, attracted to Velvet like I am Shay? Velvet wasn't blushing anymore as she leaned forward questioningly.

"Hey, Ike, are you ok?" she put her hand on forehead for a moment before pulling it away. "No fever, what are you thinking?" she asked. I turned towards her and focused my awareness on her, taking in every detail. I felt my heart beat quicken slightly. "Fine Ike, you really want to know what is wrong." That brought me back and I hesitated for a moment, contemplating whether or not I did now after my realization that I was attracted to Velvet. A few moments passed and I reluctantly nodded.

She sighed and turned around quickly to see that the room was empty. When she was sure she leaned in close to my ear and whispered her response. "Shay isn't the only one who wants your attention. I do too." My eyes shot open for a moment and my heart immediately started pounding in my chest. She leaned back and we locked eyes for a moment. The moment was broken when the bell rang. She looked away, "I need to get to class, I'll be back in a while ok."

I nodded and she turned and left. I watched her leave, her long ears protruded from her brown hair. She wore her school uniform as usual, but for some reason I didn't see her in the same way anymore. Why am I having this reaction? I have something with Shay, she been there for me for so long and I've liked her long before Velvet came back into y life. I could never hurt either of them. But by seeing Shay I hurt Velvet, and if I broke off my relationship with Shay because that would crush her. I leaned back and faced the ceiling.

"What am I supposed to do now?" the answer didn't come immediately. I lay in the infirmary bed for a few minutes in silence. Eyes closed I cast my senses as far as I could to see if I could pick anything up. But the door was closed so I couldn't perceive anything outside the room. Finally the silence was broken when the door handle turned. As it opened I made out grey messy hair, a green and black suit, and a coffee mug. Ozpin.

Sure enough a moment later my father walked into the room and came to stand by my bedside. He looked down at me through his glasses for a short moment before putting his coffee mug on the night stand beside my bed and sitting in the seat the Velvet had dragged over.

"I heard you got in a fight with Miss Nikos last night. I pulled up the footage from the battle. It was a descent one." He said with a grin on his face. I narrowed my eyes at the man.

"I'm glad you find it entertaining. You are the one that ensured that I would fight her on a regular basis. I thought there was a reason behind it, like you wanted to give me as much drive as possible to become the best." I looked away and closed my eyes. "Glad to know it was only for your entertainment." I heard Ozpin take a sip of his Coffee before replying.

"Actually I gave you miss Nikos as an opponent because it would likely become your greatest challenge. Of course it was all based on a speculation. I wanted to find out how you cope with continuous failure. So far it has helped you become stronger and stronger in the art of fighting, but at the same time I wanted to try to help you forget about Shay." My eyes shot open at that but before I could do anything I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Before you open your wounds in your attempt to attack me let me finish. Then if you still want to attack me you can. Yes I did try to distance you from Shay as much as possible, but I failed in that and I now see that having her in your life is actually just another driving factor for you." His grinned vanished and he squeezed my shoulder slightly as he continued. "After you passed out last night and Pyrra tried to stop the bleeding, she noticed something strange about you. She now knows that your armor is physically attached to you. While I don't think she know to what degree the attachment is, she knows that it won't ever come off."

He took his hand off my shoulder and took another sip of his coffee. "My plan back fired slightly in that now someone other than Glynda, Shay, Velvet, and I know about our wings. Now there is a decision to be made and I have decided to leave it up to you. You can reveal yourself to Pyrra and bring her in on it, however then I will make you tell the rest of her team so it doesn't destroy their group dynamic, or we can say nothing and let her come to her own conclusions."

I listened and now that he was done I sat up slowly. Slight pain shot up from my wound but it didn't open. I looked at my father and narrowed my eyes into a glare. "I told you to never do anything that involves her. I warned you there would be a heavy price if you ever interfered." I took a deep breath and looked forward. "But that can wait since you clearly have learned that you were wrong. For now you're right that I need to figure out what to tell Pyrra. If she saw Juane probably did as well, though unless Pyrra explained it to him, he probably doesn't know what he saw." Juane ark may have become a better fighter, but he was still inexperienced when it came to the different technology of the world.

Ozpin stood and took his coffee mug from the night stand. "I'll let you think on it for now. Let me know what you decide to do and when you do it. For now get healed up so you don't miss class on Monday, its bad enough your missing today." With that he left the room and left e alone again.

I waited for the door to close behind him before I collapsed backwards onto my back. Pain shot up my side and I sucked in a breath. Stupid, don't do that again or you'll open it. I relaxed and thought about what I was going to do about Pyrra.

If I tell her and the rest of team JNPR, then they will likely end up telling team RWBY at some point, especially with Nora's big mouth. But if I don't say anything eventually she will ask me about it. If she asked me about it in front of a bunch of other people that had no business know than that could ruin the secret that I was trying so hard to keep. I went around in circles for a while; I'm not sure exactly how long but eventually the nurse came in with a tray of food and placed it on the nightstand beside me. She checked my bandages and asked me how I was doing. If the pain was bad and wanted a pain killer, or if I needed anything other than the food she had just brought me.

"Everything is fine. Thank you for the food, I was getting hungry." I smiled at her to show my gratitude and she nodded before leaving me to myself. Her office was through a door that from what I could tell was thin enough that she could hear anything that happened in the room I was in.

I but because it sealed off the area I was unable to look into the room with my awareness. Sighing I took the food tray from the nightstand and set it in my lap before I started eating. It was a rather large amount of food compared to what the serving size was for lunch in the cafeteria, probably because they want you to be able to heal quickly.

I ate slowly as I thought about what I was going to say to Pyrra if I was going to say anything at all. I mean it was easy enough to explain. 'My armor is actually attached to my back and my nerves are connected to a connection point that is attached to my spin. With the help of my aura I am able to manipulate them to use as weapons like I have in the past and even fly,' Simple. The problem was how I was going to get them to believe me without a demonstration at the very least.

I could easily give them one but it would have to be where no one else could watch us and then I would likely have to answer questions that pertained to my past that I was forbidden to share. Such as who gave them to me and if there were others like me. I finished my food and set the tray back on the night stand before leaning back, slowly this time and closing my eyes.

Ill sleep on it and depending on how I feel when I wake up will depend on what I do.

Ok. Not the most exciting chapter I know. But this actually sets me up nicely for the next one perfectly. Id like to thank the people that have read this and the few people that have talked to me about this story in some way or another. This isn't the last chapter but I just wanted to get it out of the way so that have space for announcements in the next chapter. As always let me know your likes and dislikes, concerns or phobias and ill see you next time. Eternal out.